MVSU alum selected for national fellowship to help cultivate local economies

April 8, 2018

ITTA BENA, Miss.— Mississippi Valley State University alum Tim Lampkin (’08) has been named to the 2018 cohort of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) Local Economy Fellowship.

The Clarksdale, Miss. native joins 25 leaders recognized as representing some of the most innovative local economic and community development solutions in the U.S. and Canada.

The fellows have been noted for pushing the boundaries of economic change and championing locally-based, regenerative rural enterprise. They have been identified as visionaries, innovators, and strategic connectors who are supporting and strengthening thousands of rural communities and businesses across 16 states and three Canadian provinces.  

Lampkin joins the group as a nationally recognized social entrepreneur who utilizes his expertise to improve low-income communities through his Clarksdale-based non-profit, Higher Purpose Co.

"I have been working to improve the Mississippi Delta for over a decade. MVSU gave me a solid foundation and helped me to develop my ability to lead, collaborate, and implement meaningful projects with sometimes limited resources,” Lampkin said.

Lampkin said his latest achievement will help him to continue his mission to uplift others, particularly in the Mississippi Delta.

“The BALLE fellowship provides an opportunity for me to expand the impact of my non-profit, Higher Purpose Co., which is focused on building community wealth across our region,” he said. I'm ready to connect and learn from the other amazing fellows from around the USA and Canada.”

Lampkin earned a B. S. degree in Business Administration from MVSU, an MBA from Delta State University, and an M.S. in Organizational Performance from Bellevue University. He completed executive education at Harvard Kennedy School of Government and is currently finishing his Doctorate of Education at the University of Arkansas.

Lampkin is the CEO of Higher Purpose Co., a non-profit social impact agency dedicated to building community wealth in the Northwest Region of the Mississippi Delta by focusing on small business development, strategic real estate investing, and social enterprise initiatives.

Based in Oakland, Calif., BALLE was founded in 2001 and represents thousands of communities and conveners, entrepreneurs, investors and funders who are defying business as usual. Its mission is to create local economies that work for all.