Rebuilding from the Inside Out

Mentorship. Opportunity. Resources. Education.

The Issue We’re Solving

Across Washington, DC, Baltimore, and similar urban centers, residents of color—especially in historically disinvested neighborhoods—face systemic barriers to housing stability, economic mobility, and educational opportunity.

  • In DC, Black homeownership is only 34%, compared to 49% for White households.

  • Between 2016–2020, only 8.4% of homes sold were affordable to Black first-time buyers.

  • Gentrification and displacement continue to fracture communities, displace families, and erase generational legacies.

  • Youth from under-resourced areas have limited access to entrepreneurial education, mentorship, and 21st-century skills.

These conditions are not just unjust—they are unsustainable for any society that values equity and resilience.

Our Vision

We envision a world where economically disadvantaged and racially disparaged local residents lead abundant lives and build more equitable communities for themselves.

In this future, thriving neighborhoods are full of robust small businesses, equitable homeownership opportunities, community-rooted schools, and creative spaces where youth and families flourish together.

Our Mission in Action:

At MORE, we don’t just run programs—we spark transformation. Every initiative we lead is designed to nurture creativity, restore agency, and build generational power. Whether you're a middle school student with a big idea, a family ready to stabilize and grow, or a neighbor striving to reclaim your community—we're here to help you get started and keep going.

We organize our work into three core areas: Mentorship, Opportunities, and Resources & Education. These areas overlap and reinforce each other, offering both immediate support and long-term change.

Our Offerings

  • Cultivating youth leadership, creativity, and voice.

    Our mentorship model is rooted in relationship, exploration, and expression. We walk with youth—especially those navigating disinvestment, displacement, and systemic barriers—toward leadership, advocacy, and creative agency. Through hands-on learning in our maker labs, art-based social justice projects, and travel experiences, young people explore who they are and what they can build.

    From podcasting and shoemaking to civic action and storytelling, we mentor youth to lead with purpose, create with confidence, and build with vision.

    Includes:

    • Youth leadership and advocacy labs

    • Creative technology: Cricut, sewing, 3D printing, digital storytelling

    • Cultural and educational travel

    • Social justice and arts-based expression

    • Podcasting and media labs

  • Expanding access to entrepreneurship, housing, and systems-level change.

    At MORE, opportunity means removing barriers to ownership, enterprise, and self-determination. We advocate for housing justice, invest in business development, and support fellow community-rooted developers working to build without displacing. Whether launching a youth-led brand, organizing a community land trust, or working to rebalance the playing field for BIPOC developers, we’re creating conditions where possibility becomes reality.

    Opportunity is about power—economic, creative, and structural—and ensuring our communities have it.

    Includes:

    • Entrepreneurship incubator for youth and adult creators

    • Homebuyer readiness and tenant conversion support

    • Real estate development: affordable & permanent supportive housing

    • Advocacy for equitable systems that support small-scale, mission-driven developers

    • Building partnerships to expand inclusive housing creation

  • Teaching the tools to thrive—financially, culturally, environmentally.

    We provide real-world education that meets people where they are—whether it’s a hands-on financial literacy session, a virtual workshop on business licensing, or an art-based lesson on green infrastructure. Our programs honor the full spectrum of community intelligence: economic, emotional, creative, and ancestral. We use education not just to inform—but to heal, empower, and connect.

    Knowledge is power, but wisdom is community. We cultivate both.

    Includes:

    • Financial literacy and business setup workshops

    • Healing justice and coaching circles

    • Arts-based environmental education in schools

    • Maker workshops and family crafting nights

    • Youth media, storytelling, and virtual learning platforms

  • GREEN as a Cross-Cutting Pillar

    Uplifting communities while protecting the planet.

    At MORE, sustainability isn’t an afterthought—it’s a core part of how we build equity. Our GREEN work blends environmental justice, education, workforce development, and creative engagement to ensure that under-resourced communities not only survive climate challenges—but lead the solutions.

    From art-based stormwater education to green job training and eco-conscious housing development, we integrate environmental impact with social and economic transformation.

    Our future is regenerative. Our solutions are local. And our communities are the climate leaders we’ve been waiting for.

    🌱 Our GREEN Work Includes:

    • RiverSmart Communities Partnership: installing green stormwater infrastructure in homes across Wards 7 & 8

    • MORE Flow for a Cleaner Tomorrow: educating families and students about clean water and sewage justice

    • Youth GREEN Workforce Training: preparing transitional-aged youth for jobs in sustainable trades

    • Eco-Conscious Housing Development: designing and retrofitting homes with solar, rain gardens, and efficiency upgrades

    • Environmental Arts & Advocacy: using murals, crafting, and storytelling to connect climate justice with community pride

Sabrina Thompson, 1st Recipient, MORE Micro Grant

Sabrina Thompson is a NASA aerospace engineer specializing in spacecraft trajectory design at the Goddard Space Flight Center. She is the founder of STEMulating Art® and Girl in Space Club, initiatives that merge STEM education with art and fashion to inspire and empower youth, particularly girls, in science and technology fields. Through her work, Thompson continues to break barriers, fostering inclusivity and creativity in both space exploration and STEM education.

Though Sabrina is building an amazing business inspired by equity for women in space, she also teaches young innovators to how to blend the world of STEM and Arts. She taught the art of sneaker-making our inaugural SpaceCraft youth maker lab program a success!

Greener communities produce happier, healthier more productive individuals and families.

Environmental justice and climate change are pivotal to improving overall wellness for underrepresented groups. Here’s what we’re doing to build MORE Green!

Support Our Mission

Your generosity fuels our mission to empower and ignite potential. Every dollar donated to MORE Inc. directly contributes to breaking down systemic barriers and propelling first-generation entrepreneurs and homeowners towards success. By donating, you're not just giving funds, you're investing in a future where dreams become tangible businesses, homes, and thriving communities. Whether it's sponsoring a teen's spot in our innovative SpaceCraft program, or helping an aspiring entrepreneur access vital resources in our MORE IncUbator Program, your contribution makes a real, lasting impact. Donate today and join us in transforming lives, one opportunity at a time.

All donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. MORE Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our federal tax identification number is 87-3659464.