NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — This week’s Essence Festival is a celebration of women and the African American community.
WGNO had the chance to speak with a woman whose life work empowers that community.
Dr. Cristal Jackson calls herself a social impact architect and explained her philosophy, “I think that the world is so full of opportunity, New Orleans is so full of opportunity and unity. And as a social impact architect, I think of ways to weave all of our stories together so that everybody wins.”
Jackson has done so for over 25 years, beginning with an organization she formed called Head and Heart Philanthropy. With a talent for marshaling business, nonprofit and community stakeholders in order that everybody wins.
According to Jackson, “I help people realize that you can live in a world and do good, and do well at the same time.
Drawing on years of experience from interning on Capitol Hill to working in business, she began to gather those groups in intimate settings on Martha’s Vineyard to connect assets to needs, believing that many in the business community relate giving to community.
“We can all agree on some things like children should have clean attractive schools. We want them to have access to computers at the baseline. I think there are always things we can agree on,” said Jackson.
The combined impact of the work is unlocking over 75 million dollars to partner organizations in 2024 alone. Over time, she says the interpretation of what philanthropy is has changed.
According to Jackson, “you don’t have to be Bill Gates to be a philanthropist, right? You have no idea of the impact of what five dollars a month can do to a cause.”
After being based on both coasts, the pandemic gave the Mississippi native a moment of clarity and her latest endeavor became Agape or the southern strategy. The effort to bring these assets home, based here in New Orleans.
Jackson says it’s purpose is, “To identify leaders that are working on some very complex social issues and I believe we will elevate those voices and the region.”
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
