The document discusses a leadership education program called the West Central Leadership Academy (WCLA) in rural west central Minnesota. It summarizes that 22 people graduated from the program in 2011. The program was a partnership between 7 human service organizations and was designed to provide leadership education to their low-income clients. The program aimed to help participants grow their leadership skills and become resources for leadership in their communities. Evaluations found the program showed promise and benefited participants through increased confidence and skills.
Recentering Democracy Around Citizens Multimedia ReportMatt Leighninger
How might we redesign local democracy around the day-to-day goals and concerns of citizens? A set of leaders in civic engagement, including representatives of national associations that represent local officials, school systems, funders, and other leaders, met in early 2010 to compare notes on their work in communities and discuss possibilities for innovation. This report describes their discussion and recommendations.
This document provides an overview of Public Allies Delaware, a leadership development program for young adults. It discusses the history and founding of Public Allies Delaware in 1994, with the goal of empowering young people through community service apprenticeships and training. The program places participants ("Allies") in nonprofit organizations for 10 months of service, training, and completing a team project. It aims to develop leadership skills and a lifelong commitment to public service. After 20 years, Public Allies Delaware continues advancing new leadership and building a more just society through its diverse cohort of Allies.
This document summarizes an emerging trend of community foundations adopting an "anchor mission" to leverage all of their resources, including financial, human, intellectual, and political assets, to build wealth in their local communities. It provides examples of 30 community foundations taking steps like impact investing and economic development to strengthen local economies. The document suggests community foundations are well-positioned as place-based institutions to serve as anchors in their communities and can deploy their over $65 billion in endowments and $5 billion in annual grants to address issues like lack of good jobs and wealth inequality. It highlights foundations in various locations that are innovating in this area through small programs or more advanced approaches.
In this paper we deal with the relationship between external donors and village organizations (VOs) in Western Sub-Saharan Africa. We utilize a large dataset of village organizations in rural areas of Senegal and Burkina Faso. We argue that the kind of relationship established with northern donors may have effects on the governance mechanisms of the village organization. We investigate to what extent differences in the foundation of the VO and of the partnership with the external donor can partially explain outcomes and membership structures of the VO itself. Our results go in the direction of possible diverging effects of a donor intervention in the village organization, according to the degree of proactivity and initiative that the VO
displays.
Authors: Cecilia Navarra, University of Namur, CRED, Rempart de la Vierge, 8, 5000 Namur, Belgium. Elena Vallino, University of Torino, Department of Economics and Statistics, Lungo Dora Siena 100/A, 10153 Torino, Italy.
NGO Sustainability and Community Development Mechanisms in Armenia.Isabella Sargsyan
The document summarizes research on sustainability mechanisms for NGOs and community development in Armenia. It evaluates programs run by the Eurasia Partnership Foundation aimed at strengthening organizational capacities of NGOs and community organizations. The research found that while some NGOs had improved governance and strategic planning, most lacked sustainable funding sources beyond grants. NGOs recognized the need to improve financial sustainability through social enterprises, fundraising, and diversifying funding but faced challenges with skills and supportive legislation. Leadership quality significantly impacted sustainability, but skills were not consistently institutionalized. Overall, capacity building was needed for NGOs to provide effective community services and develop partnerships critical for long-term sustainability.
Headquarters Counseling Center (HQCC) is a nonprofit in Douglas County, Kansas that has offered counseling, education, and suicide prevention services since 1969. It operates a 24/7 suicide prevention hotline staffed by trained volunteers. HQCC also offers an online chat service for crisis counseling. The organization aims to improve emotional well-being and safety, especially for teens, young adults, and college students in the area. HQCC's services include phone and online counseling, and opportunities for community members to volunteer.
Keynote address given to University of South Florida on the occasion of World Health Day, addressing global urbanization and its impact on global health as well as participatory urban design and its contribution to healthy cities.
Recentering Democracy Around Citizens Multimedia ReportMatt Leighninger
How might we redesign local democracy around the day-to-day goals and concerns of citizens? A set of leaders in civic engagement, including representatives of national associations that represent local officials, school systems, funders, and other leaders, met in early 2010 to compare notes on their work in communities and discuss possibilities for innovation. This report describes their discussion and recommendations.
This document provides an overview of Public Allies Delaware, a leadership development program for young adults. It discusses the history and founding of Public Allies Delaware in 1994, with the goal of empowering young people through community service apprenticeships and training. The program places participants ("Allies") in nonprofit organizations for 10 months of service, training, and completing a team project. It aims to develop leadership skills and a lifelong commitment to public service. After 20 years, Public Allies Delaware continues advancing new leadership and building a more just society through its diverse cohort of Allies.
This document summarizes an emerging trend of community foundations adopting an "anchor mission" to leverage all of their resources, including financial, human, intellectual, and political assets, to build wealth in their local communities. It provides examples of 30 community foundations taking steps like impact investing and economic development to strengthen local economies. The document suggests community foundations are well-positioned as place-based institutions to serve as anchors in their communities and can deploy their over $65 billion in endowments and $5 billion in annual grants to address issues like lack of good jobs and wealth inequality. It highlights foundations in various locations that are innovating in this area through small programs or more advanced approaches.
In this paper we deal with the relationship between external donors and village organizations (VOs) in Western Sub-Saharan Africa. We utilize a large dataset of village organizations in rural areas of Senegal and Burkina Faso. We argue that the kind of relationship established with northern donors may have effects on the governance mechanisms of the village organization. We investigate to what extent differences in the foundation of the VO and of the partnership with the external donor can partially explain outcomes and membership structures of the VO itself. Our results go in the direction of possible diverging effects of a donor intervention in the village organization, according to the degree of proactivity and initiative that the VO
displays.
Authors: Cecilia Navarra, University of Namur, CRED, Rempart de la Vierge, 8, 5000 Namur, Belgium. Elena Vallino, University of Torino, Department of Economics and Statistics, Lungo Dora Siena 100/A, 10153 Torino, Italy.
NGO Sustainability and Community Development Mechanisms in Armenia.Isabella Sargsyan
The document summarizes research on sustainability mechanisms for NGOs and community development in Armenia. It evaluates programs run by the Eurasia Partnership Foundation aimed at strengthening organizational capacities of NGOs and community organizations. The research found that while some NGOs had improved governance and strategic planning, most lacked sustainable funding sources beyond grants. NGOs recognized the need to improve financial sustainability through social enterprises, fundraising, and diversifying funding but faced challenges with skills and supportive legislation. Leadership quality significantly impacted sustainability, but skills were not consistently institutionalized. Overall, capacity building was needed for NGOs to provide effective community services and develop partnerships critical for long-term sustainability.
Headquarters Counseling Center (HQCC) is a nonprofit in Douglas County, Kansas that has offered counseling, education, and suicide prevention services since 1969. It operates a 24/7 suicide prevention hotline staffed by trained volunteers. HQCC also offers an online chat service for crisis counseling. The organization aims to improve emotional well-being and safety, especially for teens, young adults, and college students in the area. HQCC's services include phone and online counseling, and opportunities for community members to volunteer.
Keynote address given to University of South Florida on the occasion of World Health Day, addressing global urbanization and its impact on global health as well as participatory urban design and its contribution to healthy cities.
This document proposes empowering youth civic engagement in Indianapolis by treating youth as stakeholders capable of impacting the community. It analyzes approaches to youth civic engagement and recommends an empowerment-based approach. The document concludes by introducing a program modeled after the recommendations to empower middle school youth through a community-based entrepreneurship curriculum.
Introduction to Community Organizing for Occupy MidwestTom Tresser
This introduction to community organizing was created by Tom Tresser for the Occupy Midwest convention. More resources on organizing at http://tinyurl.com/OrganizingResources
The Empower Houston Leaders Project aims to build grassroots leadership and increase civic participation and voting in historically disengaged communities in Harris County. It does this by recruiting and training potential grassroots leaders from low-income minority communities, providing them with leadership skills and supporting community projects of their choosing. These leaders then form voter teams to engage 100 potential voters each who normally do not vote, with the goal of turning out 20,000 additional voters in the November 2014 election. The project has raised over half of its $1.2 million budget so far and is seeking additional funds to fully train 200 grassroots leaders and complete its voter outreach goals.
The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo supported resident engagement efforts in Tonawanda, NY to address air pollution concerns. Residents formed the Clean Air Coalition after health issues in the community were linked to emissions from a nearby coke plant. The foundation provided initial funding and training to help residents organize their advocacy efforts. While some board members had concerns about challenging a private business, the foundation ultimately decided to support the residents' campaign after learning more about the environmental justice issues involved. The foundation's involvement helped legitimize the residents' efforts and attract additional funding support.
Philanthropy of Community: Tools for Transforming GivingNCGives
This presentation was used at the Philanthropy of Community Conference in Wilmington in November 2009.
The Philanthropy of Community (PoC) Program builds on the understanding and practices of informal and formal giving and investments that exist in communities. The PoC Program provides research, tools and education and training on how to document, analyze and expand the giving of time, talent and treasure within and among organizations, communities, individuals and families.
By recognizing, nurturing and developing existing giving and giving patterns in community, acts of community giving grow in multiple dimensions, including the giving of financial assets.
The Philanthropy of Community Program is a partnership between NCGives and the Center for Community Action. (www.ncgives.org/poc)
Community organization and development are related processes that aim to empower communities and solve problems through collective action. Community organization involves organizing a community to address common issues and develop leadership. It recognizes democratic values and aims to create participation. Community development is a structured process that gives communities more control over conditions affecting their lives in order to build confidence and tackle problems locally. Both community organization and development work to empower communities to improve social well-being through community-led solutions.
Community Mobilisation and Capacity BuildingAnkuran Dutta
This presentation is related to the community participation, mobilisation issues of community radio. It also includes the capacity building for community radio. The presentation was made at the Community Radio Awareness Consultation at Guwahati on 27.02.2015 organised by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India and One world Foundation, New Delhi.
Proposal: Launch a community-based action-learning lab to accelerate innovation and application of systematic approaches to civic stewardship.
Approach: Applies systematic methods in the civic context that are now used in successful organizations to increase local ownership for ambitious goals, and to foster innovation and collaboration for achieving them.
Opportunity: Spur progress on our most persistent and costly socio-economic and environmental problems by cultivating a national network of neighborhood-based civic stewardship initiatives. A critical mass of neighborhood efforts in 300 U.S. cities can save hundreds of billions in annual government costs, while fostering “collective efficacy” and wellbeing in communities nationwide.
Why now: Recent developments in measures (spurred by the proliferation of “public data”), social media (e.g., neighborhood websites), and monetization (e.g., social impact bonds) are “disruptive innovations” that create ripe opportunities for quantum change.
Advancing Racial Equity through Community Engagement in Collective ImpactLiving Cities
This document outlines an agenda for a panel discussion on advancing racial equity through community engagement in collective impact work. The agenda includes an overview, four panelists from different organizations, and a question and answer session. The panelists discuss their experiences engaging communities and advancing equity in their collective impact work, including lessons learned and advice for other practitioners. They emphasize the importance of relationship building, disaggregating data, youth engagement, and addressing power imbalances to do this work effectively.
1. The document discusses the definition, types, structures, and theories of organizations. It defines an organization as a group of people working together towards a common goal.
2. There are different types of organizations including formal hierarchical organizations, informal organizations, voluntary associations, and hybrid public-private organizations.
3. Common organizational structures include hierarchies, matrices, committees, and ecologies. Theories of organizations come from various disciplines like sociology, economics, and management.
Civic Stewardship -- Boston Action-Learning Labwmsnyder
Proposal: Launch a community-based action-learning lab to accelerate innovation and application of systematic approaches to civic stewardship.
Approach: Applies systematic methods in the civic context that are now used in successful organizations to increase local ownership for ambitious goals, and to foster innovation and collaboration for achieving them.
Opportunity: Spur progress on our most persistent and costly socio-economic and environmental problems by cultivating a national network of neighborhood-based civic stewardship initiatives. A critical mass of neighborhood efforts in 300 U.S. cities can save hundreds of billions in annual government costs, while fostering “collective efficacy” and wellbeing in communities nationwide.
Why now: Recent developments in measures (spurred by the proliferation of “public data”), social media (e.g., neighborhood websites), and monetization (e.g., social impact bonds) are “disruptive innovations” that create ripe opportunities for quantum change.
Rural America faces significant economic challenges, with many counties experiencing high poverty, low education levels, and economic distress. Distressed rural counties, as defined by an index that considers unemployment, income, and poverty rates, are concentrated in the Delta, Cotton Belt, Appalachia, Texas border, and Native American reservations. While overall rural high school graduation rates are comparable to urban areas, adult rural populations often have lower levels of education due to youth out-migration. These economic conditions present difficulties for using entrepreneurship as an engine for rural economic development.
This in-depth report measures citizen engagement in the constitution state in voting, volunteerism and community involvement in the state of Connecticut.
A coalition of groups — including the Secretary of the State, Everyday Democracy, the National Conference on Citizenship and DataHaven — launched the 2016 Civic Health Index Report today. The survey evaluates the depth of citizen engagement through a variety of indicators such as voting, volunteering and other forms of community involvement.
Download the report at: http://everyday-democracy.org/resources/2016-connecticut-civic-health-index
This document discusses how microfinance programs can help address social problems through building social capital and networks. It provides examples of microfinance programs that have helped reduce begging in Bangladesh by moving beggars to marketplace work. It also discusses how microfinance groups in Uganda have empowered the disabled, with one blind woman elected as city councilor. The document advocates for an integrated approach using microfinance to create health solutions through partnerships while targeting the ultra-poor.
Identification of the effects of micro-credits on different aspects of the li...inventionjournals
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention (IJHSSI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of Humanities and Social Science. IJHSSI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Humanities and Social Science, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online.
Presentation by Sam Chimbuya and Rahel Otieno from Khanya-African Institute for Community Driven Development, at the Sustainable Livelihoods Approaches seminar on 26th January 2011 at the Institute of Development Studies, Brighton
This document discusses how microfinance programs can help address social problems through building social capital and networks. It provides examples of microfinance programs that have helped reduce begging in Bangladesh by moving beggars to marketplace work. It also discusses how microfinance groups in Uganda have empowered the disabled by helping elect a blind woman to local leadership positions. Finally, it advocates for an integrated approach to create comprehensive health solutions through win-win community partnerships.
This document provides information about United Way of Thurston County, including:
- A history of United Way since its founding in 1887 and the establishment of the Thurston County chapter in 1936.
- A SWOT analysis that identifies strengths like organized website and diverse board, weaknesses like small staff and lack of fundraising staff, opportunities like new social media and hiring more staff, and threats like poor reputation and brand dilution.
- Description of prominent issues like a $20,000 loss in revenue in 2013 due to major donor decreases, and lack of technology use beyond basic social media; potential solutions discussed are improving donor relationships and expanding social media presence.
The document discusses various phases and methods involved in community organization. It begins by outlining key phases like study, analysis, assessment, decision making, organization, action, evaluation and modification. It then examines specific methods that can be used in each phase, such as surveys, interviews, meetings and committees for gathering and analyzing information. The summary emphasizes that community organization involves systematic planning, assessment of community needs and resources, and collective decision making and action to address issues in a sustainable manner.
Credit Key is a service that allows consumers to pay bills online in order to help businesses get paid faster and save money. Late payments cost businesses billions each year as the average invoice takes over 55 days to pay. Credit Key processes payments for $0.65 per transaction and also takes a percentage of the interest savings for businesses. It has experienced strong growth, becoming profitable in 2013-2014 and generating $3.6 million in profit in 2014-2015. The online bill payment market is large at $617 billion by 2016. Credit Key aims to continue expanding through integrating with more small and medium businesses as well as releasing internationally.
The Minnesota Internet Survey is a continuing examination of broadband access in Minnesota. Started in 2001, the survey looks at and compares adoption rates for rural and urban users, including activities, willingness to pay and the impact of factors such as age and income on adoption.
This document proposes empowering youth civic engagement in Indianapolis by treating youth as stakeholders capable of impacting the community. It analyzes approaches to youth civic engagement and recommends an empowerment-based approach. The document concludes by introducing a program modeled after the recommendations to empower middle school youth through a community-based entrepreneurship curriculum.
Introduction to Community Organizing for Occupy MidwestTom Tresser
This introduction to community organizing was created by Tom Tresser for the Occupy Midwest convention. More resources on organizing at http://tinyurl.com/OrganizingResources
The Empower Houston Leaders Project aims to build grassroots leadership and increase civic participation and voting in historically disengaged communities in Harris County. It does this by recruiting and training potential grassroots leaders from low-income minority communities, providing them with leadership skills and supporting community projects of their choosing. These leaders then form voter teams to engage 100 potential voters each who normally do not vote, with the goal of turning out 20,000 additional voters in the November 2014 election. The project has raised over half of its $1.2 million budget so far and is seeking additional funds to fully train 200 grassroots leaders and complete its voter outreach goals.
The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo supported resident engagement efforts in Tonawanda, NY to address air pollution concerns. Residents formed the Clean Air Coalition after health issues in the community were linked to emissions from a nearby coke plant. The foundation provided initial funding and training to help residents organize their advocacy efforts. While some board members had concerns about challenging a private business, the foundation ultimately decided to support the residents' campaign after learning more about the environmental justice issues involved. The foundation's involvement helped legitimize the residents' efforts and attract additional funding support.
Philanthropy of Community: Tools for Transforming GivingNCGives
This presentation was used at the Philanthropy of Community Conference in Wilmington in November 2009.
The Philanthropy of Community (PoC) Program builds on the understanding and practices of informal and formal giving and investments that exist in communities. The PoC Program provides research, tools and education and training on how to document, analyze and expand the giving of time, talent and treasure within and among organizations, communities, individuals and families.
By recognizing, nurturing and developing existing giving and giving patterns in community, acts of community giving grow in multiple dimensions, including the giving of financial assets.
The Philanthropy of Community Program is a partnership between NCGives and the Center for Community Action. (www.ncgives.org/poc)
Community organization and development are related processes that aim to empower communities and solve problems through collective action. Community organization involves organizing a community to address common issues and develop leadership. It recognizes democratic values and aims to create participation. Community development is a structured process that gives communities more control over conditions affecting their lives in order to build confidence and tackle problems locally. Both community organization and development work to empower communities to improve social well-being through community-led solutions.
Community Mobilisation and Capacity BuildingAnkuran Dutta
This presentation is related to the community participation, mobilisation issues of community radio. It also includes the capacity building for community radio. The presentation was made at the Community Radio Awareness Consultation at Guwahati on 27.02.2015 organised by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India and One world Foundation, New Delhi.
Proposal: Launch a community-based action-learning lab to accelerate innovation and application of systematic approaches to civic stewardship.
Approach: Applies systematic methods in the civic context that are now used in successful organizations to increase local ownership for ambitious goals, and to foster innovation and collaboration for achieving them.
Opportunity: Spur progress on our most persistent and costly socio-economic and environmental problems by cultivating a national network of neighborhood-based civic stewardship initiatives. A critical mass of neighborhood efforts in 300 U.S. cities can save hundreds of billions in annual government costs, while fostering “collective efficacy” and wellbeing in communities nationwide.
Why now: Recent developments in measures (spurred by the proliferation of “public data”), social media (e.g., neighborhood websites), and monetization (e.g., social impact bonds) are “disruptive innovations” that create ripe opportunities for quantum change.
Advancing Racial Equity through Community Engagement in Collective ImpactLiving Cities
This document outlines an agenda for a panel discussion on advancing racial equity through community engagement in collective impact work. The agenda includes an overview, four panelists from different organizations, and a question and answer session. The panelists discuss their experiences engaging communities and advancing equity in their collective impact work, including lessons learned and advice for other practitioners. They emphasize the importance of relationship building, disaggregating data, youth engagement, and addressing power imbalances to do this work effectively.
1. The document discusses the definition, types, structures, and theories of organizations. It defines an organization as a group of people working together towards a common goal.
2. There are different types of organizations including formal hierarchical organizations, informal organizations, voluntary associations, and hybrid public-private organizations.
3. Common organizational structures include hierarchies, matrices, committees, and ecologies. Theories of organizations come from various disciplines like sociology, economics, and management.
Civic Stewardship -- Boston Action-Learning Labwmsnyder
Proposal: Launch a community-based action-learning lab to accelerate innovation and application of systematic approaches to civic stewardship.
Approach: Applies systematic methods in the civic context that are now used in successful organizations to increase local ownership for ambitious goals, and to foster innovation and collaboration for achieving them.
Opportunity: Spur progress on our most persistent and costly socio-economic and environmental problems by cultivating a national network of neighborhood-based civic stewardship initiatives. A critical mass of neighborhood efforts in 300 U.S. cities can save hundreds of billions in annual government costs, while fostering “collective efficacy” and wellbeing in communities nationwide.
Why now: Recent developments in measures (spurred by the proliferation of “public data”), social media (e.g., neighborhood websites), and monetization (e.g., social impact bonds) are “disruptive innovations” that create ripe opportunities for quantum change.
Rural America faces significant economic challenges, with many counties experiencing high poverty, low education levels, and economic distress. Distressed rural counties, as defined by an index that considers unemployment, income, and poverty rates, are concentrated in the Delta, Cotton Belt, Appalachia, Texas border, and Native American reservations. While overall rural high school graduation rates are comparable to urban areas, adult rural populations often have lower levels of education due to youth out-migration. These economic conditions present difficulties for using entrepreneurship as an engine for rural economic development.
This in-depth report measures citizen engagement in the constitution state in voting, volunteerism and community involvement in the state of Connecticut.
A coalition of groups — including the Secretary of the State, Everyday Democracy, the National Conference on Citizenship and DataHaven — launched the 2016 Civic Health Index Report today. The survey evaluates the depth of citizen engagement through a variety of indicators such as voting, volunteering and other forms of community involvement.
Download the report at: http://everyday-democracy.org/resources/2016-connecticut-civic-health-index
This document discusses how microfinance programs can help address social problems through building social capital and networks. It provides examples of microfinance programs that have helped reduce begging in Bangladesh by moving beggars to marketplace work. It also discusses how microfinance groups in Uganda have empowered the disabled, with one blind woman elected as city councilor. The document advocates for an integrated approach using microfinance to create health solutions through partnerships while targeting the ultra-poor.
Identification of the effects of micro-credits on different aspects of the li...inventionjournals
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention (IJHSSI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of Humanities and Social Science. IJHSSI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Humanities and Social Science, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online.
Presentation by Sam Chimbuya and Rahel Otieno from Khanya-African Institute for Community Driven Development, at the Sustainable Livelihoods Approaches seminar on 26th January 2011 at the Institute of Development Studies, Brighton
This document discusses how microfinance programs can help address social problems through building social capital and networks. It provides examples of microfinance programs that have helped reduce begging in Bangladesh by moving beggars to marketplace work. It also discusses how microfinance groups in Uganda have empowered the disabled by helping elect a blind woman to local leadership positions. Finally, it advocates for an integrated approach to create comprehensive health solutions through win-win community partnerships.
This document provides information about United Way of Thurston County, including:
- A history of United Way since its founding in 1887 and the establishment of the Thurston County chapter in 1936.
- A SWOT analysis that identifies strengths like organized website and diverse board, weaknesses like small staff and lack of fundraising staff, opportunities like new social media and hiring more staff, and threats like poor reputation and brand dilution.
- Description of prominent issues like a $20,000 loss in revenue in 2013 due to major donor decreases, and lack of technology use beyond basic social media; potential solutions discussed are improving donor relationships and expanding social media presence.
The document discusses various phases and methods involved in community organization. It begins by outlining key phases like study, analysis, assessment, decision making, organization, action, evaluation and modification. It then examines specific methods that can be used in each phase, such as surveys, interviews, meetings and committees for gathering and analyzing information. The summary emphasizes that community organization involves systematic planning, assessment of community needs and resources, and collective decision making and action to address issues in a sustainable manner.
Credit Key is a service that allows consumers to pay bills online in order to help businesses get paid faster and save money. Late payments cost businesses billions each year as the average invoice takes over 55 days to pay. Credit Key processes payments for $0.65 per transaction and also takes a percentage of the interest savings for businesses. It has experienced strong growth, becoming profitable in 2013-2014 and generating $3.6 million in profit in 2014-2015. The online bill payment market is large at $617 billion by 2016. Credit Key aims to continue expanding through integrating with more small and medium businesses as well as releasing internationally.
The Minnesota Internet Survey is a continuing examination of broadband access in Minnesota. Started in 2001, the survey looks at and compares adoption rates for rural and urban users, including activities, willingness to pay and the impact of factors such as age and income on adoption.
The document discusses the pitfalls of overposting on social media like Facebook. It states that excessively posting similar content multiple times a day is ineffective and can annoy customers. While some brands think more posts means more engagement, the document claims content quality is more important. It recommends aiming for one to two posts per day or four to five posts per week for highest engagement rates. Overposting drives users away rather than bringing in more attention and interactions.
The document contains tweets from @cvences about test-driven development and testing. The tweets discuss topics like testing frameworks, smells, failing tests being good, YAGNI, hints and dos/don'ts, requirements, decoupling, protecting code with tests, code coverage, patterns, black box testing, testing functions, and saying goodbye after discussing semantic weapons.
Nach einer kurzen Einführung in verteilte Systeme zeige ich die Motivation für die Entstehung von NoSQL-Datenbanken auf. Ich stelle die Haupt-Kategorien der NoSQL-Datenbanken vor: Key-Value, Column Store, Graphen- und Dokumentenoriente Datenbanken. Danach gehe ich auf konkrete Datenbanken wie MongoDB, Neo4j und Redis ein.
Dell was considering outsourcing its call center operations to reduce costs and better serve a large customer base. However, its previous attempt to outsource to Bangalore failed due to inadequate planning, risk assessment, technical skills, and cultural issues. The document provides a 7 step framework for successful outsourcing: 1) planning initiatives, 2) exploring strategic implications, 3) analyzing costs and performance, 4) selecting providers, 5) negotiating terms, 6) transitioning resources, and 7) managing relationships. As a service provider, I would pitch quality, trained workforce, infrastructure, technology, training, and outcome-based pricing to help Dell successfully outsource its call center.
The Union Budget 2013-14 was presented by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on February 28, 2013. Key points included a fiscal deficit target of 4.8% of GDP for 2014, a current account deficit of 3.9% of GDP, and allocation of Rs. 65,867 crore to education. No changes were made to income tax slabs but a 10% surcharge will be imposed on income over Rs. 1 crore. SUVs and imported cars will be costlier with excise duty increased to 30% while remaining constant at 12% for other cars. The budget impacted the stock market with the Sensex falling 291 points.
This document discusses netiquette, which are the etiquette and best practices for interacting appropriately online. It defines netiquette as the "game rules" of the internet that aim to minimize conflicts and misunderstandings. It recommends following netiquette across online platforms like social media by being respectful of others, avoiding posting photos without permission, and supporting others. The document expresses the author's view that online communities can help people make connections and get answers to questions.
The document describes a study that evaluated the toxicity of the aqueous leaf extract of Moringa oleifera. In an acute toxicity test in mice, the LD50 was estimated to be 1585 mg/kg when administered orally and over 2000 mg/kg when administered intraperitoneally. In a sub-chronic toxicity test in rats administered the extract orally for 60 days at doses up to 1500 mg/kg, there were no significant differences in sperm quality, hematological and biochemical parameters, or weight gain compared to controls, though food consumption decreased with higher doses. The results suggest the aqueous leaf extract of M. oleifera is relatively safe when administered orally.
This document is an operation and maintenance manual for Alstom Type B Vital Relays. It provides general descriptions of relay components and characteristics, theories of operation, installation, preventative maintenance, troubleshooting, corrective maintenance procedures, parts listings, and appendices with additional reference materials. The manual is intended to ensure proper operation and maintenance of the relays.
Phishing is a form of identity theft where criminals try to trick people into providing sensitive information like bank account numbers or passwords by pretending to be from a legitimate institution. It usually comes in the form of emails that appear authentic but contain spelling errors or links that don't go where promised. If you receive a suspicious email, don't provide any information or click on links. Instead, contact the institution directly. If you do become a victim, contact the institution where information was given and consider changing passwords.
XL Recruiters offers summer training programs in project human resources and marketing. The HR program provides hands-on experience in recruitment processes, ways to recruit, understanding organizational structures, and attending live training sessions. The marketing program focuses on formulating marketing strategies, business promotion, corporate presentations, and business communication.
XL Recruiters is a boutique recruiting firm that serves corporate India's recruitment needs with an experienced team, strong database, and market intelligence. Though young, it has established a niche for consistently superior search practices and client delivery. The firm's integrated office and network allows it to provide local and global capabilities to clients in manufacturing, engineering, power, coal, automotive, and IT sectors.
The document discusses the global market for international education, noting that there are over 3.7 million international students worldwide who spend over $105 billion annually on tuition and living expenses. It also provides statistics on the number of international students in certain countries and cities, and explains that education agents earn $500 million annually helping connect international students with schools.
Identity theft involves someone stealing personal information such as names, addresses, social insurance numbers, credit card information, and other details to pretend to be someone else, often to access bank accounts, apply for loans or credit cards, make purchases, or hide criminal activities. Common signs of identity theft include unfamiliar accounts or transactions, credit denials, or missing money. If identity theft is suspected, one should report it to the police, notify banks and credit agencies, and monitor credit reports for fraud. Preventative measures include keeping information private, using passwords, not sharing devices on public WiFi, and reporting theft promptly. Identity theft increased 13% in 2011 compared to 2010, likely due to increased smartphone and social media use providing more opportunities for
The document outlines the business model of an online community called Connecting Mums that connects advertisers to mothers seeking to save money on baby products and services. It details Connecting Mums' growth from 2,000 members in 2010 to 47,000 members currently, as well as its plans to expand its membership to 100,000 within 6 months through diversifying revenue streams like advertising, data collection, and premium memberships. The company is seeking a $300,000 investment to further develop sales and marketing, an online community panel, and research and development.
This document contains vocabulary terms from four biology topics: experimental design, cells, cell structures, and heredity and DNA. Key terms related to experimental design include hypothesis, independent variable, dependent variable, control, data table, and graphs. Key terms related to cells include diffusion, osmosis, transport, photosynthesis, and cellular respiration. Key terms related to cell structures include cell, organelle, nucleus, chloroplast, and vacuole. Finally, key terms related to heredity and DNA include gene, phenotype, genotype, meiosis, DNA, and mutation.
This document provides an overview of physical science, including:
1) Physical science involves the study of matter and energy, with chemistry focusing on forms of matter and physics focusing on how energy affects matter.
2) The scientific method involves asking questions, forming hypotheses, testing hypotheses through experiments, analyzing results, drawing conclusions, and communicating results.
3) Models are used to represent objects, systems, or relationships and can be physical, mathematical, or conceptual representations.
This document discusses various techniques for teaching vocabulary, including:
- Using repetition and spaced practice to help with recall and generation of new words. Types of repetition mentioned include noticing, retrieval, and generation.
- Helping learners comprehend word meanings by providing clear definitions, drawing attention to underlying meanings, giving repeated exposure, and avoiding interference from related words.
- Spending focused time on individual words to help learners learn about their spoken and written forms, word parts, connections between concepts and referents, and placement in grammar and collocations.
The role of communities leaders and leadership is growing in importance in rural places. The Blandin Foundation’s longstanding leadership program relies on not just building leadership skills but also building the networks and relationships needed as communities face new challenges.
The document discusses the need for new kinds of leadership to address increasing diversity and participation. It notes that civic engagement is lowest in diverse communities and nonprofits struggle to recruit and develop young leaders. The Public Allies program places young people in nonprofit apprenticeships, provides leadership training, and aims to develop a diverse new generation of nonprofit leaders committed to social change.
How is the transition from the Greatest Generation to the Baby Boom to Generation X affecting volunteering in Greater Minnesota? Some new research shows us.
Peace Building Through Community InvolvementDawn Robertson
Through community involvement and service learning programs, youth can develop leadership skills and enhance their self-esteem while contributing to their communities. Effective programs provide opportunities for youth to practice leadership, reflect on their experiences, and discuss the social issues involved in their service. However, some programs lack facilitation on the larger social context and assign volunteer work that youth do not find meaningful. To maximize benefits, programs should involve youth in meaningful service that addresses real community needs and allows discussion of the social issues impacted.
The document provides an agenda for the Midwest Rural Assembly taking place on August 10-11, 2009 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The assembly will include opportunities to discuss rural issues with policymakers, workshops on topics like rural community development, health care, education, and broadband access. It will also feature speakers from USDA and other organizations to discuss rural policy and priorities. The goal is to inform policy formation and find solutions to challenges facing rural America.
The NC Rural Center hosted a summer road trip to 12 rural communities in North Carolina to engage with local partners, share research and initiatives, and hear about successful local projects. Over 350 people participated across the four regions visited. The top issues identified were rural healthcare, infrastructure, leadership, and education. The Rural Center committed to continued information sharing, convenings, and advocacy support for rural communities.
2013 opportunity corps presentation for volunteer coordinatorschopsDQ
The Minnesota Opportunity Corps aims to help economically disadvantaged Minnesotans earn living wages and become self-sufficient through national service programs. Over 330,000 working-age adults in the state live in or near poverty, and there is a large gap between the income needed for basic needs and the wages of many available jobs. The Corps provides skill development and career counseling to help participants overcome barriers to employment and obtain jobs in growing career fields that require postsecondary education. In the previous year, over 3,000 people received job placement services through the program.
The Positive Impacts Of Community Development In South AfricaChristina Valadez
Community development in South Africa can have positive impacts in fields like public health, economic development, and reducing violence. It aims to improve solidarity and empower communities through principles like self-help, participation, and addressing felt needs. However, locality alone does not define a community - development must pursue the goals of agency and solidarity. Previous research found community development and gardening programs can revitalize neighborhoods by reclaiming urban areas, fostering social ties, and increasing civic engagement.
Trust as an Asset Building a Managed Service Organizati.docxturveycharlyn
Trust as an Asset:
Building a Managed Service Organization within MACC (A)1
In December 2002, the state of Minnesota faced a $4.5 billion shortfall caused, as in many states,
by the national recession and the corresponding decline in tax revenues. The newly elected
governor, Tim Pawlenty, warned that everyone would need to share the pain – townships, cities,
counties, nonprofits and individual Minnesotans. The state’s nonprofit sector, which had
enjoyed years of growth and a reputation for social innovation, steeled itself for cuts. The
outlook for nonprofits was made worse by dramatic reductions in giving from the Twin Cities
United Way and private philanthropy. Eighty-nine percent of Minnesota Council on
Foundations membership reported asset declines that decreased their giving.2
The state government’s crisis was exacerbated by a pledge for no new taxes taken by the
Governor during the election. Like many Republican leaders, Pawlenty had signed a pledge of
the Taxpayers League of Minnesota, a citizens’ group that advocates for smaller, less expensive
government and lower taxes. The message of the Taxpayers League resonated with many
Minnesotans; polls revealed that the majority of citizens believed that state lawmakers should
avoid increasing taxes. The League’s President David Strom took direct credit for change public
in a state that had, historically, seen a positive role for government. "The fact that we've been
able to, with the help of the governor, convince the majority of Minnesotans that government is
too big, it's time to cut back -- that's the real power that we have -- our ability to persuade
people."3
This attitude infuriated many other nonprofit leaders. Although the League was a nonprofit
organization, to many others in the sector it represented a philosophy that they directly opposed –
a philosophy that placed the burden for coping with scarcity on the backs of those who already
had the least. The Minnesota Council on Nonprofits, for example, launched an aggressive public
media campaign in 2002 to educate Minnesotans about the roles nonprofits play in providing
public services and meeting the needs of the disadvantaged. Other nonprofit leaders began to
develop innovative solutions in the increasing challenging fiscal environment they faced.
Jan Berry, the new President of the Metropolitan Alliance of Community Centers (MACC),
considered various options. A coalition of thirteen human service providers in Minneapolis and
St. Paul, MACC would be seriously hurt by cuts coming to state and county contracts. As Jan
studied the Taxpayers League, she saw how successful it was at marketing its ideology, at
1 This case study was written by Jodi Sandfort and Timothy Dykstal both of the University of Minnesota, Humphrey
Institute. Please direct comments or questions to [email protected]
2 Minnesota Council on Foundations ...
A brief look at the diversity and dynamics of becoming an AllyShancalderon
Public Allies is a nonprofit organization that develops diverse young leaders through a 10-month apprenticeship program. Allies work full-time for nonprofit organizations addressing community issues while receiving leadership training. The program operates in 15 communities across the U.S. and identifies talented individuals ages 18-30 from various backgrounds to develop career paths in the nonprofit sector. Public Allies aims to cultivate a new generation of leaders who reflect the diversity of America and can facilitate collaborative solutions to social problems.
Reflection On Community-Based Human Service OrganizationsAngela Williams
Community-based human service organizations play pivotal roles in promoting quality of life for vulnerable individuals and communities. They often provide assistance in times of crisis through services like domestic violence shelters, job training, child care, foster care, and programs for seniors and those with disabilities. However, these non-profit organizations face challenges during economic downturns in finding and maintaining adequate funding to continue operating programs and services.
Mary Brainerd is the president and CEO of HealthPartners, a large nonprofit health care organization in Minnesota. She has overseen its growth to serve over 1.3 million members. In addition to her work leading HealthPartners, Mary is deeply involved in charitable and community initiatives focused on improving the Twin Cities region. She chairs the Itasca Project, a civic alliance aimed at economic development and reducing socioeconomic disparities. Mary also co-chairs the East Metro Mental Health Roundtable and helped establish GiveMN, a nonprofit that has raised over $50 million for charities. She is recognized as a passionate leader who has significantly improved lives through her work both within and outside of HealthPartners.
This slide deck is an initial draft outlining the mission and objectives of Systems Thinking Marin (as of Autumn 2017), possible projects for realizing that mission, and provides examples of the major systems thinking frameworks that inform the mission and objectives.
This document summarizes the key findings of a survey conducted by Nonprofit Connect and Ascend Integrated Media on nonprofit communications programs in the Greater Kansas City area. Some of the main findings include:
- The average annual communications budget for nonprofits is $29,000, with one-third spending less than $5,000.
- Personal visits and events are the most successful ways to generate donations and connect with volunteers.
- 71% of nonprofits use social media, primarily Facebook, but few use newer technologies like texting or apps.
- Lack of staff and limited time are the biggest challenges for communications programs.
Improve Your Non Profit Communication ProgramsKate Crockett
This document summarizes the key findings of a survey conducted by Nonprofit Connect and Ascend Integrated Media on nonprofit communications programs in the Greater Kansas City area. Some of the main findings include:
- The average annual communications budget for nonprofits is $29,000, with one-third spending less than $5,000.
- Personal visits and events are the most successful ways to generate donations and connect with volunteers.
- 71% of nonprofits use social media, primarily Facebook, but few use newer technologies like texting or apps.
- Lack of staff and limited time are the biggest challenges for communications programs.
The document discusses regionalism and expanding opportunities for all communities. It summarizes that opportunities are unevenly distributed based on racialized systems and policies. True regionalism requires comprehensive investment in people and neighborhoods to uplift the entire region. Equitable regionalism means giving every community a voice in development and ensuring fair access to opportunity structures.
Reflections from the Modern U.S. Service Movement by Michelle NunnSocial People
The document discusses the history and current state of the modern U.S. service movement. It outlines key events like the founding of organizations like Points of Light Foundation and the establishment of national service programs under presidents Bush and Clinton. It then describes the current infrastructure, including that Points of Light Institute is the largest volunteer network in the country, engaging millions of volunteers annually through programs like AmeriCorps and HandsOn Network. Finally, it discusses lessons learned and emerging trends, such as utilizing new technologies and growing social enterprises to engage more citizens in solving community problems through service.
The document outlines a series of community conversations held in 12 Minnesota cities with over 730 participants to discuss the future of city services, how they are delivered, and how they are paid for, as research had shown cities would face deficits by 2015 if current trends continued; the conversations were designed to get input from diverse community members through meetings with various organizations; and the conversations provided perspectives to guide decision-makers on important values to consider regarding city services.
The document summarizes John Powell's presentation on collaborative solutions for inclusive and sustainable community economic development. It discusses how opportunity structures differ between communities and regions. It advocates looking at the relationships between institutions, systems and people. The presentation focuses on strategically connecting communities to opportunity through collaboration, engagement and empowerment across multiple domains to create equitable regions where all people and places have access to basic needs and a voice in their future.
Similar to Rural Minnesota Journal: The Power of Invitation (20)
The document discusses demographic changes in rural Minnesota and how communities are adapting. It begins by noting that the population of rural Minnesota is in transition and more diverse than in the past. Younger generations are moving to some rural areas while others are aging. Local governments and the economy are also changing. The article then summarizes several pieces in the journal that discuss specific aspects of these changes, including the aging population, challenges in volunteerism, leadership development programs, and the role of philanthropic organizations.
The State of Rural Minnesota 2013 is a presentation produced annually by the Center for Rural Policy & Development in St. Peter, MN, showing how population, income, poverty, education, and many other indicators vary across the state.
The document provides data and statistics on rural Minnesota from the Center for Rural Policy and Development's 2013 State of Rural Minnesota report. It includes information on population changes and projections, the manufacturing and farming workforce, average farming earnings, health insurance enrollment, graduation rates, and free lunch eligibility. The Center for Rural Policy and Development is a non-partisan policy research organization dedicated to providing an unbiased rural perspective to Minnesota policymakers.
Retiring Baby Boomers will impact Minnesota's housing landscape for decades to come. This article considers whether the state and those developing senior housing today are taking the wants and needs of this population group into account.
This document summarizes a study examining Minnesota business owners' perceptions of the impact of state and local regulations on their businesses. A survey was distributed to businesses across Minnesota. It found that business owners view government regulations as the top challenge they face. Competition and costs were also significant challenges. Responses showed few differences between metro, non-metro and rural areas in terms of regulatory impacts. The top priority for regulatory change was taxation. Overall, businesses seemed more concerned with the difficulty of regulatory compliance than the regulations themselves.
1) Minnesota business owners perceive government regulations as the top challenge facing their businesses. Other major challenges include increased competition, business costs other than labor, and labor costs.
2) While regulations are seen as challenging, business owners report that complying with regulations is more burdensome than the regulations themselves. Respondents find regulations inflexible, incomprehensible, ineffective, and inconsistent.
3) Perceptions of regulatory impact differ depending on whether businesses consider their own operations or business in general. Reporting income/corporate taxes have the biggest impact on owners' businesses, while health, environmental, and land use regulations are seen as impacting business overall the most.
Rural Minnesota is losing it's voice. That's the conclusion of a study where researchers talked to 50 prominent Minnesota decision makers and surveyed 120+ more. Due to a combination of reasons, the state's rural population is becoming increasingly left out and left behind on the discussions that affect our everyday lives. Read on to find out what people are saying and how they think the issue can be resolved.
This document discusses skills shortages and regional economies in rural Minnesota. It notes that the workforce is aging and projected to grow older. While the workforce will increase by 165,000 between 2010-2035, 60,000 jobs may be unfilled due to demographic changes. Key industries in rural Minnesota like manufacturing, healthcare, and agriculture require skilled workers in specialized occupations like engineers, technicians, and life scientists. Maintaining the skilled workforce needed for these industries is important for rural economic vitality as small communities face declining young populations.
The document summarizes key findings from the 2010 US Census regarding population changes in rural Minnesota. It finds that while the overall state population grew by 7.8%, many rural areas experienced population losses. The aging of the Baby Boomer generation is also impacting demographics. The transition to the American Community Survey makes rural data less precise due to smaller sample sizes.
This document provides brief biographies of 17 individuals who authored or are otherwise associated with the Rural Minnesota Journal 2012. The biographies provide information on each person's professional experience, education, areas of research or work, and affiliation. They describe a group of professionals from a variety of backgrounds focused on issues related to rural Minnesota communities.
As who lives in our rural communities changes, so too are the way these communities support themselves. As tax dollars shrink, the philanthropy community is finding itself being asked to play a bigger role.
A region in transition? The city of Pelican Rapids in west central Minnesota is a microcosm of the change the state is going through as a whole. One person who watched it all happen tells how the city rose to the challenge and embraced change.
It seems there’s a larger and larger disconnect between the Twin Cities and rural Minnesota in terms of the economy, politics, and just plain lifestyle. Former Star Tribune writer Bob Franklin points out a few reasons he’s found over the years why rural Minnesota shouldn’t be discounted.
1. The document summarizes findings from a 2012 survey on broadband internet access in Minnesota.
2. It finds that while broadband adoption continues to increase, the rate of growth is slowing as the technology reaches saturation levels. Rural adoption lags urban rates but the gap is narrowing.
3. Key factors influencing adoption include age, income, education level, and presence of children in the household. Younger, lower income, and less educated residents are still less likely to have broadband access.
The document summarizes the key findings of the 2012 Minnesota Internet Survey conducted by the Center for Rural Policy and Development. It found that while adoption rates of computers, internet, and broadband continue to increase in rural Minnesota, they still lag behind rates in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. It also found that over a quarter of Minnesota households now use cell phones only. The use of social media, voice over internet protocol (VOIP), and streaming video has increased dramatically in recent years.
More from Center for Rural Policy & Development (15)
Acolyte Episodes review (TV series) The Acolyte. Learn about the influence of the program on the Star Wars world, as well as new characters and story twists.
An astonishing, first-of-its-kind, report by the NYT assessing damage in Ukraine. Even if the war ends tomorrow, in many places there will be nothing to go back to.
El Puerto de Algeciras continúa un año más como el más eficiente del continente europeo y vuelve a situarse en el “top ten” mundial, según el informe The Container Port Performance Index 2023 (CPPI), elaborado por el Banco Mundial y la consultora S&P Global.
El informe CPPI utiliza dos enfoques metodológicos diferentes para calcular la clasificación del índice: uno administrativo o técnico y otro estadístico, basado en análisis factorial (FA). Según los autores, esta dualidad pretende asegurar una clasificación que refleje con precisión el rendimiento real del puerto, a la vez que sea estadísticamente sólida. En esta edición del informe CPPI 2023, se han empleado los mismos enfoques metodológicos y se ha aplicado un método de agregación de clasificaciones para combinar los resultados de ambos enfoques y obtener una clasificación agregada.
Essential Tools for Modern PR Business .pptxPragencyuk
Discover the essential tools and strategies for modern PR business success. Learn how to craft compelling news releases, leverage press release sites and news wires, stay updated with PR news, and integrate effective PR practices to enhance your brand's visibility and credibility. Elevate your PR efforts with our comprehensive guide.
04062024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdfFIRST INDIA
Find Latest India News and Breaking News these days from India on Politics, Business, Entertainment, Technology, Sports, Lifestyle and Coronavirus News in India and the world over that you can't miss. For real time update Visit our social media handle. Read First India NewsPaper in your morning replace. Visit First India.
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Here is Gabe Whitley's response to my defamation lawsuit for him calling me a rapist and perjurer in court documents.
You have to read it to believe it, but after you read it, you won't believe it. And I included eight examples of defamatory statements/
2. Rural Minnesota Journal
program, the partners are confident that WCLA shows great
promise for the west central region and that it offers valuable
insights to other networks and organizations interested in
growing the amount and quality of rural leadership. Alumni
of the program have also expressed confidence in the program
by recommending it to others. “It was a lot more difficult to
recruit for the first class than the second,” notes Steve Nagle,
Executive Director of West Central Minnesota Community
Actions, Inc.
In this article, we explore the benefits of inviting people with
low incomes, as well as those who advocate for them, into
leadership education experiences – for their own develop-
ment, for the organizations and causes that need to solve
complex problems, and for rural communities that need more
residents willing and able to fill leadership positions. This
article also describes the program and shares results of an
in-depth program evaluation.
Re-kindling a mission for people in poverty
West Central Initiative (WCI), the regional community
foundation that funded the West Central Leadership Academy,
is part of the reason that
leadership education
thrives in west central “Our most valuable assets in
west central Minnesota are
Minnesota. Over the past
the people who live and work
decade, the Foundation here. We value relationships
has invested $274,000 with people who care about
in scholarships and the future of the region and
programs focused on work with those who want to
community leadership contribute their time, talents
development. and resources to help make the
Still, in 2010, WCI future brighter for generations
started to see requests to come.”
for scholarship dollars — West Central Initiative
Strategic Plan, 2012-2016
waning. According
to Program Director
Wendy Merrick, “No
new program or communities had applied for community
leadership development grants in recent years. Some of
the communities that do access funds were doing so less
2 Volume 7
3. Hoelting, Caldwell & Hennen
frequently.”
It was time for West Central Initiative to refresh its stake in
leadership education.
Steve Nagle and others who managed programs for people
in poverty in west central Minnesota has not been as delighted
as others with Minnesota’s leadership programs. “Sure, there
were programs. But the population we work with aren’t
included in those opportunities.”
When the war on poverty helped Community Action
Programs take root in the ’60’s, it heralded a new strategy
to invite people in poverty to lead local initiatives. This
invitation was wired into the mission and structure of
Community Action. “At the heart of Community Action is the
empowerment of people who are poor – getting them active
in their communities. That is designed into the agency. It’s
very important work for us,” said Nagle. In fact, a third of
the members of his agency’s board of director positions are
community members with low incomes.
But Nagle has seen the number of opportunities for people
with low incomes to show leadership shrink since the early
days. The emphasis on leadership among people with low
incomes hasn’t gotten attention in recent years.
What happened?
According to Nagle, the shift has been an unintended
consequence of the expansion of organizational missions. As
agencies have gotten bigger and new funding sources have
been tapped, organizations started to “do a lot of stuff that
doesn’t prioritize giving power and opportunity to people in
poverty. More and more, agencies offer programs designed at
the national level, so people who are poor have less input in
local programs.”
Nagle has seen locally driven initiatives make a difference.
One example he recalls with pride brought Community Action
into a housing initiative. In collaboration with the Department
of Corrections, Community Action built over 100 houses for
people of low and modest income, involving local prisoners in
the construction. Prisoners picked up carpentry and building
skills and were introduced to being part of the work force.
Nagle watched members of the crew move out into society
Volume 7 3
4. Rural Minnesota Journal
and buy some of the houses they had built. “This wouldn’t
have happened with a cookie-cutter approach,” he said.
The commitment of these organizations in bringing their
clients into leadership positions comes from a bone-deep
belief in their mission. Steve Nagle sees it this way: “The most
important thing we can do to move people out of poverty is
to give them opportunity. Energy assistance is important; all
assistance is important. But really escaping poverty is about
taking control.”
The Power of Invitation:
To Address the Rural Leadership Gap
Research conducted by University of Minnesota Extension
fellow Ben Winchester examined data to better understand
the need for leaders in rural Minnesota. By adding together
the number of nonprofits and government jurisdictions, and
considering the number of board and elected positions needed
by these entities, he has estimated that, conservatively, one in
34 people must serve in leadership positions in rural areas,
compared to one in every 143 residents in major metropolitan
counties (Winchester, pending).
In developing its most recent strategic plan, the West
Central Initiative crunched some numbers, too. WCI compared
its nine-county area of the state to an urban area with a similar
population base — Washington County. They found that in
government alone, the West Central region must find 935 more
leaders to hold elected office in counties, cities, townships
and school districts than Washington County (West Central
Initiative, 2011).
The hunt for these leaders is often thwarted because such
positions are not compensated as full-time positions and do
not pay a wage similar to those in urban areas. For example,
consider the wages of county commissioners. Of those
counties in WCI’s region who reported annual commissioner
“People used to tell me that I had leadership qualities. But I missed
it.”
“I felt that people were born leaders, but learned that leaders can
be made and that even I can be a leader.”
4 Volume 7
5. Hoelting, Caldwell & Hennen
wages to the Association of Minnesota Counties, the
differences in total compensation for county commissioners
ranged from 40% to 69% less than those reported for county
commissioners in Washington County (Association of
Minnesota Counties, 2011). It is likely that city government
pays less, and some elected positions in townships are
volunteer positions.
WCI also notes that elected leaders in rural communities
have less administrative support, making their jobs harder.
“Rural community leaders rarely have much in the way of
staff support and expertise to back them up. The entire staff of
a typical small city in the region (about 1,000 people) consists
of two to four people. Usually, this includes a maintenance
chief who must do almost everything to keep the city’s
infrastructure functioning, and a city clerk who must do all
the paperwork to keep the city running. Occasionally, it may
include some additional part- or full-time help (West Central
Initiative, 2011).
In light of this, one would think that most local residents
are asked to lead. A look at Blandin’s Rural Pulse study, a
survey conducted by the Blandin Foundation in 2010, shows
that that is not the case. When rural residents were asked
whether they agreed or disagreed that “people from different
backgrounds fill leadership roles within my community,” 52%
agreed and 43% disagreed.
Further, 41% said “no” when they were asked, “Have you
ever been invited to serve in a leadership role (e.g., for church,
local nonprofit organization, youth sports, city government,
etc.) in your community?” (Blandin Foundation, 2010).
Demographics clearly play a role in whether residents are
asked to serve. Older residents, those with high incomes, and
business owners were most likely to say their leadership was
requested. Clearly, the constituents of the Community Action
Programs were being overlooked — at least in 2010.
The Power of Invitation: To inform public decisions.
Efforts to engage new populations in community
leadership pays off. Harvard University researchers
Archon Fung and Elena Fagotto conducted case studies in
communities where deliberative dialog had happened with
Volume 7 5
6. Rural Minnesota Journal
diverse community members. They uncovered a number of
direct positive outcomes, including:
• Improved understanding among the community
members of the reasons for various public policies
and a better grasp by local government of the
public’s priorities and sensitivities;
• Successful redistricting;
• Formation of tenant associations that ultimately
improved living conditions and rid neighborhoods
of crime;
• Boosted participation of minority parents in
schools; and,
• Improved accessibility of child care (Fagotto and
Fung, 2009).
The U.S. Department of Transportation recommends
strategies that engage under-represented populations as a best
practice when communities are concerned with producing
workable solutions. Participation from diverse experiences of
race and income provide fresh perspectives. They give first-
hand information about issues and concerns that traditional
leaders may not understand. They root out potential
controversy before it occurs and widen the base of consensus
on a given plan or project (U.S. Department of Transportation).
Engaging all demographics in local decisions shifts
the poverty barriers and mindset. As a result, individuals
and communities see huge growth in active volunteering.
Collaborative and group control allows more members to
create change regardless of economic or political stakes. This
approach is essential in building community capacity (Riveria
and Erlich, 1995).
The Power of Invitation: To Change Lives
New research on the effects of being identified as a
“leader” has proven a strong reciprocal effect between
people’s self-view as leaders and their emergence as leaders
of groups. A study examined a number of small groups that
moved from very loose-knit structures to functioning work
groups. Using social network analysis, the study found that
6 Volume 7
7. Hoelting, Caldwell & Hennen
“people who perceived themselves as leaders were more likely
to receive leadership nominations over time…and individuals
who received more leadership nominations over time were
more likely to see themselves as leaders” (Emery, Daniloski
and Hamby, 2011).
This perspective describes the phenomenon that occurs
in communities when the same people are tapped over and
over to take leadership positions, as well as the change that
occurs in individuals when others invite them to participate in
leadership education opportunities. Therefore, the invitation
to a leadership program changes one’s “looking glass” in a
way that ultimately changes their behaviors. “I felt that people
were born leaders,” said one Academy program participant,
“but learned that leaders can be made, and that even I can be a
leader.”
Gershon and Straub (2010) argue that people who live
in economic stress can benefit greatly from transformative
training, including teaching strategies for solving problems,
increasing the knowledge of self, and building self-awareness.
As leadership education programs design curriculum, their
attention to self-efficacy addresses this need (Gershon and
Straub, 2010). One recent multi-state study of leadership
education outcomes provides evidence for that argument.
“Participants without a college degree had significantly higher
increases in their leadership skills for the outcome indices of
personal growth and efficacy, community commitment, shared
future and purpose, and social cohesion. Similarly, leadership
education program participants whose incomes were less
than $100,000 showed significantly greater improvements in
the community knowledge indices than those whose annual
incomes were above $100,000. Finally, participants who had
lived in the community for a shorter period of time had
significantly higher increases in the community commitment,
shared future and purpose, community knowledge, and
civic engagement indices than those who had lived in the
community for a longer period of time” (Goodwin, et. al.,
2012).
Stepping into leadership roles and engaging with others to
accomplish tasks that “make a difference” happens when one
Volume 7 7
8. Rural Minnesota Journal
believes in his or her own efficacy — the power to produce an
effect. According to Albert Bandura, self-efficacy is “the belief
in one’s own capabilities to organize and execute the courses
of action required to manage prospective situations” (Bandura,
1995). It is a person’s belief in their own ability to succeed in
particular situations. One finding reported in the Rural Pulse
study showed that when it comes to a sense of self-efficacy
related to community engagement, 87% of rural Minnesotans
said that they could “make an impact and improve local
quality of life.” Of concern, however, is that those with
incomes of $35,000 or under were the least likely to believe this
was true (Blandin Foundation, 2010).
Bandura and others have found that an individual’s self-
efficacy plays a major role in how we approach goals, tasks,
and challenges and that the growth of self-efficacy does not
end during youth but continues to evolve throughout life as
people acquire new skills, experiences and understanding
(Bandura, 1992). He goes on to describe four influences
that help us develop our self-efficacy — opportunities that
leadership education cohorts provide: Mastery experiences
(performing a task successfully), social modeling (witnessing
other’s successful experiences), social persuasion (people
being persuaded to believe that they have the capabilities
and skills to succeed), and our own responses to situations
(Bandura, 1994).
The West Central Leadership Academy
Part of the mission
The seven non-profit organizations that co-sponsor
the West Central Leadership Academy manage a breadth
of programs serving the region. These range from direct
financial assistance (energy assistance, weatherization,
housing assistance), to early childhood programs (Head Start,
Early Head Start, child care, child care resource and referral),
workforce development (counseling, job search and retention
assistance), educational programming (career development,
asset accumulation), senior services, and more.
What these organizations have in common is a mission
to reach low-income residents of the region. Many of the
8 Volume 7
9. Hoelting, Caldwell & Hennen
organizations follow the Community Action philosophy of
placing people from the population served on the board of
directors. They also each have a strong practice of partnering
to assure that a breadth of services in the area are connected to
each other.
Leaders of these organizations say that they invest in the
Academy to create more opportunities for their clients to
learn about leadership and to provide leadership. Leah Pigatti
describes their organization’s intent this way: “For everyone
who participates, the Academy is the first-ever opportunity
to examine their leadership ability and work with peers to
understand their learning style and methods of interaction
with others. The growth in self-esteem and confidence
experienced by participants is amazing to watch. It just gives
you goose bumps to see the pride of participants as they
develop skills.”
Not the usual suspects
The WCLA program co-sponsors knew from the start
that the nominating process would be an important program
component. One of the goals of the nomination process was
to choose participants
from demographic groups
“The most important thing that were not traditionally
we can do to move people in leadership positions
out of poverty is to give them in the region. In this
opportunity. Energy assistance rural, traditionally white
is important; all assistance is region, women, low-
important. But really escaping
income residents and
poverty is about taking control.”
minority groups were
Steve Nagle,
Executive Director, under-represented in
West Central Minnesota leadership positions but
Communities’ Action are over-represented in the
Academy. This changes the
culture of the leadership
education experience,
according to Wendy
Merrick. “It seems that the make-up of the participants is the
most significantly different aspect (of the program). Many
of these participants are attending leadership training for
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the first time and feel privileged to be there as a result of the
nomination process. This creates a culture of excitement and
motivation in the group, which is contagious. Unfortunately,
this feels the opposite of some leadership trainings I have been
at, where one or two bored or jaded participants can really
bring down the entire group and lose the effectiveness of the
session.”
Because nomination comes from a respected organization
or its staff member, program participants show high
attendance and accountability. Because the financial
margins of the emerging leaders in this program are narrow,
the program invested financially to eliminate barriers to
attendance. The program budget included a $325 stipend to
reimburse participants for transportation, child care, or wages
lost due to attendance.
Table 1. Educational attainment by cohort participants (Years 1 and 2).
Count Percent
No high school diploma 3 8.1%
High school graduates 3 8.1%
Technical or business school graduate 6 16.2%
Some college experience 8 21.6%
College graduates 14 37.8%
Some post-college education 3 8.1%
Total number of respondents 37 100.0%
Table 2. Annual household income of cohort participants (Years 1 and 2).
Count Percent
Less than $10,000 6 17.6%
More than $10,000, less than $20,000 7 20.6%
More than $20,000, less than $30,000 5 14.7%
More than $30,000, less than $50,000 11 32.4%
More than $50,000, less than $100,000 5 14.7%
Total number of respondents 34 100.0%
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11. Hoelting, Caldwell & Hennen
In the first Leadership Academy, there were 22
participants. Four were males, 18 female. One way to
gauge whether participants were not in the existing fray of
leadership was to examine their community connections, in
particular, the number of participants who had immediate
family members in the community. Given the well-known
maxim that you are not a resident of rural Minnesota “until
you’ve got a grandparent in the local graveyard,” people
with family connections potentially have more networks,
more roots, and more existing connections in the community
than someone who does not. In the pilot cohort, 14 of the 22
participants (63%) had no immediate family members in the
community.
Education and income levels of participants in the first two
cohorts covered a wide spectrum, largely because program
“slots” that could not be filled by clients of the organizations
were filled by staff of the co-sponsoring organizations.
The first two groups also had a degree of ethnic diversity
relative to their rural demographics. While the majority of
participants have been white, two participants were American
Indian, two identified as Black or African-American, two
identified as Hispanic, and one identified as Asian. One
participant was not a native-born U.S. citizen.
Cindy Bigger, the Extension educator who led the
program, believes that participant diversity, especially age
diversity, is often not found in other regional leadership
programs. She agrees with Wendy Merrick that, compared to
other leadership programs, many of the Academy participants
are new to leadership training. Because this was a “first time”
experience for participants, they were excited to be there and
thus more engaged than those for whom opportunities are
plenty.
Program design: Tailoring the scholarly approach.
The educational sessions were planned, led, and taught
by an experienced educator from the University of Minnesota
Extension’s Leadership and Civic Engagement (LCE)
program staff. The LCE program team provides leadership
programs for organizations and communities throughout the
state. Though its core content is derived from scholarship
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in leadership education and its related content areas, each
program is designed to consider the context of the community,
the sponsors, and the participants of the program — their life
circumstances and personal motivations.
The West Central Leadership Academy pilot convened
eight times for four-hour sessions over a three-month period.
The sessions covered:
• Understanding leadership and your community
• Personal leadership
• Visionary leadership
• Organizational/positional leadership
• Team leadership
• Civic leadership
• Ethical leadership
• Situational leadership
• Closing session and graduation
The group, the setting, and the interaction built into the
program design were carefully constructed to create new
bonds between and among the participants involved, as well
as between and among communities in the regions.
The first Leadership Academy took place in 2010, and the
design showed great promise with strong participant response
for the value of the program. The second cohort was designed
using lessons from the pilot to enhance and improve the
offering. The second offering finished in early June 2011. The
third and current offering is under way and ended in summer
of 2012, so evaluation data is not yet available.
“You have to push and pull more.” Cindy Bigger, lead
educator who adapted the program for the Academy, noted
that the nuances of program delivery changed to address the
emerging leaders in the academy. The same newness that
increased the participants’ enthusiasm caused them to be
less sure of themselves and their contributions. And so, “the
instructor has to push and pull more.” To adapt to the needs of
participants, the educator also changed some of the leadership
curricula that provided important content but were designed
with more experienced leaders in mind. She made more use
of step-by-step-instruction, repetition, reviewing of concepts
in a variety of ways, and direct application of concepts to
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participant’s daily lives. She also took advantage of discussion
whenever possible, seizing the opportunity to ask penetrating
questions, coach, encourage, and share her own leadership
experiences.
The program design made sure that participants could
directly apply the concepts learned to their daily lives
and goals. This was done most intentionally through the
individual leadership project. Early in the course of the
program, participants identified a leadership activity that
they would complete before the end of the program. One
participant decided to attend a city council meeting; another
decided to run for public office. The participants’ choices
reflected the varying comfort levels of the group. Cindy Bigger
described her strategy to tie the leadership concepts and skills
to participants’ goals. “I purposefully led participants towards
leadership goals, using what they are passionate about.
We routinely checked in about their goals, and I steered or
encouraged as needed. The group aspect really helps with this,
too. If one person shares the awesome work they are doing,
others are motivated and inspired.”
Bigger shares the story of one young mother who, using
that coaching and motivation, called the mayor to ask whether
he could visit her child’s day care on Safety Day. She had just
heard at the Academy that “you might hear no, but place
calls to your elected officials when you want something. You
might have to be persistent.” With just one call to her mayor,
this participant got a “yes.” And the mayor also recruited a
firefighter and police officer to come with him. Shared success
stories like these show the group the power of their voice.
Evaluating the program
Bigger credits the co-sponsors of the program, and
especially their nomination process, as a major component
of the program’s success. “The organizations that put this
program together did their homework. They knew who to
recruit, how to recruit, and how to best remove the barriers to
get those who they wanted to attend to actually attend.”
Evaluation of the program monitored changes in
individuals as a result of the program, as well as the ultimate
benefits that those individuals brought back to communities.
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Table 3: Domains of community-level impacts.
Capital Definition
Social capital Strengthened or expanded trust and
connections among people, groups
and organizations.
Civic (aka Political) Increased ability of communities to
access and mobilize public resources.
Financial Increased private and public wealth
that is invested in the well being of
communities.
Built capital Improvement of structures and
infrastructures that contribute to the
well being of communities.
Health, Food and Nutrition Increased ability of communities to
promote physical and mental well
being.
Cultural Strengthened ability of communities
to support and celebrate diverse
worldviews.
Natural environment Strengthened ability of communities
to protect landscape, air, water, soil
and biodiversity of both plants and
animals.
Value to Individual Participants. Participants were asked
to describe the degree of their development using a six-point
scale in retrospect at the end of the program. The chart below
describes their assessment.
As noted earlier, many participants had not thought of
themselves as leaders before the invitation to the program.
One participant described this perception, saying, “I don’t
really know why my wife and I were nominated for this
program, but we are enjoying it and learning a lot, especially
about each other.” All alumni reported an above-average
change in their self-confidence, stress-coping skills, and
perceptions of themselves as leaders, as well as others’
perceptions of their leadership abilities. Participants said the
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15. Hoelting, Caldwell & Hennen
program helped them believe in themselves as leaders and
showed that they really could be leaders. They developed
skills, abilities and confidence, often for the first time. One
participant shared that, “I had felt that people were born
leaders, but learned that leaders can be made and that even I
can be a leader. This really increased my self confidence.”
When asked about others’ perceptions of her as a leader,
a participant said, “People around me always thought that I
was a leader. I didn’t think so, but they did. People have made
comments that they saw a real change in me since I attended
the program.”
Value to the Community. The University of Minnesota
Extension also conducted a study to examine the impact of
the program made in organizations and communities after
the program ended. This study is part of a growing strategy
in Extension’s community development programs to use the
Community Capitals Framework (Flora, Flora and Fey, 2004;
Emery and Flora, 2006) to measure the impacts of community
development. The Framework is based on the idea that every
community has resources. When these resources are invested
to create new resources, they become capital. The types of
capital that make a difference in communities are described in
Table 3.
As modified by the University of Minnesota Extension’s
Center for Community Vitality (to reflect a more specific
purpose of identifying end results of Extension programming),
the Community Capital Framework refers to seven
community-level domains of impact: social, health and
wellness, civic, cultural, economic/financial, building/
infrastructure, and natural environment capital (Chazdon et
al, 2007; Rasmussen et al, 2011). Human capital and behavioral
changes at the individual level are considered outcomes
and are thus measured separately from the impact domains
(Rasmussen et al, 2011).
Study Methodology. After the program was completed,
evaluators asked program alumni and the executive directors
of the referring organizations to assess the degree to which
the West Central Leadership Academy program made an
impact, using the Framework to understand that impact. The
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Table 4: Participant’s private value (human capital) impacts.
(1= No Change to 6=A Great Deal), N = 16 respondents Average
To what degree did you experience an increase in self- 4.8
confidence after participating in the program?
To what degree do you feel that others in your 4.7
community or organization think of you more as a
leader after completing the program than they did before
you entered the program?
To what degree did your experience in the program 4.6
change how you see yourself as a leader?
To what degree did your experience in the program 4.3
affect your coping skills when faced with difficult or
challenging situations?
interview protocol employed a simultaneous mixed methods
approach (Tashakkori and Teddlie, 1998) to triangulate
quantitative and qualitative methods (Denzin, 1989; Patton,
2002).
The method simply involved interviewing participants
and the executive directors of sponsoring organizations.
Participants were asked to what degree (on a scale of 1 = not
at all to 6 = a great deal) they felt the Leadership Academy
had prompted change. Questions were shaped in a way
that acquainted the person being interviewed with the
Framework’s domains. After providing a rating for each
question, participants were prompted to explain the rating and
give examples. In this way, the study had both quantitative
and qualitative descriptions of program impact.
Community Impacts. As seen in Figure 1, scores were
above average in the majority of the Framework domains.
Interview responses from the executive directors also exhibit
large public value gains. However, the domains with the
highest impact, as can be seen in the graph of the average
domain scores of each group, differ in interview groups.
Executive directors (n=7) rated the cultural capital domain as
having the largest public value impact, 5 (out of 6 possible).
Participants, though, rated social capital as the domain where
they experienced the highest degree of change (4.7). Executive
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17. Hoelting, Caldwell & Hennen
Figure 1: Comparisons of impacts identified by participants and agency
directors.
5.0
5.0 4.8
4.7 4.7
4.3 4.3
4.0
4.0 3.8
3.3 3.3
3.0 3.0
2.9
3.0
2.0
1.0
1.0
0.0
Social Health Civic Cultural Financial Natural Built
Referring Agency Directors (n=7)
Participants (n=16)
directors rated political capital as the second highest domain
(4.8), while participants rated political capital as a close third
(4.3). For executive directors, social capital was a close third
(4.7), scoring slightly higher than participants’ first-rated
domain, the same — social capital. While all scores were
above average, participants rated social capital, health and
wellness capital, political capital, and cultural capital as the
highest domains. Executive directors rated cultural capital,
political capital, social capital and health & wellness capital
as the domains with the highest impact. These high scores in
the domains show that there were significant impacts, while
the qualitative narrative provided by both groups explains the
specific impacts.
Finding #1: Impacts on Social Capital: Both groups
reported impacts in the social capital domain as strong
impacts. Protocol questions focused on how the program
built new connections within organizations and communities,
how the program strengthened existing connections in
organizations and communities (bonding social capital); and
how the program connected participants to organizations in
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the community and region.
One executive director reported that as a result of the
Leadership Academy, “Participants have been markedly more
active in their respective communities and efforts.” Another
director stated, “The participants from this agency returned
highly motivated. All were involved in numerous projects in
the community.” Regional connections were made as well. A
director said he could tell the impact of the program when two
staff members in the program initiated an organizational and
community response to a tornado that hit a nearby town.
Participants reported that the program strengthened,
extended, and connected social links. A participant who ran
for mayor said, “I definitely needed to network when I was
running for mayor. This strengthened connections I had,
as well as new ones.” Another participant without many
community connections before the program stated, “By going
out of my comfort zone I have gone into other areas. I work
with the Salvation Army and have been called to work with
fire situations in other counties on multiple occasions.”
Finding #2: Health and Wellness Impacts. Health and
wellness impacts did not see as much change from the
perspective of the executive directors as participants, who
rated the degree of change as the second most significant
(4.3). One participant, encouraged by skills she learned in the
program, said, “That is my dream, to start a youth center that
will help the ‘rejects’ of society, for the youth that don’t feel
that they can fit in. I hope to realize this dream by the end of
this year — still in the planning phase.“ Other participants
discussed ongoing efforts in mental health outreach, domestic
violence and homelessness prevention, the well being of
seniors and young children, and food security for families.
Finding #3: Civic Impacts. Both groups saw significant
civic impacts. Participants rated the civic domain as a close
third in significance (4.3), while executive directors saw
the civic domain as having the second highest impact (4.8).
With the focus of the leadership academy on public and
civic participation, this is understandable. Participants were
instructed in how to engage with political and civic leaders
and were encouraged to engage in civic leadership. Impacts
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19. Hoelting, Caldwell & Hennen
were found in both the organizational and community
spheres. One participant stated, “Because of the tools and
learning in the area, I have been able to open up more and
give my personal thoughts and views in the organizations I
am involved in.” Another participant commented, “I am more
comfortable speaking my mind, where I may not have said
anything before.”
In communities and the region, participants ran for
school boards, increased membership on civic committees,
ran for city council and even for mayor. One participant said,
“Running the campaign for school board made me see that
I could do it, despite being ‘just a mom.’ That I have lots to
offer.” For one participant, the program showed that political
leadership was within grasp. She said, “I realized that yes, I
can do city council. There are some council members who are
not going to run again, so it’s a perfect time to put my foot out
there and see what happens.”
This was a common theme among responses. Eight
participants mentioned that the program had positively
influenced thoughts of running for public office at some point
in the future. The participant who ran for mayor said, “What
I learned at the program was that if I had an opinion, my
opinion is worth as much as the next person. If I don’t voice
my opinion, I have no right to complain.”
Executive directors concurred that the program had great
civic impacts. One said, “One participant ran for mayor of her
city. Three were heavily involved in recovery efforts following
a tornado.”
Finding #4: Cultural Impacts. Cultural impacts of the
program were also significant. Participants described increased
involvement in community activities. They joined planning
groups for county fairs, national nights out, and historical,
cultural and civic groups. One commented that, “just running
for office as a person of color in our school system is huge. I
was letting people know about the issues facing our children.”
Executive directors rated the cultural capital domain as having
had the most impact from the program. They discussed how
they saw participants from their organizations become more
involved in community events and celebrations and witnessed
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them sharing diverse perspectives in the greater community.
One participant discussed her newfound involvement with
a regional program that brings cultural arts groups to area
schools and events. Another, who identified herself as Native
American, mentioned that she has led efforts in her culturally
specific organization to reach out to other groups, to seek to
understand and bridge gaps between cultures.
From the perspectives of both participants and directors,
the leadership program promoted and brought about cultural
diversity in both organizations and the greater community.
Finding #5: Economic/Financial Impacts. While not
as quantitatively significant, impacts were also seen in the
Framework domain of financial impact. One participant was
so encouraged by the program that she realized her dream
and started a deli with her husband in the local mall. One
participant said, “While I was in the program, I wrote a grant
and received the full amount.... I never saw myself as a grant
writer.” Other participants mentioned getting more involved
in fundraising and grant writing for their organizations also.
They now had the skills and confidence to do so.
Both participants and executive directors recorded large
quantitative impacts and provided excellent narrative about
experiences and observations. Extension Educator Cindy
Bigger reinforces this finding as she describes an accidental
meeting in a local store with one participant after the program.
“The woman saw me and shouted my name. And she said,
‘Do you know that program changed my family’s life? I’d
been unemployed for a year before the program. Through it, I
found a job. And you know what? I’ve got my eye on a better
one that I think I can do.”
One director summed up the impacts and the ethos of the
program, commenting that “Each of the participants are like
a seedling, continuing to grow, and their impact will unfold
and spread with time and nurturing from our community
leadership.”
Challenges
Along with the successes of the program for participants
and their communities, executive directors did recognize some
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21. Hoelting, Caldwell & Hennen
drawbacks. One identified problem is that sometimes there
is no outlet for the participants’ newfound skills. After the
programs, referring organizations were supposed to provide
participants (especially staff) with leadership opportunities.
According to one executive director, that is not necessarily
happening. A participant mentioned that it was difficult to
change anything in her organization and that she doesn’t feel
that she is using her newfound skills. Another recognized
drawback was that there was little follow-up or continued
guidance for participants. Both the educator and executive
directors noted that there is no guarantee that participants are
actually providing leadership in their communities. A “booster
shot” of leadership training was recommended to continue
the impacts. This also points to the need for a longitudinal
look at the program’s impact. Extension is conducting such
longitudinal studies frequently now, typically examining the
eventual growth in community capitals that happen as a result
of new leadership that grows in programs (Rasmussen, et.
al., 2011). It is particularly exciting to consider where these
emerging leaders will make a difference in coming years.
Conclusion
Impacts of the West Central Leadership Academy were
significant. Using an interview protocol organized around
the community capitals framework, evaluators teased out
powerful stories from both participants and executive
directors. Participants identified huge growth in personal
skills of confidence, leadership skills, and conflict resolution.
Training emerging leaders provided a big payoff for both
personal and public value. Part of this payoff was the increase
of bonding, bridging and linking connections of social capital
among the participants. The program intentionally created
networks among a variety of organizations and communities.
This is an important strategy for success with businesses,
professional organizations, in volunteer work, and for
political action. In the civic arena, the skills and motivation
provided by the program spurred increased community and
organizational leadership involvement among participants.
This increased involvement was important because
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prior to the program, participants had little esteem for their
own leadership abilities and as a result had little leadership
involvement. By being chosen for the program, participants
not only gained skills and confidence, they were shown that
others believed in their leadership ability. The referral process,
with community agencies nominating participants or staff
with limited leadership experience, proved vital to program
success.
As the leader of the collaboration, Wendy Merrick is
pleased with the program’s success and believes that the
model could work in other rural areas. “There is a great skills
increase. Group dynamics motivate success. While there is not
necessarily lasting relationships among participants after the
program, there is a strong bond during the time together that
really encourages and motivates participants. The instructor is
top notch, and I feel that something is going on differently in
the program…. It seems that the freshness of the participants
has created a motivating dynamic. These are all new leaders
who are newly important and thus feel that they can make a
difference. Even if there are just a few people who feel that
way, it can make a huge difference in motivating the entire
group.”
The West Central Leadership Academy did see deep
impacts. These impacts, in both private and public value, were
credited to the design and delivery of the program. Perhaps
the crux of this program’s success was the participants, their
diversity and newness to leadership, and the endorsement
that came to them because they are invited to participate.
Through the power of invitation comes our opportunity to tap
important assets and build communities in multiple and far-
reaching ways.
The authors would like to thank those who made
important contributions to this publication: Wendy Merrick
and Sheri Booms Holm of the West Central Initiative; Cindy
Bigger of Bigger Associates; Scott Chazdon, Mary Vitcenda
and Denise Trudeau Poskas of the U of M Extension Center for
Community Vitality, and all of the community agencies that
contributed to this article and make this Leadership Academy
a success.
22 Volume 7
23. Hoelting, Caldwell & Hennen
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