The LOCAL Fund is a collaboration between Nexus Community Partners and the City of Saint Paul to build community wealth, anchor jobs locally, grow the local economy and tax base, and center a cooperative ownership culture that uplifts St. Paul residents for generations to come. What exactly is shared ownership, and why is it so
In April, the Shared Ownership Center @ Nexus hosted our second Real Estate Cooperative Convening! What’s a real estate investment co-op, you ask? Real estate has long been used as a tool to extract wealth from neighborhoods. These types of cooperatives, nicknamed REICos, flip the script and share the benefits of ownership locally. Over lunch,
Congratulations to North Star Cohort 8! Our latest fellows represent 10 cooperatives, with missions focused on housing, community wealth building, solidarity and connection, life skills, empowerment, art, healing, and mental health. Come wish them well at our virtual graduation Wednesday, May 7! Meet Our Guest Speaker LaDonna Sanders Redmond is a Qualified Administrator of the
Make your co-op dream a reality with the Shared Ownership Center @ Nexus! The second session in our spring webinar series takes place Thursday, April 24, 3-4:30 pm CT on Zoom. We’ll cover how to assemble your dream team, start planning your bylaws, and accessing an attorney and technical assistance. Each webinar builds upon the
After many months of dreaming, our first Heal the Healers Convening took place Feb. 27 – March 1 in Saint Paul’s Wellstone Center. The three-day gathering, hosted by our ROOT program, provided a reprieve from the heavy mantle of responsibility we feel as community changemakers—offering nearly 140 BIPOC movement leaders a much-needed space to slow
Our April workshop explores pursuing and financing higher education through a university or college. Jered Pigeon, Campus Diversity Officer and Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Minnesota State University – Moorhead, will also discuss some of the challenges and pressures of achieving an accredited education. Fill out the form below to register! Jered Pigeon is
On a sunny spring morning, we gathered with Nexus friends old and new to celebrate the power of our Boards & Commissions Leadership Institute (BCLI), kicking off the first in a series of online learning events for our 20th anniversary. When we established the Boards & Commissions Leadership Institute 12 years ago, there was nothing
Join us in giving a warm welcome to our 2025 BCLI Cohort! For the next seven months, these 11 changemakers will be equipped to serve on city, county, metro, and state boards and commissions, walking alongside one another in power-building and leadership. Together, they are working to advance equity across economic development, health, housing, transit,
Join our North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship for a Black Study Session on April 30! The session will hold space for participants to experience self-care and community care, with guest speakers guiding participants in different practices. Meet Our Facilitators Alanna Morris Alanna Morris is a dancer-choreographer, educator, and artist organizer. After a 10-year career with
Building Black wealth allows us to forge paths toward liberation on our terms. It’s the key to rebuilding our communities and reclaiming our right to self-determination. When we have access to an abundance of resources, we can foster collective healing, safety, care, and mutual aid. Since 2023, the Open Road Fund has been helping create
Our Shared Ownership Center is hosting a free business planning webinar series for cooperatives this April through June! Sessions will take place (almost) every other Thursday, 3-4:30 pm CT, on Zoom. Each webinar builds upon the last and is aligned with the LOCAL Fund application. By the end of the series, if the LOCAL Fund
Our March Open Road Fund Community Education Session will focus on single-family homeownership. Jeff Wills, Economic Services Manager and Housing Counselor of Model Cities Inc., will offer resources and information to help first-time homebuyers on their journey to buying and maintaining a home. Fill out the form below to register! Jeff Wills, a native of