This blog post is short because honestly, this video and Tevlin’s column tell Charles’ story better than I can.  Charles and I are both disability rights advocates. I remember him from various protests and rallies in the ‘80s and ‘90s as we worked to make our community more accessible for people with disabilities. We both work and pay taxes. Charles’ life is good, full of independence and doing what he’s “supposed to do”. But now his life and independence is in jeopardy.

This video of Charles deserves to go viral. Van Heuveln’s letter writing campaign hasn’t generated much interest from our state legislators. They seem more interested in blocking good appointees who will watch guard our environment and financing a football stadium for the Minnesota Vikings.

So, please, take a few minutes now. Watch this video. Share it with others if you can. Then contact your Minnesota state legislators and let’s close this loophole so Charles can keep his condo and continue to work. He’s done everything right. He deserves to keep what he’s earned.

Thank you.

The interview Q & A then become fodder for the actors’ performance. This use of theater arts—improv—is a means for conversation and characters to illustrate the situations described in the interview. The implications of the problems and solutions are brought to life in a show that appeals an array of audience members from policy wonks to policy novices.

The list of guests and topics is an impressive line-up: Annie Levenson-Falk and Juventino Meza—Immigration and Higher Education, Lori Sturdevant—MN Legislature 2012, Julie Blaha—Teachers and Bullying, Nate Garvis—Civic Design, Maggie Koerth-Baker—Energy Infrastructure, Cory Merrifeld, Lee Ergstrom—Farm to Chef, Sarah Janacek –Politics in Minnesota, and Peggy Knapp–Water.

With this wide variety of topics and speakers a Thursday night spent at the Theater of Public Policy might provide just the break needed during the ramp up of the 2012 election cycle and will definitely provide a much needed breath of fresh air on these ideas during the bombardment of political commercials streaming into our homes.

In many ways, my organization–the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)–is pursuing the answer to this question.  In 2007, we embarked on our “BHAG” (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) to improve the quality of life in neighborhoods where poverty, physical distress, and isolation from mainstream economies and social structures persist.  We call our effort Building Sustainable Communities, and have been modeling approaches to comprehensive community development in neighborhoods throughout the country, most notably starting with the New Communities Program in Chicago.

We’ve learned some things along the way.  There are some fundamental principles in place-based, community work that cannot be overlooked or undervalued.  (Locally we’ve learned some of these lessons the hard way.)

• Creating a common agenda.  In neighborhood work, this is often rooted in a local plan that is the result of inclusive engagements of residents and other key local stakeholders.  Without broad and active engagement, the plan won’t likely reflect a community’s vision, goals and priorities.
• Authentic and ongoing community engagement.  An initial and ongoing set of organizing activities that can serve as a consistent form of input and engagement with the community is essential. Looking for opportunities to translate that organizing into deeper relationships and implementation activities is equally as critical.
• A comprehensive array of community development activities. A range of strategies/approaches that are rooted in the neighborhood/community process should also encompass expanding capital in housing and other real estate, increasing family income and wealth, stimulating local economic activity and connections to regional economies, improving access to quality education, and supporting healthy and culturally-rich environments and lifestyles.
• Existence of a strong civic partnership.  No one community or neighborhood can accomplish its vision alone; rather, there needs to be meaningful engagement of public, philanthropic, private and other nonprofit sector partners to ensure success and create mutual accountability among the sectors.
• Ensuring courageous and sustainable leadership.  At the center of comprehensive and collective efforts in neighborhoods, there must be a lead entity or set of collaborators that holds the vision and ensures the effective implementation of strategies toward that vision.

Are we seeing progress?  Absolutely.  Is there more work to be done?  Again, absolutely.

I truly believe that through conscious and deliberate choices and disciplined investments of our collective time, talent, energy and resources we can create communities that are “built to last.”  Places where families and children can prosper and quality of life can be improved and maintained over the long term. I’m not alone in that belief.  We have many partners actively engaged in making strong, sustainable communities a reality.  I hope you’ll join us to learn more about how this work is taking shape here in the Twin Cities and across the country.

Credit: Dan MacDonald

Every year I conduct admissions interviews for my alma mater. I love getting the chance to meet with high school seniors to talk with them about their accomplishments, and to get a sense for what their goals are for the future.

After each interview I come away amazed by the intellectual curiosity of these students. I am inspired by the way these teenagers are connected with their communities and are working hard to make a difference. I am humbled by their drive, their passion, and their ambition to make an impact on the world.

One of my recent interviews was with a young man who spends his “free time” in a lab at the University of Minnesota helping research possibilities around “tumor suppressor genes.” When I was in high school I thought breeding fruit flies to track eye color changes was a cool experiment. Targeted gene therapies were a little out of my scope. He was so enthusiastic telling me about the work he’s doing. It was a privilege to tap into the mind of someone who is so excited about learning.

It reminded me of an article I read about a 17-year-old girl in California who just won a $100,000 prize from a national science contest sponsored by Siemens. She’s been conducting research as an “after school project” that could lead to a cure for cancer. Angela Zhang created a nanoparticle that can seek out cancer cells and kill them, leaving healthy cells unharmed.

Then there is the story of Samantha Garvey, who was living in a homeless shelter when she got word that she made it to the finals of a national Intel science competition. She had spent two years studying the effects of the Asian short crab on the mussel population of a salt marsh in Long Island. Samantha and her family have since been able to find a home. Samantha is hoping to go to Yale or Brown next year.

These stories, and countless others, demonstrate a profound truth that we need to embrace in this country. Every single child has potential, and the opportunity cost of failing to nurture that potential is beyond measure.

We have no idea where the next Einstein is going to come from. We don’t know who our next Steve Jobs will be. There are so many children out there with potential to change the world but maybe they don’t have a home, or food, or books, or parents to read to them, or a teacher to inspire them.

We talk a lot in this country about leveraging resources and return on investment. It’s time we focus on our greatest untapped resource: children. If we can unleash the collective power of ALL of the young people around us, cancer and global warming and a host of other “unsolvable” problems don’t stand a chance.

So the questions is… how do we do it? How do we reach people who are falling through the cracks? Please submit your thoughts… maybe we can come up with some ideas of our own!

In doing some research, asking some questions, and doing some reflection I learned a few things.   First, if you are going to protect your home, you might as well protect for both theft and a fire (or other disaster).  With that in mind, here are a few things to consider.

1. Secure home

• Doors and windows with proper locks.
• Exterior lighting with motion detectors.  Do some research.  Determine what style is best for your home.  Do what is right for you and your neighbors.  I am sure they want your home safe without a bright light shining into their living room every time a squirrel runs through the yard.
• When on vacation, your house should look lived in – light timers, no mail and newspapers sitting out, yard/snow maintenance, etc.
• Secure valuables.  If you are not using valuables everyday or you are going on vacation, lock them up.  Fire proof safe for documents (don’t use for storing magnetic media – may melt).  Safety deposit boxes invaluable.  Don’t forget to secure spare keys – you know the ones right by your door.
• Neighbors.  Look out for each other.  Keep each other informed.

2. Inventory list

• Whether you are dealing with the police or your insurance agent, you need to know what you own.  And surprisingly, they would like proof.  Simple approach is to walk around your house and video tape.  The more complete approach is an inventory list.

3. Computers

• For many people, the biggest hassle and loss would be their computer.  Family photographs and videos are kept on the computer.  Backing them up to an external hard drive works for a disk crash.  It doesn’t do any good if it is sitting right next to your computer and there is a fire or a theft.  The same is true for passwords written down, saved by your browser or stored on your computer.

4. Identity protection

• Besides the confidential items on your computer there are also a number of other items to keep secure in order to protect your identity – tax returns, bank statements, passports, social security cards, etc.

Not trying to be chicken little, but if you are going to lock your doors when you leave the house you might as well put in a little more effort to make your home secure and protected.

Any other suggestions?

This reflection of Norris’ life follows her from childhood in Minneapolis to her reconciliation of her parents and the grace they exhibited in the face of life’s challenges.  I’m not a literary critic, but for what it’s worth, the book was humbling and inspiring and has Minneapolis woven into most of its corners.  I liked it.

What’s as interesting to me as the book, is the idea of a super-sized Book Club?  Following some neighborhood tension on the South Side of Minneapolis in the summer of 2011, some concerned neighbors got together and advanced an idea around this bunko-busting book club.   The City of Minneapolis and some other organizations picked up the idea and ran with it.  At the book level and individual level, it was an attempt to improve dialog and create some shared meaning.   Will the book itself make an impact?

Quantitatively, it will be difficult to point to tactical impacts within the community, but I would imagine neighbors and neighborhoods may see an improvement in dialog and have stories to share about the impact of the Book Club.  Community is such a transient and illusive notion that measurement is difficult to gauge.  I liken the spirit of Community to a place where we belong.  That community can be geographic or interest-based, but it’s a place where we belong and pursue a common interest.  The idea of One Minneapolis One Read is precisely what makes this a great place to live.  It’s important to look for ways to connect whatever the topic.

In talking with friends over the past few weeks, I’ve focused on where people find community—the answers surprised me.  A dad’s-music club, a craft-beer gathering, fantasy football, kids-sporting activities and a group of actors from a neighborhood production.  Not exactly what I thought I would hear.  Where do you find community?  In your neighborhood, a place of worship, a bowling league?

Photo: Vital Aging Network

This weekend I was flipping through TV channels and, while I usually skip over the community programming on cable TV, I happened to land on a city council meeting. A resident I would guess to be in his 60s was thanking the council for recent road and bike path improvements.

Now that I’m well into my 50s, I find that I’m approaching my role in my own community a little differently. I haven’t been involved in the past, but perhaps now may be the time. My kids are grown and, although my work, my grandchildren and my 97-year-old father keep me busy, I see my neighborhood as my anchor. In the 26 years I’ve lived in my neighborhood, I’ve watched as the community evolved. And now perhaps it’s my turn to have an impact – to be a (dare I say?) leader.

Many of us hold ourselves back from becoming leaders in our communities for various reasons:

• We may not realize the “communities” we’re actually a part of. Most of us belong to multiple communities – neighborhoods, church groups, volunteer groups, our workplace, etc. – and we can be more effective members within each of these groups.

• We may not be clear about what our talents are that could be of value to our communities.

• We may not know how to step forward – how to leverage our talents and experience for the good of our communities.

“Be the Change” is a free workshop designed to help Saint Paul residents age 50 and better find their own unique answers to these questions. In two short hours, workshop attendees will explore the importance of community involvement, where their special “niche” is and concrete steps they can take to make the Saint Paul community a better place to live.

A collaborative effort, “Be the Change” is presented by Vital Aging Network and Little Brothers – Friends of the Elderly and funded by The Saint Paul Foundation. Please join us!

When: Thursday, January 26, 6-8 p.m.

Where: Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church – Fellowship Room, 674 Johnson Parkway, Saint Paul

To register, or for more information, contact LuAnne Speeter at lspeeter@littlebrothersmn.org or 612.746.0753. Space is limited.

Here’s your chance to create your own legacy while giving back to the Saint Paul community. Share the gift of your experience!

Download flyer: Be the Change Workshop

~ LuAnne Speeter is a guest contributor.

If your class is like mine, at least a portion now regularly connects on Facebook. To engage our Facebook class group page, we organized a few happy hours. Happy hour attendees spanned cliques and social circles. Each gathering was filled fresh conversation and new points of commonality. We weren’t hashing over old stories as much as we were talked about our lives today.

We’re taking a shot at planning the 30th reunion and these are some web-based tools we use to reach out, listen and plan. Like any sound effort in 2012, we drafted a brief mission, and sets of values and success metrics.

Google searching classmates is a huge task. With a list of names with scant or very old information and a 30 year old yearbook photo, we’ve attempted it as individuals and a group. Sure there will be people who never surface, but we intend to give it our best shot.

Our Facebook community consists of about 150 out of a graduating class of 560+. This is our most direct and free way to share reunion information and ideas. It will be interesting to see how the new degree of familiarity, built through Facebook friendships, accelerates ice-breaking at our reunion events this summer.

Our Facebook community, through individual networks, encourages classmates to join Facebook and the group, and posts updates on the passing of classmates.

E-mails are important and these databases lay dormant for years at a time. We issued a “Here’s the Date and Tell Us Your Preferences” questionnaire via SurveyMonkey and are pleased with our list’s accuracy and number of responses. A majority of respondents told us that they prefer e-mail for their reunion information. We are a class that, for many reasons, has not totally bought in to the social network.

So our webpage will get built and our PayPal account created. We will proudly list a planning committee that represents names previously associated with cliques. We’ve grown up, we are parents and grandparents. We have pets and careers. Our school experience binds us. Jam-packed elementary and junior high schools fed our high school. Neighborhood families stayed put and they relied on one another.

Our planning committee believes those bonds are real and form the basis of a great experience and network. We are at a time in our lives when things to dread are real and unavoidable. A class reunion should not appear on that list.

I decided that this is the year to get my “career ducks” in a row. I love where I am working right now; it’s a great fit professionally and personally. But I’ve heard that there is a huge leadership gap expected in the nonprofit sector right between 2016 and 2018 as more baby boomers – the first of whom turned 65 last year – decide to retire. Back in 2006, Bridgespan Group claimed that approximately 640,000 leadership positions would need to be filled to close that gap. While there is some debate about whether that figure will actually be higher, or much lower, as a result of the recession, the fact of the matter is: retirement will continue to be an option for current leaders. And, as a result, their positions will need to be filled. By qualified candidates.

Those of us in the X and Y Generations should be preparing for those roles now, getting ready to lead in the nonprofit sector in the future.

While researching what “career ducks” I need to get in said row, to prepare for my next leadership position, I came across a lot of information and advice for “mapping your nonprofit career,” and for “how to market yourself in the nonprofit sector.” I read articles by search firms and human resource directors, discussing the qualities they’re looking for in leaders, and what they believe the trends are going to be over the next several years. As a result, I’ve culled this list of five common recommended actions for preparing to lead:

1. Upgrade your talent.
2. Be present (and aware of) where opportunities are being shared.
3. Share your talents.
4. Establish your value within your current organization.
5. Build your personal brand.

Now that we know what the “ducks” (or actions) are, it’s time to figure out how to line them up! For this post, let’s look at the first, “upgrade your talent.” It’s not enough anymore to be passionate about an organization’s mission. Our jobs are getting more technical and more complex. As a result, there is a “flight to quality” among those recruiting nonprofit leaders. We must be technically skilled as well as passionate. At the same time, our competition for those leadership positions is getting stiffer and stiffer, as nonprofits are casting their nets wider and wider for the best candidates.

Upgrading your talent can include anything from furthering your formal education to keeping up with industry trends through webinars and white papers.

On the formal side, you may consider pursuing a graduate degree in nonprofit leadership; several universities right here in the Twin Cities have excellent programs with great reputations and amazing faculty and staff, many of whom are seasoned nonprofit leaders. Think the expense isn’t worth it? A recent Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce study found that the unemployment rate is just 3% among those with graduate degrees. I will finish my Master of Public Affairs degree at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs in August.  So, check! I’m working on formally upgrading my talent through a masters program.

If the expense (both money and time) of completing a grad program is too much to handle, or you want to brush up on industry trends, check out the reasonably-priced conferences, trainings, webinars and white papers offered by many organizations, including the Nonprofit Technology Network, Network for Good’s Nonprofit 911, the Nonprofit Marketing Guide, and our own Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. Another check for me here: I regularly peruse blogs, white papers and free webinars for useful information. It costs me nothing and may net important new information. For example, I attended a free Network for Good Webinar just this week on developing an Inbound Marketing strategy – while it was fairly basic, it was also free, and gave me a few ideas to implement and a few to follow up on in the future.

There are many other ways to upgrade your talent, too!  How are you upgrading your talent to prepare to lead? What other ideas for upgrading talent do you have for the folks who are going to follow in your footsteps? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

As for the other four “career ducks,” I’ll touch on those in future posts. In the meantime, happy resolution keeping!

“What a minute,” he said, “we’re all busy.  Why should we be wasting time and money on this?” He went on to share his view of vision statements:  “Very expensive random words, framed on a conference room or a lobby wall, and never thought of again.”   He likened our intended outcome to, um, bovine-derived fertilizer.

I have to concede: I’ve seen many such statements, and I’ve worked in and around the organizations that sport them.  Many involved consultants; every single one began with abundant good intentions.  So, how can we make a leadership vision – the content, more than the statements themselves – a valuable, strategic leadership tool?

A vision is a description of the future that can guide and motivate people to bring it about.   It is a product of practical, applied imagination.  We consider four factors when crafting a vision that will remain useful:

• Scope:  Who and what are involved in the realization of this vision?  Who must take action, who might be involved, and whom will be affected?  The scope of a vision could be as narrow as a single individual, or as broad as the universe.
• Reach: What is the “distance” between our current reality and our future vision?  Is our vision readily attainable, or will it require a high levels of effort, resources, or risk?  How long might it take to see progress, or to come to fruition?
• Impact:  Why does this vision matter?  What are the expected benefits?  What are the negative consequences of any changes, and how might we mitigate them?
• Clarity: Have we thought through specifics? Can we articulate our vision in ways that engage others in helping to bring it about?

Finally, any powerful vision is a shared vision: created by a group, and valued by group members.  Leaders play a particular role: igniting a common interest in creating or preserving something of value, and stoking the ongoing commitment to bring it about.  Leaders in all roles become the stewards of their groups’ visions, working to empower others to make them real.  That ongoing job is easier if the vision itself reflects some up-front work, and some refinement from time to time as well.

With due attention to the quality of our vision, we stand a very good chance of pleasantly surprising – and ultimately engaging- even the staunchest skeptics.