Meet the
José Quiñonez: Mission Asset Fund
Financial Freedom Driver(s): Money
Innovation
José Quiñonez is leveraging existing cultural assets of immigrant and low-income communities to create a new class of full economic citizens. He positions citizen organizations like his own Mission Asset Fund to become bridge-builders between unbanked and underbanked communities and the mainstream financial sectors in a way that builds new pathways to economic inclusion.
Impact
José and his team have shifted how we understand the pathways to financial freedom and the importance of creating mechanisms to convert a range of financial activity and expertise into the financial mainstream. Mission Asset Fund has distributed more than 16K zero-interest loans to date, and 90% of their thousands of clients are able to establish a credit score for the first time.
Why we’re excited about José
José brings deep experience to the Financial Freedom conversation, having worked for two decades to help people become visible, active, and successful in their financial lives.
His work is relevant to tens of millions of Americans who have little to no access to financial credit and who turn to fringe financial services for their daily needs.
His mindset-shifting insights are rooted in the resilience and wisdom of low-income and immigrant communities, leveraging that know-how into formal financial power.
Tim Lampkin: Higher Purpose
Financial Freedom Driver(s): Work
Innovation
Tim unlocks opportunities for wealth creation for Black rural entrepreneurs. He shifts the economic development approach away from an emphasis on personal collateral and prior wealth toward an appreciation of peer-to-peer support and collective prosperity, while creatively combining financial instruments (loans, grants, equity) so his clients and communities can thrive.
Impact
Tim is working across the Mississippi Delta, where he’s helped launch more than 200 local ventures. His work helps other financial institutions do better and is centered on non-extractive methodologies and community-based knowledge with the potential to drive economic and social change across rural American economies.
Why we’re excited about Tim
He’s helping Black citizens thrive as local entrepreneurs by ensuring that the capital meant to help underserved regions actually does so, in the form of unconventional financial and loan products.
Tim emphasizes access to capital and building assets as essential levers for achieving financial stability and for getting beyond “coping.”
He’s focused on addressing the country’s racial wealth, rooting his work and the broader conversation about Financial Freedom in this country’s racial legacy and the continued obstacles this presents to BIPOC Americans, in particular.
Kimberly Driggins: Washington Housing Conservancy
Financial Freedom Driver(s): Housing
Innovation
The Washington Housing Conservancy is disrupting the market forces that disrupt lives. Its groundbreaking model fuses private-sector real estate capital and expertise with a social impact mission to preserve the scarce housing that is still affordable. By acquiring and preserving housing, Kimberly and her team generate stability that allows residents to focus on opportunities that enrich their futures and grow wealth instead of the risk of escalating rents.
Impact
Kimberly and her team at the Washington Housing Conservancy acquire and preserve affordable rental homes – preventing displacement, stabilizing rents, and promoting opportunity for moderate- and low-income Washington-area residents, particularly African American residents and other residents of color.
The Conservancy focuses on the “Missing Middle,” in particular – moderate- and low-income workers who find themselves increasingly priced out of Washington-area housing. The group has acquired more than 1,400 units in Arlington, Virginia; Hyattsville, Maryland; and Washington, D.C. – close to half of its initial goal of 3,000 units – helping more than 2,000 residents save between $1,200 and $9,000 for rent annually.
Why we’re excited about Kimberly
Kimberly is a nationally recognized expert on urban placemaking and has spearheaded creative placemaking projects in both Detroit and Washington. She is a Rule Breaker, Innovator, and Disruptor who has a passion for creating housing stability for individuals and families so that they can build wealth and other opportunities in inclusive, mixed-income communities.
She uses her extensive background in urban planning and real estate development to help preserve affordable workforce housing, prevent displacement, and promote economic mobility – especially for moderate- to low-income African American residents and other people of color.
“We work to disrupt a system that favors ZIP codes over possibilities and barriers to success over bridges to a brighter future,” says Kimberly. “And in this time of so many challenges, I believe in the power of our intersecting principles to advance racial equity and inclusion, strive for universal quality, and promote trust and respect.”
Ashoka and The Motley Fool Foundation Rule Breakers Program
Ashoka is partnering to help us build the Rule Breakers program. Ashoka is the world’s largest network of social entrepreneurs (they call them Fellows). They pioneered the field 40 years ago and have supported nearly 4,000 Ashoka Fellows across the globe, guiding them to grow unexpected ideas into transformative social progress.
About The Financial Freedom Rule Breakers Program
The Motley Fool Foundation will invest in Financial Freedom Rule Breakers, the social innovators with systems-changing ideas in order to help them scale and reach more people who need the help. We’re spearheading our initiative with Ashoka as a trusted partner and will connect these Rule Breakers with Fools and members to fuel their growth. We call this: Fool Fuel!
Imagine the possibilities of what can happen when dozens and dozens of Financial Freedom Rule Breakers share their experience and insights on what’s working today to bring about needed change, connect with The Motley Fool members who want to help, and scale their work in order to help more Americans who are living paycheck to paycheck.
Why now?
The global pandemic has revealed and accelerated the deep inequities that exist in America and beyond and it’s clearer than ever that the pathways to Financial Freedom and thus many other freedoms are riddled with obstacles that keep tens of millions of Americans barely coping, and far from thriving.
Thankfully, many of the solutions are already out there in the hands of social innovators and changemakers who are rooted in the communities living with these challenges. Imagine if they had the resources and networks they needed to fully thrive.
Together with them and with the Ashoka and Fool networks, we believe we can turn obstacles into opportunities, bring Financial Freedom into the national narrative, and accelerate the field in transformative ways.
How will The Motley Fool Foundation support Financial Freedom Rule Breakers?
Each Financial Freedom Rule Breaker will receive an award of unrestricted funding. Additional funding will be reserved for special projects and initiatives that span across our five drivers and involve collaboration between the Rule Breakers.
While the financial award is important, the real value will be amplifying their work and connecting Fellows to the larger Fool network.
What we believe
Value of systems change
We both understand the value of systems change and need to ask what maintains the status quo and grapple with underlying causes. Otherwise, we’ll be stuck applying band-aids to problems that will continue to persist a generation from now.
Collaboration, not individual solutions
We both seek core principles and strategies that have the potential to lift up the entire field. Individual solutions have a limited shelf life; far more important are frameworks that can move us all toward our ultimate goal with greater speed and social impact.
Believe in smart investments
We both have a long history of making (and encouraging) smart investments at the right time. We believe in the potential of a new idea in the hands of the right person.
Power of networks and connectivity
We believe in the power of networks and connectivity across fields and disciplines. Breaking through silos and building an interdisciplinary team is our best hope to scale bundles of solutions and shift industries in a lasting way.
Innovative and open to change
We are playful and creative and open to being surprised. We are always in learning mode, willing to pivot and adapt when the playing field changes.
Partner with us
Partner funding for the 2022 fiscal year is closed.
Learn more.
Your passion for doing what’s right is the perfect place to start. Our vision of Financial Freedom for all will require a lot of time, effort, and resources. Having people like you in our corner is what’s going to get us there.
With every step taken and every bridge built, all of us are closer to creating a better world. When we recognize the barriers and biases holding people back from financial choice, we can create opportunities for everyone to thrive.
