RISE Memphis

About RISE Memphis

To empower people to become self-sufficient by building and sustaining human and financial assets.     “The curse of poverty has no justification in our age. . . . The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total, direct and immediate abolition of poverty.”--Martin Luther King, Jr. The curse of poverty is the cause of many of our country’s worst problems – from crime to illness to hopelessness and despair. From the outside, we are the wealthiest nation in the world, often referred to as the land of opportunity.  But there are deep pockets of poverty, tucked away in patches of our nation -  especially in Memphis.  Memphis has more than its share of people living in poverty – 26.2 percent, compared with 14.3 percent nationwide. Ours is the highest poverty rate for an urban community our size in the country. Our city is also awash with predatory lenders (payday lenders, check cashing stores, and title loan operations) taking advantage of the unfortunate and uninformed, and trapping the working poor in a cycle of debt. In Memphis today, the reality is that more people are sliding backward than are advancing. The effects of poverty are not just felt in “poor” neighborhoods.     RISE has a bold vision for Memphis – RISE will transform the financial well-being of low income working people, thereby improving the community. And we have proven programs that turn this vision into a reality. This vision for Memphis is not out of reach. People in Memphis can have financial independence and hope. RISE is ready. RISE teaches low income working people to make better financial decisions that will improve their lives – and the community.  Our programs are among the most innovative and successful in the country.  “We pay for what we don’t know.”