We invite you to join our next Open Road Fund Community Care Call! The Care Calls are a series of three healing and learning sessions about African ancestry hosted by three Black mental health practitioners: Dr. Aja King, Dr. BraVada Garrett-Akinsanya, and Dr. Cedric Weatherspoon. As folks descended from African people who were enslaved, we
Nexus Community Partners’ Shared Ownership Center awards $420,000 to four Saint Paul worker-owned cooperatives SAINT PAUL, MN—Today, the Shared Ownership Center at Nexus announced its first four grants awarded to Storehouse Grocers and Coffee Co-op, Twin Cities Impact Cooperative, Terra Firma Building and Remodeling Cooperative, and The Improve Group. The LOCAL Fund: Worker Ownership is
Many thanks to Chanda Smith Baker for having us on her podcast, Conversations with Chanda! Nexus VP of Programs & Strategies Danielle Mkali, Open Road Fund Director Lavasha Smith, and Open Road Fund recipient Tari Sudduth joined Chanda to unpack the Open Road Fund and its $50,000 wealth-building gifts. Seeded by a $50M Bush Foundation grant,
Rooted in Legacy, Owning Our Future was the second event in our 20th anniversary series, highlighting how sharing bounty and abundance is everything—and together, we can create a brighter, more cooperative future. Thank you to everyone who took the time to join us on June 5! During the two-hour gathering, we shared the history of
On June 18, a group of Open Road Fund staff, advisory committee members, family and friends were invited to a Saint Paul City Council Meeting, where councilmembers passed a resolution honoring Juneteenth 2025 as an annual celebration of Black Liberation in the City of Saint Paul—with a special shoutout to Nexus Community Partners’ Open Road
Thank you to the HUB SD for hosting us in a Facebook Live informational session! The HUB’s executive director, Julian Beaudion, sat down with our Open Road Fund Director Lavasha Smith to discuss the Fund as we begin the 2025 application period. Watch the recording above! The HUB SD is a nonprofit BIPOC leadership
Since April, our Shared Ownership Center has been hosting business-planning webinars that break down the key components in running a successful business. From concept to plan, we’ve gone over structure, finances, and fundraising, with a focus on creating and transitioning to a worker-owner cooperative business. Thank you to everyone who’s been along for the journey!
Join us Wednesday, June 18, 3-4:30 pm CT to learn the Five C’s of Cooperative Credit, how to shop around for the right loan, and go over a sample loan application! Each session in our Business Planning Webinar Series builds upon the last and is aligned with the LOCAL Fund application. By the end of
Want to learn more about the Open Road Fund? Watch the recording of our June 4 information session or come to our next live webinar on June 25! We will talk about the Fund, the 2025 application process, and answer your questions. The 2025 Open Road Fund launches on Juneteenth (June 19)! RSVP: Info Session 2,
Our Open Road Fund team is going on tour! We’re traveling to community events in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota to celebrate Juneteenth and spread the word about the Open Road Fund 2025. Come meet us, ask questions, and learn about the application process! Twin Cities Black Business Network Fair – Thursday, June 12,
We were thrilled to see that Nexus board member Georgia Fort, BCLI alumni Carl Johnson and Elvis Rivera, and longtime Nexus partner Chanda Smith Baker are among this year’s Bush Fellows! They’re part of a group of 29 visionary leaders shaping communities in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and the 23 Native nations that share
Meet the 15 fellows in our inaugural ROOT Rhythmic Sabbatical Fellowship! Our fellows met and began their rest journey in New Orleans, where we spent time dreaming and authoring different narratives of what rest means to us. Starting our journey together at the end of the Mississippi River, the group got to learn from local