University & Community Partnerships

Building Community Wealth across the Pond

Jun 2nd, 2014
City in United Kingdom develops new Community Wealth Building Initiative

The broad appeal of the ‘Cleveland Model’ and of community wealth building in general is becoming evident in a growing number of communities around the country, and—increasingly—overseas as well. Read more about Building Community Wealth across the Pond...

Measuring Anchor Impact: Q&A with Ted Howard

May 20th, 2014
Join us for a free ICIC webinar on June 5
So many anchors are now engaged in some sort of community and economic development locally. But how do they know if they are truly benefiting local residents? Having metrics and indicators to track the impact of their engagement is tremendously helpful in order to ensure that both the institution and the community are benefiting.
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Can Anchor Organizations Measure Enlightened Self-Interest?

May 19th, 2014
Join us for a free ICIC webinar on June 5
When community engagement strategies are marginalized and not viewed as integral to an organization’s core business, they are not sustainable. They are susceptible to budget cuts and changing leadership agendas. Quantifying the returns from community initiatives will help ensure that those initiatives are in place for the long-term.
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Students Create University Report Cards Using Anchor Dashboard

May 9th, 2014
A new video from the Roosevelt Institute|Campus Network invites students to assess their universities' performance as an anchor instiution

As part of the Rethinking Communities’ Initiative, the Roosevelt Institute|Campus Network launched The Anchor Institution Challenge, a nationwide project designed to help students understand their university's impact on surrounding communities. Read more about Students Create University Report Cards Using Anchor Dashboard...

Hospitals Building Healthier Communities: Investing Outside Institutional Walls

This webinar, organized by the Association for Community Health Improvement and the American Hospital Association, outlined opportunities for hospitals to promote health through economic development and community investment. The discussion used the findings of The Anchor Dashboard as a starting point to show how hospitals can broaden their impact on their surrounding communities.
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Interview with Orlando Santaella, Worker- Owner of Evergreen Energy Solutions

In a DiversityInc interview, Orlando Santaella, a worker-owner of Evergreen Energy Solutions, talks about the transformative role that Evergreen has had on his life Read more about Interview with Orlando Santaella, Worker- Owner of Evergreen Energy Solutions...

Evergreen Cooperatives Field Study

In its newest Field Guide to Investing in a Regenerative Economy, the Capital Institute outlines Cleveland’s Evergreen model and provides overviews of the three enterprises: Evergreen Cooperative Laundry, Evergreen Energy Solutions, and Green City Growers. 

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New Student Initiative Asks Anchor Institutions to Rethink their Communities

Mar 27th, 2014
An Interview with Alan Smith of the Roosevelt Institute Campus Network


The Democracy Collaborative recently sat down with Alan Smith of the Roosevelt Institute Campus Network to talk about their new Rethinking Communities Initiative. Inspired by the legacy of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, the Roosevelt Institute promotes the work of progressive economist and social policy thinkers and supports the next generation of leaders as they design solutions to current pressing issues. Their Campus Network is the nation’s largest student policy organization with 115 chapters at colleges and universities in 38 states, working to further progressive ideas, civic leadership, and long-term change
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Virginia Cooperative Extension, City of Richmond

http://news.cals.vt.edu/229-report/2013/10/30/helping-families-strengthen-their-…

Virginia Cooperative Extension offers financial educational programs for Richmond communities, homes, and businesses through its Master Financial Education Volunteer Program. Volunteer educators partner with Richmond Extension agents to provide individual counseling sessions, run poverty simulations, teach money management workshops to youth, and to lead adult financial management classes. In 2012, the Extension trained over seventy volunteers on how to educate families on money management, homeownership planning, debt reconciliation, and retirement planning. The Cooperative also offers support for locally-owned enterprises that demonstrate commitment to community loyalty, community usefulness, and community well-being. Its Community Viability initiatives provide entrepreneurship training, food-based business assistance, and capacity building resources for nonprofit organizations.

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University of Richmond’s Supplier Diversity Program

http://www.richmond.edu/supplier-diversity/

The University of Richmond’s Supplier Diversity Program, administered by the Office of Strategic Sourcing and Payments (OSSP), proactively looks for ways to integrate diverse suppliers into university sourcing opportunities. The department educates the university community on supplier diversity goals, procurement best practices, and strategies to source goods and services at competitive prices. Guided by representatives from several advocacy organizations, members of the Richmond community, and university staff involved in procurement, the Supplier Diversity Program encourages transparency and accessibility in university supplier relationships. The program sponsors events for minority and women- owned businesses to meet university buyers and to learn the requirements for doing business with the University of Richmond. It also provides consulting services for businesses seeking certification as a minority business enterprise.

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Cleveland as a Model for Anchor/Community Partnerships

Feb 25th, 2014
New report highlights the Greater University Circle Initiative

Just released by the Cleveland Foundation, the new report Cleveland's Greater University Circle Initiative: Building a 21st Century City through the Power of Anchor Institution Collaboration provides a thorough overview of a long-term partnership among some of the city's key anchor institutions to foster inclusive, place-based community economic development. With innovative anchor-supported solutions around housing, transit, workforce training, and local procurement, the Greater University Circle Initiative is an effort that's well worth studying by other cities looking to leverage existing institutional assets to revitalize and rebuild their communities.

The Evergreen Cooperatives, one of the most visible pieces of the Initiative, offers a powerful example of the benefits these kinds of integrated anchor stategies can bring to economically marginalized neighborhoods, something this Evergreen worker's comments in the report makes clear:

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