Bringing The Community To The Boardroom
What is Owning the Block?
Owning the Block is a community-driven program created by David Webb II to bring entrepreneurs, local businesses, institutions, and resources together around real-world challenges.
We believe meaningful economic development begins with understanding the people and businesses already shaping a community.
Rather than waiting until someone's success story is finished, Owning the Block creates opportunities to participate while that story is still being written.
The program was created to close the information gap between communities, institutions, developers, capital providers, and emerging entrepreneurs in rapidly changing urban environments.
How It Works
Identify the Blocker
-
What is truly standing in the way of the next step?
Identify the correct Resource
-
Which relationships, organizations, information, or expertise fit that challenge?
Take Action
-
What practical step can move the situation forward?
The goal is not to give everybody the same advice. It is to understand the situation first and identify the most relevant path forward.
Bringing the Community into the Conversation
Most Communities Experience Development After Decisions Have Already Been Made
We believe communities should have more than a seat in the audience.
Owning the Block works to connect the experiences of people operating businesses and navigating real challenges with the people and institutions positioned to help address them.
That means meeting people where business and community life actually happen—not expecting every meaningful conversation to begin in a boardroom.
Major development projects, innovation districts, institutional investment, and infrastructure expansion can reshape neighborhoods rapidly. Yet many stakeholders, including residents, entrepreneurs, and even local organizations, often lack visibility into how these systems work
Owning The Block helps close that gap through practical, accessible, commercially grounded education designed to increase understanding, participation, and long-term economic readiness
Focused on Outcomes
Increased Real Estate & Development Literacy
Participants gain practical understanding of commercial real estate, development processes, financing structures, and ownership systems
Stronger Community & Institutional Alignment
Improves communication and collaboration between residents, businesses, developers, anchor institutions, and economic development stakeholders
Improved Capital & Procurement Readiness
Helps participants better understand funding pathways, procurement systems, underwriting expectations, and institutional requirements
More Informed Participation In Neighborhood Growth
Equips stakeholders to engage more effectively in conversations around development, investment, infrastructure, and economic change
Expanded Understanding Of Ownership & Wealth-Building Pathways
Introduces participants to models including homeownership, shared equity, community ownership, small development, and long-term asset stewardship
Creation Of Measurable Readiness Outputs
Cohorts may produce capability statements, site memos, underwriting exercises, stakeholder maps, capital-readiness materials, and implementation frameworks
One Program, Multiple Formats
Owning The Block is supported by InvestorFy LLC’s relationships and experience across commercial real estate, financing ecosystems, community investment conversations, innovation districts, and institutional engagement
Business & Entrepreneurship:
-
Real business challenges, growth decisions, financial understanding, relationships, and access to resources.
Women Build the Block:
-
Focused conversations and programming around women entrepreneurs, business ownership, financial readiness, growth, and opportunity.
Real Estate & Ownership:
-
Practical education about commercial real estate, development, property ownership, investment concepts, and the decisions shaping neighborhoods.
Custom Owning the Block Programs:
-
Programs shaped around the objectives and communities served by participating organizations.
-
Additional formats addressing housing stability, workforce opportunity, and reentry may be developed as suitable partners and resources are identified.
Bring Owning The Block To Your Community, Organization, or Institution
-
Schedule A Conversation
-
Request A Workshop
-
Explore Sponsorship Opportunities
InvestorFy LLC is proud to collaborate with organizations that are committed to community development, inclusive economic participation, anti-displacement strategies, and long-term neighborhood sustainability. While Owning The Block operates as an independent education and readiness platform, we believe meaningful development requires stronger alignment between communities, institutions, capital, and local stakeholders. Through relationships across real estate, economic development, innovation ecosystems, and community ownership conversations, InvestorFy supports efforts that help communities better understand, participate in, and prepare for long-term growth and investment.