Press Release: Invested Faith Announces 17th Class of Invested Faith Fellows
Invested Faith Announces 17th Class of Fellows Advancing Faith-Rooted Social Innovation
For immediate release: 11-10-2025
Washington DC: Invested Faith, a national nonprofit that identifies and supports faith-rooted social entrepreneurs, has now awarded more than 80 Fellowships to visionary leaders across the United States. The newly announced 17th class of Invested Faith Fellows continues this mission by addressing systemic issues of injustice—ranging from economic inequality to racial and environmental disparities—while creating sustainable, community-based models of change.
Each Fellowship includes an unrestricted grant, the opportunity to share their story through the Invested Faith network, and participation in RESOURCED, a peer-learning program connecting Fellows nationwide for ongoing support, collaboration, and growth.
Invested Faith Fellows are working in 27 states and the District of Columbia. The first class of Fellows was awarded in July of 2021.
Invested Faith Founder Rev. Dr. Amy K. Butler notes: “In these moments of rampant oppression, economic disparity, uncertainty and instability, faith rooted social entrepreneurs are stepping up to fill the gaps and to help our neighbors. I am delighted that with the announcement of class 17; we now have over 80 Fellows in our growing network. My hope is that reading about the work of these incredible Fellows will encourage all of us to act boldly in the name of faith.”
The following individuals were selected as Invested Faith Fellows in October of 2025:
Jada Ford
Sisterhood
Indianapolis, Indiana
Sisterhood is a six-session, community-based program founded by Jada Ford to strengthen relationships between mothers and daughters through shared meals, mindfulness practices, and soulful reflection. Designed to foster healing, trust, and joy, the program provides family stipends and support to ensure access for all participants. With the goal of nurturing resilience and connection among families facing the pressures of modern life, the program models dignity-centered community care and is expanding its reach through partnerships and sustainable, family-focused programming.
Phillip Ford
The Movement Martial Arts
Washington, DC
The Movement Martial Arts, founded by Phillip Ford in Washington, D.C., empowers Black and Brown youth through a unique blend of Taekwondo, kickboxing, karate, and leadership development. Designed to be affordable and accessible, the program integrates social-emotional learning, faith-based reflection, and character formation grounded in the core values of Focus, Integrity, Grit, Honor, and Tenacity—the “FIGHT” framework. Beyond martial arts training, The Movement fosters confidence, discipline, and purpose, helping students strengthen their minds, bodies, and spirits while opening pathways to greater opportunities in school, sports, and life.
Candace Maloney
DW/B: Design Within Studio - Design Beyond Lab
University Park, Maryland
Founded by architect Candace Maloney, DW/B is a Maryland-based architecture and research studio dedicated to community-led, sustainable design. With a focus on adaptive reuse, mixed-use, residential, and commercial projects, the firm integrates local materials and modern functionality to create resilient, inclusive spaces. Candace’s Caribbean roots and deep belief in community stewardship shape DW/B’s mission to make thoughtful architecture accessible to all. A lecturer at the University of Maryland, she also led design efforts for the National Endowment for the Arts’ Citizens Institute on Rural Design, advancing place-based design through collaboration and engagement until funding for that program ended this year.
Dianne Rodriguez and Terri Berkey Gonzalez
Greater Woodburn Opportunity Center
Woodburn, Oregon
Spearheaded by Rev. Dianne Rodriguez and Terri Berkey Gonzalez, the Greater Woodburn Opportunity Center (GWOC) in Woodburn, Oregon, is transforming the historic Immanuel Lutheran Church into a multicultural, intergenerational community hub. The eight-acre site will include spaces for social services, early childhood education, senior programs, affordable housing, walking trails, and immigrant care initiatives. The center will also house Feeding Woodburn, which serves nearly 1,000 meals weekly, and the North Marion Adult Center. Rooted in faith and community care, GWOC models a new vision of church—where feeding, connection, and opportunity nourish both body and spirit.
About Invested Faith: Invested Faith is a fund for faith-rooted social innovators founded by Rev. Dr. Amy Butler in 2019 in response to declining church attendance and the need for a new model of philanthropy. Invested Faith bridges the resources of the religious economy with the ingenuity of social enterprise, sustaining hope and justice in communities where traditional structures are faltering.
For additional information and photos, visit the Press Center at Invested Faith.
Media Contact:
Anita Flowers, Coordinator
investedfaith.org/press-center
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