A Memphis-based organization with ties to President Barack Obama's career as a community activist unites two dozen faith-based groups to further social justice. 

Though they all have their different methods, organizations like the Orange Mound CDC, JUICE, Explore Bike Share, ArtUp and more all have the common goal of investing in the community from within as much as possible by equipping residents with the tools they need for self-revitalization.

Although black-owned businesses make up more than a third of the local construction industry, they were awarded less than 1 percent of Memphis school contracts in the last five years, according to a new study.

In a downtown building it originally developed in the mid-1990s, Summit Management Corporation is renovating and converting the Sleep Inn at Court Square at 40 N. Front St. to Marriott’s experiential hotel brand targeting millennials, Moxy Hotels.

A new partnership in the Edge District between two growing local businesses, Edge Alley and High Cotton Brewing Company, includes tearing down a wall between the two spaces and setting up a distribution agreement for Edge Coffee Co.’s roasted coffee, which will use High Coffee's beer distribution infrastructure to get beans in retail locations throughout Shelby County.

Little Bird Innovation and EPIcenter, both Made By Project partners, are kicking off a business plan competition, Operation Opportunity Challenge: Maker Edition, on Wednesday, Nov. 15, to spur solutions for some of the challenges entrepreneurs face in bringing their products to market.

As she's been in business for 25 years, Janice Penny attributes her salon's longevity to the emphasis she places on fostering a welcoming place for patrons of all backgrounds.