Cross-posted from the Soul of the Community blog.

Meredith Hector, Knight's program director in Bradenton, wrote an op-ed about the Soul of the Community study that was published in the Bradenton Herald this morning. Here's a taste:

Soul of the Community is a study of perceptions. Unlike the latest unemployment figures, we can change what people think and how they feel. That is why we can be experiencing one of the worst economic declines in recent memory, and still have a large percentage of residents who love where they live.

The economy is bad everywhere. Folks don’t appear to be blaming their financial troubles on where they live. Instead, there are other community features that drive people’s perception that the Bradenton area is a place they enjoy and recommend to others.

Luckily for us, these features also happen to be ones we can influence.

Two key features are perceived as community strengths in Bradenton: our social offerings (fun places to gather and meet people) and our aesthetics (the region’s physical beauty and green spaces).

But a third feature, openness — or how welcoming a place is perceived to be for different demographic groups — merits extra attention and work.

You can read the rest at Bradenton.com. Then come back and give us your thoughts.

By MEREDITH HECTOR - Special to the Herald

This community, which has suffered the recession's sucker punch, received some great news earlier this fall: According to the 2009 Soul of the Community study, Bradenton residents are the most emotionally attached to their community of all 26 surveyed.

There's more: The results are particularly important because the Gallup study, funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, indicates a relationship between residents' emotional connection to where they live and local economic growth.

The results are exciting and create opportunities. But what do we do with this information?

Fortunately, Soul of the Community points to specific areas residents can impact in order to improve people's passion and loyalty for Bradenton - and, hopefully, our area's economic vitality.

Soul of the Community is a study of perceptions. Unlike the latest unemployment figures, we can change what people think and how they feel. That is why we can be experiencing one of the worst economic declines in recent memory, and still have a large percentage of residents who love where they live.

The economy is bad everywhere. Folks don't appear to be blaming their financial troubles on where they live. Instead, there are other community features that drive people's perception that the Bradenton area is a place they enjoy and recommend to others.

Luckily for us, these features also happen to be ones we can influence.

Two key features are perceived as community strengths in Bradenton: our social offerings (fun places to gather and meet people) and our aesthetics (the region's physical beauty and green spaces).

But a third feature, openness - or how welcoming a place is perceived to be for different demographic groups - merits extra attention and work.

A whopping 60 percent of all residents surveyed, regardless of their own demographic group, give this area high marks for perceived welcomeness to seniors. But perceived welcomeness to other groups is dramatically lower: families with young children, 23 percent; immigrants, 21 percent; racial and ethnic minorities, 18 percent.

And young talented college graduates, who could be the key to Bradenton's economic future? Only 7 percent of residents thought Bradenton was welcoming to them.

Dr. Katherine Loflin, Gallup's lead consultant on the project, points out that these openness questions were asked of everyone surveyed. That's important because it shows the pervasiveness and agreement of perceptions of welcomeness (or not) to certain groups.

On Oct. 8, Dr. Loflin kicked off the first in a series of conversations about the Soul of the Community results at the Institute for Public Policy and Leadership at the University of South Florida. She challenged us to take action on these issues.

Clearly we want to maintain resident views of the Bradenton area as a welcoming community to seniors. At the same time, we want to significantly increase our sense (and our reality) that this is a place equally welcoming of other demographics groups.

In January, we're continuing the conversation - and make plans for action - with a second workshop. This time, we'll focus specifically on ways to attract and keep young, talented college graduates.

Our region has a wealth of higher education institutions, collectively enrolling about 16,000 students. These students have the potential to be this region's future workforce - the next generation building the local economy and civic life. But there is also the real possibility that many will choose to take their time and talents elsewhere.

To help ensure Bradenton's survey results and No. 1 ranking aren't a hollow victory, we hope you'll take part in conversations and activities that bring about ways to help increase residents' love for Bradenton. Contact me at hector@knight foundation.org if you'd like to attend the January workshop. And find out more about the study's results, and add your own thoughts on the Soul of the Community blog, at www.soulof thecommunity.org.

Meredith Hector, Bradenton program director for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, blogs about Bradenton news and the foundation's work in the region at www.knight foundation.org/bradenton.

Residents of Manatee and Sarasota counties feel the painful effects of the recession daily. It won't surprise many to know that according to the Brookings Institution's Metro Monitor, of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the country, Bradenton-Sarasota is the second-worst-performing in terms of employment, wages, economic output, home prices, and foreclosures (neighboring Tampa is the third worst).

While the current economic situation is bleak, many believe it is cyclical and will stabilize. But what about the region's ongoing workforce challenges? This area faces a dual dilemma - businesses with long-term shortages of skilled workers and low-skilled individuals who lack the necessary training to secure jobs with family-sustaining wages.

A new collaborative of public and private funders has emerged over the past year to confront those challenges head on. The Manatee Sarasota Workforce Funders Collaborative, or MSWFC as it is currently known, is an entrepreneurial alliance composed of businesses, city and county governments, educational institutions, foundations and community organizations that will strengthen and accelerate regional workforce development. It is pooling nearly $2.5 million of local, state and national funds. Those monies will be a source of flexible capital, in the form of targeted grants, for innovative projects that:

• Provide basic skills courses and occupational training to workers in health-care, manufacturing, technology and transportation careers;
• Develop employer-based career pathways and
• Help partner organizations implement career-coaching programs.

MSWFC aims to:

• Support the movement of at least 300 people into promising, career-oriented jobs
• Support at least 10 area employers in their efforts to train and advance employees into mid-skill-level jobs
• Serve as a regional knowledge resource - conducting research and impact assessments and publishing findings that inform regional workforce strategies
• Stimulate greater regional planning and cooperation

MSWFC is not simply a job placement program. This is an opportunity to move low-wage individuals into careers with a living wage. It is a long-term, industry-specific intervention strategy. The role of this collaborative is to serve as a workforce intermediary - organizing key stakeholders and local resources to help workers gain the skills they need and to give employers access to the skilled labor they need. There is evidence from an existing funders collaborative in Boston (the SkillWorks partnership) that program participants there earn an average $4 an hour more than their pre-enrollment wages.

For more details about the collaborative, please check out these resources:

• MSFWC_Primer-10-24.ppt- PowerPoint
• National Fund for Workforce Solutions - PDF
• MSWFC Planning Retreat - PDF
• Service Providers Meeting Session Notes - PDF

The Bradenton Herald's editorial board weighed in on Knight's 2009 survey by Gallup:

Hometown pride points to growth potential | Exploit link between economy, resident loyalty

October 1, 2009

Manatee County's determination to diversify the economy and attract new business received a major boost this week. Bradenton's top ranking in a Gallup study, funded by the Knight Foundation and entitled "Soul of the Community," should help convince business prospects that this is indeed the right place to locate their enterprise.

Gallup surveyed 25 other American communities to identify the reasons why residents become emotionally bonded to their town. Thanks to a surge in community passion and loyalty in 2009, the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice region scored highest of all for emotional attachment. The rise in ratings for three key factors fueled that score: our appreciation of local social offerings, the area's natural beauty and our friendly and open nature.

Not even the sour economy, the worst in decades, could dampen our enthusiasm - even though unemployment took the top spot as the most important problem among survey respondents.

The study also found a strong connection between emotional attachment and economic vitality, suggesting communities can improve the latter by increasing the former. Happy residents make the best employees. Those workers boost the financial performance of businesses. Stronger companies spur a community's economic growth. Pretty simple stuff.

To bring that line of thinking back to the beginning, how can Bradenton score even higher on the resident passion and loyalty meter?

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation points to Realize Bradenton, the broad vision for a vibrant downtown complete with additional social offerings and cultural options, which, in turn, would increase retail, housing and office opportunities and thus the economy, and ultimately build upon that passion for place. This looks like the proverbial field of dreams. Build it and they will come.

The foundation also provided financial support for Realize Bradenton, a blueprint for cultural improvements and downtown revival created by residents at numerous gatherings. Implementation began some five months ago.

Some of the findings in Soul of the Community point to challenges ahead.

The region scored poorly on the availability of affordable housing, current employment opportunities and whether community leaders represent citizen interests.

Bradenton also rated low on being a good place for talented college graduates.

A community discussion on the study will be held next week, and we encourage citizens to check out the 21-page report on Bradenton beforehand (details at the end of the story).

The end game of Soul of the Community - the 2009 study is the second installment of a three-year project - is helping communities thrive.

Gallup researchers have discovered that communities with greater proportions of loyal and passionate residents have produced stronger economic growth over the past five years.

This new report shows Bradenton's potent potential for economic gains. This also hands our economic development leaders and business recruitment team a powerful tool to help achieve that goal.

Survey results can be found online at www.soulofthecommunity.org/bradenton. A town hall forum on the study will be held Oct. 8 at 5 p.m. at the Selby Auditorium at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee. Interested parties can register by calling 359-4602 or by visiting www.sarasota.usf.edu/ippl.

Copyright 2009 The Bradenton Herald

Founded in 1994, the ManaTEEN group volunteers in southwest Florida, and more than 300 teens have given 16,576 hours of service. The club has 12,000 active members ranging in age from eight to twenty-one.

"It is currently the largest locally based youth community service organization in the nation giving back 1.7 million hours annually to our community," according to Alysia Bower of ManaTEEN. "The dive in West Palm Beach focused on the purpose to empower teens as decision makers regarding the coastal environment and marine restoration."

Here's the video from the dive:

For more ManaTEENS, you can follow along on their blog.

Like most Florida communities, Bradenton is struggling to weather the “perfect storm” of property tax increases, rising insurance costs, housing market declines and budget cuts (the county just announced $44 million in cuts and the elimination of 88 positions). So it was nice to be at a press conference yesterday to help deliver a bit of good news on the economic front.

Along with Mayor Wayne Poston, Manatee Chamber of Commerce president Bob Bartz, and Bradenton’s Downtown Development Authority executive director Mike Kennedy, I announced the newly formed Bradenton Cultural and Business Alliance (BCBA).

BCBA will work to strengthen the local economy and transform downtown Bradenton and Manatee County into an exciting cultural destination. The efforts of the thirteen BCBA members will build upon Bradenton’s existing cultural assets, including the Manatee Players, the South Florida Museum, ArtCenter Manatee, and the Village of the Arts.

The grant monies made it possible to hire Bill Bulick - a noted arts consultant from Portland, Oregon who will lead the efforts to create a cultural plan in the coming year.

Additionally, the grant enables the BCBA to visit another community that has a successful cultural plan, as well as providing operating and marketing support to the Arts Council of Manatee County and the key cultural organizations mentioned above.

At the same time we made the BCBA grant, Knight also made a $20,000 grant to the Manatee Chamber Foundation so the Foundation could hire Americans for the Arts to conduct an economic impact study that will gauge the financial scope of the arts and culture in Manatee County.

Results are expected in early 2009, and combined with the work of the BCBA and Bill Bulick, should provide critical knowledge and help leverage the talents of key business leaders, city officials and cultural institutions for the economic benefit of the community.