*text-based job details are at the bottom*

ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW:  Nexus Community Partners is a community-building intermediary whose mission is to “build more engaged and powerful communities of color by supporting community-building initiatives and foster social and human capital.”    

POSITION SUMMARY:  Nexus Community Engagement Institute (NCEI) advances and strengthens communities through equity-based community engagement, both locally and nationally. (NCEI) is seeking a dynamic and deliberate individual who will provide community engagement coaching, consultation, and implementation support to national and local community partners and government stakeholders within the Safety and Justice Challenge (SJC). The SJC is an initiative that provides support to leaders from across the country who are determined to tackle one of the greatest drivers of incarceration in America—the misuse and overuse of jails. Out of state travel is required approximately every month. The position reports directly to the National Engagement Program Manager and works with the NCEI team, including the Program Director and Local Engagement Manager, to provide expertise, planning, and facilitation to ensure programming and consultation are adaptive and effective. The Community Engagement Associate builds strong relationships with all Nexus staff, while promoting and modeling equity and accountability. The Community Engagement Associate will join our dynamic and diverse team of thoughtful, equity-driven individuals who are deeply committed to the organization’s values. This position is a one-year grant-dependent position funded by the Catherine D. and John T. MacArthur Foundation. 

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES: 

National Site Support (60%) 

• Provide coaching and consultation to national sites and community partners related to their engagement activities and or strategies (long-distance travel is required to sites and initiative-wide convenings) 

• Manage logistics for interviews, meetings, programming/ training spaces, phone calls, travel itineraries, and trainings 
• Facilitate & implement site–specific engagement strategies, environmental scans, trainings, and convenings 
• Assist in curriculum development for the national SJC sites and support curriculum development for local MN communities and sectors. 
• Facilitate programming for the SJC sites, the SJC network, and other NCEI programs and convenings such as the Engaged Learning Series, Tapping the Potential, and others 
• Maintain positive relationships between staff, consultants, and partners 

• Assist in the planning and coordination of program and meeting logistics for the SJC body of work and as needed for the NCEI local convenings 
• Synthesize & analyze findings from environment scans  
• Prepare memos and other reports 
• Track program-related expenses and activities   

Outreach and Engagement (25%) 

• Build new, collaborative relationships locally and nationally on behalf of the NCEI that will continue to grow the field of community engagement 
• Participate (as needed) in the development and delivery of presentations at forums, conferences, panels, workshops, etc. 

Evaluation and Capacity Building (5%) 

• Support implementation of evaluation to ensure the NCEI is reaching its goals and maintaining accountability to our key stakeholders 

Communications and Development (5%) 

• Support implementation of communication strategy for the SJC body of work including, the production of tools and resources, blogs, website, and social media 

Organizational (5%) 

• Develop local and national awareness of Nexus by identifying opportunities to expand the organization’s geographic reach and building relationships within the expansive SJC network 
• Provide support as needed for other projects, such as subcommittees, the broader evaluation, and communications for Nexus. 
• Other duties as assigned. 

Qualifications: 

Assets of most interest to the hiring committee include the following: 

• 3+ years of experience in community engagement and community building work 
• Deep commitment to the history of organizing for economic, racial and social justice. 
• Project management skills: ability to multitask, problem-solve, prioritize, delegate, and create systems and processes. 

• Requires knowledge, skills and abilities in data analysis and insight generation, translation of complex issues into actionable efforts. 
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and juggle multiple sites and priorities, and able to react and adjust quickly to changing conditions. 
• Excellent communication skills; able to communicate effectively and articulately in writing and orally. 
• Solid relationship management skills enhancing internal and external community interactions. 
• Ability to develop and write case studies  

• Skilled facilitator for diverse audiences 
• Comfortable with engaging in and working through conflict 
• Comfortable navigating political settings and environments 
• Ability and willingness to travel out of state (Up to 25%, may be required) 

BENEFITS:   

Nexus offers medical, dental and vision insurance with premiums paid for individuals and family members at either 90% or 80% dependent on the chosen plan. In addition, we offer life, short-term disability and long-term disability insurance with premiums paid in full. Benefits also include paid time off each year (earned on an accrual basis), 12 paid holidays, health club benefits, Wellness Bucks & Wellness Hours and participation in an employer–matched 401k plan. Nexus also provides professional development funds to all staff.  

TO APPLY: 

Please submit a resume and cover letter via email subject line: Application Community Engagement Associate. Please label each document with your first and last name and mention how you found out about the position. In your cover letter, please explain what motivates you to work with Nexus Community Partners, and how your experience, skills and commitment will advance our work to create more engaged and powerful communities of color.  

 Email:  Jobs@nexuscp.org 

Attn: Karen Law, Director of Human Resources (An email confirmation will be sent upon receipt of your application) 

Phone: 651-289-7025 

Website: http://www.nexuscp.org 

The hiring committee will review resumes as they are submitted.  

NEXUS IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER 

Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and LGBTQIA+ individuals are strongly encouraged to apply. 

Job Details

Title: Community Engagement Associate

Salary Range: $55,000-$60,000

Position Closes: 12/27/19

Department: Nexus Community Engagement Institute

Hours: Full-time, 40 Hours

Start Date: January 2020

Reports to: National Engagement Program Manager

Classification: Exempt, Salaried

Location: St Paul, MN

The Nexus Worker-Ownership Initiative and Kendeda’s radical grant making strategy was featured in the Chronicle of Philanthropy! The excerpt on Worker Ownership is below and you can read the full article here.

“Some grant makers, including the Kendeda Fund, which was founded by Diana Blank, the former wife of Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank, have made grants to organizations that give workers more say in running the companies that employ them.

The Kendeda Fund has committed more than $24 million to groups trying to increase the number and awareness of worker- owned companies, such as Evergreen Cooperative Laundry.

In August, Kendeda committed more than $24 million to four such organizations: the Fund for Employee Ownership, which buys companies from retiring baby boomers and coverts them to worker-owned outts; the ICA Group, which will support conversions to employee ownership in the home-care and child-care industries; Nexus Community Partners, which will work to promote conversion to employee ownership in industry sectors likely to employ people of color, and Project Equity, which works to raise awareness about employee ownership.

Making those changes in a few select business sectors is minor compared to the task of securing shifts among publicly traded companies that do business in the global market, admits Diane Ives, Kendeda’s adviser for people, place, and planet. Currently only about 450 worker-owned cooperatives exist in the United States. But, she says, the number of startups and business conversions is growing. She hopes Kendeda’s grants can help build a network of worker-owned businesses that advocate for employee-friendly regulations and that distribute profits to employees and benefit the cities where they work.

“There are a lot of motivations for running a business. Profit is not the only one,” she says. “Transitioning to employee ownership allows a business owner to tap into some of those other values, like an appreciation for the work force and the role the business plays in the community.”

Read the full article here

Download job description here 

ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW:  Nexus Community Partners is a community-building intermediary whose mission is to “build more engaged and powerful communities of color by supporting community-building initiatives and foster social and human capital.”

POSITION SUMMARY: We are seeking an energetic and creative individual who will provide leadership and implementation of essential finance & administration needs of the organization.  The position reports directly to the President and CEO and works closely with the leadership team and Board to provide strategic leadership and to ensure financial strength, flexibility and sustainability. The Director of Finance builds strong relationships with all staff, while promoting and modeling equity and accountability. The Director of Finance will join our dynamic and diverse staff of thoughtful, equity-driven individuals who are deeply committed to the organization’s values.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES:

Financial Performance

• Responsible for the hands on and daily management of the accounting and financial processes within the organization.Balances the organization’s fiscal needs with available resources.
• Plan, develop, organize, implement, direct and evaluate the organization’s accounting, and financial function and performance.
• Responsible for the development and management of the organization’s budget and for communicating progress towards meeting financial objectives to all stakeholders, including the Board of Directors.
• Develops and presents accurate reports to assist in the overall financial management of the organization.
• Ensures that assets are properly controlled, resources are utilized appropriately, and activities are reported accurately and in a timely manner.
• Responsible for the development of a reliable cash flow projection process and reporting mechanism.
• Identifies opportunities for improvement, cost reduction, and systems enhancement.
• Monitors financial performance by measuring and analyzing results; initiating corrective actions; minimizing the impact of variances.Provides accurate, timely and meaningful financial analysis.
• Responsible for management of agency compliance filing and tax preparations.
• Oversite and supervision to the audit processes, ensuring favorable outcomes and continual improvement.
• Evaluate and advise on the financial impact of strategic and long-range planning, introduction of new programs/strategies and regulatory action.
• Enhance and/or develop, implement and uphold financial policies and procedures of the organization that will improve the overall operation and effectiveness of the agency.
• Support program staff in financially managing their contracts, program budgets and program activities.
• Informs the President and CEO and Board of Directors of financial and operational issues on a timely basis.Identifies obstacles and risks to the financial or operational health of the agency.  Assists in developing risk mitigation strategies to address contingencies that may arise.
• Optimize the handling of bank and deposit relationships and initiate appropriate strategies to enhance cash position.
• Manages the accounting system (QuickBooks) and any processes/systems in which data is imported into or exported from this system.
• Be an advisor, from the financial perspective, on any contracts into which the organization may enter.
• Manage and complete all aspects of accounts payable and accounts receivable process.

Leadership

• Clearly articulate organizational goals for financial and programmatic stability and growth; motivate and inspire others to support the vision and enthusiastically model the values of the organization.
• Maintain strong and effective internal relationship with the Board and staff.
• Foster a culture of cooperation and mutual respect among staff; supporting programs to be effective, efficient and impactful in their work.
• Provide opportunities for staff to learn about and contribute to the budgeting process.
• Responsible for leading the finance and operations of the organization in a manner that supports and guides the organization’s mission as defined by the Board of Directors.
• Responsible for communicating effectively with the Board by providing, in a timely and accurate manner, all financial information necessary for the Board to function properly and to make informed decisions.
• Provide support activities for the Board, such as participating in the Finance Committee meetings, or other Committees as requested.
• Support a respectful, inclusive work culture and environment to engage and support all employees. Act with intention to create and promote equity within the organization.

 QUALIFICATIONS:

Assets of most interest to the hiring committee include the following:

• BA in accounting or finance preferred; CPA a plus or comparable work experience
• Experience working with nonprofits in a financial leadership position is strongly preferred
• Personal qualities of integrity, credibility, trustworthiness, and unwavering commitment to the organization’s mission; a proactive, hands-on strategic thinker who will own the responsibility for finance and administration
• Solid experience coordinating audit activities and managing reporting, budget development and analysis, forecasting, accounts payable and receivable, general ledger, and accounting for investments
• Technology savvy with advanced knowledge of accounting and reporting software, including QuickBooks for Nonprofits
• 5+ years’ experience in leadership positions, either in community, a volunteer position, or past employment.
• Keen analytic, organization, and problem-solving skills, which allows for strategic data interpretation vs. simple reporting
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills; experience in effectively communicating key data, including presentations to leadership team, board, or other outside stakeholders
• Ability and desire to translate complex financial concepts to individuals
• Capacity to work cross-culturally to achieve understanding and results. Ability to establish and maintain trust readily with a diverse set of partners
• Demonstrated understanding of culture and history as a foundation for building strategies in cultural communities
• Excellent oral and written communications skills
• Competent computer skills including Microsoft Office programs (Excel, Word, and PowerPoint). Design skills a plus.

BENEFITS:

Nexus offers medical, dental and vision insurance with premiums paid for individuals and family members at either 90% or 80% dependent on chosen plan. In addition, we offer life, short-term disability and long-term disability insurance with premiums paid in full. Benefits also include:  Paid time off each year (earned on an accrual basis), 12 paid holidays, health club benefits, Wellness Bucks & Wellness Hours and participation in an employer matched 401k plan. Nexus also provides professional development funds to all staff.

TO APPLY:

Please submit a resume and cover letter via email subject line: Application Director of Finance. Please label each document with your first and last name and mention how you found out about the position. In addition, in your cover letter, please explain what motivates you to work with Nexus Community Partners, and how your experience, skills and commitment will advance our work to create more engaged and powerful communities of color.

Email:  Jobs@nexuscp.org

Attn: Karen Law, Director of Human Resources (An email confirmation will be sent upon receipt of your application)

Phone: 651-289-7025

Website: http://www.nexuscp.org

The hiring committee will review resumes as they are submitted and will remove the posting once hired.

NEXUS IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and LGBTQIA+ individuals are strongly encouraged to apply.

For Nexus Community Partners’ 15th anniversary, Director of Community Wealth Building, Elena Gaarder, reflects on creating wealth in communities of color, working with private businesses to transition to cooperatives, and imagining abundant communities. 

Words by Nichelle Brunner • Downloadable Version

When Elena came to Nexus, there was a central question being asked: how to better create economic vitality on St. Paul’s East Side? 

“In 2013, we brought together our partners to ask this question and from these conversations grew 2 game-changing efforts- the East Side Funders Group, originally founded by  Nexus and the McKnight, McNeely, St. Paul and Northwest Area Foundations, and the East Side Economic Growth Initiative, which was a collaborative of 9 non-profit organizations and Metropolitan State University.  

While both efforts have evolved over time, their aligned work created new partnerships and  new pathways for building wealth on the East Side. This work also inspired Nexus to begin exploring models that go beyond individual asset and wealth building and traditional economic development.

As part of this exploration, Nexus began connecting with stakeholders across the country,  including The Democracy Collaborative, an organization that played a key role in developing the Evergreen Cooperatives in Cleveland, Ohio, and Oakland-based Project Equity, a group that supports businesses in transitioning from privately-owned companies to broad-based employee-ownership.

What emerged from Nexus’ travels was a deeper understanding of the importance of local and broad-based ownership models, including worker cooperatives.  “We always looked at the community as a resource and were committed to providing people with ownership opportunities. In the past, however, we were not explicitly addressing the ways in which people’s labor is commodified and how this has created the bulk of wealth in our country. We can’t shift  economic systems if we, as an organization, are not addressing the commodification of labor. 

So in 2015, Nexus adopted a community wealth building framework, which has at its core a commitment to building broad-based ownership models .The adoption of the framework also brought up more questions: how could Nexus influence a shift in traditional economic development practices ? What do regenerative economies look like? How can Nexus create a culture of ownership?

Currently, Nexus is working through all of those questions. 

In April 2019, Nexus launched the Worker Ownership Initiative, which knits together an ecosystem to support cooperative development and to support Twin Cities businesses in transitioning to employee-owned and democratically-control  workplaces. The idea is to normalize worker co-ops as tangible business model and over the next three years, convert five to seven businesses to worker-owned cooperatives.

The organization is also hosting a co-op learning events where community members come together to learn about cooperative movements and the cooperative framework. They are supporting members of the Black community in starting cooperatives through the Northstar Black Cooperative Fellowship and by providing grants to organizations like the Hmong American Farmers Association and BiiGiiWiin who are exploring cooperative ownership models.

“Even having the conversations around community wealth building has helped to elevate how  cultural communities have always worked collectively to support one another . In the end, you do not need direct services or non-profits to engage because the community has built its own wealth. Direct service work is necessary, but it’s not really getting folks out of poverty,” said Elena

When asked about the future of community wealth building and what abundant communities feel like, Elena creates an almost poetic imagery. 

“This sounds corny, but the weather is beautiful, there’s a light breeze, and you never have to be afraid. Everyone has the means to live how they want to live. Oppressive systems that cloud people’s views have been replaced by regenerative economies where things can grow.  With community wealth building, we don’t have to choose people over profit. Communities don’t have to look at things through a scarcity lens. Everyone can just breathe easy.”

Nexus Community Partners and the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce (SPACC) are partnering to host an event to highlight options for retiring business owners to sell their enterprises to their employees. Businesses transitioning to employee ownership are a trending alternative in business succession.

Two thirds of small businesses listed for sale never sell, and only 15% are passed on to family members. Acquisitions by larger firms or out-of-state buyers often lead to layoffs and restructuring. But a local buyer may be closer than you think! Join Nexus Community Partners and SPACC for our upcoming event Next Generation Business Models: Exploring Benefits of Employee Ownership and find out why more and more employers are securing their company’s legacy by selling to the employees who helped to build it in the first place!

The event is an opportunity to learn from companies that have transitioned to employee ownership including Terra Firma Construction and Isthmus Engineering. We will also hear from industry experts including: Equal Exchange, Dorsey Whitney Law Firm, and Project Equity.

To register for the event, click here.

Here, is access to the Facebook Event.

Thursday, November 14, 2019 7:30 AM – 11:30 AM CST

Sunrise Banks – The Bridge

2525 Wabash Avenue

Saint Paul, MN 55114

Cost: $35.00, Breakfast included.

Keynote speaker : Ole Olson, Engineer, Isthmus Engineering & Manufacturing.

Agenda and panelists to be announced soon!

Leadership Development that Creates Ecosystem Change:  Nexus Community Partners Announces the Seventh Cohort of their Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute (BCLI)

They are organizers, government workers, parents and pastors. They work in the fields of food justice, housing, and education advocacy. They represent Woodbury to Shakopee. And they come from various multiracial backgrounds. Nexus Community Partners is proud to announce our 7^th cohort of Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute (BCLI) fellows in the Twin Cities.

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

The BCLI is a seven-month leadership program that identifies, trains, and supports placement of dynamic leaders of color and underrepresented communities onto publicly appointed boards and commissions in the Twin Cities. BCLI fellows help advance a racial and economic equity agenda across several sectors and issue areas. The cohort kicks off the week of October 7^th.

The seventh BCLI cohort members are:

1. Abdulrahman Wako, nominated by BCLI alumni
2. Ana Vergara, nominated by BCLI alumni
3. Benjamin Yawakie, nominated by BCLI alumni
4. Cherita Tenhoff, nominated by Simpson Housing Services
5. Diego Guaman, nominated by BCLI alumni
6. Erica Valliant, nominated by the St. Paul Promise Neighborhood
7. Fatu Magassouba, nominated by BCLI alumni
8. Jae Hyun Shim, nominated by BCLI alumni
9. Linda Garrett-Johnson, nominated by the MN Council on Foundations
10. Magdalena O’Connor, nominated by Project for Pride in Living
11. Que Vang, nominated by BCLI alumni
12. Ricardo Perez, nominated by the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs
13. Said Ahmed, nominated by Metro State’s MAPL Program
14. Tara Roberts, nominated by BCLI alumni
15. Timothy Brewington, nominated by the City of Woodbury

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

Biographies of each fellow can be found on Nexus’ website, http://nexuscp.org/our-work/boards-and-commissions-leadership-institute/current-fellows/.

For more information about the BCLI, the launch or ways to become involved, please contact the program director, Ms. Terri Thao at tthao@nexuscp.org or program coordinator Mr. Chai Lee at clee@nexuscp.org. You can also check out Nexus’ website: www.nexuscp.org.

After 15 years at Nexus, Terri Thao reflects on career, communities, and change. This profile is part of Nexus 15th Anniversary series. Look out for more pieces journaling our evolution as an organization. 

Words by: Nichelle Brunner

The white walls are lined with vibrant photos of her children, community elders, and moments in social movements and protests, such as the Black woman being detained during the Alton Sterling protests in Baton Rouge, LA. Pinned on a corkboard is a large button that reads, “I am making St. Paul better,” and Terri is doing just that. 

For Nexus Community Partners’ 15th anniversary, I was able to have a conversation with Terri Thao, the Program Director of Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute (BCLI) and someone who has been with Nexus since it’s beginnings. 

In our hour long conversation, we discussed Nexus’ origin story, community advocacy and sharing power, and Terri’s plans for the next 15 years. 

The beginning: from Payne-Lake to Nexus 

For Terri’s first two years, the organization was known as Payne-Lake Community Partners. 

“So it’s 2002 and I graduate with my Master’s degree from Humphrey, and the job market is crappy. I saw a job opening at Wilder for a Program Associate with Payne-Lake Community Partners. I applied and I was the second employee to join after our executive director.” 

Payne-Lake Community Partners was created out of a national project to address the gaps between BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and White residents in four cities: Baltimore, Chicago, Miami, and the
Twin Cities. While addressing the gaps, Payne-Lake staff realized they had to expand beyond the Payne and Lake communities. 

“This was work I had been doing all along, while growing up, but we were asked to do work that was beyond the city limits. We realized the key word in our name was community. The people in the communities are the key because we could find 19 organizations that fund housing, but those 19 organizations were not funding people and families,” she said. 

Understanding the need to support people and families outside of the Twin Cities, Payne-Lake Community Partners became Nexus Community Partners in 2010. After discussing the name change, Terri began to recount her title changes while at Nexus.

“I started as the program associate and I basically did everything the ED didn’t do,” Terri said. “It was just two people then and it was really quiet. Then in 2008, I became a program officer, where I had a portfolio of grants and initiatives. We also hired Rachel, who was an admin person, and Theresa [Gardella, Vice President of Programs and Operations]. Theresa started the week I was going on maternity leave and it was basically, ‘here’s this and this and bye’,” she said laughing. 

With the addition of more staff, that brought the total to four; however, Terri did not adjust to the changes easily. 

“Learning to grow was hard for me and I’ve had a professional evolution at Nexus. In 2011, I became the Program Director of BCLI. By then the staff size grew a little more, then it was 8, and now we’re 16 and I’m amazed at all of the growth.” 

Creating a legacy

As our conversation continued, we discussed Terri’s favorite memories and projects. When discussing her favorite memories, they many times aligned with her most memorable projects. 

Some of the organizations that Terri is proud to see grow are African Development Center (ADC), Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC), and African Economic Development Solutions (AEDS). Nexus and Terri’s work was also instrumental in the growth of commercial corridor Midtown Global Market on Lake Street. 

“We were at the forefront on the work around engagement. We learned so many lessons from our Lake Street developments and support and engagement was one. We took chances and funded folks that no other funder would. Bringing folks along with me and having an impact in the communities is why I do this. We trust the people,” Terri said. 

Terri cites Nexus’ trust in community and people the reason for Nexus’ transformation. 

“I don’t see this work as just me. You need to understand power and sharing power. I always think about legacy in this work because so many people do it for a short time.”

Looking ahead: the next 15 years 

As we concluded our conversation, I asked Terri to reflect on things she’s learned over the past 15 years. She laughs before speaking. 

“I’m always learning and everything is a lesson. But I would say to listen more than you speak and do deep listening. Bring folks along with you. There’s cheesy things like do good work, but also inspire. Share your a-ha moments and share it in the context to inspire others.” 

When she reflects on the next 15 years, Terri has big plans for herself, her family, and her community. 

“I’m optimistic about the future. I want to travel. I’m hoping to still be effective but hope folks are being more real. My kids will be adults and that will be trippy, but worrisome…I don’t know, maybe I’ll write a book. I like to be challenged in my work, so I’m always thinking about the legacy I’m leaving now. I want to meet new people, eat good food, and there will probably be 49 new Marvel movies,” she said laughing. 

Terri pauses and is hesitant to say her next goal. “Is it foolish to say liberation? If you asked my ancestors, they would’ve never imagined this. We were these hillbillies in Laos. So it might be crazy to say, but we build the world we want to live in.”

Nexus’ Worker Ownership Initiative and partnership with the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce was recently featured in Finance & Commerce:

“Cooperative ownership is a solution both to the challenges facing small businesses and to larger problems in the economy…Elena Gaarder, Director of Community Wealth at Nexus, says, ‘For us, this presents this really once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to move where the bulk of the wealth is held in our country and create so many more opportunities for ownership’”

Sixty percent of small business owners were born before 1964, according to the University of Minnesota. Nexus and the Saint Paul Chamber of Commerce are working together to address the ongoing wave of baby boomer retirements, keep businesses local, and build cooperative ownership. Read the full article here!

Learn more about the Worker Ownership Initiative (WOI) here!

By Janice Barbee, Founder and Director of Healing Roots, Member of Nexus Community Engagement Institute Advisory Committee—DOWNLOAD REPORT HERE!

More and more organizations are realizing the benefits of engaging with the people they serve.  They’re becoming interested in what authentic engagement can achieve, beyond surveys, focus groups, and advisory committees.  Such methods are typically used to get responses to what an organization is doing or plans to do, but do not do a good job of discovering what is on the minds of community members.  Organizations miss out on a tremendous amount of information, creativity, resources, and problem solving when they limit the flow of information between the organization and the communities around them. This flow of information is powered by the quality of the relationships between people in the organization and the community.

For more information and tools on community engagement, see https://www.nexuscp.org/resources/

Small community organizations are typically best equipped to engage with community members, but large organizations can also reap tremendous benefits by engaging with diverse communities.  Nexus Community Partners worked with a local hospital system over a one-year period to support the organization to engage more effectively with the communities it serves.  This partnership yielded new knowledge, understanding, and ideas about what is needed for any large organization to better understand community engagement and integrate it into their work.

Leadership Training

For this learning series, a cohort of about 12 senior executives and managers from many different areas of the organization, from Medical Director to Vice President of Marketing, were invited to participate.  They met every month for a two-hour session for 10 months to learn about community engagement and how to implement it in their organization. The organizers of the trainings were strong leaders within the hospital concerned with diversity and inclusion and they had worked hard before the training to make the case for engagement. The result was that the participants were eager to learn more about it.  They all had some sense that deepening relationships with the diverse communities they serve would help them to better achieve the hospital’s goals.

At the conclusion of the series of trainings, the participants were committed to community engagement as a valuable approach towards achieving their mission. They agreed that it is crucial for leadership to understand community engagement in order to spread the practice and its principles throughout the organization. The leaders were in a position to support each other, through membership on committees and workgroups, and to apply their understanding in their own work and the hospital’s policies and priorities. The participants concluded that training leaders is a good place to start.

Recommendations:

• Start at the top with the leaders who have the power to implement engagement practices and respond to community input with changes in organizational culture and policy.
• Training organizers should meet with potential participants beforehand to make the case for community engagement and should choose those who are interested in learning.Don’t require someone to attend who is not receptive.
• Implement a long-term training program that engages the participants, ties in to the issues they are addressing, and includes practical ways to implement what they learn.
• Do not put community engagement in the hands of one department or a few staff, where they often do not have the support to spread this approach to other departments or to inform practice and policy as a result of what has been learned from the community.

Everyone on the Same Page: “Authentic” Community Engagement

The participants expressed frustration that staff throughout the organization does not share a common understanding of what is engagement.  Some had witnessed outreach, where information flows only in one direction, being called community engagement. They realized that their organization needed a common language.  Some participants talked about discovering how different departments were working on projects in the same community without knowing it, and how this had led to confusion and resentment.

Recommendations:

• Develop a common understanding of authentic community engagement at the beginning of the training, and spread that throughout the organization.
• Clarify the language for interactions with community, so “outreach” and “community engagement” are understood as both having value according to their purpose, but are not the same process.
• Commit to multiple trainings of more and more staff until everyone in the organization is on the same page.
• Create structures in the organization for people to share their experiences and learning, process difficult situations, resolve conflict, brainstorm strategies, and develop new procedures and policies together.

Engagement Leads to Equity

One of the most transformative sessions of the series with the executives was the session focused on equity.  Several in attendance were not aware of the practice of redlining (which denied mortgages to people of color), an example of institutionalized racism and a major contributor to the inequities of today. This session helped people see the connection between equity and engagement, and to realize that staff needs training in equity alongside or even before learning about community engagement.  These leaders learned how cultural communities have been historically excluded, not just from opportunities, but also from the processes for solving the problems that affect them most intensely. They learned how community engagement is not just a way to achieve their organization’s goals, but how it can also be a healing process.  These sessions on equity also shone a light on the organization’s internal equity practices and supported the hiring of more people of color.

Recommendations

• Include at least one or two sessions on equity in your trainings. Include the history of racism in your neighborhood and the history of the relationship between your institution and communities of color. Interacting with community members without this context can blindside staff when community members bring up past injustices.
• Make the connection explicit between the need for equity and the need and benefits of community engagement.
• Allow for both personal and professional exploration of this topic. These discussions can challenge people’s identity and understanding of their own history and can bring up strong emotions. Use experienced facilitators that can create safe spaces where people can reflect, express and understand their emotions, revise their understanding, and integrate their new learning.

Setting Priorities and Expectations

Several of the members of the cohort expressed frustration during and after the trainings on the difficulty of implementing the principles of community engagement.  They saw staff trying to do as much as they could and getting discouraged that they weren’t seeing a lot of positive change. They realized that top leadership needed to set priorities, to create a coordinated effort to make change in a focused way. Participants also told stories of engagement efforts that had backfired because the community members wanted things that the organization couldn’t provide.  Their reflection revealed disconnections, inefficiencies, and weak links within the organization that need to be addressed.

Recommendations

• Set priorities for your staff for community engagement efforts.
• Support staff to communicate with each other and to make sure that what is learned from the community makes a difference in the organization.
• Make sure staff is trained to be explicit with the community about what they can and cannot do.

Time

The shortage of time, tight timelines, and over-stuffed schedules were a constant theme throughout the trainings. Members of the cohort expressed frustration that they don’t have the time to build relationships in the community and maintain them.  Too often, they said, one staff member has established relationships with a community only to leave within a couple of years.  The next person has to start from scratch. The leaders also talked about the limitations of their advisory committee, where representation of the community was extremely limited, and the meeting process did not afford the opportunity for creative input from community members.

Recommendations

• Do not expect a one-time training to be sufficient. As with any training that seeks to produce a shift in culture and understanding, this is a long-term process. Build in multiple trainings over several months with time for debriefing and follow-up.
• Allow time for several staff members to build relationships in the various communities your organization serves. Don’t let all the responsibility rest on one person’s shoulders.
• Not every meeting with community members needs to have a task to complete; the goal is to build relationships and trust.
• Develop many ways to build relationships between multiple staff and community members, from one-to-ones, to personal interviews, to listening circles, to community dinners, meetings, and other events.

Changing “Old” Thinking

Many times during the trainings, the members were confronted with examples of old, entrenched ways of thinking getting in the way of learning and applying new knowledge.  They realized that many of these ways of thinking are deeply engrained into the organization’s culture, are extremely difficult to change, and need to be constantly challenged.  The participants in the cohort named several examples of “old” thinking that get in the way of integrating community engagement into the organization:

• Lack of awareness of one’s culture: People operate from a “default” way of thinking, which assumes that their culture and ways of doing things are “just the way things are.”They need more awareness of the assumptions and beliefs of their own culture.
• The expert /professional model in our society teaches that the staff should be the ones to solve the problems. Staff may feel a tension between what is expected of them as professionals, community members’ perception of them, and their ability to act as a resource and liaison for the community.
• Being professional often means one needs to be “objective” and detached and it can be considered inappropriate to express emotion in one’s workplace. One of the most memorable sessions in the hospital cohort was when the participants were asked to share an experience of being in community when they were growing up.Many stated that this was the first time that they had shared personal stories with each other in the many years they had worked with each other, and it bonded them together in ways they never had before.

Recommendations

• Include trainings on cultural awareness and cultural identity. Trainings that challenge attitudes and perceptions require both personal and professional work. In our individualistic society, people often don’t realize how much their culture is the “water” through which they understand the world.
• Allow for people to express emotion, to tell personal stories, and to bring their full selves into the discussions. Giving space for this can transform attitudes and practices more effectively than words can. Strictly professional relationships don’t build trust and transparency. 

Don’t Stop the Conversation

The participants in these trainings are very committed individuals who want to do what they can to lead their organization to do a better job at improving health and preventing illness. They took a lot of time over 10 months to learn about the power, principles, and potential of community engagement. The hope for the trainings was that, because they are leaders in the organization, they were in the best position to apply this learning and spread it throughout the organization.  They are doing this to the best of their ability, but they also realize that this requires a cultural shift. It takes challenging some entrenched ways of doing things; it requires a re-alignment of values and incentives. Just as community engagement takes time, so learning about it and how to integrate it will take time.  Trainings on engagement and equity are investments in a future where everyone has a voice and the opportunity to make positive change for the common good.

Recommendations

• Create structures for senior leadership to regularly re-evaluate procedures, incentives, practices, and policies in the light of both what staff are learning from the process of engagement and from community members.
• Regularly ask your staff what they need to better understand in order to serve the different communities and accomplish your organization’s mission. Continue to offer trainings and workshops accordingly.
• Keep asking questions such as:
  • What is not working, according to community members?
  • Who else do we need to hear from?
  • What does the community want us to do that we’re not doing?
  • How could we support community members to strengthen their community?

 Janice Barbee is the director and founder of Healing Roots, and has the honor of being named an Elder in our European American community. She is currently a consultant in community engagement and an adjunct instructor at the University of Minnesota, teaching on culture and health. She designs and conducts workshops for organizations who want to better understand culture and respectfully and productively engage with people of different cultures.

PROGRAM MANAGER

Nexus Community Partners Worker Ownership Initiative

ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW:  Nexus Community Partners is a community-building intermediary whose mission is to “build more engaged and powerful communities of color by supporting community-building initiatives and foster social and human capital.”

We are seeking an energetic and creative individual to fill the role of Program Manager for Nexus Community Partners’ Worker Ownership Initiative (WOI). Join our dynamic and diverse staff of thoughtful, equity-driven individuals who are deeply committed to the organization’s values.

POSITION SUMMARY: The WOI is a bold effort to promote worker cooperatives through the conversion of privately-owned businesses to worker ownership. The Initiative builds community wealth, grows the region’s economy and encourages workplace democracy by implementing strategies in 7 key areas:

• Public Sector Engagement- Shifting policies and practices at the local, county and state levels.
• Private Sector Cultivation- Building relationships with owners, chambers of commerce and business connectors.
• Business Conversion Services- Providing professional services to support owners and new work-owners in transitioning to worker cooperatives.
• Community Engagement- Build relationships with community leaders, organizers and labor groups to activate their networks to increase awareness of worker ownership.
• Investment Capital- Ensuring access to capital and financial supports through CDFI’s, social investors, credit unions and banks.
• Workforce Development- Embedding work-ownership in workforce and job creation efforts.
• Field Building- Contributing knowledge, evaluation tools and raising awareness in the field.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES:

Program Management (60%)

• Coordinate Business Conversion Services Program, including acting as the first point of contact for interested business owners, assembling and coordinating teams of professional and technical assistance providers to support owners and new work-owners throughout the stages of the conversion process and facilitating worker-owner training sessions.

• Develop relationships with business owners and business connectors to build a pool of prospective business interested in converting to worker ownership.
• Implement a communication strategyfor the WOI including promotional materials, outreach materials, monthly blogs, website updates, paid media buys and the coordination of additional communication support, such as with consultants.

 External Relations/Community Engagement (40%)

• Actively build connections, locally and nationallyon behalf of the WOI that will enhance the work and continue to build the field of worker ownership.
• Identify and develop relationships with content experts to help deliver content for Business Conversions program.
• Support the development and delivery of presentations at forums, conferences, workshops, etc.
• Lead the development and implementation of a community engagement strategy to elevate worker ownership in Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Assets of most interests to the hiring committee include the following:

• 3-5 years relevant experience in nonprofit, business and/or community work.
• 3+ years’ experience in leadership positions, either in community, a volunteer position, or past employment.
• 3+ years’ experience working in partnerships and collaborations across-sectors and with multiple partners.
• Demonstrated experience working in the small business sector (e.g. business technical assistance provider, business owner, sales)
• Experience in developing and implementing communication tools.
• Proven ability to facilitate dynamic groups that have different levels of knowledge and understanding.
• Capacity to work cross-culturally to achieve understanding and results. Ability to establish and maintain trust readily with a diverse set of partners.
• Demonstrated understanding of culture and history as a foundation for building strategies in cultural communities.
• Excellent oral and written communications skills.
• Competent computer skills including Microsoft Office programs (Excel, Word, and PowerPoint). Design skills a plus.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

• Experience designing and/or delivering high quality, interactive learning opportunities.
• Experience in designing and implementing community engagement strategies.
• Knowledge of cooperative principals and cooperative development models.

The ideal individual would be able to start on or before August 26, 2019.

Nexus offers a competitive salary, generous wellness and benefits package. We are committed to the personal and professional growth of all staff.

Individuals should send a resume and cover letter via email, attention Human Resources

by July 18, 2019 to:

Email: Jobs@nexuscp.org

http://www.nexuscp.org

In your cover letter, please explain what motivates you to work with Nexus Community Partners, and how your experience, skills and commitment will advance our work to create a more equitable economy.

(email receipt confirmation will be sent)

NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE

NEXUS IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and LGBTQIA+ individuals are strongly encouraged to apply.