Resources

Nexus Community Partners presents its approach and principles of community engagement that make up the Nexus Community Engagement Institute (NCEI). Visit www.nexuscp.org/NCEI for more information about the institute and ways to get involved. This video was produced by Linebreak Media.

The Blue Line Coalition is a group of community organizations working to incorporate community power and voices in the planning of the Blue Line light rail extension through North Minneapolis. Nexus Community Partners and the Jay & Rose Phillips Family Foundation are featured in this story about leveraging resources to support community engagement work. This video was produced by Linebreak Media.

The Blue Line Coalition is a group of community organizations working to incorporate community power and voices in the planning of the Blue Line light rail extension through North Minneapolis. This video was produced by Linebreak Media.

Nexus Community Partners presents its approach and principles of Community Wealth Building. Community Wealth Building is a place-based, systems approach to community and economic development that ensures local and equitable ownership and control of wealth; develops mutually reinforcing economic enterprises, invests in assets that are anchored locally; and engages the procurement power of institutional partners.

Learn about the Twin Cities Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute (BCLI), a seven month leadership cohort program that trains people of color to get on publicly appointed boards and commissions.

This short video highlights Cohort 3 (2015-2016) Twin Cities BCLI Fellow Ron Harris’ experiences in the leadership program. Thank you Ron for your wonderful insights!

The Blue Line Coalition: A unique partnership building power for equitable outcomes in North Minneapolis and the northwest suburbs A 2018 report detailing five lessons learned from this unique partnership between a private foundation, an intermediary organization, and a coalition of grassroots community organizations.

Community Voice & Power: Creating Equitable & Effective Community Advisory Structures This report includes recommendations for institutional staff to understand the foundational work that must happen to ensure Community Advisory Committees can be a meaningful vehicle for infusing community voice into critically important decisions.

Stories of Impact: Casa de Esperanza A 2015 report on Casa de Esperanza’s 10 year community engagement journey that not only resulted in a new community-led initiative, but a transformed organization.

Stories of Impact: Cultural Wellness Center Learn about how The Cultural Wellness Center increased parent engagement in a Saint Paul Public School using a community engagement strategy grounded in cultural connection, 2015.

Stories of Impact: Hope Community This story details Hope Community’s approach to deep community engagement, an organic model shaped by input from partners, residents, and other stakeholders for the past 20 years, 2015.

Stories of Impact: Native American Community Development Institute NACDI used community engagement strategies to build American Indian political, cultural, and economic power on the South Side of Minneapolis. 2015.

Stories of Impact: Nexus Community Partners With Nexus’ expertise and guidance, Urban Homeworks changed the way it worked, integrating community engagement into their organizational culture and ensuring residents had decision-making power, 2015.

Trying to Engage Effectively with Community? Recommendations for Large Organizations This report includes tips and strategies to engage more effectively with community. It is based on learnings and reflections from a long-term community engagement cohort inside of a large institution.

2019 Impact Brief: The Changing Face of Business: a 2019 report on the impacts of business owner retirement, small business ownership, and the resulting transfer of wealth in Saint Paul, MN. Learn more about how business conversions to worker ownership work with the public sector, private sector, and community to address racial disparities and build community wealth.

2017 Impact Brief: Business Conversions to Worker Cooperatives: a 2017 report on the trends on business ownership, the labor market and the potential impact of converting businesses to worker cooperatives in the Twin Cities.

Strengthening Local Economies: A 2015 report on how using a Community Wealth Building framework could help to address deeply rooted racial and economic disparities and create opportunities for local and equitable ownership and control of wealth.

Healing Justice is More Than Just Words on a Page A 2017 report by Susan Raffo featuring the voices of many healing justice leaders throughout the Twin Cities area. It provides an overview of what healing justice is and ways individuals and organizations can integrate it into their work.

Community Engagement Assessment Tool: We offer this as a guide to help ourselves and our fellow practitioners grow in our understanding of community engagement and to be thoughtful about our own practice of engagement techniques

Tapping the Potential of Community Engagement Playbook: This Playbook is a creative outlet and workbook for deep guided reflection and practice using all 5 senses to embody community engagement practices & principles.

Impacts of Community Engagement Model This fluid and dynamic model describes the outcomes that result from authentic community engagement. It includes the tangible, visible goals of the work as well as the assets that are the building blocks for positive change.

To print the Impacts of Community Engagement Model image, please contact us for a high resolution file at NCEI@nexuscp.org.

Evaluation and Community Engagement: Everyone is an Evaluator Community engagement evaluation creates processes for many people in a community to bring their experience, knowledge and dreams to shape the evaluation and, thus, the outcomes of the work. A best practice of community engagement is to involve community members in shaping and leading evaluation.

Selling to Your Employees as an Exit Strategy for Your Business A visual introduction to converting a businesses to broad-based employee ownership, including answers to frequently asked questions, debunking of common myths, and initial steps to take.

Best Practices for Placing People on Government Boards and Commissions A summary of best practices to increase transparency and equitable outcomes throughout the government boards and commissions application and orientation process.