The Learning/Action Lab for Community Wealth Building is a collaboration spearheaded by The Democracy Collaborative and supported by the Northwest Area Foundation, designed to help Native American communities better engage in comprehensive community economic development. Working with organizations in Minnesota, South Dakota, Oregon and Washington, this intensive training, advisory, education, and business development program empowers participants to build and retain wealth by developing effective strategies that foster ownership of enterprise, increase access to local assets, and create and anchor jobs locally.
The Learning/Action Lab is part of a planned five-year Northwest Area Foundation initiative, the Native Employee-Owned Development Pilot Project. Through the Lab, participants will gain an in-depth understanding of core community wealth building values, principles and institutional forms, such as cooperatives, employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) companies, social enterprises, and community land trusts. Participants will also have ongoing access to a network of expertise in community wealth building through the program’s faculty which includes representatives from The Democracy Collaborative and Pinchot University. The goal is that by the end of this initiative, participant organizations will have launched their own business enterprises that ground wealth in their communities.
Structured on principles of co-learning and co-creation, participants engage in one-on-one tailored coaching sessions; on-line webinars to examine a specific innovation in-depth; two-day group workshops and training sessions with the opportunity to engage with experts as well as peers; and high-impact site visits to centers of community wealth building activity. While the planning team aims to facilitate learning, participants are encouraged to become teachers, helping the organizers learn about Indian Country and its unique needs, and helping each other learn together. The Lab is also collaborative in its approach, drawing participants into the work of shaping the agenda, and reshaping the agenda together on-site as needed. Find out more about the Lab's vision and learning approach here.
Participating organizations include:
Read more about the Learning/Action Lab in the following news stories:
The Learning/Action Lab for Community Wealth Building is a collaboration spearheaded by The Democracy Collaborative and supported by the Northwest Area Foundation, designed to help Native American communities better engage in comprehensive community economic development. Working with organizations in Minnesota, South Dakota, Oregon and Washington, this intensive training, advisory, education, and business development program empowers participants to build and retain wealth by developing effective strategies that foster ownership of enterprise, increase access to local assets, and create and anchor jobs locally.
The Learning/Action Lab is part of a planned five-year Northwest Area Foundation initiative, the Native Employee-Owned Development Pilot Project. Through the Lab, participants will gain an in-depth understanding of core community wealth building values, principles and institutional forms, such as cooperatives, employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) companies, social enterprises, and community land trusts. Participants will also have ongoing access to a network of expertise in community wealth building through the program’s faculty which includes representatives from The Democracy Collaborative and Pinchot University. The goal is that by the end of this initiative, participant organizations will have launched their own business enterprises that ground wealth in their communities.
Structured on principles of co-learning and co-creation, participants engage in one-on-one tailored coaching sessions; on-line webinars to examine a specific innovation in-depth; two-day group workshops and training sessions with the opportunity to engage with experts as well as peers; and high-impact site visits to centers of community wealth building activity. While the planning team aims to facilitate learning, participants are encouraged to become teachers, helping the organizers learn about Indian Country and its unique needs, and helping each other learn together. The Lab is also collaborative in its approach, drawing participants into the work of shaping the agenda, and reshaping the agenda together on-site as needed. Find out more about the Lab's vision and learning approach here.
Participating organizations include:
- Little Earth of United Tribes, Minneapolis,Minnesota
- Native American Natural Foods, Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, Oglala Lakota Nation
- Native American Youth and Family Center, Portland, Oregon
- Spokane Tribal Network, Wellpinit, Washington, Spokane Nation
- Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation, Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, Oglala Lakota Nation
Read more about the Learning/Action Lab in the following news stories:
A Plan To End The Cycle Of Native American Poverty With A New Kind Of Community
By Ariel Schwartz November 7, 2014 |
Healthy Snack Generates Hope & Income on Pine Ridge Reservation
By Jay Walljasper August 14, 2016 |
Indian Country is the Site of New Developments in Community Wealth Building
By Sarah McKinley and Marjorie Kelly
July 14, 2014
By Sarah McKinley and Marjorie Kelly
July 14, 2014
About The Democracy Collaborative
Widely recognized as a leader in the community wealth building field, The Democracy Collaborative works nationwide to create new models for economic development that empower communities, build democracy, and address the root causes of poverty and economic inequality. For more information about our work, visit http://democracycollaborative.org.
About Northwest Area Foundation
The Northwest Area Foundation is committed to helping communities reduce poverty in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon by providing knowledge, financial resources, products and services. Since 2001, the Foundation has directed more than $86 million to support culturally-based, innovative initiatives in reservation and urban Native American communities within its eight-state region. To find out more about the Foundation’s work, visit http://www.nwaf.org.
Widely recognized as a leader in the community wealth building field, The Democracy Collaborative works nationwide to create new models for economic development that empower communities, build democracy, and address the root causes of poverty and economic inequality. For more information about our work, visit http://democracycollaborative.org.
About Northwest Area Foundation
The Northwest Area Foundation is committed to helping communities reduce poverty in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon by providing knowledge, financial resources, products and services. Since 2001, the Foundation has directed more than $86 million to support culturally-based, innovative initiatives in reservation and urban Native American communities within its eight-state region. To find out more about the Foundation’s work, visit http://www.nwaf.org.
