Russell: A Place of Promise

Russell: A Place of Promise (RPOP) invests in the people and places of Louisville's Russell Neighborhood to build Black wealth and invest without displacement. Launched in 2018 with incubating support from Cities United, Louisville Metro Government and the Community Foundation of Louisville, RPOP now operates as a community land trust 501c3 nonprofit organization.

RPOP’s theory of change involves investing in people first to solidify long-term, authentic and meaningful partnership with Black residents and centering resident leadership in organizational decision-making, direction and strategy. This approach relies heavily on direct, sustained and wide-ranging relationship-building with residents, including hiring Russell residents as part of RPOP’s staff, and ensuring strong neighborhood representation on RPOP’s Board of Directors. RPOP’s community engagement strategy includes a variety of approaches to grow RPOP’s network with residents, businesses, and community-based organizations in Russell.

Investing in people before substantial investment is made in the “place” of the Russell neighborhood results in capital investments structured to be responsive to and rooted in the interests of Russell residents, restorative, equitable, resilient and beloved by the community. Capital and programmatic investments are structured to be transparent and accountable to residents, provide opportunity for resident ownership of assets, rely on the inherent talent, creativity and capacity of residents as partners, add more value than they extract, and fairly and evenly balance risks and returns among all stakeholders with residents placed in a position of primacy.

Our vision of building Black wealth through investment without displacement includes sharing decision-making and leadership with residents through an innovative partnership pledge co-authored with Russell residents. The Pledge embodies our beliefs that:

• People are assets to their community, creative, capable and whole, and partners who deserve and are ready for new, equitable investments that build increased levels of Black ownership and wealth
• Place-based investments require connection and accountability and must add more value than they extract, fairly balance risks and rewards among all stakeholders including residents and give options for multiple types of resident ownership to guard against displacement
• Relationships are central and critical and should precede community development work to ensure that residents are placed in the position of true partners and are able to participate in decision-making and ownership that leads to long-term project sustainability

Using the shared values outlined in the Pledge and our deep relationships with Russell residents as foundations, RPOP connects individuals and families to resources leading to homeownership and traditional and nontraditional business ownership; builds pathways and opportunities to strengthen existing Black-owned businesses; creates innovative connections to career-track jobs; and promotes community ownership of neighborhood assets.