We've chosen our words very carefully.
A 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐠𝐞 is a protected place that shelters from danger. Refuges are designed for those humans, nonhumans, and ecologies that are the most precarious. Life that needs stability and requires interventions in order for it to survive, and perhaps, one day, thrive.
So why did we choose 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐠𝐞 to describe the space of the Edge Finance Accelerator? Do impact investors and philanthropists moving millions of dollars really qualify as 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴? Are they deserving of 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯? What kinds of 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 do they face?
It may sound preposterous that the monied class needs yet another refuge. Even worse, it rings of hypocrisy to suggest that equity, liberation, sovereignty, and regeneration can come from the very field of finance that has been a catalyst of the polycrisis.
Like all fields, finance is not homogenous (even if largely monochromatic). By collapsing a field into only its dominant strains, we lose its edges. We also negate its edgewalkers who have risked and continue to risk their emotional, social, and even financial wellbeing to create a different future within the shadows of the present one.
From talking with a number of these finance #edgewalkers, they are exhausted. They are often disheartened. Years, decades, and even lifetimes of pushing against the dominant system take its toll on the nervous system and the psyche.
So we've designed a refuge for impact investors, advisors, and philanthropists. A refuge is not a safe haven, because there is no such thing. The Accelerator provides a courageous space designed to shine light into the darkness. To confront self and the very paradoxes in shifting systems as capital holders.
You may not believe we need present capital holders to help create a regenerative and equitable future. But maybe we can't get there from here without them.
Our words & visualizations ➡ https://lnkd.in/gdPPj87B
#healing #self #culture #systems #financetransformation
Managing Director/Operations Principal Clearing and Settlement Operations/Site lead in Tampa
2wenjoy spending time with friends and and family make us better at work imo! LOVE THAT VIEW.