Neighborhood
September 29 - October 1
Connecting Possibilities
What happens when faith leaders sit down with real estate developers? When entrepreneurs design for climate resilience? When capital flows toward community health, not just ROI?
Why You’ll Want to Be in the Room:
Catalytic Capital That Closes Gaps
Dive into catalytic funding models—recoverable grants, revenue-based finance, layered capital stacks—that move money in ways traditional finance won’t. Meet funders aligning capital with values and long-term community outcomes.
Faith as Infrastructure
Discover how faith communities are leveraging their values, land, and trust capital to support economic justice, anchor development, and steward new ownership models.
Real Estate with a Mission
Explore how real estate is being reimagined—from commercial co-ops to community land trusts—to build wealth without displacement. Learn how policy, financing, and partnership models are shifting ownership at the block level.
Health Is Wealth
See how health equity is being woven into economic development—from housing design to workforce strategies. Hear from leaders using cross-sector funding to address root causes of poor health and generational poverty.
Climate, Food & the Future
Connect with innovators integrating agriculture, clean energy, and climate resilience into economic strategies. Explore what it looks like to fund food sovereignty, green entrepreneurship, and land stewardship together.
Entrepreneurship as Ecosystem
Move beyond the startup pitch—explore how entrepreneurs are embedded in local systems of housing, food, health, and faith. Learn from founders building businesses that solve community-level problems.
Who's Joining Us?
Welcome to Wealth Reimagined — Chicago 2025, a gathering where innovators, investors, faith leaders, policy shapers, and neighborhood champions come together to rewrite the rules of prosperity. From unlocking equitable access to capital and cultivating shared‑ownership models to fusing entrepreneurship with values‑driven finance, we’ll explore how wealth can be created, stewarded, and shared so every Chicago community—north to south, lakefront to west side—can flourish. Join us to swap playbooks, spark partnerships, and leave with actionable strategies that move money with purpose and put people at the center of the balance sheet.
Investors
who understand the cost of doing good
Entrepreneurs
like local businesses, and minority entrepreneurs whose work needs catalytic capital
Philanthropists
like catalytic foundations and other mission-focused funders
People of Faith
who want to build a more just economy
Local Leaders
who are working on community economic development to create thriving, inclusive neighborhoods
Become a Sponsor
Neighborhood Economics Chicago 2025 is more than a conference, it’s a convergence of visionaries, doers, and funders working at the intersections of capital, faith, entrepreneurship, climate, health, and real estate. As a sponsor, you’re not just putting your name on an event, you’re fueling the connections, conversations, and innovations that drive real, community-rooted change.
Submit Your Session Idea!
Have a story, model, or conversation that others need to hear? We’re looking for powerful session ideas that explore the intersections of entrepreneurship, capital, faith, real estate, health, and climate. Whether it’s a breakthrough project, a tough lesson, or a bold collaboration, we want to feature voices doing the work in real time.
Why Should You Attend?
Gain insights from leaders who bridge the racial wealth gap through innovative entrepreneurship and community-driven financial solutions.
Connect with like-minded practitioners, impact investors, and policy-makers, all committed to fostering sustainable economic environments.
Explore an extensive range of effective tools and platforms showcased at the event. Learn about new funding mechanisms like the guarantee fund that matches crowdfunding efforts, enabling entrepreneurs to scale their operations significantly.
Asheville combines, rich cultural heritage with a progressive spirit, making it a hub for innovation and community-driven change.
Tap into a wealth of expertise, resources, and a supportive network tailored to both large-scale federal programs and grassroots community initiatives.
Venue
The Historic YMI Cultural Center
We are honored to host this regional conference at the YMI Cultural Center, one of the nation’s oldest Black cultural institutions. Located in the heart of downtown Asheville, the YMI has been a hub for Black entrepreneurship, arts, and community empowerment for over a century. More than just a venue, the YMI embodies the spirit of economic resilience and local ownership that is at the core of our work. By gathering in this historic space, we honor the legacy of Black business leaders while fostering conversations that will shape the future of equitable entrepreneurship.
Conference Organizers
Rosa Lee Harden
Executive Producer
Kevin Jones
Event Curator
