The document discusses efforts to build assets and wealth among Native American communities in urban areas. It describes partnerships in Minneapolis that have established an American Indian Cultural Corridor featuring Native-owned businesses. Other organizations discussed include the Native American Community Development Institute, Little Earth of United Tribes, and the Native American Youth and Family Center, all of which take holistic approaches such as job training and homeownership programs to build personal and community assets.
BDPA Atlanta Chapter president Felicia Jones issued this message entitled, 'Year of Atlanta; Making History' to her chapter stakeholders in October 2012.
Investments in Rural America: Impact Investors and Rural Readiness ruralxchange
A webinar from NARP
Speakers:
Amy Domini (Domini Social Investments), David R. Dangler (National Alliance for Rural Policy Network)
This webinar discusses how impact investors view investments, innovative and supportive investments, and community development banks and funds.
BDPA Atlanta Chapter president Felicia Jones issued this message entitled, 'Year of Atlanta; Making History' to her chapter stakeholders in October 2012.
Investments in Rural America: Impact Investors and Rural Readiness ruralxchange
A webinar from NARP
Speakers:
Amy Domini (Domini Social Investments), David R. Dangler (National Alliance for Rural Policy Network)
This webinar discusses how impact investors view investments, innovative and supportive investments, and community development banks and funds.
Building Coalitions Anywhere: We Did It and You Can Too!Lisa Geason-Bauer
Presentation by Lisa Geason-Bauer (WOW Workforce Development Board/Evolution Marketing) and Kathy Kuntz (Cool Choices) at the 12th annual Growing Sustainable Communities Conference (Oct 3rd, 2018).
Abstract:
To meet ambitious sustainability goals, leaders need to engage everyone — which means creating a value proposition that resonates across the whole community, regardless of partisan politics. In this session presenters will share a case study from Waukesha County, Wis., where advocates leveraged workforce concerns to engage business leaders in a program promoting environmentally sustainable practices. USA Today called Waukesha County the reddest county in the U.S. and yet more than 30 businesses recruited almost 600 people to be part of a sustainability initiative. Participants included climate skeptics who were, nevertheless, willing to adopt sustainable practices. Learn how organizers leveraged local concerns about workforce shortages to facilitate businesses engaging their employees on sustainability.
Building Coalitions Anywhere: We Did It and You Can Too!Lisa Geason-Bauer
Presentation by Lisa Geason-Bauer (WOW Workforce Development Board/Evolution Marketing) and Kathy Kuntz (Cool Choices) at the 12th annual Growing Sustainable Communities Conference (Oct 3rd, 2018).
Abstract:
To meet ambitious sustainability goals, leaders need to engage everyone — which means creating a value proposition that resonates across the whole community, regardless of partisan politics. In this session presenters will share a case study from Waukesha County, Wis., where advocates leveraged workforce concerns to engage business leaders in a program promoting environmentally sustainable practices. USA Today called Waukesha County the reddest county in the U.S. and yet more than 30 businesses recruited almost 600 people to be part of a sustainability initiative. Participants included climate skeptics who were, nevertheless, willing to adopt sustainable practices. Learn how organizers leveraged local concerns about workforce shortages to facilitate businesses engaging their employees on sustainability.
This is the second session in the Community Matters webinar series. It features experts from the Casey and Calvert foundation discussing innovative ways organizations and individuals can invest in the transformation of a community.
America needs more innovators, entrepreneurs and job creators to bolster the nation's economic competitiveness. ScaleUp America sees a multicultural society filled with talented innovators contributing to a knowledge-based, tech-driven, globally competitive innovation economy.
ScaleUp America's Inclusive Competitiveness Summit series will introduce a new economic narrative across the national landscape that combines economic inclusion and economic competitiveness into a 21st century national bipartisan vision of Inclusive Competitiveness. We seek to catalyze conversation around this national economic imperative and help target regions develop inclusive economic frameworks through collaboration of willing local and national stakeholders interested in channeling resources to the local level to scale up what's working and shore up holes in the infrastructure by connecting disconnected communities to their local innovation ecosystems.
Our formula for engaging America is through a series of public Town Hall events followed by a next-day gathering of stakeholders in the local innovation ecosystem.
We know it's nobody's job in each region to catalyze collaboration across the stakeholder communities and develop new inclusive economic frameworks that benefit all of the region collectively. ScaleUp America has made a commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative to take on the responsibility of assisting willing regions to incorporate more of their diverse communities into the pipeline-to-productivity framework to increase job growth, wealth creation and overall economic competitiveness of the region utilizing all of the region's talent.
The Inclusive Competitiveness Summit Series is the first step in this long process.
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By: Kevin F. Walker (/content/kevin-f-walker)
MY GIVING STORY (/TOPIC/MY-GIVING-STORY)PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS (/TOPIC/PARTNERSHIPS-AND-COLLABORATIONS)TAGS:
On one of the most storied streets in urban Native America, you can see a dynamic future taking shape. Colorful banners along Franklin
Avenue in Minneapolis proclaim the only Native American urban business district in the country. Established in 2010, the American Indian
Cultural Corridor features five Native-owned businesses, including a tribally owned bank. The Corridor, reminiscent of New York’s Little
Italy or San Francisco’s Chinatown, spans a half mile of a previously crime-ridden, poverty-stricken neighborhood. Culturally relevant
concepts and programs, rooted in the community, are making it possible for residents to build their assets by opening businesses, developing
job skills, and owning a home.
The Native American Community Development Institute (http://www.nacdi.org/default/index.cfm) (NACDI) is galvanizing partnerships to
drive this change. The catalyst is the American Indian Community Blueprint, a vision framework for business and community development
along the Cultural Corridor. Our Foundation and several other funders have supported this work, but the critical factor has been the people
of the Franklin Avenue neighborhood themselves.
Andy Hestness, interim president of NACDI, describes the work of the partnership: “The community articulated a vision of what was
possible and came up with a plan to build a successful Native retail center near the city’s light-rail system. NACDI has since designed a
website, created a map, completed street beautification and promoted the district as a unique cultural destination for retail.”
It’s been a multi-sector approach including Native American community development organizations, nonprofits, neighborhood groups,
philanthropy, and city and county leaders. The result has been a mix of Native, non-Native, local, and national retailers, all bringing new jobs.
The partnership is planning to expand small business opportunities by creating a pedestrian mall and Cultural Corridor gateway near the
light-rail station that will feature food carts and retail tents. The idea is to lower barriers to entrepreneurship.
“It’s easier to start someone out in a tent and then build the business to the point where it could sustain a brick and mortar building with a
lease,” Andy Hestness says.
Such asset and wealth building work is being re-established within the Native American community, returning to a tradition of self-
sufficiency and innovation. Little Earth of United Tribes (http://www.littleearth.org/mura/default/index.cfm), a Native-preference public
housing complex also in Minneapolis, recently introduced a homeownership program anchored within the cultural value of caring for family
needs. Little Earth is developing a public-private partnership with the City of Minneapolis to acquire land and build and rehab homes while
working to prequalify prospective buyers.
Bill Ziegler, president and CEO of Little Earth, says, “Native people are used to the concept of community ownership. We showed them they
could own a home and build individual wealth without turning their backs on the community.”
BUILDING ASSETS & WEALTH
AMONG NATIVE AMERICANS:
PART TWO, OPPORTUNITIES
IN URBAN AREAS
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2. Native American Youth and Family Center (http://www.nayapdx.org/) (NAYA) in Portland, Ore., also found more interest in its
homeownership program when it starting talking about it in terms of the cultural value of stability. Since then, Matthew Morton, executive
director of NAYA, says the program has really taken off: “We explained they could have a place to congregate and open up to other family
members. We’ve had 115 people purchase homes in the past few years during one of the most challenging times for homebuyers. We have
not had one foreclosure.”
Both NAYA and Little Earth take a holistic approach to preparing community members for building personal assets. Both organizations
encourage expanded job skills, financial management, and education as a pathway to homeownership and family self-sufficiency. Little Earth
offers a college preparation program that has grown substantially in just the past year, as well as apprentice-style job training in which
people develop skills through volunteer work.
“By volunteering, they can learn which careers interest them. We’ve had a number of success stories in which our volunteers have either
gone on to paid positions or to college to further their skills,” Ziegler tells us.
We at Northwest Area Foundation welcome the chance to support these organizations in their cutting-edge work to overcome poverty and
foster lasting prosperity. Their community-centered approaches hold great promise, and we are honored to participate in their journey.
Kevin Walker is president and CEO of the Northwest Area Foundation. This blog originally appeared on The Ladder
(http://assets.newamerica.net/blogposts/2012/building_assets_wealth_among_native_americans_part_one_opportunities_in_indian_countr)
A Blog from New America’s Asset Building Program.
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