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TBLMF: 10/16/2020 Individual Mutual Aid Update

Fred

To keep our community informed, here is another update on the Transformative Black Led Movement Fund Mutual Aid progress so far.

These are the latest numbers, as of today. In the future, we’ll keep sharing this information, and hope to share more information around geography, demographics, and more.

We know our community urgently needs this money, and we are working as hard as we can to get it out on a timely basis. We also want to acknowledge that though we are trying our best to get money out, we have also encountered a lot of barriers and setbacks. And we know every one of these slow downs impacts people who are trying to pay rent, bills, access healthcare, provide for their families, and more.

We’re building new processes and infrastructure to help us handle a huge volume of grant requests. We’re struggling to work with financial institutions (like banks and PayPal) who make it hard to get money into the hands of those who need it most. We are trying our best to make the mutual aid process fair to everyone, while not adding unnecessary barriers, especially for undocumented folks. We appreciate your patience as we navigate this new landscape of mass-mutual aid.

They are advocates, facilitators, program officers, executive directors, and pastors. They come from nonprofits, work in government, and are graduate students. They are dynamic, innovative, and entrepreneurial. Above all, they want a seat at the table and like other years, they will push for racially equitable policies at local, regional, and state levels. From Woodbury to Hopkins, from St. Paul to Brooklyn Center, they represent a wide swath of geography and demographics, talent, and life experiences. “They” are our amazing 8th cohort of Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute (BCLI) fellows in the Twin Cities and Nexus is pleased to announce the 2020-2021 cohort today.

For more than 15 years, Nexus Community Partners has been dedicated to building more engaged and powerful communities of color. Through the work of BCLI, Nexus has continued to build sustainable and replicable models for community engagement and community orientated leadership development that strengthens communities.

The BCLI is a seven-month leadership program that identifies, trains, and supports placement of dynamic leaders of color and underrepresented communities onto publicly appointed boards and commissions in the Twin Cities. It is adapted from a model created by Urban Habitat in Oakland, California. BCLI fellows help advance a racial and economic equity agenda across several sectors and issue areas. For the first time, two of our Nexus colleagues will be joining the cohort! The cohort kicks off the week of October 5th.

The eighth BCLI cohort members are:

  • Alexandra Siclait, nominated by BCLI alumni
  • Angela Cuellar, nominated by BCLI alumni
  • Angela Williams, nominated by BCLI alumni
  • Carl Johnson, nominated by State Representative Jay Xiong
  • Clara Jung, nominated by BCLI alumni
  • D’Andre Gordon, nominated by BCLI alumni
  • Jewelean Jackson, nominated by BCLI alumni
  • Jose Huape, nominated by BCLI alumni
  • Mala Thao, nominated by The St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation
  • Nkuli Shongwe, staff, Nexus Community Partners
  • Octavia Smith, staff, Nexus Community Partners
  • Samantha Sencer-Mura, nominated by New Leaders Council – Twin Cities
  • Shawn Sorrell, nominated by the City of Woodbury
  • Stephanie Lewis, nominated by Social Impact Strategies
  • Steven Nelson, nominated by Ramsey County Department of Human Services
  • Tsua Xiong, nominated by BCLI alumni

The BCLI continues to build momentum within local governing bodies by creating opportunities for community members to become active decision makers. The incoming BCLI fellows join a network of 84 alumni, 44 of which have been successfully appointed on a board or commission or hold a high-level policy position, and all of whom are building and pushing racial, social and economic equity in the community. Alumni of the Twin Cities program include Congresswoman Ilhan Omar; MN House Representative Hodan Hassan; Metropolitan Council Representative for the 8th District Abdirahman Muse; Bush Fellows Roxxanne O’Brien and Carmeann Foster; Lower Phalen Creek executive director Maggie Lorenz; Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Minneapolis Ron Harris; Legislative Aide to St. Paul City Council President Amy Brendmoen HwaJeong Kim; and local entrepreneur and former Metropolitan Council Transportation Advisory Board member Jamez Staples. Biographies of each fellow can be found here.

For more information about the BCLI, the launch or ways to become involved, please contact the program director, Ms. Terri Thao at tthao@nexuscp.org or program manager Mr. Chai Lee at clee@nexuscp.org.

TRANSFORMATIVE BLACK LED-MOVEMENT FUND ANNOUNCEMENT

We have had an incredible response to the Transformative Black Led Mutual Aid Fund (TBLMF). Since August 10th, requests for Mutual Aid alone have totaled over 1.5 million dollars from 700 applications (from both organizations and individuals).

Because of this response we will be putting the mutual aid fund on hold to be able to adequately assess and more promptly respond to these needs. We will send out another communication once it has re-opened. We understand that this response indicates the great amount of need in our Black communities and are working hard to be able to distribute these funds as quickly and thoughtfully as possible during these difficult days. We appreciate your patience, reminders, and all of the following up.

We will honor and review requests received through 10/2.

Applications for Organizing for a New Future, Transformative and Healing Justice, and Economic and Cultural Justice will re-open on October 12th.

Please feel free to reach out to the TBLMF team with any questions or concerns that you may have at tblmf@nexuscp.org. We try our best to respond to all emails within one week.

In cooperation,
The Transformative Black-Led Movement Fund team

Nexus is happy to be partnering with the Black Visions Collective on this rapid response fund. The goal of the Transformative Black Led Movement Fund (TBMF) is to transparently and efficiently resource Black-led and Black individuals in the Twin Cities. Funds will go to support those responding to the political and cultural opportunity to defund police and begin the transition process toward developing and implementing a shared vision of community led safety. Funds will also go to provide direct mutual and legal aid. 

Through this interim fund, we will redistribute $3.1 million from funds raised by Black Visions and Reclaim the Block during the uprising proceeding the murder of George Floyd by MPD. Nexus Community Partners is partnering with Black Visions Collective to administer the fund and to facilitate the process for supporting an interim fund committee advisory. This fund serves as a rapid response strategy as we work to develop a community led Black Movement Fund.  The fund application can be found here also, this is a link to the pdf version of the application for your reference, applications will still need to be submitted via online form, finally, the TBMF Frequently Asked Questions can be found here.

If you have questions about the application or the process please feel free to reach out to the TBLMF team at TBLMF@nexuscp.org.

In partnership with Public Allies Twin Cities, Nexus Community Partners is hiring for two dynamic 2020-2021 Public Allies positions:

Nexus Community Partners is a community-building intermediary whose mission is to build more engaged and powerful communities of color by supporting community-building initiatives and fostering social and human capital.

Public Allies Twin Cities is a social justice organization committed to changing the face and practice of leadership by recruiting and training talented young leaders, with a passion for social impact, to create meaningful change in our community. Our Allies are diverse, equity-centered, innovative problem solvers, dedicated to mobilizing community assets to develop solutions to local challenges. In partnership with nonprofit partners, we deliver our nationally recognized, values-driven, results-led apprenticeship to advance our mission to create a just and equitable society and the diverse leadership to sustain it.

Priority application deadline Wednesday, August 5th, final deadline Friday, August 14th. 

The full report to the CLLI Team at Nexus Community Partners is now available online. This report shares findings of a pre-initiative survey completed in February 2020. Findings reveal how CLLI learning community participants define and think about community leadership values, processes, strategies, and practices. Survey responses reported here were collected before the initiative’s first session, or Phase 1. The survey will be administered again after the initiative’s final session to see if responses have changed.

During the Community Leadership Learning July 9th webinar, Nora Hall, Ph.D, and Karen Gray (GrayHall LLP) highlighted results. This snapshot provides a starting point for understanding leadership with and in communities. The CLLI Learning Community meets monthly to explore collective leadership and the many ways communities’ cultural practices impact our authorship over our lives and futures. We want to co-create a shared narrative about what constitutes healthy and vibrant community leadership.

The Leadership Survey Report shares learning community participants’ insight about nuances in community leadership and engagement, including:

  • Preferred Community Leadership Approaches
  • Leadership and Community Engagement
  • Leadership in Communities Facing Systemic Inequities
  • Community Leadership and Social Determinants of Health
  • Additional Community Leadership Comments

Read the executive summary or full report.

Interested in participating in our learning community webinars? Click here to see our learning calendar and resources.

Survey findings from the Community Leadership Learning Initiative

 

The Community Leadership Learning Initiative (CLLI) goal is to deepen our collective understanding of community-driven leadership. We want to raise the visibility of community leadership to philanthropy and the broader ecosystem of leadership and community development.

CLLI welcomes people from across the country to share in regular virtual learning opportunities. Together, our learning community explores topics such as:

  • What does collective leadership look like when operating from a cultural context?
  • How does a community’s cultural practices impact their authorship of their lives and future?
  • What are the conditions and supports that allow natural community systems to flourish and evolve?

With our evaluation partners, CLLI is working to refine key findings about what constitutes healthy and vibrant community leadership. Join our next CLLI webinar to hear more about survey findings from the Community Leadership Learning Initiative. We are excited to share what we are learning. Session information and registration link for the webinar are below.

Event: Leadership WITH/IN Community

  • Thursday July 9th
  • 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. EST/ 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. CST
  • Sign up now!

This session gives participants opportunities to examine nuances in community leadership and engagement. Learn how community leaders define and think about community leadership values, processes, strategies, and practices based on a survey conducted in February 2020. Nora Hall, Ph.D., and Karen Gray (GrayHall LLP) will share this snapshot of how Community Leadership Learners perceived community leadership work. We will discuss preferred community leadership approaches, leadership in communities facing systemic inequities, and leadership and community engagement.

 

“We are fooling ourselves if we think the nation can recover and heal without reimagining and rebuilding the systems and institutions the virus has revealed to be inadequate and broken.”

—Angela Glover Blackwell and Michael MacAfee

COVID-19 is unprecedented. This virus has left no community, no sector, no class untouched, and yet, painfully and predictably, COVID-19 is playing out along the well-worn lines of oppression. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities are being hit the hardest in this pandemic, and there are not nearly enough resources going to support these communities.

Through the MN Disaster Relief Fund, Thrivent Foundation, and Mortenson Foundation, Nexus has been awarded $175,000 to support businesses struggling because of COVID-19. We have seen billions of dollars going to large corporations, and far fewer dollars to go support the economic anchors of BIPOC communities—small businesses and cooperatives.

It may go without saying, but we did not receive enough to fund every business and cooperative that needs it. We have chosen to strategically leverage our funding to support business that are falling through the cracks—established businesses that have BIPOC ownership or a majority BIPOC employees and are cornerstones of their community.

Specifically, Nexus COVID-19 relief grantees meet the following criteria:

  • Businesses with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) owners, or that employ a majority of BIPOC employees.
  • Located in our priority areas of East Side of St. Paul (primarily Dayton’s Bluff and Payne-Phalen), North Minneapolis, Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, and South Minneapolis.
  • Have less than 50 employees
  • Have been in operation for at least a year

Grants range up to $20,000 depending on the size of the business and are for general operating expenses. Businesses can use them at their discretion. UPDATE: At this point in time, we have distributed all of the funding.

We have compiled a list of recovery resources for business and, through the Nexus Business Legacy Program, we are offering free consultations for business owners to learn about transitioning to employee ownership.

In Solidarity,

The Nexus Team

 

At Nexus, we recognize the difficult choices many business owners face right now. We have expanded our business services and created our new Business Legacy Program, which implements a  3-pronged strategy to help keep local legacy businesses stabilized in our community.

  • Consulting on succession planning: helping businesses explore succession planning and restructuring options provided by employee-ownership.
  • Technical assistance for emergency funds: assisting in finding and applying for emergency loans and grants.
  • Grants for businesses: limited funding is available to clients that are exploring employee-ownership options.

Many local businesses are considering their liquidity, exit, and succession planning options. Selling all or part of a business to the employees is a viable option for owners looking to exit or revitalize their business and can be an opportunity to access new capital, gain tax benefits, motivate employees, and secure the legacy of the business. Owners can opt to stay with the business as a co-owner, or transition out at their own pace.

The Nexus Worker Ownership Initiative offers free consultations for business owners to learn about transitioning to employee ownership. Our full suite of services includes:

  • Learn about succession planning and restructuring via employee ownership models
  • Feasibility studies to assess a fair sales price and tax benefits for the seller
  • structuring the sale
  • Lining up financing with our CDFI and philanthropic partners
  • Training employees on governance (management structures often stay the same)

Find out if employee ownership is a fit for your business. For many business owners, it is the ideal way to receive fair market value, gain tax benefits, and to ensure that it will live on as an asset for your employees and your community.

Contact us for a free consultation. We keep all private information confidential, and never share with 3rd parties without written permission.

Hello folks! Today ​we are pleased to announce that we are opening up the application for ​cohort 8 of the Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute (BCLI)! ​The BCLI is a 7 month leadership program that trains and helps place Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities on publicly appointed boards and commissions in support of a racial and economic equity agenda. Now more than over we need BIPOC voices at many decision making and policy monitoring tables!

If you are an alumni and you know someone that would be a GREAT FIT for BCLI, please nominate them. Or, if you are an organization who has someone in their network would  be a good fit for the program, we welcome your nominations too – we’d love to have them participate.

If you are interested in learning more about BCLI because you’re not sure what it is, please join us May 21st at 6PM for an online information session ​where BCLI staff and alumni will join us to answer questions. Sign up on Eventbrite and RSVP with Chai Lee via email: clee@nexuscp.org to get a zoom link to the future info session on May 21, 2020!

A summary of different response and recovery resources for businesses during the COVID-19 crisis

In conversation with businesses and experts in the field, we have been gathering information on resources for small businesses and co-ops (emergency loans, grants, and etc). The situation is constantly changing and we are working to keep this document updated regularly. It also includes specific advice that can help co-ops navigate some of the application processes. You can access it here.

In addition to assisting with immediate economic impacts, The Nexus Worker Ownership Initiative is  still available to talk with businesses about succession planning and exit strategies. We specialize in working with owners and employees who are interested in exploring employee-owned business models. Please contact us if we can be of assistance.

We invite you to learn alongside grassroots community leaders, funders, leadership practioners and intermediary organizations as we explore the many ways we practice community leadership. Learning opportunities include virtual gatherings and in-person site visits.

In case you missed the Community Leadership Learning Initiative launch session last week, you can listen to the meeting recording here.

We welcome everyone interested in community leadership to register for our upcoming virtual gatherings:

Framing Leadership: Community Ownership & Authorship

  • Apr 20, 2020 01:00 – 2:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
  • Register for the April 20th meeting here.

Making Change: Discovering & Disrupting the Story of Us

  • Jun 3, 2020 09:30 AM Central Time (US and Canada)
  • Register for the June 3rd meeting here.

In addition to these virtual gatherings, we offer intentionally small-group settings for in-person, onsite learning co-hosted by community storytelling partners. Learners must apply and seats are limited. Early application is encouraged.

May 6, Boston MA—Unique Perspectives & Shared Power: Leadership as Solidarity

  • Integrating convivir to re-establish intergenerational and cross-cultural responsibility
  • Intentional code-switching to break silos and share power
  • Enhance skills for telling and interpreting messages across context/culture

June 24-25, Washington DC—Identity & Intersectionality: Leadership & Belonging*

  • Claiming LGBTQ identity and stories of belonging in multiple communities
  • Core practices of healing internalized oppression and resilience
  • Creating intentional community spaces to disrupt traumatic response behaviors

July 29, Buffalo NY—Recentering Culture: Celebrating & Shifting Norms

  • Combatting stereotypes that assume healthy, sustainable food is for affluent, white consumers
  • Highlighting core relationships between food, culture, environment and economy
  • Creating collective systems that reflect community values, history and experiences

Sept 24-25, Baton Rouge LA—Inverting Power Structures: Leadership as Movement

  • Creating fluid processes to collectively activate wisdom from those most impacted
  • Defying false boundaries between public and private, formal and informal
  • Leaning into a new leadership paradigm

*PLEASE NOTE: THE SITE VISIT DATE FOR WASHINGTON DC WAS CHANGED TO JUNE 24-25TH.

And don’t forget to save the date for our final Storyshare Convening, November 11-13th!

ABOUT THE COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP LEARNING INITIATIVE

Nexus Community Partners supports strong, equitable and just communities in which all residents are engaged, are recognized as leaders and have pathways to opportunities. With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we created the Community Leadership Learning Initiative to deepen our collective understanding of community-driven leadership, while raising the visibility and demonstrating the value of this powerful work to the field of philanthropy and the broader ecosystem of leadership and community development.

We will convene three virtual gatherings for stakeholders across the country who are interested in exploring community leadership practices. We also offer opportunities, co-hosted by grassroots community partners, to experience community leadership in context.

Through this learning journey, we hope to identify and co-create:

  • Shared narratives and a framework for supporting community-driven leadership, offering people in different sectors and cultural communities new ways to talk about community leadership
  • Tools to help people think and act differently in support of community-driven leadership
  • Opportunities for resources to flow to communities more effectively
  • Shifts in systems so that institutions are internally organized and operating with community leadership at the center
  • Shifts in practice so that people own their roles and act with agency to effect change as part of the community

BONUS GATHERING!

As a Leadership for Better Health initiative funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we will be hosting a virtual convening for funders to better understand our relationship and role in supporting community leadership. (Funders only, please.)

Community Leadership Learning Initiative – Funder Convening

Mar 26, 2020 01:30 – 3:00 PM Central Time

Register for this funder convening here.