Smart Communities

A Web-Based Solution for Supporting Rural Entrepreneurs

More than a month ago there was an article posted at On Philanthropy about the possibility of social networks changing the face of philanthropy.  While the piece discussed a number of new websites and technologies it was readily apparent that one of them, Kiva.org, offers some significant potential for supporting rural entrepreneurship here in the United States.

The purpose of Kiva.org is to connect investors all over the world with entrepreneurs in developing countries that need capital to finance their operations.  Kiva.org views investors from the viewpoint of micro-finance -- these are not investment capital groups and bankers, Kiva.org is looking for average folks with a credit card and an interest in helping others.  This sort of financing from halfway around the world requires a great deal of trust but the website helps investors maintain faith in their investment by having entrepreneurs post regular updates about the progress of their venture.  Not a perfect system to be sure but one that opens the doors to possibility to new businesses everywhere.

What micro-finance groups like Kiva.org (Unitus.com is another such organization) are doing is generating a revolution for entrepreneurs worldwide by creating a marketplace for their ideas and ventures.  It seems that something like this could certainly be possible for projects developed here in the United States, it could be a whole new way of generating new possibilities for communities that otherwise might have limited options.

To get a better idea of how micro-financiers like Kiva work here are a few stories about people who have invested through them.  Will Nathan of Charlotte, NC has invested widely despite being only 23 years of age, Carol Pucci of the Seattle Times loaned money to gypsies before traveling to Eastern Europe, and Nicholas Kristoff of the New York Times invested in a venture in Afghanistan.  Reading about each of their experiences will give you a better idea of what's involved in investing and how the process benefits the recipients.

STEP UP -- 2007 Civic Change Award Finalist

Today we recognize another finalist for the 2007 Civic Change Award.  Based in Portland, Oregon the STEP UP program helps at-risk students at two middle schools make the transition from middle school to high school by offering intensive academic and social support.

STEP UP is active in a number of ways to help students remain interested and engaged in school until they graduate.  The program arranges student mentors who remain with one small group of students for an entire year.  Tutoring is provided year-round (including summers); students are required to attend at least two sessions of tutoring weekly but four total sessions are available.  Parents are contacted when students miss tutoring sessions and remain in contact with mentors on matters related to student progress.  Teachers also have regular contact with mentors for review of student behavior and progress.  Finally, STEP UP sponsors a week-long camp before high school and weekend retreats throughout the year to reconnect students with the purpose of school and the priority of their education.

There are a number of community partners that are active in STEP UP including tutors from the University of Portland, arts programming from a local nonprofit, facilities provided by the YMCA and local companies, and various types of aid and participation from a school in Portland's SUN system.

The staff at the STEP UP program have already posted an article about their efforts on the Learning to Finish wiki but we also added a link to their article from the recently-created community-wide initiatives page.

What's to be Done About Brain Drain?

Brain drain is a worldwide concern for communities of all sizes, it attracts the interest of governments as they craft immigration and education policy, it likewise attracts attention from community businesses, schools, chambers of commerce, and concerned citizens.  A pool of well-educated labor is seen as a major incentive for businesses seeking to relocate, it also bodes well for new business start-ups and other entrepreneurial ventures.  So what are governments and communities doing to address the problem of brain drain?

Maine recently passed a law that offers significant financial incentives to graduates of Maine's institutions of higher education if they agree to remain and work in the state.  According to an article on Stateline.org there are several states considering  similar measures to retain talented workers through forgiving student loans, free college tuition, state income tax exemptions, tax credits to employers who pay student loans, and dozens of new efforts nationwide to create stronger links between educational institutions and their surrounding communities.

Solutions at the community level are equally as innovative.  While affected areas continue to work on attracting high tech industries  many have started placing an emphasis on providing the best possible education in science and math to their students and promoting these otherwise understudied subjects.  In Cleveland, one area business is trying to engage students early through internships and the allure of jobs after completing college.  A program in Pennsylvania is providing monetary incentives for children to succeed in school and volunteer their time in a community, the program has the endorsement of that state's Secretary of Education who described it as "a proven success."

There are still numerous opportunities for all sorts of other kinds of initiatives to stem the brain drain in communities across the country.  Affordable housing has repeatedly been cited as one reason for brain drain in news articles out of California, Colorado, and Rhode Island just this month alone.  To get an idea of what brain drain looks like from the perspective of those who leave an area try reading this insightful Buffalo News article that attempts to track down the best and the brightest from western New York's class of 1987.  Enjoy.

New Wiki Articles on Dropout Projects, Mentoring, and Youth Engagement

There is a lot happening on the wiki this week with the addition of one of our Civic Change Award finalists and a number of new posts and edits.  Here's the latest:

* The Forum for Youth Investment recently added an article about their latest publication,   Core Principles for Engaging Young People in Community Change.  They took a very sensible approach in their first post by using a topic title (Youth Engagement) that was fairly general in nature so that others could add to it.

* Dan Bassill, founder of Tutor/Mentor Connection and fellow blogger, continues to build a in impressive mentoring section on the Learning to Finish wiki.  His latest addition looks at organizing your efforts around annual events on the school calendar.  Dan also continues to share what he knows in the section on designing a mentoring program.  The sheer volume of what Dan produces for his own website and blog as well as our wiki is amazing, he is truly helping write the book on how communities can direct their efforts through tutoring and mentoring programs.

* The Middle School Archive Project is a cool idea that any school can implement, the folks at StudentMotivation.org recently added to their entry on the project and it is well worth taking a look.

If you are new to the wiki but would like to join in the conversation then take a look at the new tutorial or contact us for assistance.  The offer of assistance runs until the middle of August so interested parties have less than a month to avail themselves of this offer!
 

Rural America Still Needs Farms … and Farmers

As we continue our discussion of rural America, I want to turn our attention to one of the mainstays historically—the family farm. Time was that our rural landscape was dotted with small acreage farms and single silos. Young people considered farming as a career option—hardly now. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, just under six percent of all farmers are under the age of 35 compared to 16 percent in the eighties.

But don't think for a moment that this trend is being lost of the thousands of families that are still farming. A number of groups like the National Family Farm Coalition and the Family Farm Defenders are taking on issues that affect the future of family from immigration to global imports. Add to those the USDA's Farm Bill 2007 web page and you will learn a lot about the issues facing the United States' farms and farming communities.

Why might we care about all this? First, the farm economy is a significant source of revenue for smaller communities when you add the auxiliary services and businesses; second, farm families often are the life blood that keeps communities going; and third, as we think about our food supply why in the world would we want our food shipped for thousands of miles when we could have it freshly picked at home. On this latter point it is critical that we balance the economics of food supply with the quality of the food supply, if we want our small farmers to stay competitive.

I know that the politics abound for this topic but I also know that it is in all our interest not to have America’s farms be just mega farms. Communities need farm families as one of the key ingredients of their economic stability and indeed their civic future.

Quantum Leap -- 2007 Civic Change Award Finalist

Quantum Leap is based in Bennington, VT and works with at-risk children from all grade levels to re-introduce them to the school system.  They help students develop a love of learning through individualized learning plans and educational partnerships with community members.

As an organization, Quantum Leap aims to create a wide safety net of mentors throughout the community; currently that safety net includes almost 20 paid and volunteer contributors (in roles as teachers, mentors, coordinators, etc.) and more than two dozen partnering organizations.  All Quantum Leap students have an individualized education plan that the student creates with the aid of an academic mentor.  A number of student comments were included with Quantum Leap's application and almost all of them made reference to individual projects for school with which they had struggled but found interest and deep satisfaction completing.  In addition to the individualized learning plans, students are helped to understand how to use mediation as a method of problem-solving and managing conflict.

This project has worked with a broad spectrum of community members including chefs, gardeners, theater troupes, women’s organizations, artisans, and parents from throughout the community.  The individualized learning plan and organizational mission to create a "town of mentors" distinguish this project as one that will continue to seek engagement with the entire community for years to come.

In conjunction with this blog, the same description of Quantum Leap given here has been added to the Learning to Finish wiki on a page dedicated to community-wide initiatives.  We encourage interested users to add descriptions of exceptional community-wide dropout prevention programs to this article.  Feel free to write us and ask for help.

Announcing the 2007 Civic Change Award Finalists

We will be taking one day over the next three weeks to announce each of the finalists for the 2007 Civic Change Award.  This year, the Civic Change Award recognizes groups or individuals attempting to implement community-wide solutions to the dropout crisis.  The competition was steep, with little publicity of the award we still received a small hill of applications from deserving organizations in this country and abroad.  In the coming weeks we will introduce those organizations that we think are the best of a truly stellar group of applicants.  It was a please for us to get to know these organizations, we hope you feel the same way.

Small Businesses Knit Communities Together

As communities sort out their economic futures too often they only have the "big fish" corporations or factories in their crosshairs. They want a "big bang for the buck" like Spartanburg, SC's BMW plant or the new acquisitions in Mississippi of Nissan and Toyota. If only it were so easy.

The fact of the matter is that the secret to long-term sustainability may lie in a string of small businesses that generate revenue for sure but as important provide the leadership for the Rotary/Lions/Kiwanis Clubs that are in dire need of participation in many places. In an article in United Hemispheres magazine in June 2007, "Small Business, Big Impact", that vision got clearer. The article reports that the small business/nonfarm share of the gross domestic product is 50 percent and that of the 25.8 million businesses in the United States—99.9 percent have less than 500 employees. These companies have generated 60 to 80 percent of the net new jobs annually over the past decade.

What does this tell us? First, think about ways to entice new business or encourage the expansion of existing businesses in your community; second, be sure that your local governments (and you) know what is available for start-up financing for new businesses; and third, what do existing businesses need to grow—suppliers, auxiliary businesses, cooperative employee benefits, etc. According to Michael Shuman in his book The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses are Beating the Global Competition, the size of the company can be a strategic advantage when it comes to service, personalized goods, and attention to buyers specific needs. With the expansion of broadband, the access to world markets is often an issue of positioning. How can smaller communities think more creatively about their economic future?

Over the coming weeks, we want to add some teeth to this argument that smaller might be better and more strategic as we look at rural America and ways to insure that local dollars stay—local.

A Never-Ending Summer of "Best Of"

The naming of the "Best Location for Quality X" is a business that knows no rest.  This week's winners include:

* Travel + Leisure Magazine named an assortment of winners including Cape Town as the top city to visit in Africa and the Middle East and Florence as "Best City in the World".  Following closely behind Florence were Buenos Aires and Bangkok.  We have only scratched the surface here, there are a seemingly limitless supply of award categories identified by Travel + Leisure Magazine.  To get the full scope of the awards check out MSNBC online.

* Outside Magazine uses its August 2007 issue to anoint the Best Small Towns in America.  Asheville, North Carolina won the award for best Southern Small Town but, as the Citizen-Times reports, this is a well-honored city:  "Asheville has been named a top city to live in, work in or visit by Money Magazine, Vacation Magazine, Modern Maturity, Expansion Management Magazine, Southern Living, Canoe and Kayak Magazine, The Industry Standard, Men's Journal, Forbes, GoVeg.com and the retirement guides "America's 100 Best Places to Retire," "Retire in Style" and "Retirement Places Rated," among other publications."

* Dog Fancy Magazine crowned San Diego "DogTown USA 2007" based on nominations from readers.

* Monocle Magazine named Munich, Germany as the most livable city in the world.  An article in the International Herald Tribune offers detailed information on why you should consider Munich as your top choice.

* Money Magazine has put together its annual list of best places to live and put Middleton, Wisconsin at the top.  Perhaps the biggest surprise here is that Minnesota's town of Chaska has received much of the attention as the result of being a top ten pick located in a cold weather area.

We have covered these "Best of" lists a few times in the past but I get the feeling that we might not be able to cover them all.  Thankfully we have some really interesting news to report out of the Pew Partnership for Civic Change in the coming weeks -- starting with the announcement early next week of the 2007 Civic Change Award finalists.

New Uses for Abandoned Buildings

Imagination is truly the only limit for what is possible when community members seek new uses for abandoned buildings.  Here are some examples of innovative uses for abandoned buildings in this country and the U.K.:

* mental health facilities, once shut down, are now being reborn and finding all sorts of new uses in in Massachusetts.  One former hospital in Dorchester and Mattapan now features a nature center, laboratory, and homes with future development including more housing, a nursing home, and community gardens planned for the near future.  Other former hospitals in the state feature restaurants, a veterinary school, an out-patient medical center, and a variety of different stores.  A Boston Globe article lists the projects underway across the state with brief descriptions.

* a building that formerly housed what was deemed "the worst cinema" in the U.K. has been converted into a community center for charity and community groups.

* a four room schoolhouse in Enterprise, Florida is being turned into a museum that will spotlight the history of the town.  The chairman of the local preservation society was really pleased by the event stating, "This is awesome, I'm like a kid at Christmas."  Who wouldn't be?  This is a great idea and it looks like there is enough enthusiasm to make the project a success.

Congratulations to all these communities for their innovative and enthusiastic use of abandoned properties in service of community space.