Another kind of capital is at play for US cities on the rise — and these cities appear to be more intentional about investing it.
As elected officials and business leaders in Memphis discuss the public and private funding needed for growth, perhaps it is time to engage a different kind of philanthropy to help prepare our region for the future.
We often ponder what it will take to move Memphis forward. Many would say the answer is money. Traditional philanthropy. But that’s only half the answer. And the question is incomplete. It’s not just what it will take, but also who it will take.
Yes, financial philanthropy is essential. But there is another form of giving that may be even more transformative.
Let’s call it intellectual philanthropy, the gift of knowledge sharing and access that leads to exposure, opportunity and inventiveness.
Data shows that Memphis is already generous. According to “The Chronicle of Philanthropy,” Memphis has consistently ranked first or second nationally since 2017 in charitable giving on a per-capita income basis. Residents here contribute nearly 6% of their income to charitable causes, according to the philanthropy report.
Still, with all that generosity, Memphis is not ranked among the top cities for attracting top talent, referred to as brain gain. In fact, Memphis is losing talent, sliding toward brain drain. Meanwhile, 200 miles east, Nashville is becoming one of the nation’s brain-gain magnets.
Some may argue we give in Memphis despite high structural poverty. Others may say we give because of it. And without the support of thoughtful guidance that intellectual philanthropy could bring, financial giving alone may fail to help our community fully realize its potential.
But if Memphis’ corporate and individual donors would combine their financial gifts – regardless of the reason – with intellectual philanthropy, the region could see a bigger return.
Memphis faces too much unrealized human potential, choked off by poverty, high incarceration rates and crime. But talent rarely vanishes. It simply goes elsewhere looking for a way to survive.
In the 2019 study, “Who Becomes an Inventor in America? The Importance of Exposure to Innovation,” published in “The Quarterly Journal of Economics” by economists Alex Bell, Raj Chetty, Xavier Jaravel, Neviana Petkova and John Van Reenen, unrealized potential is given a compelling name, “Lost Einsteins,” or people who might have become highly impactful inventors had they been exposed to new ideas and innovation. Which raises a broader question: How much human potential never fully develops simply because of a lack of exposure?
Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the advocacy nonprofit Children’s Defense Fund, summed up the importance of exposure in six words: “You can’t be what you can’t see.”
Every day, thousands of professionals across Memphis solve complex problems, identifying technological and environmental solutions, designing supply chains, conducting research and constructing buildings. But do these industries share knowledge to uplift a struggling community and prepare it for a better future?
That question has become more urgent as artificial intelligence reshapes the workplace.
Larry Robinson, founder and CEO of Kudzukian, a video production firm, and director of Knowledge Media for Generations, a nonprofit group that produces educational videos, believes communities must prepare people not only for today’s jobs but also for opportunities yet to emerge.
KMG’s “The Journey” video series introduces young people to accomplished leaders and innovators to help demonstrate that exposure is not simply inspiration, said Robinson. It is preparation.
“We are at a point in our society with all that is taking place with AI that we don’t know all that is coming to us in terms of opportunities,” said Robinson. “Memphis should become the national model for how a community is upcycled – transformed and equipped – to understand AI and thrive in an AI-driven workplace.”
In early July, during the education forum hosted by TSD in the Community, Sable Otey, member of the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board, called out the lack of exposure and opportunity for the district’s students: “Say there’s a career fair. Students go by and grab the brochure but how many of those businesses really get involved? Or (consider) the adopt-a-school model. It is easier for corporations to give (to) that. But when it comes to training, I have heard businesses say they don’t bring students in because it is not a safe space.”
Otey then offered what amounts to a call for intellectual philanthropy: “So then make a safe space.”
Robinson, the video production CEO, says companies benefiting from public incentives should think beyond traditional corporate giving.
“Companies are getting tax abatements,” he said. “But what about their investment in the community from an intellectual standpoint?”
It is a fair question. If taxpayers help underwrite business growth, then businesses also should help underwrite intellectual growth, enabling communities to participate in the future those companies are helping create.
Imagine if every corporation and local business viewed intellectual giving as a form of risk management and a core part of succession planning. What could Memphis become if intentional mentorship were woven into its business culture with the same commitment as financial giving? What if nonprofits and startups were given transformative access to executive-level insights and exposure to business strategies that sustain organizations?
Thoughtfully planned intellectual philanthropy could help would-be innovators see endless possibilities and envision their role in shaping the future.
Access leads to exposure. Exposure opens the mind to what is possible. Knowledge of what is possible creates hope and drives ingenuity. And funding underwrites the pursuit of what is possible.
If we believe Memphis’ future depends on the preparedness of its people, then the answer to “what” is twofold. And the “who” becomes every citizen, business and corporation with intellectual resources to give.
A culture of giving built equally on intellectual and financial philanthropy could ensure fewer lost Einsteins and prepare more futuristic thinkers, innovators and inventors to contribute their talents to Memphis’ future.
The ultimate return is a generation no longer compelled to take their talent elsewhere but instead choosing to invest it here – repaying Memphis in the same currency invested in them: intellectual and financial capital that strengthens us here at home.
