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Support Forward Creative Commons

After raising more than $4.6 million, Forward Creative Commons, the future home of FiftyForward Bordeaux Senior Center and Creative Girls Rock® is now less than $2 million away from its fundraising goal. Formerly known as the Bordeaux Collaborative, the 9,000-square-foot facility will be an intergenerational hub where older adults and youth will connect, learn, and thrive. 

Designed by Moody Nolan Architects and being built by Solomon Builders, construction broke ground in early 2025, with doors set to open in January 2026. We need your support to raise the remaining funds to ensure the center opens fully ready to serve the community. 

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Why It Matters

Older adults and youth in North Nashville are two of the most underinvested communities in our city. Both face isolation, limited access to supportive resources, and fewer safe spaces to gather.

Forward Creative Commons
changes the narrative by offering

  • Intergenerational Programming – Older adults and youth can build meaningful relationships through arts, technology, mentorship, and creative projects. 
  • Creative Exploration – A technology-forward classroom for visual arts, computer classes, and hands-on learning, and a demo kitchen for youth cooking classes and serving congregant meals. 
  • Fitness & Wellness – A dedicated fitness room designed to promote movement, strength, and confidence in older adults, while providing healthy activity outlets for youth. 
  • Community Gathering Space – Meeting rooms and flexible spaces available for neighborhood events, workshops, celebrations, and partnerships with local organizations.

This is more than a building. It’s a $7 million investment in the North Nashville community. 

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The idea for Forward Creative Commons first emerged when in 2019 a dozen nonprofit organizations took part in conversations around needs and gaps in services in the Bordeaux community. Over the next two years, monthly discussions and facilitated meetings helped agencies learn more about each other, partnership challenges, barriers to collaboration, and opportunities for real growth for the community. From those initial conversations grew ideas of a community hub and collaboration space. In 2022, Creative Girls Rock® and FiftyForward Bordeaux Senior Center agreed to move forward toward something new.

  • Creative Girls Rock

Bordeaux Collaborative News

BRAND WISE COLLECTIVE

Fifty Forward Meets Creative Girls Rock®

Sallie Hussey, CEO of Fifty Forward, and Charmin Bates, founder and CEO of Creative Girls Rock®, talk about the collaboration of their two non-profits to create a new resource hub–the Bordeaux collaborative in North Nashville’s Bordeaux community. Fifty Forward is the leading resource for adults 50+ in Middle Tennessee, and Creative Girls Rock has a mission to educate and empower young girls and women to utilize their creative talents to enhance their lives and the world around them.

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Creative Girls Rock

At Creative Girls Rock® (CGR), we believe in the transformative power of creativity for young girls and women. We’ve been on a mission to empower them to unleash their creative potential, enhancing not just their lives but also the world around us. Now we’re reaching out to you to ask for your support in our next big venture – the Bordeaux Collaborative Launch.

The journey to this point has been one of collaboration and community building. In 2019, we joined forces with other nonprofits in Bordeaux, engaging in conversations about the needs and gaps in services. Fast forward to 2022, and Creative Girls Rock, along with FiftyForward Bordeaux Senior Center, decided to turn those conversations into action.

Now we’re embarking on an exciting new chapter – a 9,000-square-foot facility designed by the visionary Moody Nolan Architects. This space will not only house Creative Girls Rock and FiftyForward but also serve as a flexible hub for community organizations. It’s a place where essential programs and services become readily available and accessible to seniors, young girls, families and vulnerable populations. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support to make this vision a reality. The Bordeaux Collaborative is scheduled to break ground in the spring of 2024, with an estimated project cost of $6 million. Your contribution, whether big or small, can make a significant difference.

City Current

Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Sallie Hussey, CEO of FiftyForward, and Charmin Bates, Founder and CEO of Creative Girls Rock®, who highlight each of their nonprofit organizations and the story behind the Bordeaux Collaborative, a partnership with FiftyForward and Creative Girls Rock to build a new $6 million center designed to connect community members to resources, programming and shared community space. The idea to create the Bordeaux Collaborative was formed in 2019 through a community needs assessment conducted by FiftyForward and multiple nonprofits in the city.

During the interview, Sallie touches on FiftyForward’s mission and efforts to support, champion and enhance life for those 50 and over as a leading resource for those who seek to live longer and more fulfilling lives. Charmin highlights Creative Girls Rock, which educates and empowers young girls and women to utilize their creative talents to enhance their lives and the world around them. Both then discuss the vision for the Bordeaux Collaborative, talk about the multi-purpose facility, provide an update on the public fundraising campaign, and how the community can get involved.

News Channel 5+

(WTVF) — Two Nashville organizations, one dedicated to helping senior citizens and another one dedicated to empowering and educating young girls and women, have united to make a difference in the Bordeaux Community.

On this episode of The Plus Side of Nashville, host Tuwanda Coleman is joined by Sally Hussey, the CEO of Fifty Forward and Charmin Bates, Founder and Executive Director of Creative Girls Rock to tell us more about the Bordeaux Collaborative and how you can help.