Metropolitan Council Chair Susan Haigh, in her annual State of the Region address, challenged the Council and all its partners in the Twin Cities metro area to address the significant disparities in school achievement, employment and poverty between the region’s people of color and its white population. read more
Nexus is proud to acknowledge and commend the work of our former intern, Ashley James, on her excellent work in the Alameda County Assets Network in Oakland, California!
After graduating from the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, Ashley completed her internship with Nexus Community Partners and the Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities in the summer of 2013, and moved to Oakland, CA, to lead the below initiative with the California Asset Building Coalition. Congratulations, Ashley, on all your hard work! We look forward to hearing many more good things in your future!
Alameda County Assets Network Releases Consumer Education Tool
The Alameda County Community Asset Network (AC CAN), a countywide asset-building coalition in the San Francisco Bay Area, just released a new toolkit that is a financial education curriculum with a community consciousness. The toolkit uses popular education to develop critical thinking skills regarding the long-term cost and community impact of predatory financial products and services. Toolkit participants become more informed consumers, keeping more money in their pockets and in local communities. It was recently awarded the 2013 Innovation Award from the California Asset Building Coalition, who found it this year’s most promising strategy to reduce poverty.
Click here to explore the Toolkit.
By Neeraj Mehta and Nelima Sitati
For some, the dominant storyline in the Twin Cities is that we are a vibrant and healthy place. We frequently make “top 10” lists of places to live because of our numerous social and economic assets. We are highly educated, mostly healthy and home to dozens of Fortune 100 and 500 companies. But for all the Twin Cities successes, one can point to real problems as well. The region benefits from numerous assets, but it continues to be unable to translate these benefits to everyone, specifically to communities of color. This truth is becoming more widely known and accepted in the Twin Cities, as report after report shines light on the numerous racial disparities in our region. Read more here.
The Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute (BCLI) fellows began training in October, and are well on their way to becoming placed on city boards and commissions in the Twin Cities (four are already seated). The fellows will work to ensure that the rights of people of color and underrepresented communities are honored through policies made at the local level. As LeMoine LaPointe said, the fellows will not be changing this region alone, and we recognize that the BCLI is only one strategy being implemented in the racial equity movement in the Twin Cities.
As part of the BCLI Thursday Night Issue Series, Nexus partners with local organizations and leaders to highlight other strategies and initiatives in the local equity movement. This month we are highlighting the use of cooperatives in building wealth in communities of color in the Twin Cities.
Join us this Thursday to hear how these four leaders of color are using the cooperative business model as a strategy to advance equity in our communities:
- Pakou Hang (Hmong American Farmers Association)
- Nieeta Presley (Aurora St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation)
- LaDonna Redmond (Seward Co-op)
- Jaime Villalaz (Latino Economic Development Center)
We hope to see you this Thursday to explore this one strategy of community wealth building, and look forward to learning together as we move forward!
All Thursday Night Issue Series are free and open to the public. This event is being held this Thursday, December 5, 2013, from 5:30-8pm at Hope Community Inc – RSVP here.
For more information about the event or the BCLI, contact the program associate, Ms. Angie Brown, at abrown@nexuscp.org, or the program director, Ms. Terri Thao, at tthao@nexuscp.org.
Nexus Community Partners, and the Community Engagement Team (CET) of the Corridors of Opportunity are pleased to announce the availability of a 3rd round of CET funding. Attached please find the guidelines and application for the Capacity grants. Applications are due on Friday, November 29th at 4:00 PM. We will be hosting an informational session at Nexus Community Partners, 2314 University Ave, St. Paul, MN 55114 on Wednesday, October 30th from 9:30-10:30 am.
Please note that only those organizations that have NOT received CET funding in the past are eligible to apply for the capacity building grants. Also, please be aware that there is a limited amount of funding available. The maximum grant amount is $10,000 and there will be approximately 5-7 grants awarded.
Round 3 Capacity Grant Application Final round 3 Capacity Grant Application Guidelines FINAL
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Nexus Community Partners present the Community Engagement Forum.
Community engagement is a foundational component for all community development and community building work. Come to an interactive forum with funders, government officials, community residents, and community organizations to share your experience and learn together about the value of community engagement.
Thursday, October 3, 2013, 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM
