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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3.20.17_CEC_Agenda_webFalcon Heights- Community Engagement Commission March 20, 2017 7:00 pm Agenda 1.Call to Order 2.Approval of February 28, 2017 Minutes 3.Introductions 4.Appointment of Secretary 5.Ramsey County Presentation on Auto Theft by Melanie McMahon 6.Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration Grant 7.Event Planning 8.Updates and Announcements 9.Meeting Schedule and Adjourn Falcon Heights- Community Engagement Commission February 28, 2017 7:00 pm Minutes Members Present: Commission Chair Shirley Reider; Commissioners Clem Kurhajetz, Ahmed Hassan, Georgiana May; SAPD Liaison Chief Jon Mangseth; Council Liaison Tony Fischer; Staff Liaison Katie Thrasher Members Absent: Commission Vice Chair Jay Colond; FHFD Liaison Anton Fehrenbach 1. Call to Order: 7:04pm 2. Approval of November 21, 2016 Minutes Shirley moved, Clem seconds 3. Introductions 4. Appointment of Chair Ahmed motions for Shirley as Chair, Clem seconds, approved. 5. Appointment of Vice Chair Clem motions for Jay as Vice Chair, Shirley seconds, approved. 6. Appointment of Secretary Whether or not to appoint a Secretary will be tabled until next month. 7. 2017 Goals  The Commission is interested in a spring together event in May. This could look similar to past events including hosting a potluck, engaging all residents and reaching out to those who live in apartments, face painting, and having a movie in the park. This event would be co-hosted with the Parks and Rec Commission.  Focus on ways to reach out to apartments in a more catered and personal way.  Supporting apartment managers that are already involved in the process of hosting events such as block parties (i.e. Sherman apts, 1550).  Considering reaching out to streets or blocks that are close to apartments and having their block parties nearby the apartments to help with engagement.  Considering what else can we be doing to do the outreach? How do we go to the people and meet them where they’re at. When doing outreach, it’s good to present a plan to people rather than have them build their own action steps. We need to present to residents how we want them to participate.  Questions on apartment procedures in relation to the city, including apartment safety. Agenda items to consider discussing during the year:  The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, presented by Ellen Kennedy from World Without Genocide and considering a resolution  Citizen of the Year Award  The Commissions role in discussing how to have inclusion and staying proactive in that effort  Collaboration with organizations and community groups 8. Updates and Announcements 9. Meeting Schedule and Adjourn Next meeting is March, 20th at 7pm. The Commission will continue to meet on the third Monday of the month. Adjourn at 8:00pm _____________________________ Shirley Reider, Commission Chair Dated this 28th day of February, 2017 __________________________________ Katie Thrasher, Staff Liaison 1 The Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration (MAVA) is excited to issue a Request for Proposal for East Metro cities, counties or culturally specific organizations to propose innovative projects that will increase engagement from diverse and immigrant communities in local government volunteer initiatives or programs. Staff from selected entities will make up a cohort group to share challenges, opportunities and successes between May and November of 2017. This initiative is funded by a grant from the St. Paul Foundation. Eligibility  Cities and counties must be located in Dakota, Ramsey or Washington County.  Culturally specific organizations must have a service geography that includes the East Metro area of the Twin Cities, but office location may be outside this area. Benefits of Participating  Receive a $2,500 grant.  Gain peer support from other cities/counties/organizations working to increase inclusive civic community engagement and volunteerism.  Have opportunity for up to two staff to attend the MAVA Volunteer Impact Leadership Training Series or other workshops MAVA offers during the grant period at no cost.  Receive up to four hours of MAVA consulting time for your volunteer program.  Contribute to developing new and innovative strategies for engagement of diverse and immigrant volunteers by city and county governments.  Gain visibility for your city/county/organization for innovations in inclusive engagement of volunteers. Timeline  RFP released: March 1, 2017  Proposal due: Friday March 31st at 4 pm  Notification of awards: April 17th, 2017  Grants starts: May 1, 2017  Grants wrap up: November 3, 2017  Grant reports due: November 30, 2017 Initiative Description The Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration (MAVA) was awarded a St. Paul Foundation grant to convene conversations with partners, cities, volunteer managers, culturally-specific organizations, volunteers, and citizens interested in building new strategies to engage a diverse population in local government volunteer programs and initiatives. MAVA will capture and share what’s learned, develop a curriculum, and train cities and counties throughout the state to grow inclusive civic community involvement. Request for Proposals from East Metro Cities and Counties and Culturally Specific Organizations Small Grants for Building Inclusive Civic Community Engagement 2 The goal of offering these grants is to provide an incentive to move forward in building culturally- inclusive civic community engagement programs, and document lessons learned to share with cities, counties and nonprofit organizations throughout the state. Both local governments and culturally- specific nonprofit organizations or programs are welcome to apply. Lessons learned from the grant recipients will be shared with staff, elected officials and diverse organizations throughout the state. The aim of the $2,500 grants is to encourage new attempts at creative solutions in attracting and engaging more diverse civic volunteers. The grants are not intended to fully fund a new volunteer program or initiative, but rather to assist with taking tangible steps toward inclusive civic engagement. Examples of activities that might take place through this initiative include, but are not limited to, the following:  Planning and implementing a community event that brings together immigrant or diverse communities and representatives from the city or county.  Determining an issue in which the city/county and a diverse community’s interests meet and organizing a collaboration around this issue. (For example, culturally inclusive youth sport leagues or building relationships with local police.)  A media or community campaign to build understanding of the concept of volunteerism, particularly within immigrant communities that may not be familiar with the idea.  Training for staff in areas such as cultural competency or best practices in volunteer management.  Language translation services – either professional or via stipend for student/intern or community member – to make materials and/or events more accessible.  T-shirts or other giveaways to make volunteerism more visible in immigrant and diverse communities.  Internal assessment of organizational readiness for working with diverse populations. Staff from selected cities/counties/organizations will work independently and will have the opportunity to share experiences, present ideas, share progress and resources and gain support with fellow cohort members. Grant recipients will be asked to document the process used to develop inclusive civic engagement, i.e., what worked and what did not work. MAVA is looking for insight into what it takes to build an inclusive civic volunteer program that is successful. Grant recipients will be asked to share at least three working documents from their initiative that staff from other programs might find useful. The cities and organizations accepted will be expected to:  Submit a brief work plan for inclusive civic community involvement by May 19, 2017. (An update on the work plan submitted in the proposal).  Participate in three phone meetings with other cohort sites to share progress and learn from each other.  Submit at least three documents used in the inclusive volunteer program with permission for MAVA to share those with others by November 3, 2017 (or earlier).  Contribute to and/or attend a community training event on inclusive civic volunteerism on a TBD date in the fall of 2017.  Submit a brief grant end report by November 30, 2017. This report would include progress on the work plan, lessons learned during grant period, and results of a brief survey given to a small group of volunteers involved in your work.  Do a brief pre and post assessment of volunteer engagement. 3 Application Process Submit by March 31, 2017 at 4pm: a. Complete a two to three page proposal addressing the questions listed on Page 4 of this document. b. At least one letter of support from appropriate city, county or organizational leadership to work together on grant activities. The preferred form of submission is to combine the two documents into one pdf that is e- mailed to ljoyslin@mavanetwork.org. We may request additional documents and/or may conduct phone interviews with finalists. Address questions to Lisa Joyslin, MAVA Project Manager, at ljoyslin@mavanetwork.org. More information is available at: www.mavanetwork.org/cities Criteria for selection 1. The proposal is submitted by either 1. A city or county in Ramsey, Dakota or Washington County, Minnesota or 2. A culturally-specific organization that serves Ramsey, Dakota and/or Washington Counties in Minnesota. 2. Proposal submission has support from appropriate city, county or organizational leadership to work together on grant activities. 3. Alignment of the proposal with the RFP goal of building capacity for increased community engagement from diverse and immigrant communities in local government programs. 4. The potential of the proposal to provide resources and lessons learned that would be useful for other Minnesota cities, counties and nonprofit organizations. 5. The potential for success of your proposal. 6. Clear work plan that fits with RFP, is well thought-out and realistic. 7. Clear, realistic budget that fits with RFP. 8. Agreement to participate in trainings, sharing sessions with other cohort sites and to share documents and lessons learned with MAVA. About the Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration The Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration (MAVA) was founded as a 501(c)3 in 2001. MAVA is an alliance of individuals and networks dedicated to providing support and resources to those who lead volunteers. MAVA (www.mavanetwork.org) unites administrators of structured volunteer programs and informal volunteer initiatives, as well as those who have an interest in promoting volunteerism across the state. MAVA members represent all sectors of society including faith communities, health care, social service, education, government, grassroots organizations and more. 4 Proposal - Please briefly address the following questions in two to three pages Date: City/County/Organization: Address: Contact person for proposal: E-mail address: Phone: Name and job title of person who would be leader of grant: Does your city/county/organization currently involve volunteers? Volunteers include any unpaid community members who work on behalf of your city/county/organization, whether they would self-identify as a “volunteer” or simply as a “friend” or “supporter” of the cause. If yes, briefly describe how volunteers are involved: a. Number of active volunteers in 2016: b. Roles volunteers are involved in: c. Departments that regularly engage volunteers (if applicable): d. Briefly, what successes and challenges has the organization had in engaging volunteers? e. Do you have dedicated staff time for the volunteer program? Please describe why you are interested in being part of this project and why it would be beneficial to the city/county/organization to participate. Indicate your work plan for the proposal in the format of:  Goal(s) - One or more goals you aim to accomplish in the next year to build capacity for inclusive civic volunteerism  Activities - Specific activities to accomplish the goal  Outcomes - Measureable outcomes you will accomplish What is your long term aim for building an inclusive civic community engagement program and how does that relate to city/county/organizational goals? What tangible document do you expect to be able to offer to MAVA to assist others? Please indicate specific documents you will develop to share, or currently have to share, such as an inclusive volunteer policy/statement, event plans or fliers, training handouts, sample media materials, etc. What are your plans to sustain inclusive civic community engagement after the grant period? What is your budget for the $2,500 grant? Please indicate the line item expenditures for the grant. The funding can be used for staff time or other expenses necessary for your plans for volunteer engagement. Do you agree to: Participate in 3 sharing phone calls (1 to 1.5 hrs. in length): __yes __no Share at least 3 documents: __yes __no Do pre and post assessment of volunteer engagement: __yes __no Is letter of support from appropriate leadership attached? __yes __no Name of person filling out the proposal: