Memria is a social enterprise based on a technological platform that helps organizations amplify voices of the communities they represent by enabling them to collect, curate, analyze, organize, and share narrative accounts. In addition to serving non-profit clients, they market their services to companies seeking feedback from their customer base. It seeks equity investment without ceding control over too much of its equity, and it accepts projects with high profit to cross-subsidize less lucrative projects.  

Theory of Change

Adding audio narratives to a social justice movement makes it more impactful and emotionally powerful to the audience, thus increasing the effectiveness of the movement overall.

Activities

Using the Memria platform, client organizations collect, curate, and distribute “stories” — autobiographical accounts narrated in the first person and recorded in audio formats — to achieve social justice goals. These audio narratives are often counter-hegemonic, making audible the stories of people whose voices otherwise go unheard. Further, Memria focuses on how storytelling can improve the philanthropic sector at large. Memria's commercial model emphasizes improving the relationship between businesses and customers. For example, one company solicited Memria’s services to help facilitate “listening tours” of the communities they serve, to better understand its clients. The company pays Memria to hear and collect stories from Latino men in Los Angeles who are HIV-positive. In addition, Memria has worked in supply chain transparency and Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (DEAI) with companies and human resource departments interested in better understanding working conditions in their supply chains in order to improve workplace culture.  

Results

Social movements are able to surface emotionally powerful stories, and companies are able to tap into insights, that they each may otherwise miss.