Our Principles
Our Mission
To create sustainable pathways out of poverty and into financial empowerment for Nashvillians in need and to build evidence for a systemic change for how we address poverty.
Our Vision
Moving Nashville Forward is a locally-funded platform investing in our future through unconditional cash transfers. We provide aid to Nashvillians experiencing systematic poverty or recovering from significant life disruptions. All Nashville families deserve a chance to secure their livelihood and to contribute to a more secure and more prosperous future for our community. This work has to start in North Nashville, where impact of historic neglect and structural inequity is most severe.
Our Values
Poverty is solvable.
We believe that poverty is a condition of systematic oppression. The right solution can end it.
Recipients come first.
We prioritize our people first, not donors or our team.
Community comes before self-promotion.
We do what’s best for the organization and the community, not individual success. We do not determine the community needs; we refer to the community to determine how to measure and meet their needs.
Accept limitations and focus on solutions.
We acknowledge that we do not have all of the answers. We continually analyze problems to develop solutions based on antiracism and the ever changing needs of the community. We advocate for opportunities that empower communities experiencing poverty and defer to them to determine what advocacy looks like.
Challenge assumptions and the status quo.
We must change how we think about poverty to end it. We reject the idea that people are impoverished because they are irresponsible. We understand that poverty is a chronic, systemic issue that cannot be solved without radical political action to create change.
Take risks and think positively.
We develop contemporary solutions to address systemic poverty because social problems require a contemporary lens. We believe in the power of opportunity and the power of social capital to transform. We stay positive in the face of setbacks, and we use positivity to develop new pathways to economic equity.
Continue learning.
We lead courageously. We recognize growth opportunities for our communities and our economic systems. We demonstrate flexibility and resilience. Always.