grassroots solutions

This year’s winner is Steve Fletcher, founding executive director of Minnesota Neighborhoods Organizing for Change (NOC), a two-year-old nonprofit committed to building power in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods in the Twin Cities.  Steve’s boundless energy and dedication to the neighborhoods he serves has helped NOC grow from a community start-up to a national partner in the fight for a fair economy, education, and housing.  Steve and NOC have helped keep schools in North Minneapolis open, reform federal education policies, rebuild the community after a devastating tornado left hundreds of families homeless, and draw new energy from the Occupy movement to defend families against foreclosure-related eviction.

Steve was joined by two other impressive organizers who rallied support from the deep south of Alabama to Turkmenistan (break out the maps, y’all!) on the road to being named the 2011 grassroots solutions “Organizer of the Year.”

Amanda Bell – “Amanda works her magic and people come together. Her skills and passion are motivating and epic.”

Amanda is a community organizer with Living Our Visions, Wisconsin, a grassroots organization of individuals with disabilities, families and community members building fulfilling, community centered lives for all citizens.  Amanda’s supporters say that when she was handed a list of 300 families in need of services for their adult children with disabilities, she picked up the phone and developed a taste for coffee, spending two years in coffee shops listening deeply to anyone who wouldn’t hang up on her.  She empowers families to “use what they have to get what they don’t have” and helps them build a web of relational support to meet their needs.

Jonathan Perri – “Over the years, Jon has provided me with priceless wisdom, guidance, and insight, helping me become a better activist…”

Jon is a senior organizer for criminal justice at Change.org, the world’s fastest growing platform for social change that empowers  an international network of people to fight for what’s right locally, nationally, and globally.  Those who nominated Jon attest to his leadership, impact, and passion, citing Jon’s involvement as the reason why they became, and continue to be, involved in social change campaigns.   Jon has been instrumental in raising awareness and fighting for the rights of people who simply do not have a voice due to their age, circumstances, or other factors.

The Making It Better Challenge is a community initiative in Minneapolis and Olmsted County that brings people together to inspire and celebrate healthy everyday choices for everyone. The Challenge is part of the national Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) initiative, launched to address chronic health issues such as diabetes and heart disease by highlighting programs that create access to healthy food and increase physical activity.

The grassroots solutions team had a great time joining forces on the Making It Better Challenge with our friends and colleagues at Haberman, a media and marketing firm that specializes in uncovering and telling the kinds of inspiring and pioneering stories that are often overlooked in our daily lives.

grassroots solutions provided extra organizing power for the Challenge on the ground, integrating our efforts with Haberman’s social and traditional media outreach, to persuade community members to participate. We worked with community partners to identify stories and storytellers and then sought them out at community events, offering water bottles and buttons for eligible submissions. As an added incentive, we also offered six exciting prize packages for six randomly drawn weekly winners and their friends – ranging from reusable shopping bags and a gift card to the farmer’s market to a ski/snowboard package.

While some folks we approached were initially hesitant to say they were making a difference (it’s the Minnesota way!), once they shared their stories they began to see how their personal actions could contribute to community change and, and in some cases, how they were inspiring others to do the same. One young man in Eyota, Minn., worked with his mom to create a farmer’s market in their town so friends and neighbors could enjoy more fresh foods. An employer in Minneapolis stocks the office refrigerator with healthy foods for employees for breakfast and lunch. And schools in both communities have implemented programs to encourage children to be more active and walk to school.

These and many other stories will continue to be collected and shared online, through social events, and in the community, helping to “make it better where we live, work, learn and play.”

Meet Our Organizers!

Amanda Bell – “Amanda works her magic and people come together. Her skills and passion are motivating and epic.”

Amanda is a community organizer with Living Our Visions, Wisconsin, a grassroots organization of individuals with disabilities, families and community members building fulfilling, community centered lives for all citizens.  Amanda’s supporters say that when she was handed a list of 300 families in need of services for their adult children with disabilities, she picked up the phone and developed a taste for coffee, spending two years in coffee shops listening deeply to anyone who wouldn’t hang up on her.  She empowers families to “use what they have to get what they don’t have” and helps them build a web of relational support to meet their needs.

Jonathan Perri – “Over the years, Jon has provided me with priceless wisdom, guidance, and insight, helping me become a better activist…”

Jon is a senior organizer for criminal justice at Change.org, the world’s fastest growing platform for social change that empowers  an international network of people to fight for what’s right locally, nationally, and globally.  Those who nominated Jon attest to his leadership, impact, and passion, citing Jon’s involvement as the reason why they became and continue to be involved in social change campaigns.   Jon has been instrumental in raising awareness and fighting for the rights of people who simply do not have a voice due to their age, circumstances, or other factors.

Steve Fletcher – “If we all had Steve Fletcher’s energy – all things would be solved!”

Steve is the executive director of Minnesota Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, a nonprofit organization committed to building power in low-income and moderate-income neighborhoods in the Twin Cities through community organizing, civic engagement, and education.  Neighborhood residents testify to the energy Steve has put into building a powerful neighborhood organization that fights for a fair economy, education and housing.  Steve and his organization fought especially hard in North Minneapolis last year, where the community was crippled by one of the largest gaps in unemployment rates between whites and blacks in the country, a devastating tornado that left hundreds of families homeless, and eight school closings within three miles.

Voting is now open!

Cast your vote for “Organizer of the Year” today!  The organizer with the most votes will receive complimentary registration to the 2012 Netroots Nation conference in Providence, RI, plus a $500 travel stipend.  As an added bonus, the winner will also be featured on our annual holiday card that is mailed to thousands of people all across the country.  Oh, and there might be some grassroots solutions and EchoDitto swag involved as well.

Voting is open until 5PM CST on Tuesday, January 10. Cast your vote today!

The grassroots solutions & EchoDitto “Organizer of the Year” Contest is Now Open!

Nominations are now open, so take a minute to reflect and share your inspiration with our community.  This year, we’re pleased to announce that we’re co-sponsoring the “Organizer of the Year” contest with our good friends and partners at EchoDitto who, if you don’t already know, are some of the most empowering tech lovers, digerati campaigners and community builders around.

And check it out, this year the lucky winner of our contest will receive a special prize…registration to the 2012 Netroots Nation conference in Providence, Rhode Island, plus a travel stipend of $500!

Nominate your favorite organizer today!  It’s easy …

• Visit either the grassroots solutions or the EchoDitto Facebook page and post your nomination on the wall.
• Include the organizer’s name and the name of the campaign or organization.
• Share all the compelling reasons why your favorite organizer deserves to win.

If Facebook isn’t your thing, you can email your nomination for “Organizer of the Year” to nominations@organizeroftheyear.org.

Nominations close on December 22, so post your nomination now! The three organizers with the most nominations will be put to a vote on Facebook January 3-10, and the winner will be announced on January 11.

Help us spread the word. Share the contest with your Facebook friends. Tweet about it on Twitter. And don’t forget to nominate your favorite organizer for the grassroots solutions & EchoDitto “Organizer of the Year” contest today!

Communities Putting Prevention To Work

To support these communities’ efforts, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) developed a comprehensive initiative for chronic disease prevention efforts called Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW). A diverse group of communities across the country—including 26 large cities and urban areas, 21 small city/rural areas funded through 12 state departments of health, and three Native American tribes—received grants to work towards:

1. Reducing risk factors;
2. Preventing/delaying chronic disease;
3. Promoting wellness in children and adults; and
4. Providing positive, sustainable health change in communities.

Minnesota Leads The Way

Minnesota has long been at the forefront of promoting health and wellness in its communities.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) recently received a mentoring grant through the CPPW initiative to share the state’s knowledge, expertise, success stories, and practical advice with CPPW grantees all across the nation that are working to combat obesity and tobacco use. After a competitive RFP process, MDH contracted with grassroots solutions to design and implement the mentoring program that includes training, technical assistance, and opportunities for peer-to-peer learning.

We have found this assignment to be an especially great match. The grassroots solutions team has its own strong track record of engaging communities on health issues that take a toll on community livability and individual quality of life. Over the years, we’ve:

• Designed a training and technical assistance program with ClearWay Minnesota that resulted in 16 communities across the state organizing to pass smoke-free indoor air policies, and culminated in the passage of the Minnesota Freedom to Breathe Act in 2007;
• Trained and engaged Meeker McLeod Sibley Tobacco Free Youth in becoming active organizers in their community to pass outtdoor tobacco-free policies;
• Assisted the Sunflower Foundation to develop and implement the Clean Air Kansas campaign, which led to the passage of a statewide public smoking bill in 2010;
• Worked with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota to develop a groundbreaking campaign called “do.town,” focused on making the healthy choice the easy choice.

We’re excited to hit the road and engage with CPPW grantees all across the country who are working to make their communities healthier! Stay tuned here for more updates.

For the last seven months, grassroots solutions has been working alongside the thousands of staff, volunteers and union members who stood up for good jobs and strong communities in Ohio – first helping to set up and coordinate the signature gathering effort to put the issue on the ballot, and then helping to guide and execute the massive volunteer field and Get-Out-The-Vote efforts through Election Day.

In a stunning reversal, Senate Bill 5 – the bill that Republican Governor Kasich and the GOP-controlled legislature passed in March and was put on the ballot for a public vote after 1.3 million signatures were gathered in July – was revoked by citizen repeal with 61.4% of the vote.

For an odd-year election, turnout in Ohio reached record-breaking numbers, thanks in large part to the staff, volunteers and union members who knocked on doors and made phone calls encouraging people to vote on November 8.

• Almost 3.5 million Ohio citizens turned out to vote
• 2.1 million “no” votes were cast – nearly twice the number of people who signed the petition to place Senate Bill 5 on the ballot for citizen veto, and more than the 1.9 million votes Republican candidate John Kasich received to become governor in 2010
• The We Are Ohio campaign won in 82 of 88 counties

In what is thought to be the first public vote in the country on collective bargaining rights, grassroots solutions is proud to have worked with this historic coalition to protect working families and congratulates the We Are Ohio campaign team on an epic victory.

Proving that Democrats can win big anywhere, even in Kentucky, Governor Beshear earned a second term last night with a resounding 56% to 35% victory. Overall, it was a good night for Kentucky Democrats – statewide candidates for lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer and auditor also won.

grassroots solutions ran canvasses in Covington and Louisville, persuading swing voters and driving turnout that helped elect not only Governor Beshear and Lieutenant Governor Abramson, but also several other down-ballot statewide candidates. With a grassroots campaign focused on family, Kentucky elected a Democratic governor and five out of six statewide offices won – a stark contrast to Tea Party Rand Paul’s senate win last year.

Earlier this summer, the heads of the nation’s largest environmental organizations called on President Obama to block the Keystone XL pipeline and staged a two week-long protest in what was called the largest civil disobedience in the environmental movement’s recent history. Over 1,200 protesters were arrested over the course of the sit-ins, which were designed to raise awareness about the environmental impacts of the proposed pipeline and create public pressure on the Administration to reject the permitting request.

Minnesotans in Solidarity

While activists were protesting in the nation’s capital this summer, grassroots solutions organized three rallies in Minnesota with our long-time partner the Sierra Club, and in partnership with coalition allies in the Twin Cities and across the state – including Indigenous Environment Network (IEN), MN350, Fresh Energy and volunteer-led Twin Cities Tar Sands Action.

In August, the Sierra Club and grassroots solutions staged its first rally at the Minneapolis Convention Center while President Obama was in town. About 75 supporters attended the rally to protest the pipeline and met President Obama with a 20 foot banner reading, “President Obama: Yes You Can Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline!”

The second rally was held in downtown Minneapolis and was orchestrated by lead organizing group, IEN, in partnership with the Sierra Club and grassroots solutions.  The rally began at the Royal Bank of Canada, which has investments in tar sands and is helping to finance Keystone XL. Supporters then marched to the Canadian Consulate to rally and protest the Canadian government’s support of the pipeline. Their actions were successful in gaining a meeting with Consulate staff, where the protesters expressed their objections to the pipeline project and asked the government to re-consider its support.

For the third and final rally, grassroots solutions left the Twin Cities to organize and educate in Greater Minnesota. Working with IEN and students at Bemidji State University, we held a rally in October at the busiest intersection in downtown Bemidji during “rush hour.” Most people showed their support (for the planet, or Paul Bunyan and Babe, we’re not sure) with honking horns and words of encouragement.

Though this cycle of protests has ended, the Sierra Club and its coalition partners are continuing their important work, pushing the issue nationally and staging protests across the country. On Sunday, the Sierra Club North Star Chapter and MN350.org staged a solidarity rally and march at the Government Plaza (or as the Occupy Minnesota protesters call it, “The People’s Plaza”) in downtown Minneapolis to coincide with the national day of action in Washington DC.

Related Links:

• Chaska native arrested in DC protesting Tar Sands: http://www.chaskaherald.com/view/full_story/15547375/article-Civil-disobedience?instance=home_people
• Coverage of Rally and March in DT Mpls:
  • http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/09/26/pipeline-protesters-hit-minneapolis/
  • http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2011/09/28/mn-activists-call-obama-stop-keystone-xl-pipeline

October 6-7, 2011
St. Paul, Minnesota

After two days of being in the presence of thousands of nonprofit leaders and staff, one thing is clear: Minnesota’s nonprofit community is strong and has great expectations for the state, thanks in large part to the resources and support the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits has provided over the last quarter century. At MCN’s 25^th Annual Conference, Great Expectations: Our Communities, Our Future, nonprofits from across the state gathered to network with their peers, attend skill-building sessions, set the stage for the next 25 years, and celebrate the sector during the Nonprofit Mission Awards presentation.

grassroots solutions was there to celebrate MCN’s 25^th anniversary with a giant birthday card signed by conference attendees, and we gladly partook in the delicious cupcakes and balloon animals at the birthday party. Before the party began, Dan Cramer, Rosy Kalfus and Dana Montgomery got down to business leading a couple interactive breakout sessions.

Constitutional Amendments – Minnesota’s New Policy-Making Reality

Some might say that a three-hour session on constitutional amendments would be enough to drive a person mad. Others might say, “What is express advocacy?” Dan Cramer (a.k.a. Alex Trebek); Susie Brown, MCN public policy director; and Sarah Duniway, Gray Plant Mooty attorney, passed the time with a game of Jeopardy inspired to help conference goers understand:

• Why and how amendments are now being used to shape public policy inMinnesota;
• The risks and opportunities this strategy creates for the nonprofit sector and the communities it serves;
• How statewide constitutional amendments work;
• The basic legal issues related to nonprofit involvement; and
• How to use constitutional amendments as a strategy for change.

The Engagement Pyramid – Building Meaningful Relationships from the Ground Up!

While Dan was off living out his dream of being a game show host, Rosy Kalfus and Dana Montgomerywere busy contemplating the theme from another popular game show: The $10,000 Pyramid. The engagement pyramid is a framework designed to help organizations build and sustain meaningful relationships with their members, volunteers, funders, or constituents. During the session, Rosy and Dana did a worksheet exercise to help conference goers think about who their constituencies are, where they fall on the pyramid, and what the organization does to engage them. Download a PDF of the engagement pyramid worksheet. It takes careful planning, two-way communication, and creative content to engage people in an organization’s mission. The engagement pyramid helps organizations think about engagement in a systematic way.

If you weren’t able to make it to St. Paul for the conference this year, don’t worry.  MCN has provided links to everything you missed. Check out the Download Center for links to session presentations and handouts. Learn more about the Nonprofit Mission Awards winners and watch their inspiring videos. And view photos from the conference.

As we’ve written about in previous posts, Minnesota Idea Open is a statewide idea challenge that encourages everyday Minnesotans to get involved in community problem solving around a public issue. Minnesota Idea Open is a venture of the Minnesota Community Foundation, with its partners: Pentair and its Foundation, Ashoka Changemakers and the Citizens League.

This year’s challenge garnered 112 great idea submissions, which were narrowed down to just three finalists. Known as the “Great Minnesota Get-Together,” the Fair provided an unparalleled channel for organizing tens of thousands of Minnesotans to vote on the finalists – reaching out to them in a relaxed setting whereMinnesota pride is on full display. Voters had a great time learning more about the water issues facing the state, and being part of a big decision —  $15,000 in implementation money was at stake for the winner!

Given the 90 degree weather, one of the biggest attractions to the Minnesota Idea Open booth at the Fair was a water bar (complete with taps!) that Pentair – a Minnesota-based international company working on sustainable water solutions – brought to the party. The logistics of moving the water bar into position at the booth (which weighs as much as a Honda Civic) called for forklifts, burly guys, hand-digging trenches, catching a flying tent in high winds, and a bit of an electrical learning curve. It was all more than worth it, as the free water at the booth proved to be a major draw forMinnesota’s thirsty Fair-goers, and ultimately led to thousands of conversations about water in the land of 10,000 lakes, and over 10,000 votes cast in the Minnesota Idea Open.

Having a presence at the Minnesota State Fair was a strategic decision to boost voting participation in the Minnesota Idea Open. Last year’s inaugural challenge relied exclusively on online voting at the www.MNIdeaOpen.org website and resulted in nearly 1,500 votes cast. The grassroots solutions team was concerned that limiting voting to online channels had perhaps excluded people with less access to or comfort with digital technologies, and therefore made this major change to reach out face-to-face.

The grassroots solutions team worked hard to move the energy from the booth to online spaces and media networks and back to the booth again.  Pentair’s unique offering at the booth (promoted with flair and persistence by the Padilla Speer Beardsley media relations team) generated media attention on nearly all of the Twin Cities TV news stations. Endless Minnesotans told the team at the booth that they heard about the Minnesota Idea Open from the local news.  All of the Minnesota State Fair shenanigans made for some pretty great social media fodder—including posts with Miss Minnesota, crop art and TC Bear—that helped buoy participation at the booth. Check out Minnesota Idea Open on Facebook and Twitter, and stay tuned to this channel for a sneak peak at next year’s Minnesota Idea Open challenge!