At Raleigh Founded, we celebrate a Member of the Month for their outstanding dedication to our core values. These members are not only successful entrepreneurs and business leaders but are recognized for their positivity, kindness, and the meaningful ways they uplift our community. They go above and beyond, offering support to fellow members and contributing to the collaborative spirit that defines Raleigh Founded.

In this series, we’re excited to chat with each of our Members of the Month to hear what they love most about Founded and what makes this community so special to them!

We had the pleasure of speaking with Brittaney Robinson-Whitenhill, founder of Our Backyard, LLC, and nature enthusiast about her work and contributions to our community here at Raleigh Founded.

Which core value resonates with you the most?

The core value that resonates with Brittaney most is Leaving the World Better than You Found It because it encompasses all of Founded’s values. “We all start from a place of ‘let’s always think about doing better in who we are and what we say, in our interactions, in our relationships with people as well as Earth.” This value establishes a great foundation for how we desire to show up in the world.

Brittaney also enjoys the relationships in our community and how we cultivate them – “how we are giving opportunities to folks who may not have always come together to be able to do so.”

What is a win you are proud of this year?

A win Brittaney is proud of is installing Raleigh Founded’s first edible garden, and she hopes there will be more to come at the different locations. Brittaney has noticed the “fruits of this offering” in seeing “folks going out on their work breaks to [grab] a little cherry tomato to pop as a snack.” She has even seen “some people taking a pinch of herbal medicines, like lemon balm, from the herb garden to rub and smell before they enter into a stressful meeting to calm them down.” Brittaney admires the benefits of the edible garden and the various ways it has brought the community together – “this garden has really developed a curiosity around health and wellness.”

What community causes or charities have you been involved in lately? This can be here at Founded or beyond!

Brittaney's work surrounds food justice and she is connected with various organizations within the food justice space. One particular cause she is working on is “[creating] more access to local healthy foods within food desert communities and disenfranchised communities.” Brittaney has worked with Capital Area Food Network and some of their community circles “to really help support their food action plan [while driving]  funds and resources into communities that need more support in food justice issues.” Brittaney has also worked with local and urban farmers, helping to “increase their access with direct-

to-consumer opportunities for them to sell their goods to communities.” 

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Name one thing about the Founded community that you appreciate!‍

One thing about the Founded community that Brittaney appreciates is that ideas are welcome and encouraged in the community. She has noticed that from both the Founded team and herself, the question “Hey, what do you think about doing this for the community?” is always welcome - even if the answering query is “Can we actually make this happen now? Should it happen later?”

She appreciates that Founded is always growing and that as a community, we’re happy to say “No, we don’t have it down to a science, but we’re always looking for ways to continue to make things better such as culture.” 

Who would you nominate next for Member of the Month?

Brittaney nominates Jess Porta as a future Member of the Month for her hard work in organizing Raleigh Founded’s x Green Places supply drive, where Founded members and the Raleigh community at large donated large amounts of supplies to Western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene. Brittaney sees these efforts as a “full circle back to the value of leaving the world better than we found it.” 

She added “Community goes beyond the walls of Raleigh Founded’s coworking spaces. We’re really thinking about how to make an impact in our greater communities for neighbors [...] we haven’t even met. We’re saying ‘You know what, that matters to us and we’re going to do something about it!’ Jess has been great in leading that charge.”