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Cllctivly: A network to grow Black Genius

Jamye Wooten saw a gap: Black-led nonprofits in Baltimore lacked funds, resources and networking connections, yet they were duplicating services. Wooten created Cllctivly to uplift Black Genius and re-frame the narrative of his hometown. Provided by Jayme Wooten
Jamye Wooten saw a gap: Black-led nonprofits in Baltimore lacked funds, resources and networking connections, yet they were duplicating services. Wooten created Cllctivly to uplift Black Genius and re-frame the narrative of his hometown. Provided by Jayme Wooten

Media and pop culture … like HBO’s current series, “We Own this City,” or from two decades ago, “The Wire” … help perpetuate a violent narrative about Baltimore.

But Jamye Wooten intends to reframe the city’s reputation. The nonprofit he created, called Cllctivly, works to create and fund a network of people doing good, which tells a different story:

“Narrative goes hand in hand with resource mobilization and so narrative is important for us in our work. So we believe that we should be the ones - that folks within our communities should be the ones telling our own stories and making sure we’re highlighting the great work happening here in the city.”

Links: Cllctivly, Adaptive Village campaign, Bridgespan report about racial inequity in philanthropy.

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'