[Minnesota Rising Dispatch] July 2015

[#mnrising Dispatch] July 2015 Tonight's rare blue moon gives us pause and an opportunity to reflect on the special things July brought: this month, we hosted an ice cream social at Izzy's for our Sounding Board Session focused on being #MinnesotaBrave, started planning for half-day events this fall for LOCUS (on identity-driven leadership) and #mnrising (our next IDEA GENERATION), and facilitated an "Improving Social Inclusion" breakout conversation at the GREATER MSP Makers session. If you'd still like to come out and play with us this summer, we invite you to be hosted in a cascading conversation and/or to join us at our August Sounding Board Session, which in addition to being a potluck dinner, will serve as a focus group to gather insights for our Greater Minnesota Rising project. Thanks for your support and here's hoping you enjoy this special season in the sun! RSDP Happenings Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships   Last year the Partnerships, in collaboration with the Page family and friends, created the Mary Page Community-University Partnership Fund. The fund honors the memory and continues Mary Page's legacy as a trailblazing leader of RSDP and Greater Minnesota. This summer, the Page Fund is supporting a student who will study how Northwestern Minnesota communities could better retain and attract young professionals. Humphrey School of Public Affairs student Brooke McManigal is working with Minnesota Rising, a group of millennial generation leaders, to outline the region's assets and challenges related to workforce needs and community vitality. [Read more.] Native Nation Builders Program Bush Foundation Join the nation-building movement - apply to be a Native Nation Rebuilder! The Native Nation Rebuilders Program brings together Native leaders so they may be instrumental in moving their nations, in cooperation with their elected leadership, toward realization of their tribes' unique goals. The Bush Foundation seeks candidates for a seventh cohort of Rebuilders who will help ensure that elected tribal leaders and the tribes they serve will have a cadre of skilled and courageous individuals dedicated to strengthening their nations. [Read more.] Nonprofit Board Recruitment Fair Board Repair Are you a person of color interested in making an impact in the nonprofit sector by joining a board of directors? Register for the upcoming Board Repair Nonprofit Board Recruitment Fair on August 3rd! The mission of Board Repair is to support underrepresented groups on nonprofit boards and committees in the Twin Cities. More than 100 local nonprofit with board openings will have staff or board members at the event who will meet with attendees for meaningful discussions about joining boards and committees.  [Read more.] Accepting Applications: NLP Cohort Wilder Foundation Our six-month Neighborhood Leadership Program is an in-depth program for leaders engaged - or planning to engage - in the community. Participants in this program are eager to connect with a diverse learning community to explore community involvement and develop leadership skills to take effective action. This program typically brings together 30 people from a wide diversity of ages, cultural backgrounds, and levels of experience. Participants come from a variety of formal and informal community-based organizations. Volunteer Community Coaches are paired with each NLP participant to share their six-month journey as attentive listeners, sounding boards, and reflective companions. [Read more.] Friend on Facebook Follow on Twitter Forward to a Friend News from the Network Updates and events with our esteemed partners and collaborators! August Sounding Board Session #mnrising Monday, August 3 5:30pm - 7:30pm Potluck at Ruth's (RSVPfor details) Little Mekong Night Market Asian Economic Development Association Friday and Saturday, August 6-7 6:00pm - Midnight; 4:00pm - Midnight University Avenue and Western Avenue "Speaking for Ourselves: A Study with Immigrant and Refugee Communities in the Twin Cities" Twin Cities Research Group Wednesday, August 12 12:00pm - 1:00pm Wilder Foundation #81 Brewing Up Buzz for Beer SMBMSP Friday, August 14 8:00am - 10:00am The Freehouse "A Living Changing River" featuring Ben Weaver River City Revenue Friday, August 21 7:00pm - 9:00pm City House Scattershot Cafe YNPN Twin Cities Saturday, August 22 10:00am - 12:00pm Multiple locations   Making Our #MNRising Mark! Don't forget to tag your upcoming emerging leader events, thoughts, musings, and more,#mnrising, on Twitter and Facebook. Let's aggregate and organize ourselves for increased interaction and potential for collaboration!

Copyright © 2015 Minnesota Rising, All rights reserved.

Accepting Applications: Wilder Foundation Neighborhood Leadership Program

Wilder Foundation is recruiting applicants for the next Neighborhood Leadership Program cohort. If you live, work, or play in Saint Paul, consider taking part in this opportunity to develop your skills and enhance your ability to act on important community issues. Learn more below and consider applying by the September 9th deadline!

Challenge yourself . . . Enhance your leadership skills . . .

Learn how history can inform actions of today.

Help make the goals & dreams of your community a reality!

Join the Neighborhood Leadership Program

If you live, volunteer or work in a Saint Paul neighborhood, and want to connect with others who make a difference in their community, then this opportunity is for you!  NLP is an in-depth program bringing together diverse leaders from across the community to develop skills and promote effective action.

Program runs September 2015–February 2016

Session Topics Include:

• Understanding Your Leadership Style

• Working Inclusively in Neighborhoods

• Navigating Systems

• Networking for Effective Action

• Drawing on Community History to Inform Your Current Work

The NLP staff would be happy to answer any questions you may have.  Please contact us at NLP@wilder.org or by calling Chalonne Wilson at 651-280-2653. You can also learn more by visiting our website at www.wilder.org/nlp.html.

[Recommended reading] University, millennials collaborate for talent research in Greater Minnesota counties

We're excited that our Greater Minnesota Rising project continues to gain traction and interest across the state. Check out the latest coverage in the Walker Pilot-Independent to learn more about the effort to attract and retain next generation leaders in northwestern Minnesota!

University, millennials collaborate for talent research in Greater Minnesota counties

Posted: Saturday, July 18, 2015 7:00 am

staff reports pilotnews@pilotindependent.com

ST. PAUL — Minnesota Rising, a group of millennial generation leaders, and the University of Minnesota Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (RSDP) are supporting a project to study how North Central and West Central Minnesota communities might better attract and retain young professionals.

The project, dubbed Greater Minnesota Rising, won a grant from the Mary J. Page Community-University Partnership Fund, which is advised by RSDP, to support Humphrey School of Public Affairs student Brooke McManigal, who will research the region’s assets and challenges related to workforce needs and community vitality.

“Minnesota Rising is a network of emerging leaders working to build relationships, trust, and a shared vision for the future,” said Diane Tran, the organization’s founder. “We’re excited to partner with these communities in Greater Minnesota to help ensure shared prosperity for all Minnesotans.”

The project is based on the hopeful work of University of Minnesota Extension researcher Ben Winchester, who showed that, despite a net migration of recent high school graduates from rural areas, some parts of Greater Minnesota have recently experienced a “brain gain” of people between the ages of 30-49.

That work makes sense to Minnesota Rising member Chet Bodin, a state labor analyst who moved to Nisswa a year ago and helped organize Greater Minnesota Rising. “To many folks, our part of the state carries a lot of sentimental value, summertime on the lakes, family vacations, and so on,” he said. “But the level of innovation and economic ingenuity is also remarkable; our region is not only a fun place to visit, but a fine area to make a life.”

The project will involve communities and people in Cass, Crow Wing, Todd, Wadena, Morrison, Clay, Becker, Wilkin, Otter Tail, Grant, Douglas, Stevens, Pope, and Traverse counties through November and develop recommendations for engaging local emerging leaders and community organizations around future workforce needs, broadening of the tax base, and talent attraction in light of the area’s changing demographics.

“The next generation of leaders in Greater Minnesota will be asked to step up in new ways — to care for an aging population, to lead civic life, and to help their communities to transition in the new economy,” said Bodin. “This project will engage emerging leaders in a space and process to unpack how we can prepare for the opportunities and challenges quickly approaching our communities.”

The Greater Minnesota Rising project is the second to be supported by the Mary Page Community-University Partnership Fund, established by family and friends of former Olivia Mayor, Renville County Commissioner, and University of Minnesota Regent Mary Page (1934-2013). It is being conducted in collaboration with Raising The Bar LLC, with additional support from Central RSDP, the West Central Initiative Foundation, and the Initiative Foundation of Little Falls, MN, and UMN Community Assistance Program (CURA/CAP), which matches student researchers with Greater Minnesota communities and organizations, and administers student support.

“The Greater Minnesota Rising project is a great example of how the University can connect to vital community needs,” said CRSDP Executive Director Molly Zins of Pequot Lakes. “We look forward to the project’s findings for our region and what they might mean for demographic challenges throughout Greater Minnesota.”

Accepting Applications: Native Nation Rebuilders Program

The Bush Foundation is recruiting applicants for the seventh cohort of its Native Nation Rebuilders Program. Developed for citizens of the 23 Native nations in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, the program engages 30 "Rebuilders" to participate in a two-year program. Learn more below and consider applying by the August 27th deadline!

Join the Nation-Building Movement Apply to Be a Native Nation Rebuilder    Applications Open  Tuesday, July 21 through Thursday, August 27, noon Central (11 a.m. Mountain)  The Native Nation Rebuilders Program brings together Native leaders so they may be instrumental in moving their nations, in cooperation with their elected leadership, toward realization of their tribes' unique goals. "Going through the Rebuilders program did wonders for me. I had a totally different outlook on my tribe. It just opened my eyes to so many different things about what other tribes are doing and some of the successes that they're having. When you get out of your day-to-day work, and you go through these sessions with the Rebuilders program, it's reviving. It re-energizes you." -LeRoy Staples Fairbanks III, Tribal Councilman, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe   We seek candidates for a seventh cohort of Rebuilders who will help ensure that elected tribal leaders and the tribes they serve will have a cadre of skilled and courageous individuals dedicated to strengthening their nations. Learn more about the Native Nation Rebuilders Program. www.bushfoundation.org

The beholder

Copyright: busurman / 123RF Stock Photo

“People often say that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," and I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you are the beholder." 

-Salma Hayek