T A G FOUNDATION
Our programs are for the purpose of renewing urban communities through affordable and sustainable housing, healthy and engaging activities for children and historical record preservation. Our philosophy is preserving and reviewing our history allows us to replicate and expand on the best of our culture.
PROGRAMS
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
We partner with multi-unit residential developers of affordable housing. Our focus is to create two types of homes for urban dwellers. The first is micro-unit apartments for single occupants or couples with a toddler. Or in other words, we like starter homes. While there is always a strong interest in family units for subsidized housing, we feel there is a shortage of homes for the Millennials or next generations to actually live in urban communities near their families. There is a possibility that multi-unit dwellings could have microbusinesses at the retail level along with one anchor retailer. This sort of habitat is not easily found in current urban communities. The resurgence of these types of developments can be an integral part of urban renewal.
The second type of residential developments we partner with are sustainable single-family homes. Our goal is net-zero family homes with a significant operational cost savings to the occupants. We will work with homeowners of these new spaces to understand the benefits of living with energy efficient equipment, solar powered devices, shares spaces for gardening and any other sustainable features that are part of the design.
YOUTH ACTIVITY
We are committed to getting children involved with more physical activity! Our efforts are centered around four areas: Bicycling, swimming, skating and just plain running. Our philosophy is today’s parents provide the needs and desires of today’s children. More children ask for electronic items than the old school bikes and skates from the Baby Boomers’ and Generations X’s childhood. With lean finances, many families can’t buy both game systems and bicycles. We work to provide all families with the “tools” and opportunities to run, ride, swim, skate and play the way many of us did decades ago.
Our programs will include more Bike Builders, 5K walk-a-thons, a Day at the Beach, and other outdoor activities. We support high-impact events. We encourage interactions among children in communities. By scheduling events that target at least 500 children at a time, we can affect behavioral and social change within that neighborhood.
This will improve the health and well being of children while re-igniting the joys of fundamental interactive playing together.
HISTORICAL PRESERVATION
It’s important learn from our history. Making sure our recorded history is preserved for the ages is extremely important. While much of our journalistic history is being captured by various organizations, much of the print history is disintegrating. We work with urban print publications, film and other mediums to ensure preservation of the records. Our initial goals are to ensure they are recorded with the Library of Congress. Our secondary goals are to collaborate with existing organizations for long-term storage and public access to such records.
The ultimate goal is digital access to all future generations interested in the important history, both negative and positive to avoid the mistakes and replicate the successes.
We are also well aware of the inaccurate and/or incomplete data used to represent our communities. Without assigning blame, our organization focuses on the accurate collection of statistical data of urban communities. The goal is the provide meaningful data to developers, retailers, organizations and new families to attract urban renewal in Black and Latino communities.
URBAN MICROBUSINESSES
The term “hawk” is a vintage business term used when referring to aggressively selling goods by calling out to your potential customers. It was common when many more small businesses impacted a neighborhood. Lots of vendors competed for the customers’ money. One would hawk goods and services on retail corridors and crowded spaces.
Our foundation supports the re-igniting of the entrepreneur in urban communities. Our philosophy is the bootstrappers of the communities are integral to the success of a vital neighborhood. Aside from the constant clamor for big box retail to come into urban communities, we must encourage and support microbusinesses in the community as well. Statistically, 64% of America’s employment is from microbusinesses. We support the education and advice to neighborhood residents who will open small business.
We partner with urban developers interested in creating microbusiness spaces for retailers. Much like the successful examples in Asian countries, creating retail spaces from 500 to 800 square feet allow for microbusinesses to have a retail space with the additional customer base of online clients. This allows an entrepreneur to start a business without the burden of a large space with large rents. TAG Foundation leases the larger space and subleases to microbusinesses to allow developers the luxury of not having to deal with many small tenants. Our supporting services with the benefit of economies of scale serve the entrepreneurs, too.
We don’t just offer advice. We ensure businesses are indeed started or tangibly supported in measurable ways.