What is an RFP? Community Resources for Construction Proposals
Earlier this year, we wrote about Storefront for Community Design’s community engagement process to receive feedback and ideas from residents for the new intended use of the former Bank of America building in Northside’s Highland Park community. The bank building closed in 2017 and ownership was transferred to the Richmond Land Bank, a program of Maggie Walker Community Trust (MWCLT), in the hope of finding a suitable use and tenant in the coming years.
Since the development of Storefront’s final report, MWCLT developed a Request for Proposal (RFP), held a community meeting to review the process and RFP, and organized an informational session to review the RFP with potential applicants. The RFP launched in early June and applicants are encouraged to send proposals by August 2.
As this process continues, and additional opportunities arise for community members and businesses to develop similar projects around Richmond, it’s important for everyone to understand the terminology in these proposals. Check out the following resources to learn more about RFPs and the process of responding with successful proposals.
image: The Bank of America building in Highland Park
Earlier this year, we wrote about Storefront for Community Design’s community engagement process to receive feedback and ideas from residents for the new intended use of the former Bank of America building in Northside’s Highland Park community. The bank building closed in 2017 and ownership was transferred to the Richmond Land Bank, a program of Maggie Walker Community Trust (MWCLT), in the hope of finding a suitable use and tenant.
Since the development of Storefront’s final report, MWCLT developed a Request for Proposal (RFP), held a community meeting to review the process and RFP, and organized an informational session to review the RFP with potential applicants. The RFP launched in early June and applicants are encouraged to send proposals.
As additional opportunities arise for community members and organizations to develop similar projects around Richmond, it’s important for everyone to understand the terminology in these proposals. With that in mind, we’ve pulled together a few resources to help with the Bank of America building RFP and any future opportunities.
What is a Request for Proposal (RFP)?
A request for proposal (RFP) is a project announcement posted publicly by an organization, such as MWCLT, that outlines the requirements for a specific project being undertaken (i.e., Bank of America building renovation). The RFP helps solicit proposals from vendors, such as contractors, organizations, or developers, and helps to identify which one is best qualified to complete the project.
It’s a lot to unpack, so check out the following video to see how it is described in the agency world when developing a product. If you think about the agency as being a contractor, organization, or developer, it may be easier to imagine how it would work for the Bank of America building RFP. The product would be the construction project and final building use. The project team may include architects and interior designers who design the project, contractors who manage the construction process, and subcontractors who complete specific work such as plumbing and electrical.
What can you include in a RFP?
Each RFP is different, and the elements included are dependent on the organization that creates the RFP. MWCLT’s RFP asks for a letter of introduction, project proposal, and experience/references.
What is a Letter of Introduction?
A letter of introduction expresses your interest to bid on a project and contains high-level information (so don’t get in the weeds in your introduction… that’s for later in your proposal). It is a self-introduction to the RFP showing a desire to work on the project and includes a summary of the respondent’s basic qualifications, experience, and reasons for interest for the opportunity.
What is a Project Proposal?
Project proposals may include information for the site purchase price, site planning and schematic design, anticipated design and construction timeframe, description of the proposal’s alignment with community priorities, and financial assumptions such as status of commitment from lenders/investors and budget for design and construction. This is your chance to sell your idea to the evaluation committee and show how your project will be the best option for the project site and community.
What is this site planning and schematic design?
Site planning involves creating plans for developments that includes the arrangement of buildings, roadways, utilities, landscape elements, topography, water features, and vegetation. This is typically for larger projects on vacant property or new residential/business developments. This is not specific to the Bank of America building site since the building and most utilities are already in place.
Schematic design is an early phase of the design project. In this phase, an architect may collaborate with the client to determine the project requirements and goals. Schematic design develops rough drawings or diagrams of a site plan, floor plans, building elevations, and illustrative sketches. Schematic design drawings would work well as part of MWCLT’s request for the Bank of America building renovation.
Need a visual explanation? Check out the following videos to investigate schematic design and better understand the phases of the architectural design process from an idea to construction.
How do I develop financial assumptions in a RFP?
A proposal shall include a comprehensive pro forma. A pro forma is a method of calculating financial results using certain projections or presumptions for the project design, development, and performance. It is good practice for prospective applicants to include a vendor or organization on their team that has experience with development projects and are familiar with developing a pro forma for a project at a similar scale to the project linked to the RFP. For the MWCLT RFP, it would be good to include a vendor or organization with experience in a commercial project at a similar scale to the Bank of America building.
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has an extensive template for a financial pro forma. Also, check out this template for a multifamily development.
What relevant experience is needed for construction proposals?
It is best practice for applicants to have worked on projects that demonstrate their previous experience successfully carrying out projects similar in use and scale to their proposal.
If a proposal includes a team of individuals, it is important to demonstrate projects completed by all team members. In addition, if your team has worked together in the past, it is helpful to explain how you have worked successfully as a team. For example, say that a non-profit executive and a developer are applying as a team, it is good to include examples of successful programming and project management from the non-profit and similar redevelopment projects from the developer.
How do i know if it’s worth submitting a proposal?
Writing RFP responses takes up valuable time, resources, and collective energy, so it’s important to evaluate bids and experience to determine if you or your team should submit a proposal. Check out this article that may help you determine if an RFP is worth responding to.
Additional Resources
02 | Ms. Thompson's Kitchen
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
Ms. Mary Thompson has lived in her Church Hill home for 69 years and invested long-term in the community to energize and inspire residents to advocate for positive change. She remembers Church Hill as a beautiful community with vibrant local businesses like the ice cream shop and bakery that disappeared over time as urban blight increased. Ms. Thompson was serious about bringing change to her neighborhood and was committed to collaborating with non-profits, community developers, and community partners to create a vision shaped by community voice.
Storefront for Community Design was lucky enough to have Ms. Thompson as a founding member who brought her experience and voice to the table as the organization began working in Richmond’s East End. Throughout Storefront’s early years, she continued to be an advocate for our mission and even used our design and planning services to help create a vision to remodel her kitchen.
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
image: Ms. Thompson in her Church Hill home
Ms. Mary Thompson has lived in her Church Hill home for 69 years and invested long-term in the community to energize and inspire residents to advocate for positive change. She remembers Church Hill as a beautiful community with vibrant local businesses like the ice cream shop and bakery that disappeared over time as urban blight increased. Ms. Thompson was serious about bringing change to her neighborhood and was committed to collaborating with non-profits, community developers, and community partners to create a vision shaped by community voice.
Storefront for Community Design was lucky enough to have Ms. Thompson as a founding member who brought her experience and voice to the table as the organization began working in Richmond’s East End. Throughout Storefront’s early years, she continued to be an advocate for our mission and even used our design and planning services to help create a vision to remodel her kitchen.
Staff and founding members recently visited with Ms. Thompson to discuss her experience with Storefront and see her kitchen project that was first envisioned through Storefront’s Design Session Studio program. Burt Pinnock, Founding Member and Design Session volunteer, worked with Ms. Thompson to develop a vision and design that she could take to local hardware stores and contractors to select materials and finalize details.
Click on the audio link below, or download the transcript, to learn about Ms. Thompson time with Storefront for Community Design and discover how her kitchen went from an idea to reality.
image: Founding members (from left to right) Lane Pearson, Cynthia Newbille, Mary Thompson, and Burt Pinnock
image: It may have been many years since the vision was first drawn, but Ms. Thompson still thanks Burt Pinnock, Design Session volunteer, for helping to bring her idea to reality
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
We can only continue because of your generous support that makes it possible for Storefront to provide low-cost design and planning services like Ms. Thompson’s Kitchen. In honor of our 10th anniversary and to ensure future funding, we are laying the foundation for the next 10 years of community impact. Money raised will be invested in a variety of ways that, taken together, are designed to increase Storefront's mission and programming that will bring positive change to Richmond communities over the next 10 years.
10 YEARS, 10 STORIES OF IMPACT
Follow Storefront for Community Design’s 10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series to learn more about our impact over the last ten years and check out a timeline of milestones for an overview of our work.
01 | Storefront is Born
02 | Ms. Thompson’s Kitchen
03 | mOb + Storefront = ❤️
04 | Recovery by Design
05 | A Celebration of Community Design
06 | Designing an Innovation Center
07 | Building a Brave Space
08 | General Demotion / General Devotion
09 | Community Driven Design Process
10 | A Vision for the Future
01 | Storefront is Born
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
Sometime in 2009, Storefront Founding member Burt Pinnock, FAIA, NOMA, received a call from Cynthia Newbille, 7th Voter District Council Representative. The Old and Historic District (O&HD) had been expanded in her district and she wanted to figure out how to bring design services to her constituents, many of whom lived below the poverty line. With the added design overlay of an O&HD, things like adding a ramp or replacing windows became that much more complicated for community members. Local design professionals and community members were aware of community design centers in other cities and recognized the need for something similar here in Richmond.
The Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods (ACORN) was instrumental in facilitating the community dialogue that led to the creation of Storefront for Community Design. Additional founding Partners included community members, affordable housing developers, City of Richmond Planning and Economic Development departments, members from VCU’s Urban and Regional Planning program, and practicing architects, landscape architects, urban planners, and preservationists.
[10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series]
image: Ribbon cutting on February 14, 2011
Sometime in 2009, Storefront founding member Burt Pinnock, FAIA, NOMA, received a call from Cynthia Newbille, 7th Voter District Council Representative. The Old and Historic District (O&HD) had been expanded in her district and she wanted to figure out how to bring design services to community members, many of whom lived below the poverty line. With the added design overlay of an O&HD, things like adding a ramp or replacing windows became that much more complicated for community members. Local design professionals and community members were aware of community design centers in other cities and recognized the need for something similar here in Richmond.
The Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods (ACORN) was instrumental in facilitating the community dialogue that led to the creation of Storefront for Community Design. Additional founding Partners included community members, affordable housing developers, City of Richmond Planning and Economic Development departments, members from VCU’s Urban and Regional Planning program, and practicing architects, landscape architects, urban planners, and preservationists.
“To have this resource and to have extraordinary talent be available to the community through Storefront and its offering has been a game changer.”
image: Workshops and community conversations to envision Storefront
It is interesting to look back at how many different possibilities were explored in the creation of Storefront, including the potential to operate as a formal program of the City or VCU, as an extension of an existing non-profit, or even as an affiliate of a neighborhood civic association. There were conversations with, and even field trips to, established community design centers.
With a vote of confidence from the City Council, Storefront was founded on February 14, 2011, in the East End of Richmond on 25th Street. Storefront set out to make design accessible to all “for the love of our city” by providing pro bono and low-cost design and planning assistance to support local businesses, residences, organizations, and neighborhoods. In hindsight, Storefront’s lack of a formal affiliation with an existing entity was a blessing as we quickly became recognized as a convener of community voice with no allegiance other than to the communities we serve.
Since 2011, Storefront has completed over 350 low-cost design and planning projects and over 15 design education series/projects with an estimated value of donated services well over $950,000.
image: Move-in day to Storefront’s original office on 25th Street.
“Storefront has benefitted from foundation support and critical funding from the City, along with generous donations from individual supporters. However, the need for Storefront in the community far exceeds our financial resources. It is amazing to see what we have accomplished over the last decade, but even more amazing to think about what we could do in the next ten years with more financial support. ”
We need your support!
We can only continue because of your generous support that makes it possible for Storefront to create community impact across Richmond. In honor of our 10th anniversary and to ensure future funding, we are laying the foundation for the next 10 years of community impact. Money raised will be invested in a variety of ways that, taken together, are designed to increase Storefront's mission and programming that will bring positive change to Richmond communities over the next 10 years.
10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact
Follow Storefront for Community Design’s 10 Years, 10 Stories of Impact series to learn more about our impact over the last ten years and check out a timeline of milestones for an overview of our work.
01 | Storefront is Born
02 | Ms. Thompson’s Kitchen
03 | mOb + Storefront = ❤️
04 | Recovery by Design
05 | A Celebration of Community Design
06 | Designing an Innovation Center
07 | Building a Brave Space
08 | General Demotion / General Devotion
09 | Community Driven Design Process
10 | A Vision for the Future
mOb Spring 2021 Semester—Project Recap!
The mOb studio is an interdisciplinary studio that brings together the departments of graphic, fashion, and interior design at VCUarts. The fall and spring semester course operates as an innovative design lab that realizes the potential of design to shape the city of Richmond. The mOb studio collaborates with Storefront’s Design Session allowing students to gain practical design experience while engaging the city.
The city as classroom
We wrapped up an exciting spring semester with mOb studiO last month! mObians are as resilient as ever and together we navigated an interdisciplinary service-learning class environment with curiosity, innovation and enthusiasm. mOb tackled four projects this semester along with prompts for their urban sketchbooks that served to grow their understanding of the city as a classroom. Here’s a recap of mOb projects and final outcomes:
The mOb studio is an interdisciplinary studio that brings together the departments of graphic, fashion, and interior design at VCUarts. The fall and spring semester course operates as an innovative design lab that realizes the potential of design to shape the city of Richmond. The mOb studio collaborates with Storefront’s Design Session allowing students to gain practical design experience while engaging the city.
The city as classroom
We wrapped up an exciting spring semester with mOb studiO last month! mObians are as resilient as ever and together we navigated an interdisciplinary service-learning class environment with curiosity, innovation and enthusiasm. mOb tackled four projects this semester along with prompts for their urban sketchbooks that served to grow their understanding of the city as a classroom. Here’s a recap of mOb projects and final outcomes:
Semester Poster by Don Petties and Joseph Limber
Election Sign Afterlife
brief: identify an afterlife for leftover election yard signs and explore ideas for excess materials in future campaigns for the public as an advocacy tool.
mOb did material testing on commonly used signs and fabricated several prototypes including a functional lampshade and backpack.
“The problem can be addressed in three ways; by upcycling the material waste into products that have an extended life, by changing the signage materials to more environmentally friendly materials, or by enacting regulations or legislation that requires people or campaigns to be responsible for the removal and recycling of the signs.”
mOb team: don petties and joseph limber
mOb mentor: ryan patterson
community collaborator: lauren williams
Fashion pOp Ups
brief: design structures for the vcuarts fashion dept that could showcase the students’ final work to be filmed at the ICA in lieu of a runway show due to the pandemic.
“At the request of VCUarts’ Fashion Department, we set out to design structures for their senior’s final exhibition at the ICA, which is to be filmed the last week of classes. Knowing our design would come to fruition, specifying & designing with materials that could be easily sourced and constructed was vital. The prime materials are cattle panel fastened with clips and pine planks. The whole studio collaborated at the beginning and at the end of the project - first to ideate a flurry of possibilities, and then to actually build the structures designed by the pOp up team. The final twelve single units, equalling four sets of three, and their accessories, were paraded down Broad Street to their home at the ICA.”
the pOp up carts in use for VCUarts’ Fashion Dept’s student exhibition filmed at the ICA
mOb team: audrey paiva, celia steigerwald, micah choi + camden whitehead (faculty)
mOb mentor: kim peters, patrick gegen
community collaborators: kim guthrie, patricia brown and tammy davis at @vcuartsfashion
Process pin up work from the James River team
The James River: A Living Timeline
brief: self-initiated research project on the history and use of the James River
“The James river is a living timeline, it acknowledges the history of enslavement and pain brought upon the Native American and African American communities. As a society and as current stewards of the River, we must contribute to our community’s reconciliation, and recognize that the River has been here long before us, carrying tens of thousands of years worth of discoveries and actualizations. We hope that through truthful tellings, poetry, research, and expressive diagrams, that we can provide a fuller account of the river’s history, and prompt both locals and newcomers to ask questions, be curious, and contribute to a very essential conversation. Everyone knows that the James River and Richmond as a whole were places that propagated slavery, but how do we go beyond that? Furthermore, what is the story and message we need to tell of the James River?”
“We hope that through truthful tellings, poetry, research, and expressive diagrams, that we can provide a fuller account of the river’s history, and prompt both locals and newcomers to ask questions, be curious, and contribute to a very essential conversation. ”
mOb team: Hannah Sahr, Blake Sneed, Gina Clark, Vis Sothy
mOb mentors: Burt Pinnock, Laura Battaglia, Paul Battaglia, Sara Reed, Andrea Erda, James River Association
community collaborator: the james river
Organ Donation Celebration
brief: design concepts for a live organ donor memorial to celebrate those who gave the gift of life
“The VCU Hume-Lee Transplant Center tasked the mOb studiO team with the development of design concepts for a live organ donor memorial, to celebrate those who have selflessly given the gift of life. Two permanent installations, one inside and one outside, are meant to be expanded as the transplant program and VCU Health campus grow. They partner to recognize the gift of life at both individual and community scales, as well as to unite the unique experiences of donating and receiving organs.
Conceptual rendering for a memorial at an outdoor site
“As designers, we intended to give the hospital sites a transplant, making previously overlooked spaces more comfortable and welcoming. Flexible spaces for individual reflection, group gathering, and community education are established.“”
mOb team: cali carter, terrell emmons, amanda gill, michael rogers, yufei zheng
mOb mentors: kim peters, mitch crowder
community collaborator: dr. marlon levy at hume-lee transplant center @vcutransplant
fall open call!
Have a project on the horizon that could use a conceptual design investigation? mOb studiO is accepting project requests for the fall 2021 semester (late Aug-early Dec)! Please apply and check "mOb studio" at the bottom of the form.
Notes from the Field: June Program Highlights
Storefront for Community Design operates three main community-based studio programs: Youth Innovation, Design Session, and Community Engagement. Check out our latest highlights for each studio below. If you’re interested in getting involved, check out our summer volunteer opportunities.
Youth Innovation Studio
The Youth Innovation Studio provides project-based learning opportunities that engage youth and young adults in real-world problem solving while providing a safe space to build the capacity to create effective change in their lives and communities.
Spring Session
As the school year ends, we are preparing to celebrate 14 students and families for consistently attending virtual school at Six Points Innovation Center (6PIC). Many of our students realized virtual school was not ideal for their learning style, so by attending virtual classes at 6PIC many were able to improve their grades significantly through the support of our 6PIC partner, Saving Our Youth, and several dedicated volunteers. We are thankful to Richmond Public Schools for providing reopening information to our students and answering questions about what to expect when our students return to school next year.
Storefront for Community Design operates three main community-based studio programs: Youth Innovation, Design Session, and Community Engagement. Check out our latest highlights for each studio below. If you’re interested in getting involved, check out our summer volunteer opportunities.
Youth Innovation Studio
The Youth Innovation Studio provides project-based learning opportunities that engage youth and young adults in real-world problem solving while providing a safe space to build the capacity to create effective change in their lives and communities.
Spring Session
As the school year ends, we are preparing to celebrate 14 students and families for consistently attending virtual school at Six Points Innovation Center (6PIC). Many of our students realized virtual school was not ideal for their learning style, so by attending virtual classes at 6PIC many were able to improve their grades significantly through the support of our 6PIC partner, Saving Our Youth, and several dedicated volunteers. We are thankful to Richmond Public Schools for providing reopening information to our students and answering questions about what to expect when our students return to school next year.
RPS providing reopening information to 6PIC non-profits and youth
“Being at 6PIC during the pandemic helped me stay on track with virtual school.”
Entrepreneurship Innovation
Thanks to funding from Capital One, we launched a 13-week economic empowerment pilot program in partnership with Community 50/50, Engage the Foundation, and K Moss Presents designed to teach entrepreneurial skills to youth living in the Northside. A total of 12 students were enrolled and nine participated on a regular basis. Classes were held at the Virginia Institute for Contemporary Art Museum (ICA) where students were socially distanced and masked, but due to COVID-19 circumstances, the final classes were held virtually.
The youth were treated to lectures from seasoned Black business owners where they learned the history of Black business development in Richmond, gained entrepreneurial skills, explored creative strategies to build a business idea, and cultivated that idea into a business plan with a mentor. They also had an opportunity to learn the value of civic engagement and how it impacts them as a citizen and corporate citizen/business owner. Pop up shop coming soon!
As we plan future programming, we will continue to provide a space for our youth to be inspired to learn creative strategies toward their own entrepreneurial ventures.
Youth and young adults attending the entrepreneurship innovation program
Design Session Studio
The Design Session Studio provides a low-cost design assistance program that offers one-on-one advice, conceptual sketches, and plans of action from volunteer design and planning professionals to residents and community members that builds the capacity to create new ideas.
Facade Improvements at 1612 Williamsburg Road
Our Design Session highlight takes us to the East End where our community collaborator requested facade improvements to their building at 1612 Williamsburg Road. The building owners of the old Transitions Day Services were looking for ways to give their building a facelift while preparing for new tenants. Design Session volunteer Jessie Gemmer, architect at Fultz and Singh, conducted a site visit and consultation, and created a facade concept incorporating the owners’ and community’s needs.
Thanks to Chuck D’Aprix at Innovate Fulton for connecting us with another project in the Fulton community allowing our volunteers to boost the greater neighborhood revitalization efforts!
Design Session volunteer, community collaborators, and Storefront staff during a consultation meeting
Design Session volunteer, Jessie Gemmer, presenting concepts for facade improvements
Design Session Intake pause
The Design Session program is currently at capacity and our project intake is on pause until late summer/early fall! If you have a project in mind, you can still apply with your request and we will reach out when our intake opens back up.
mOb studiO—fall open call!
Have a project on the horizon that could use a conceptual design investigation? mOb studiO is accepting project requests for the fall 2021 semester (late Aug-early Dec)! Please apply and check "mOb studio" at the bottom of the form.
Community Engagement Studio
The Community Engagement Studio provides engaging workshops, design discussions, and special events that educate and inspire community members to take action and create a shared vision that strengthens our neighborhoods.
Storefront staff continue to prepare for the upcoming Participatory Budgeting (PB) initiative in Richmond. PB is a new model providing an avenue for community members to engage in a democratic process that gives residents direct access to their tax dollars and allows them to guide where that money will go. In October 2019, Richmond City Council passed a resolution calling on the city’s administration to set aside money each year for the initiative, but due to COVID-19, the initiative was put on hold. In 2021, the initiative has picked up steam and Storefront for Community Design has joined a team of community collaborators to convene, develop, and implement the process in Richmond.
The Participatory Process; source: participatorybudgeting.org
The FY2022 (2021-2022) initiative will include events and community engagement opportunities that will educate the community about the PB process, establish the PB rulebook, and provide opportunities for the community to workshop ideas leading up to the first year of Participatory Budgeting.
There’s two great opportunities to get involved in the city and Storefront’s PB initiative, so we encourage you to check out our summer volunteer opportunities and sign up!
Storefront Summer Volunteer Opportunities
A huge THANKS to those who completed the Storefront for Community Design Get to Know You Survey this spring. We will be using your feedback to develop new volunteer opportunities and will launch a new volunteer form later this summer — be on the lookout! Until then, we have a few exciting volunteer opportunities taking place this summer. These include:
Studio Program Working Groups
10th Anniversary Event Design & Planning
Participatory Budgeting Initiative
See below for descriptions of each opportunity. We are looking for volunteers with varying interests and expertise, so don’t be bashful to get involved. If you are interested in volunteering, be sure to complete the form specific to each opportunity by Wednesday, June 30. If you have any questions, please email hello@storefrontrichmond.org. We look forward to hearing from you!
A huge THANKS to those who completed the Storefront for Community Design Get to Know You Survey this spring. We will be using your feedback to develop new volunteer opportunities and will launch a new volunteer form later this summer — be on the lookout! Until then, we have a few exciting volunteer opportunities taking place this summer. These include:
Studio Program Working Groups: Participate in discussions to enhance future programming.
10th Anniversary Event Design & Planning: Plan a celebration for Storefront’s 10th anniversary.
Teen Workforce Design Workshop: Plan and participate in a workshop for teenagers that are designing a food forest.
Participatory Budgeting Initiative: Participate in a new initiative that gives residents direct access to their tax dollars.
See below for more information. We are looking for volunteers with varying interests and expertise, so don’t be bashful to get involved! If you are interested in volunteering, be sure to complete the form specific to each opportunity by Wednesday, June 30. If you have any questions, please email hello@storefrontrichmond.org. We look forward to hearing from you!
Volunteer Opportunity #1: Studio Program Working Groups
Storefront staff are developing new projects and partnerships for our three studio programs and searching for community volunteers to join our working groups to share your thoughts and ideas. We are currently planning for each working group to meet up to three times this year and kick starting the conversation in mid-summer. If you are interested in joining a working group, please complete the form below.
Volunteer Opportunity #2: 10th Anniversary Event design & Planning
This year marks Storefront’s 10th Anniversary and we have begun planning for a celebration in the fall. We are looking for volunteers who are interested to share ideas, contribute planning skills, and develop/design materials. If you love planning events or want to join the group to brainstorm ideas and materials, please complete the form below.
Volunteer Opportunity #3: Teen Workforce Design Workshop
Storefront is partnering with Richmond's Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities’ (PRCF) Teen Workforce Program. Storefront staff and volunteers will plan and participate in a two-day workshop to teach teens about design and help them create a landscape plan for a food forest.
Storefront is looking for landscape designers, landscape architects, horticulturalists, and other subject-matter experts to help plan and participate in the workshop that will take place on August 2-3 from 8:00am-1:00pm. Commitment includes attendance at the kick off meeting in mid-July to plan the workshop and attendance at the two-day workshop. We encourage individuals or design firms to sign up!
Volunteer Opportunity #4: participatory budgeting initiative
Participatory Budgeting (PB) is a new paradigm providing an avenue for community members to engage in a democratic process that gives residents direct access to their tax dollars and allows them to guide where that money will go. In 2021, the initiative has picked up steam and Storefront for Community Design has joined a team of community collaborators to convene, develop, and implement the process in Richmond.
There’s two great opportunities to get involved in the city and Storefront’s initiative!
PB Opportunity #1: Take action and get involved with Storefront for Community Design’s PB Initiative. Follow the link below to sign up for the following opportunities:
Participate on the Storefront for Community Design Volunteer Group that may include opportunities to assist the City PB Steering Commission in developing the PB rulebook and opportunities to volunteer in future community engagement workshops.
Volunteer in future Participatory Budgeting Initiatives and workshops that take place in your community / Voter District.
PB Opportunity #2: Take action and become a member of the Participatory Budgeting Steering Commission. On February 8, 2021, City Council adopted Ord. No. 2020-256, which established the PB Steering Commission to formulate the standards and procedures. Follow the link below to review the application and apply by July 1, 2021.
Notes from the Field: April Program Highlights
It's been a busy start to 2021 as Storefront for Community Design welcomed a new Executive Director and Center Director. The Board of Directors and staff have taken this time to reflect upon the progress we’ve made and establish a vision moving forward. This edition of Notes from the Field will catch you up on recent program highlights and upcoming program opportunities.
It's been a busy start to 2021 as Storefront for Community Design welcomed a new Executive Director and Center Director. The Board of Directors and staff have taken this time to reflect upon the progress we’ve made and establish a vision moving forward. This edition of Notes from the Field will catch you up on recent program highlights and upcoming program opportunities.
City Builders Design Workshop
Design Workshops
The City Builders Design Workshop convenes project-based learning opportunities that focus on real world issues in the built environment and encourage youth and young adults to discover and design solutions that create effective change in their lives and communities.
Winter Session
We would first like to acknowledge and pay homage to a community member and contributor at Six Points Innovation Center (6PIC). At the beginning of this year, the center mourned the loss of a long-time collaborative partner who was lovingly referred to as Miss Virginia. She played a valuable role in 6PIC’s day to day operations and interactions with the youth. Our deepest condolences to her family.
During the winter session at 6PIC, the studio quickly evolved into a resource hub to serve youth and families with immediate needs. Thanks to funding from the Robins Foundation, the Parent Support Program was launched and wellness check-ins were held in partnership with the Richmond Association of Black Social Workers. Community 50/50, Saving Our Youth, and GroundworkRVA all assisted in food deliveries, financial assistance, and wellness checks for youth participants. Additionally, Saving Our Youth created a safe and socially distanced space for area high schools students to attend virtual school and receive additional tutoring.
YEER Program final virtual presentation
The City Builders programming continued virtually. Three teams of youth, who participated in the Youth Eviction Empowerment Research program (YEER), presented their research findings via Facebook Live On February 18, 2021 around eviction and housing instability in Richmond. The teams were formed through a partnership between the VCU School of Social Work and VCU Wilder School’s RVA Eviction Lab with three community organizations: Advocates for Richmond Youth, Virginia Community Voice, and Saving Our Youth, a partner at 6PIC.
Our success is dependent upon the deep collaboration between our partners who help recruit, engage, and impact the youth and residents at 6PIC. In the coming months, Storefront for Community Design will be developing a robust curriculum for its Youth Innovation program that will focus on design and project-based learning opportunities. This curriculum will not be developed behind closed doors and the community will continue to help guide the design and implementation of programming. In addition, we will continue to build curriculum elements through a youth-led initiative and engage our 6PIC partners, and the greater community, to implement upcoming program opportunities. Stay tuned for more to come.
Design Session
Low-cost Design and Planning Assistance
Design Session provides community members design and planning assistance at an intimate, approachable level including one-on-one advice, conceptual sketches, and plans of action from volunteer design and planning professionals.
Northside Community Tree Planting
It’s never too late to highlight a project that makes an immediate impact to our neighbors while building awareness for sustainable design. Last year, Northside resident Daniel Klein came to Storefront to partner on a Love Your Block (LYB) Grant that proposed planting more trees along Cliff Avenue near Brookland Park Boulevard.
We decided that this would be a great opportunity for the Design Session Studio, including students from mOb studio, to collaborate with Daniel to envision and create community engagement tools to help enhance the streetscape in the neighborhood. Students worked over the course of the semester to develop a foldable booklet and postcards to educate residents about native species in Central Virginia and provide specific street trees to select for their neighborhood.
Foldable booklet developed by mOb studio students (left); trees planted and ready to thrive on Cliff Ave. (right)
Recently, we got an update that the seeds we planted a year ago are finally blooming and trees have gone into the ground in their new home! Spring on Cliff Avenue is about to get a bit more colorful in the coming years.
Take action and download a customizable version of the toolkit to use in your neighborhood!
Community Visioning
Low-cost Design and Planning Assistance
Community Visioning provides community-based design and planning assistance that inspires community members to take action, leverage their creativity, and realize a shared vision that strengthens our neighborhoods.
Reimagining the Bank of America Building
Storefront for Community Design led a community engagement process to receive feedback and ideas from residents for the new intended use of the former Bank of America building located at 1307 E Brookland Park Blvd in Northside’s Highland Park community. The Bank of America building closed in 2017 and ownership was transferred to the Richmond Land Bank, a program of Maggie Walker Community Land Trust (MWCLT), in the hope of finding a suitable use and tenant in the coming years.
Storefront developed a creative digital and physical outreach plan to frame an accessible, culturally responsive community listening approach that amplified the ideas that Northside residents have regarding the intended use of the building. Data and responses were collected and presented in a final report for the MWCLT Citizen Advisory Panel to consider as they determine future use of the building.
Posters and flyers developed to spark the interest of the community including links to the online community survey.
MWCLT staff are preparing a draft RFP and will be gathering comments on the report published by Storefront for Community Design. To share your comments, impressions, and questions, check out the Richmond Land Bank website to review the report and discover next steps. In addition, if you are interested to participate in future engagement opportunities as the building development progresses, submit your contact information in the form on the RLB Bank of America webpage.
To learn more about Storefront’s engagement effort on the MWCLT Bank of America project and download additional materials, check out the full blog post, Reimagining the Bank of America Building: Community Engagement in Highland Park.
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Reimagining the Bank of America Building: Community Visioning in Highland Park
Storefront for Community Design was contracted by Maggie Walker Community Land Trust (MWCLT) to lead a community engagement process to receive feedback and ideas from residents for the new intended use of the former Bank of America building located at 1307 E Brookland Park Blvd in Northside’s Highland Park community. The Bank of America building closed in 2017 and ownership was transferred to the Richmond Land Bank, a program of MWCLT, in the hope of finding a suitable use and tenant in the coming years.
In late 2020, Storefront developed a creative digital and physical outreach plan to frame an accessible, culturally responsive community listening approach that amplified the ideas that Northside residents have regarding the intended use of the former Bank of America Building. Data and responses were collected and presented in a final report for the MWCLT Citizen Advisory Panel to consider as they determine future use of the building.
Storefront for Community Design partnered with Maggie Walker Community Land Trust (MWCLT) to lead a community engagement process to receive feedback and ideas from residents for the new intended use of the former Bank of America building located at 1307 E Brookland Park Blvd in Northside’s Highland Park community. The Bank of America building closed in 2017 and ownership was transferred to the Richmond Land Bank, a program of MWCLT, in the hope of finding a suitable use and tenant in the coming years.
In late 2020, Storefront developed a creative digital and physical outreach plan to frame an accessible, culturally responsive community listening approach that amplified the ideas that Northside residents have regarding the intended use of the former Bank of America Building. Data and responses were collected and presented in a final report for the MWCLT Citizen Advisory Panel to consider as they determine future use of the building.
The existing Bank of America building on the left.
Prior to leading on-the-ground engagement efforts, Storefront and community partners developed three project goals:
1. Collaborative Engagement
With the help of two key community residents, identify and connect with varying audiences in Northside’s Highland Park community through in-person conversations and virtual open house presentations.
2. Meaningful Data collection
Utilizing a variety of methods, solicit feedback from community members on the potential use of the Bank of America building.
3. Effective reporting
Utilizing feedback, gather and synthesize responses into a final report that provides recommendations and next steps for a successful community-led project.
From late summer 2020 to winter 2021, Storefront and community partners approached the engagement and project delivery work in four phases.
Throughout the engagement process, Storefront and community partners followed a schedule that included four phases: Research and Background information, Branding Design and Community Survey, Community Engagement, and Final Recommendations.
During the research and background phase, the team reviewed the current conditions of the Bank of America building and also researched its past use. By visiting the building, taking photos and videos, and reviewing floor plans, the team was able to understand its current conditions and use this information to present to the community and also apply potential uses.
During the branding and community outreach phase, the team created fun and engaging posters to hang along the business corridor to gain interest from the community. Community voice leads and consultants canvassed the Highland Park business corridor and Brookland Park business corridor to discuss the bank building with local business owners. An online survey was also developed for all residents of the Northside, and beyond, to provide their ideas for the future of the bank building.
Photos of the interior and exterior conditions of the existing Bank of America building.
Posters and flyers developed to spark the interest of the community including links to the online community survey.
Due to COVID-19, the project partners were unable to directly engage with individuals in large groups. Staff, volunteers, and community leaders opted for virtual engagement and held an open house on December 15, 2020. The project partners presented their research from Phase 1 and Phase 2 and provided case studies to spark the imagination of attendees.
The project partners also attended the Highland Park Quality of Life meeting to present their findings and ideas to community members in attendance. Both presentations provided attendees the forum to voice their ideas, concerns, and questions regarding the use of the bank building.
Virtual open house presentation to community members.
In the final phase, Storefront and community partners developed a report that included final recommendations for the MWCLT Citizens’ Advisory Panel and MWCLT Board to consider as they determine future use of the building. After a thorough review of the survey results, conversations, and virtual chats, the following top five uses are initial recommendations for the Bank of America building.
1. Grocery / Farmer’s Market
Potential business models may include affordable products, commercial kitchen space, food hall, and / or pharmacy.
2. Restaurant
Business models may include black-owned or community-based small businesses with the inclusion of healthy food options.
3. Coffee Shop / Café / Bakery
Business models may include black-owned or community-based small businesses in a creative space.
4. Community Center
Business models may include performing arts, business incubators for the arts, social gathering space, entertainment, and / or co-working space.
5. Doctor’s Office / Preventative Health
Business models may include vaccination center, in-home health services to community members, health education, and / or sidewalk labs.
MWCLT staff are preparing a draft RFP that includes these community priorities. They will be gathering comments on the report published by Storefront for Community Design and presenting it at a public Citizens Advisory Panel meeting on May 8, 2021. To share your comments, impressions, and questions, check out the Richmond Land Bank website to review the report and discover next steps. In addition, if you are interested to participate in future engagement opportunities as the building development progresses, submit your contact information in the form on the RLB Bank of America webpage.
Download the Full Report: Reimagining the Bank of America Building: Community Engagement Report
Storefront Celebrates 10th Anniversary
Each year, Valentine’s Day reminds us to purposefully demonstrate love, care, and support for our families, friends, and communities. This year’s holiday also marks Storefront for Community Design’s 10th anniversary and we want to shout a huge THANK YOU for your support in making our first ten years a success.
Since the beginning, we set out to make design accessible to all “for the love of our city.” Through partnerships and community collaborations, we continue to discover new ways of seeking Richmond's physical and social transformation through design and community voice. After an incredible ten years, we remain humble, yet excited for the possibilities that lie ahead for our organization, partners, and neighbors.
Our Board of Directors, staff, and partners are excited to celebrate this milestone anniversary throughout the year, so stay tuned for ways to get involved. To kickstart our celebration, here’s a few ways you can show your support today.
Donate to Storefront to support our next ten years
Volunteer as a Session Designer
Share our story with your network
Whether you’ve been with Storefront from the beginning or just a short time, we wanted to celebrate our anniversary with a look back over the last ten years. Enjoy the memories and accomplishments of our community and we look forward to making many more with you in the coming years. Now, it’s time to celebrate!
Each year, Valentine’s Day reminds us to purposefully demonstrate love, care, and support for our families, friends, and communities. This year’s holiday also marks Storefront for Community Design’s 10th anniversary and we want to shout a huge THANK YOU for your support in making our first ten years a success.
Since the beginning, we set out to make design accessible to all “for the love of our city.” Through partnerships and community collaborations, we continue to discover new ways of seeking Richmond's physical and social transformation through design and community voice. After an incredible ten years, we remain humble, yet excited for the possibilities that lie ahead for our organization, partners, and neighbors.
Our Board of Directors, staff, and partners are excited to celebrate this milestone anniversary throughout the year, so stay tuned for ways to get involved. To kickstart our celebration, here’s a few ways you can show your support today.
Donate to Storefront to support our next ten years
Volunteer as a Session Designer
Share our story with your network
Whether you’ve been with Storefront from the beginning or just a short time, we wanted to celebrate our anniversary with a look back over the last ten years. Enjoy the memories and accomplishments of our community and we look forward to making many more with you in the coming years. Now, it’s time to celebrate!
image: Timeline of Storefront Milestones
2009: The Beginning
Sometime in 2009, Storefront Founding member Burt Pinnock, FAIA, NOMA, received a call from Cynthia Newbille, 7th Voter District Council Representative. The Old and Historic District (O&HD) had been expanded in her district and she wanted to figure out how to bring design services to her constituents, many of whom lived below the poverty line. With the added design overlay of an O&HD, things like adding a ramp or replacing windows became that much more complicated for community members.
Soon after, he connected with others who were convinced that a city-wide design center was desperately needed. With a vote of confidence from the City Council, Storefront was founded on February 14, 2011 in the East End of Richmond on 25th Street. Additional founding Partners included community members, members of the Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods, affordable housing developers, City of Richmond Planning and Economic Development departments, members from VCU’s Urban and Regional Planning program, and practicing architects, landscape architects, urban planners, and preservationists.
Storefront set out to make design accessible to all “for the love of our city” by providing pro bono design and planning assistance to support local businesses, residences, organizations, and neighborhoods. Think of Storefront as the architecture, design, and planning equivalent of legal aid for a free clinic. Our services would soon connect Richmonders to one another in a variety of ways, with the end goal of seeing an improved quality of life for all residents of the City of Richmond.
2011-2014
In 2011, Storefront’s programming included Community Workshops, Community Improvement Days, and Design Session. To this day, our Community Workshops and Design Sessions have been the lynchpin throughout our programming. Community workshops have facilitated public input and engagement offerings for neighborhood, civic, merchant, and friends’ associations throughout the city; Design Session has provided a pro bono design assistance program that offers one-on-one advise, sketches, and plans of action from volunteer design and planning professionals; and Community Improvement Days have created a way of gathering volunteers to add fresh coats of paint, plant trees and flowers, and pick-up trash in our neighborhoods. Since 2011, Storefront has completed over 300 Design Sessions, over 25 community engagement processes and workshops, and 10 design education series with an estimated value of services well over $300,000
In 2012, Storefront partnered with mOb studiO (short for “Middle of Broad”), an interdisciplinary, service-learning design lab consisting of three VCUarts design departments: fashion, graphic, and interior design. The studio provides the opportunity for up to 30 students to participate during the semester. After joining forces, we moved our office to the Art & Cultural District at 205 E. Broad Street creating a collaborative workspace with mOb studiO. Since our conjunction, we continue to administer our community design and civic advocacy programs from this space and open our doors every First Friday to showcase design, process, and community engagement work as part of the Arts & Cultural District’s Art Walk where more than 8,000 people have visited our storefront.
image: mOb studiO; Final poster project to educate community members on the benefits of a food forest
2014-2017
In July 2014, we were named “Best of Richmond” in the categories of Urban Planning and Community Development by Richmond Magazine. At that time, we also embarked in a three-year partnership with Richmond Behavioral Health Authority (RBHA) and mOb studiO to co-create and destigmatize mental illness through our Recovery by Design program. After a successful first year, we received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to continue engaging in “making” with over 90 participants recovering from addiction, intellectual disabilities, and mental illness. Through pre- and post-interviews, we learned that participants showed improvements in sociability and expressed general excitement in skill building.
While our clients are Richmonders, we are part of a larger national movement of community design. In 2015, we hosted the Association for Community Design’s national conference, drawing more than 175 attendees from 18 major cities where we had the opportunity to talk with our national neighbors as well as our next door neighbors in the heart of Richmond’s Art & Cultural District.
In our early years, we began focusing on community organizing in Northside’s Highland Park neighborhood where we built on six years of engagement efforts as part of the Highland Park Quality of Life development and implementation plan. A major request of the quality of life planning process was to strengthen the neighborhood youth. With this in mind, Storefront led the idea of the Six Points Innovation Center (6PIC), a teen serving, non-profit collaborative in Highland Park.
In 2016, Storefront received funding through the Robins Foundation Community Innovation Grant to open 6PIC in partnership with four non-profits including Art 180, Groundwork RVA, Saving Our Youth Virginia, and Untold RVA. After additional fundraising, design, and build-out of the space, 6PIC opened in June 2017 providing a resource and engagement outlet that serves an average of 20 youth per day while providing a space for Storefront’s presence in the Northside. Since opening, 6PIC continues to be an evolving partnership between Storefront, Groundwork RVA, Saving Our Youth Virginia, ART 180, Boaz & Ruth, Community 50/50, Untold RVA, the Association of Black Social Workers (ABSW), RVA Rapid Transit, Virginia LISC, Community Preservation and Development Corporation (CPDC), the Highland park Quality of Life Team, and Richmond Public High School students.
image: Youth Innovation programming at Six Points Innovation Center (6PIC)
Since 2000, the Golden Hammer Awards have honored excellence in neighborhood revitalization projects throughout greater Richmond. In 2017, the Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods (ACORN) disbanded and Storefront (with the support from Better Housing Coalition) and Historic Richmond partnered to administer and co-host the Golden Hammer Awards and gearing up for our fifth year of successfully highlighting excellence in our communities.
2018-2020
In 2018, 6PIC partners completed a strategic planning and evaluation process to define how the layered, integrated services of multiple non-profits can overlap and intentionally improve equity and health in the community. This launched the City Builders program with support from Richmond Memorial Health Foundation and Capital One. The vision of City Builders realizes 6PIC’s mission of growing urban youth leaders and advances civic power for Northside residents through place-making projects and neighborhood-based skill building in program areas offered by 6PIC partners.
In 2019, Storefront and mOb studiO hosted a nationwide architecture and youth competition funded by the NEA Artworks to consider how to re-present the history and figures monumentalized on Monument Avenue. The competition, called Monument Avenue: General Demotion/General Devotion, asked participants to reconsider Monument Avenue through its role as a historic urban boulevard, its viability as a 5.4-mile interurban connector, its presence in Richmond given the city’s emergence as a diverse and progressive city, its significance in the history of the United States, and the debate about Confederate statues in public spaces. The exhibition of competition finalists opened on February 14, 2019 at the Valentine Museum.
image: Monument Avenue: General Demotion/General Devotion Exhibition at the Valentine Museum
In late fall 2019, Storefront’s Board of Directors and staff engaged in a workshop to help shape and guide the Strategic Planning process and the future of Storefront programming. Key partners and stakeholders throughout the community were involved to develop a plan that represented the transition from idea-rich conversations to a strategy that would strengthen the organization and hone our impact in the future. The Board for Directors and staff have used this document to begin program implementation and plan for future staffing and operations.
2021: Here’s to Ten More Years!
In early 2021, Storefront announced the selection of our new Executive Director and Center Director making this an ideal moment to reflect upon the progress we’ve made to assist in creating more equitable communities and establish a vision moving forward; an opportunity to discover how we can better align and advocate to the current needs of our communities and future development trends around the City of Richmond. Planning has begun on the following goals and we look forward to working with you to realize our vision in the coming years.
Craft Storefront’s brand messaging to engage individuals unfamiliar with our purpose
Build on the successes of our Design Session program by increasing opportunities for low-cost design assistance
Develop an innovative community engagement methodology for Storefront programming and to share with community members
Increase the Youth Innovation Studio through robust curriculum development and innovative design programming
Develop new resources and toolkits to share with neighbors around the city
Let’s get to work!
Press Release
Storefront Welcomes New Executive Director and Youth Innovation Director
Storefront for Community Design is excited to announce the selection of Shawn Balon as its new Executive Director.
Shawn brings a wealth of experience in design, non-profit, and educational environments with expanded knowledge of organizational management and strategic planning. He has the strategic vision necessary to elevate Storefront for Community Design and its programs in the years to come and will bring a creative, innovative, and collaborative approach when working with staff, board members, donors, partners, volunteers, and the community-at-large.
“I appreciate the board’s confidence in me, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to lead such a great organization. It will take innovative and purposeful solutions to create a path for Storefront for Community Design to continue addressing the challenges in our communities, and I look forward to advancing my efforts to focus on the importance of participatory design to honor differences, challenge injustices, and create vibrant neighborhoods,” said Balon.
Storefront for Community Design is excited to announce the selection of Shawn Balon as its new Executive Director.
Shawn brings a wealth of experience in design, non-profit, and educational environments with expanded knowledge of organizational management and strategic planning. He has the strategic vision necessary to elevate Storefront for Community Design and its programs in the years to come and will bring a creative, innovative, and collaborative approach when working with staff, board members, donors, partners, volunteers, and the community-at-large.
“I appreciate the board’s confidence in me, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to lead such a great organization. It will take innovative and purposeful solutions to create a path for Storefront for Community Design to continue addressing the challenges in our communities, and I look forward to advancing my efforts to focus on the importance of participatory design to honor differences, challenge injustices, and create vibrant neighborhoods,” said Balon.
In addition to the arrival of our new Executive Director, we are thrilled to welcome Kai Banks as the new Youth Innovation Director. Kai has extensive experience working in communities around the City of Richmond for the past seven years and has connected with various partners, businesses, and organizations to manage and supervise programs that bring social change to youth and families. She brings exceptional communication skills, leadership, and innovative thinking and is prepared to analyze needs and create unique solutions designed to provide growth to the community.
“I am honored to join Storefront for Community Design as Director of the Highland Park Six Points Innovation Center (6PIC) to develop equitable and culturally responsive strategies in conjunction with the community and other partners. I am committed to bridging the gap for marginalized communities by listening to their needs and providing education, opportunity, and resources so they can accomplish their goals,” said Banks.
Shawn assumed his duties as Executive Director on January 4 and we welcome Kai to her duties as 6PIC Director on January 19. We are excited to introduce our dynamic team of Board of Directors and staff to elevate Storefront’s mission in the coming years.
As we celebrate our 10th anniversary this year, we reflect upon the progress we’ve made to assist in creating more equitable communities. At Storefront, we believe design, when guided by community priorities, has the power to offer tangible solutions to community challenges. We will continue to provide a space for stakeholders to gather and engage in bold and difficult conversations with the goal of creating new models of leadership and community engagement around neighborhood development.
We have provided a link to our press release announcing Shawn, Kai, and our ten year anniversary.
In Community,
Bernard Harkless
Board Chair
Shawn Balon, Executive Director (left); Kai Banks, Youth Innovation Director (right)
images: Kim Peters
About Shawn Balon
Shawn has worked in the design, education, and non-profit sectors throughout the U.S. Prior to joining Storefront for Community Design, his work as a landscape architect and urban designer provided experience domestically and internationally combining graphic communications, conceptual design, community engagement, master planning, and project management. At the American Society of Landscape Architects, Shawn developed and managed the career discovery and diversity strategic work plan increasing awareness of design career opportunities to youth. At the George Washington University and Reynolds Community College he served as adjunct professor where he taught technical and drawing courses. Shawn graduated from Clemson University with a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture Degree and received a Master of Science in Urban Design Degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
About Kai Banks
Kai is a Richmond native. She is currently attending Virginia Commonwealth University pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science with a Non-Profit Management minor. Banks is an AmeriCorps (ACES) Action for Enhancement Services Alum. During her term with ACES, she served as a co-conspirator for several non-profit organizations including The Relationship Foundation of Virginia, Girls for a Change, Higher Achievement, and the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club under the strengthening families’ initiative. She is a trained facilitator on an array of topics such as conflict resolution, trauma, social change, food access, and healthy relationships. Most recently, as an Outreach Specialist for the Richmond Food Justice Alliance, her efforts have been focused on inclusive community engagement around healthy food access and policy.
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