Hundreds of volunteers from around the Detroit region participated in four KaBOOM! playground builds Saturday. Two sites, Starlight Baptist and Jude Baptist, are faith-based organizations with strong community ties. The Jude playground is connected to a community center that includes a daycare for residents on Detroit’s east side.
Focus Hope chose Paul Robeson Academy to partner with and the place was packed with children from the school doing their part in the build. The school band entertained the volunteers and the cheer team motivated folks to proceed even with the threat of inclement weather. Congressman John Conyers told a story about knowing Paul Robeson, the actor and political activist for whom the school was named. Other elected officials were in attendance including Wayne County Commissioner Keith Williams. Commissioner Williams contributed the match funds to support the project build.
At ACCESS in Dearborn, the build had a hip hop flare. The music kept the volunteers in an upbeat mode while their spirit for supporting their community was shared by all. Mothers brought food and a local firefighter brought the fire trucks and entertained the small children.
Some of the people who volunteered got so excited they volunteered to do more for the organizations building the playgrounds.
Knight Foundation is funding volunteers to build 13 playgrounds in five cities this year in an effort to engage residents in strengthening their community.
Video: Tattnall Square Park will get a new design with funding from the neighborhood challenge.
It’s been just over a year since the Knight Foundation trustees approved a five-year, $3 million grant to the Community Foundation of Central Georgia to fund an innovative program, the Knight Neighborhood Challenge. The program funds residents best ideas for making the historic College Hill area a vibrant place to live. The second round of recipients was announced this evening, and what a great year it has been!
When the grant was approved, some said “Do you REALLY think you can find $3 million worth of resident-driven ideas to improve the College Hill neighborhood in Macon, Georgia?” I never had a doubt.
This second round of investment reflects the great ideas of this community….large and small. There were proposals totaling over $1 million for the $200,000 that the community foundation ultimately distributed. While of course it is wonderful to see innovative ideas generated by our friends and neighbors, the most gratifying part of the Knight Neighborhood Challenge is that the improvements will benefit everyone in Macon.
Check out the list below.
This investment that Knight Foundation is making in the College Hill Corridor and Macon is a tangible expression of Knight’s commitment to this community.
I can’t wait for round three. Macon residents are invited to learn more and apply.
To employ a local artist to create an agility course, furniture and sculpture for Tyler’s Place Dog Park.
College Hill Alliance $18,500
Second Sunday Brunch
To offer free live concerts, one Sunday a month, which will continue to attract a diverse audience to the College Hill Corridor.
Macon Outreach at Mulberry $10,000
Macon Outreach Community Garden
To establish a community garden and compost area that will bring a vibrant new use to an empty lot. The harvest will be dedicated to feeding the hungry in Central Georgia.
ELucas Consulting, Inc. $6,500
Cotton Avenue Revival Festival
To remember and relive the rich history of the historic Cotton Avenue area with a festival offering music, arts and entertainment.
Centenary United Methodist Church $6,190
Beall’s Hill Garden: Safe, Clean and Branded
To install historically appropriate fencing, raised beds and signage in Beall’s Hill Garden.
Nathan Dees $5,000
Cops on the Hill
To establish a fund to provide down payment or deposit assistance for law enforcement officers who choose to live in the College Hill Corridor.
Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful Commission $3,716
Corridor Event Recycling Bins
To purchase recycling bins for use at events within the corridor. The bins will be orange and feature the College Hill Corridor logo.
Mercer University $3,200
Energy Audit of Tattnall Square Presbyterian Church
To conduct an energy audit of Tattnall Square Presbyterian Church by Mercer University School of Engineering faculty.
To help light the way efficiently while making people feel safe by giving residents energy-efficient, fluorescent lights to display outside their homes from dusk to dawn.
James E. Waldron $1,000
Composting Analysis and Design for Mercer Village
To design an appropriate, user-friendly and adaptable composting facility for the Mercer Village area.
Mercer University $890
Energy Audits for College Hill Corridor
To offer energy audits of homes in the College Hill Corridor area performed by Mercer University School of Engineering students.
Heather B. Cutway $700
Urban Hikes in the Corridor
To provide guided, one-hour walks in the corridor with an expert on the College Hill area.
Pam Thomasson $689
Ocmulgee Bird points the way to Macon’s Indian Mounds
To provide a better sign leading to Ocmulgee National Monument.
Lee A. Johnson $528
Graffiti Control Patrol
To paint over gang graffiti on buildings, streets and traffic signs.
Aaron Zaritzky $450
“No Trash Dumping” Sign in Beall’s Hill
To help neighbors in Beall’s Hill install a “No Trash Dumping” sign near an entry to their neighborhood
Nathan Dees $450
College Hill Graffiti Cleanup
To initiate weekend volunteer graffiti clean-up projects.
Today, it's busier than ever - even though the library is open fewer days and fewer hours. At a time when more folks need libraries, their services and the Internet access they provide, our library system is more challenged than ever.
As a member of the Charlotte Catalyst Fund committee, I was pleased to support a request to help the county and library explore the library's future. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg library is not a county department though it gets the bulk of its funding from the county. That puts it in a precarious position during budget discussions.
The county is likely to face budget shortfalls again next year, so it's smart to be looking now for operating strategies to keep more libraries open for more hours.
Students are learning multimedia in the field by covering stories all over the world as part of the project “My Story, My Goal.” In response to the UN Millennium Development Goals, 14 young journalists from the University of Miami teamed up with local partners to share coverage which personifies some of the world’s most critical human issues.
The stories were integrated into a nearly 27-minute documentary called “This is My Goal.” Led by Rich Beckman, Knight Chair in Visual Journalism, the Center has begun developing relationships with journalism schools around the world. Tom Kennedy, Knight Center Professional-in-Residence and former managing editor of multimedia at The Washington Post, provided valuable direction and editing coaching during post production.
Each of the seven four-minute videos is available to watch separately, providing a snapshot of individual struggle. In addition to the video, animated statistics shed light on the policy issue, and high quality still photos provide additional perspectives.
This project was produced by the Knight Center for International Media, which also houses the One Water project. The One Water film, done in a variety of formats, including one without words, will debut on cable Aug. 2, 2010. The center focuses on finding new ways for news and information to cross cultural and political borders.
Last week, the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) released a new report – Covering Corruption: The Difficulties of Trying to Make a Difference.
“Covering corruption is more dangerous than covering war,” writes the report’s author, Rosemary Armao.
Joel Simon, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), says exposes of corruption are “the kind of journalism that has a lot of martyrs.” Knight Foundation supports CPJ in its mission to reduce impunity and seek justice for slain journalists. Knight helped the Inter American Press Association significantly reduce impunity rates in Latin America.
Recommendations from the report focus on measures for the safety of reporters, a critical need for a rethink of investigative journalism training, and the growing use of digital technology to empower journalists and communities – three areas in which Knight Foundation actively awards grants.
Seeking Sustainability: A Nonprofit News Roundtable
Anyone curious about the future of journalism – and how news outlets can effectively inform people in the digital age, while surviving as a business – should check out a new Knight Foundation report, Seeking Sustainability: A Nonprofit News Roundtable.
Knight Foundation sponsored the roundtable in April, which was co-hosted by The Texas Tribune, Voice of San Diego and the Knight Chair in Journalism at The University of Texas at Austin. In addition to the news groups detailing their experiences, several dozen funders, academics and researchers from around the country shared their perspectives. They touched on the issues all online news startups are experimenting with: journalism and advertising models, ways to generate revenue, interacting with and building community and technology and innovation.
Lessons learned and questions explored:
When getting an online news enterprise off the ground, participants agreed that “structure matters.” Nontraditional media groups need to be entrepreneurial, adaptive, collaborative and flexible. Diversity of revenue and approaches to creating journalistic and community value is key to sustainability.
A group’s success at developing strong community and media partnerships seemed to be linked more to its leadership, business model and visibility than to its initial financial support.
Most of the startups agreed on the importance of finding partners in traditional media that can publish their work and provide support (both organizational and financial). The Texas Tribune, for example, has partnered with NPR. Public media were viewed as the most natural collaborators because they share a nonprofit, community information mission.
In terms of creating revenue streams, memberships were considered an effective way to raise money as well as to foster engagement. Incentives or benefits to membership need to be explored, such as those offered by symphonies and public media.
News startups, which typically have very limited tech staffing and budget, seem to find most success using existing technology rather than developing their own tools. Voice of San Diego, for example, acquired an iPhone app for a small licensing fee.
While participants agreed that nonprofit news startups face serious challenges, including financial self-sufficiency, those at the roundtable have enjoyed significant success carrying out their missions. In this sphere of journalism, optimism is reigning.
In fall 2009, the PBS NewsHour launched in a new format that merged its broadcast program and digital platforms. A 2007 grant from Knight Foundation had helped the program add interactive graphics and media to its web site. The grant also helped build the site’s educational features, which include teacher resources and student-produced content.
Knight Foundation also supports Patchwork Nation, a multimedia project with the PBS NewsHour that uses demographic data to identify different community types and trends across the United States. In the coming years, the project’s analysis of congressional districts will help programs like the PBS NewsHour report on state-wide elections.
A Charlotte neighborhood group recently told the Observer that it was tired of inviting speakers who gave lectures college-style. Something was missing. So instead, the group decided to encourage dialogue with the public officials who addressed them by placing chairs in a circle.
In a series of meetings sponsored by Knight Foundation - with elected officials, county staff and nonprofit leaders - Matt shared characteristics of good community engagement.
They included: Having people talk about what they care about and their experiences to create common ground; giving a fair presentation of options to be considered, not just one plan for reaction; and presenting the expectation of action so that participants see themselves as part of the solution.
Having candidates sit in a circle actually talking with folks would seem to fit into Matt's framework.
That's why the mission of the university's Sunshine Center is so important. Run by the North Carolina Open Government Coalition at Elon University, the center educates residents about their rights to government information, and helps people access official meetings and records.
The Sunshine Center also participates in meetings with other members of the National Freedom of Information Coalition and hosts Sunshine Week activities in North Carolina. Sunshine Week is an annual nationwide event run by the American Society of News Editors. The events provide information about freedom of information and encourage journalists, schools and civic groups to advocate for open government laws.
The grant will allow the workforce fund, a Knight grantee, – and its partner Jobs for the Future - to help at least 23,000 additional people in 24 communities, while addressing the needs of more than 1,000 employers.
The investment also recognizes the fund’s innovative – and effective – approach to preparing America’s workers for the jobs our economy demands. The fund works by linking local businesses with employees and workforce experts. Together, they determine the kind of training needed to fill existing, higher-skilled, jobs. That’s the key: allowing local wisdom to drive local solutions.
The grant is further recognition that the workforce fund is making headway when our country needs it most.
Two other Knight Foundation grantees, LISC and New Profit, Inc., also received funding.
It's an honor to receive a grant from the Social Innovation Fund, created by Congress just last year to help successful non-profits replicate their approaches to addressing critical challenges.
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