Reflections on Philanthropy

Twenty-two years ago, I was hired to lead an organization created by Virginia Brazeau and the R.S. Brazeau Family Foundation – South Wood County Community Foundation – known today as Incourage.  Virginia’s vision of an organization designed to meet the changing needs of the community and philanthropy that was by the people, for the people was intriguing to me.

As I close out my final days at Incourage and reflect on what I have experienced and learned, I am reminded of a 2014 talk by Ambassador James Joseph.  His comments were inspiring, thought provoking, and genuine.  I remember one quote in particular and in fact, I have carried it with me for the past five years.  It ends most every presentation I have given in recent years, inspires me, and challenges me.  It embodies what I have come to learn and understand as the true meaning of philanthropy.  He said,

When neighbors help neighbors, and even when strangers help strangers, both those who help and those who are helped are transformed. When that which was their problem becomes our problem, there is a new connectedness and new forms of community are possible.

Let’s think about this for a minute.  “When that which was their problem becomes our problem”…not a problem we have to fund or fix; but rather a problem that is shared, a problem that demands a solution crafted through a common understanding of the issues and of what is at stake, a problem that will only be eliminated when we recognize that our personal future is intertwined in the future of others.

These ideas have important implications for the future of philanthropy.  Philanthropy must be about more than money.  It is not a transaction or transfer of wealth from the haves to the have nots.  It is not about doing to or for.  Rather, philanthropy is about doing with, doing together, and doing alongside.  At its core, philanthropy is about love and relationship; and community philanthropy is about love of each other and this place.

Together, over the past 22 years, we have done some remarkable things in this community.  We inspired innovation, challenged the status quo, and collectively discovered new ways forward in the face of significant economic disruption.  These experiences have helped us grow in our understanding of community, our appreciation for diverse viewpoints and perspectives, our sensitivity to implicit bias, and our understanding of love and kindness.   I have had the privilege to participate in and witness the power of building trusting relationships based in love for each other and our community.

I am hopeful that these experiences have shaped how we think about the future, particularly because the issues that face communities – including ours – are challenging, contentious, and dare I say, divisive.  It is only when we fully embrace problems such as income inequality, poverty, food insecurity, and environmental degradation as collective problems, problems that belong to us all, that we will make headway in creating a community that works well for all.

I continue to be hopeful and inspired by a new generation of people in our community – and our nation – who expect to be part of the solution to challenge and to capitalize on opportunities.  People who are committed to doing with, and who recognize philanthropy as an expression of love, of value, of faith, and hope in humankind. 

It has been an honor and a privilege to have spent the last 22 years stewarding Virginia Brazeau’s vision.  I am a better person for having had this experience and leave this position with gratitude and deep appreciation to all who have shared the journey.

Kelly

New national focus to redefine corporate purpose resonates with work in place at Incourage

Where just last week more than 200 CEOs of world-leading corporations committed to redefine their corporate purpose, in 2014 Incourage committed to align all assets to pursue our core purpose of co-creating an inclusive, adaptive and sustainable community. The newest way we are doing this is through an active ownership practice that we call Place-Based Shareholder Engagement. Our strategy includes engaging with publicly traded firms that impact our regional and state economy.

Today, Aspen Institute published “Place-based Shareholder Engagement: Where Community and Corporate Purpose Meet” featuring Incourage. Along with our national partners mentioned in this blog, we hope that our efforts will help to establish a productive dialogue and collaboration with the nation’s CEOs committed to a new vision of capitalism that benefits stakeholders as well as shareholders.

As always, if you would like to learn more about our work and the impact we are having here, please contact us directly at hello@incouragecf.org

Co-creating a blueprint for a sustainable community

On behalf of Incourage staff and board, I am excited to share information about an initiative we launched this week, with support from Nathan Cummings Foundation, which we hope will make a powerful contribution to the future of our community: Incourage is convening a diverse circle of residents from our region to form the Sustainable Communities Working Group. This group will engage residents across our community to co-create a “blueprint” for the sustainable community that our region can become.  

Incourage is committed to ensuring that this endeavor is not merely a thought exercise that results in nothing more than words on paper. We will turn the blueprint into real-world action: Incourage is ready to be bold in offering new funding possibilities specifically designed to resource this blueprint created by our community – blending grant, investment and other forms of capital and support, to bring this blueprint to life. 

The blueprint will also inform the priorities and direction for the newly announced Partnership for Sustainable Communities of Incourage and University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, a center for thought-leadership and action on sustainable communities that is the first of its kind in the state.

Realizing the power of our potential is at the heart of what inspires Incourage to keep pushing the envelope of what is possible in our region, and to continue to explore what our role should be as a community foundation operating by and for the people. 

We are honored to work with 22 thoughtful, dedicated community members who have accepted the invitation to come together toward the shared goal of envisioning a sustainable future for our region. We also look forward to the input and insight that the Working Group members will gather from the intentional conversations they will host with colleagues, neighbors, classmates, clients, and others. Together, we envision a blueprint that represents the ideas, hopes, and priorities of many people across our community.

To help design a process of cutting-edge co-creation, Incourage is collaborating with Joanna Cea and Jess Rimington, whose work and research as Visiting Scholars at Stanford University’s Global Projects Center is represented in the Stanford Social Innovation Review article, Creating Breakout Innovation, and focuses on collaborative processes for community transformation. Together - with Incourage - they will facilitate a process that places residents in the driver's seat to identify a set of practices to realize our community’s vision of a sustainable future.

When I think about us expanding our horizon and looking toward our community’s future, I think of the reaction we enjoy when taking people to the roof of the Tribune for the first time. The rooftop view of the riverfront and downtown invokes awe-inspired comments and vision; seeding conversations about possibility. It is a similar feeling of potential we hope the “blueprint” will spark in setting our collective sights high for what is possible with the future of our community. 

Our staff and board are very excited for the co-creative process ahead. We are committed to learning from and acting on the reflections and recommendations that emerge – making the blueprint as impactful as it can be.  

If you are interested in joining the conversations about this blueprint and sharing your own ideas, please reach out. You can email me at kryan@incouragecf.org, or Heather McKellips at hmckellips@incouragecf.org, or call us at 715.423.3863.

Thanks for reading and for your interest in our shared, sustainable future!

Kelly

An Economy in Transition: Toward a Shared Vision

I’ve been listening to the General Motors downsizing announcements with a familiar feeling of angst and empathy; the pain of economic transition is undeniable and real. Our community has experienced this firsthand due to the impact of market forces and globalization on the paper industry.

Over the last two decades, Incourage has come to understand that we may not be able to stop the forces of the global markets, but we can be smarter and more intentional about transitions. 

We’ve learned a few things about what matters.   

We’ve learned that increasing local ownership, community led decision-making and inclusive economic growth are essential to transitioning single-industry economies. Because of this, Incourage has focused our efforts in these areas with training programs, grants, convenings, research, capital projects and partnerships/initiatives that have impacted thousands in our region.  

We’ve learned that effective economic transitions benefit from ingenuity, willingness to think differently, accepting ambiguity and perseverance – working for an economy of the future that is emergent. The real task is keeping the faith, or as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

We’ve learned that accelerating economic and cultural transitions requires examining our own behavior as individuals and institutions. Incourage assessed our policy and practices to become smarter and more intentional about how we use all of our resources, including our investment portfolio, for greater mission impact and economic growth.

As a result, we now include holdings in publicly traded companies whose operations have a bearing on our community, including paper companies and large retailers. Incourage votes its shares and otherwise gives voice to resident concerns in favor of positive moves by these companies, such as increases in their minimum wage and effective governance practices.

This strategy is increasingly important as corporate ownership structures have changed over time to now include control by remote private equity firms with short-term incentives to maximize shareholder gains, often times at the expense of workers and community. Further, we are working in partnership with like-minded shareholders, stakeholders and public officials to set new standards for how corporations manage transitions. 

We’ve learned that we need diverse and strong businesses who embrace mutual value and shared benefit for all stakeholders – business, workers and community. This is particularly important in rural, less densely populated communities like ours where one restructuring, sale or closure can disrupt an entire economy.   

Finally – and most importantly - we know that effective transitions require all of us working toward a common vision of the future and a recognition that we are all connected by virtue of this place we call home. 

Thanks for reading.

Kelly

Incouraging Progress: Long-term thinking creates positive change for workers, businesses, and community

A decade ago, Incourage launched a comprehensive effort to change our community’s approach to workforce development. With support from leaders in manufacturing and business, we planned, staffed, and facilitated an innovative new program called Workforce Central. As one of the first rural sites recognized by the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, we were able to leverage national investment and learn best practices from similar communities across the nation.

Workforce Central generated impressive results for South Wood County: 2,000 workers and students received employment-related training; 35 manufacturing businesses benefited through improved operations and investments in workers; 7 new degrees and certificates were created, many in partnership with Mid-State Technical College; and 75 public, private, and non-profit organizations participated. This initiative also sparked several new working groups and coalitions, including the Business Education Alliance and Regional Economic Growth Initiative (REGI), both of which are going strong today. To accomplish these shared successes and maximize impact, our partner organizations learned to adapt and work together in different ways. 

In order to uphold our core mission – “to meet the changing needs of the community” – Incourage also had to adapt and adjust its role in this program over time. As other organizations became more willing and able to direct new approaches to workforce development, Incourage gradually transitioned from a primary leader of this effort to a supporting partner. In the long run, we believe that “teaching others to drive and sharing the road” is preferable to keeping our organization “in the driver’s seat.” To that end, it was always our plan to build robust community capacity around workforce development, so that this important goal could flourish beyond Workforce Central, with or without Incourage.

Although Workforce Central has drawn to a close, it remains a powerful testament to our collective ability to work together. Individuals and organizations from many different sectors put aside self-interest to achieve more as a community — proving that sustained, cooperative focus on a common goal can yield measurable results. The program also fostered important relationships and trust, from which we can all now benefit. Today, many local organizations are newly engaged in workforce and job training issues, and similar efforts have sprung up throughout the region.

As for Incourage, the end of Workforce Central does not signal the end of our commitment to workforce as a key lever for economic transition. On the contrary, we are eager to capitalize on our community’s momentum around workforce, and we will remain an active local investor in, and champion for, this issue. At the same time, we have an organizational mandate to meet the changing needs of the community. This means Incourage must regularly reevaluate our programs and priorities to assess where our leadership is most relevant and valuable. While such decisions can be difficult and inevitably affect real people, they are essential to ensuring that Incourage remains a responsive, innovative, and community-led organization.

At this important moment for Incourage and our community, we are refocusing our attention on three core priorities, which we see as vital to ensuring long-term positive change for our economy and quality of life:

1. Shared responsibility for community and each other. For Incourage, this means nurturing a sense of community ownership, pride, and ability to work together. We believe that engaged and empowered residents can expand individuals’ capacity to lead, increase collective participation in community decision-making, and strengthen civic infrastructure – all essential ingredients in sustainable economic growth. Drawing on the Community Survey and several of Incourage’s successful leadership training programs (which have included high school students, local organizations, and business executives), Incourage will help residents shape discourse into action – inspiring greater community awareness, resourcefulness, and collaboration in our journey from “They can” to “I can” to “We can.”
   
2. Create demonstration spaces that catalyze economic transition. Incourage is determined to realize residents’ vision for the Tribune Building – a public space where local innovation, creativity, networking, business development, and new approaches to work can thrive. When we finish the renovation and open the building’s new doors, the Tribune Building will be an unprecedented resource for this community – one that is vital to our region’s long-term economic vitality. It represents community-led decision-making, support for entrepreneurs and small businesses, commitment to job quality and training, and a dynamic future for young people and families.
   
3. Align financial resources for maximum results. Incourage is committed to using our financial assets to accelerate this community’s economic transition. We have embraced impact investing as a way of fully aligning our current organizational resources with our values and goals. To increase Incourage’s direct impact on the ground in Central Wisconsin, we are providing loans to local businesses and nonprofits that align with our development goals. To amplify our community’s voice in distant industrial boardrooms, we have purchased shares of all publicly-traded firms that employ workers in our region, including Wal-Mart, Domtar, Verso and more. In the coming year, Incourage will expand our involvement in “shareholder advocacy” – for example, endorsing Wal-Mart’s proposed increases in hourly wages and investments in workforce training, or challenging private equity firms’ cost-cutting efforts and decisions that threaten workers and families.

Over the last decade, Incourage has learned quite a bit about workforce strategies. Most importantly, we’ve learned this is complex work that requires both short-term interventions and long-term plans for sustainable change. It requires a “big picture” understanding of the interdependence of workers, businesses, and communities. And it requires a much deeper understanding of the needs of both employers and employees. What is a “Good Job”? What is a “Good Company”? And how do we, as a community, make decisions in the coming years (collectively and transparently) that will grow good jobs, strengthen businesses, and engage more of our residents in creating a prosperous future?

As we begin to consider these questions as a community, Incourage will host a special public forum on March 13 at the Performing Arts Center. This event will focus on the results of the 2017 Community Survey, in which nearly 4,000 of you shared your hopes, concerns, and priorities for our region. The new findings, along with public discussions at future events, will help inform and influence Incourage’s organizational strategy and resource investments going forward, and will be useful to many of you as well. We hope you’ll help us create actionable steps for how we can work together in the future to address survey findings. It will take all of us, working with sustained effort and common goals – as we did with Workforce Central – to build a thriving community and economy.

Please also stay tuned to our website in the coming months for opportunities to take action on Community Survey results, attend an Incourage Open House and more. We always welcome your thoughts, comments, and conversation.

Looking forward,

Kelly

Better Together

In this season of renewal, I’m reflecting on our value of ‘shared stewardship’ and its importance in the midst of change and transition.

Shared stewardship implies we all have a responsibility to take care of each other and this community. Incourage believes our role in shared stewardship requires an approach that seeks balance between change and preservation – with an unwavering commitment to the common good.

With the passing of time, I see our community transitioning and beginning to shape a new identity: an identity that reflects an appreciation of community assets, a sense of possibility and engaged residents, businesses and organizations. An identity that respects the past and looks to the future.

Tribune represents both our past and our future. And, as I’ve said many times, Tribune is about more than the building. The development process itself demonstrates this. Our motivation wasn’t simply to renovate a building or improve downtown. We set out to support new capabilities that enable resident-centered and community driven decision-making; the type of decision-making that is essential to realize shared stewardship, inclusive economic growth and long-term sustainable change. 

Recognition of these capabilities in the form of increased civic engagement has been lauded recently by elected officials – including local, state and national – who’ve received residents’ advocacy efforts for Tribune support over the past year, in volumes they’d previously not experienced from our community. 

This civic engagement is just one example of how priorities identified by over 4,000 residents in our 2012 Community Survey, particularly ‘openness to new ideas and change,’ are being realized. 

Five years later, with the 2017 Community Survey currently underway, we’re witnessing an increased desire to be involved through the number of requests received for ‘community conversations’ – deeper discussions hosted by residents representing many facets of our community. This is another encouraging indicator of positive change and increased engagement. Results will be presented at a community forum on March 13, 2018 at the Performing Arts Center of Wisconsin Rapids.

Stewardship that balances meeting changing needs and preservation has been in Incourage’s DNA since inception. 

We adapt when necessary to best address the community’s changing needs – such as seeding new approaches in workforce development strategies, as we have this past decade. Today, those seeds are growing strong and evolving in multiple ways that build capabilities and increase capacity across the community. 

Incourage does this work while preserving our core values and beliefs. We believe that all human beings have value and should have equal opportunity; that positive change happens when people are engaged in decisions that affect their lives; and when they feel a sense of ownership and shared responsibility for their community. We believe we are better together. 

In looking forward to 2018, I feel we are turning the corner in terms of progress in one of the most important and ‘least measurable’ areas that will define our future success: belief in ourselves and this community. 

I hear residents, young and old, asking questions, exploring possibilities and working together in new ways. 

I hear an emerging belief that we know this place is worth investing in – so important, as shared stewardship falls flat when you do not value what you’re stewarding.

There is a growing sense of pride in our place. I listen for it, nurture it and hope you will, too.  

It is priceless.

Kelly

Sharing Power

As we’ve said from the beginning – and I’ve said many times in this blog – the Tribune Building is about far more than a building. It is a testament to the resilience of a community. It is a new approach to community development. It is a physical representation of our belief in the wisdom of residents to determine and shape the community they desire. At its core, it is about people.

Incourage is honored to have the Tribune’s user-centered process featured in Stanford Social Innovation Review’s recently released cover story “Creating Breakout Innovation”. The research is about a new way of working – of collaborating for solutions – that consistently delivers better results. 

 

As the article shares “…even more important than the [Tribune] building was the transformation and sense of leadership built within the community through the design and decision-making process.”

Take a moment to read the article and learn more about the five practices of breakout innovation, as well as why incorporating an authentic user-centered approach is challenging work.  

For an on-the-ground perspective of whether engaging residents and sharing power matters, view the 2016 Tribune Participation Survey results.

Thanks for reading.

Kelly

Putting People at the Center: Establishing, Restoring and Growing Trust

The divisive mood and behavior of our country is eroding the very thing that is essential to our vitality: trust. We are near record lows on measurements of ‘trust’ in many areas according to Gallup, Pew Research Centers and others. Lack of trust in media, news and information sources. Lack of trust in government. Lack of trust in institutions and each other.

We can identify with this in central Wisconsin.  When economic crisis struck our community 17 years ago, there was no clear path forward. The sense of loss – which included jobs and a company headquarters - was palpable. The accompanying uncertainty, fear and anxiety did not engender collaborative behaviors or trusting relationships. In retrospect, trust is what we needed the most and it was in the shortest supply. Not unlike what we are experiencing in our nation today.  

Incourage began our trust building efforts in 2005. Our goal: increase individual and collective action to rebuild a strong, local economy in a community that works well for all people. We offered leadership training programs that equipped residents with the skills, tools and knowledge to build trusting relationships. We supported study tours that fostered relationship development among participants, created shared knowledge and motivated new thinking. We coordinated a civility initiative. We co-created norms and collaborative guiding principles for community initiatives with partners and vendors. We helped businesses identify shared value propositions and mutual interests, and establish norms that guided their relationships with one another. We invested in approaches that integrate adaptive skills into school curriculum. We changed our own policies and practices for authenticity and values-alignment.   

Incourage evaluated and applied what we learned through these efforts to our organizational strategy, understanding that “building trust” and “authentically engaging residents in shaping the future of their community” was central to achieving our goal.

The Tribune Building embodies this learning. It is more than a building. It represents a user-centered approach to growing a community – one in which we trust, value and respect each other. We began by asking the community a simple question: what do you want this building to be? This question launched a multi-year process of engaging residents and helping them gain confidence, skills to build trusting relationships and a sense of ownership for the future of our community.

Incourage has learned a lot about listening, building trust and the importance of user participation in community decision-making and economic development strategies through the Tribune process. We’ve also learned about and experienced the challenge of changing old practices. 

Putting people at the center and building trust is not easy, a quick fix or short-term work. It requires intentionality and long-term commitment. We believe, however, it is “the work” that must be done if we are to realize a sense of unity and shared purpose in our neighborhoods, institutions, communities and nation.  

Kelly

Mission Possible: How Foundations Are Shaping the Future Of Impact Investing

I’m pleased to share with you that, together with other foundation leaders from across the nation, I was invited to author a piece as part of a Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) 11-week series, produced in partnership with Mission Investors Exchange. SSIR describes this series as one that is exploring what’s next in impact investing and what we can learn from some of the most innovative foundations. It is a privilege to be published as part of this group and to present a rural, place-based perspective from “Middle America.”  

Read the full post here.  

See the full 11-week series here.

Thanks for reading.
Kelly

Speaking Our Peace

At Incourage we turned inward over the past two weeks. Inward to examine our core values and work. Inward to consider what it means to pursue our vision – ‘a community that works well for all’ – in a nation divided.

Our collective discussions began to restore and affirm a sense of hope and connection among Incourage team members with different perspectives and life experiences. We share our experience with the hope that it will inspire you to pursue self-reflection and learning conversations.

Reflective Practice – stopping to assess what we’re learning, sharing knowledge, and making course corrections along the way – is embedded in the way we work at Incourage. This practice is represented well by a favorite quote from Maya Angelou:

“You did then what you knew how to do,
and when you knew better, you did better.”

We began this work with each of us sharing our personal values. Preparation for this exercise was not easy. It required deeper reflection inside ourselves and the willingness to be vulnerable among our colleagues. It required everyone to listen deeply and refrain from judgment.

Discussing ‘personal values’ led to a deeper and nuanced understanding of individual differences and similarities. We learned things about each other that we’d not known in the course of every day work and community life. “My values have been refined over time and with experience” was a frequent sentiment with an accompanying story to illustrate the point. In many cases, values were clarified – or made real – when we felt like we were made to be ‘the other’ or in an instance when we were angry about something that we felt was unjust. Or, conversely, when we were able to experience deep empathy and compassion for another human being.

There is greater appreciation, compassion and empathy within Incourage for the various roles and identities we each have and how they inform our world view, values and behavior. We have a deeper understanding that our relationship to one another is the real work of building community: our shared humanity, interdependence and connected futures by virtue of our shared place.

Incourage’s work builds community: the Tribune as resident-centered development focuses on shifting the sense of responsibility for our economic future from “they” to “me” to “we”; Blueprints for Tomorrow economic development training for key, local institutions focuses on interdependence and shared vision; and Workforce Central represents nearly a decade of investment and collaboration with a connected approach to manufacturing workforce that recognizes the interdependence and relationship of business, worker and community. 

Speak Your Peace, a program supported by Incourage since 2008 – with materials available in English, Spanish and Hmong – is particularly relevant and a timeless resource to support civil dialogue and behavior in all areas of our work.

So, at Incourage, we paused. We dedicated time to listen to each other. To seek deeper wisdom about difference. To discuss connections to our work and what it means to be a values-led organization. To affirm that our futures are connected by virtue of this place we call home.  

As a result of this listening and learning there is knowing. 

And - as Maya says - when we know better, we must do better. 

You have our commitment to always strive to do better as we seek to realize a community – and nation – that works well for all people.

With gratitude and thanksgiving,

Team Incourage 

What is Incourage?

Incourage plays a unique, valuable and vital role in our community. This was reinforced for me while reviewing the first collection in a series of Impact Papers designed to serve as a periodic “Report to the Community”. The papers describe Incourage’s work and changing role over the last two decades in south Wood County. I have paused repeatedly – impressed by the people and organizations who have supported Incourage and our community – and thought, “How lucky are we?”

A clear pattern of learning and adapting by Incourage over the years has led to a wide spectrum of activities that touch many aspects of life in our community. It is no wonder we are regularly asked “What is Incourage?”  To effectively answer the question, I must begin by sharing our origin story.

Virginia Brazeau established the former “South Wood County Community Foundation” (now Incourage) in 1994, with support from the Richard S. Brazeau Family Foundation.  Virginia, her family and advisors were visionaries. They were champions of the ‘community foundation’ concept and created an innovative plan to launch ours. It was designed to be an organization that would serve and reflect the interests of not just one wealthy family or one corporation. It was designed to be created by the people, for the people. It was incorporated as a “permanent charitable organization with a long-term perspective” to “meet the changing needs of the community”. Vision, flexibility, a commitment to learning and innovation were embedded in our DNA from inception.

It is these very traits – vision, flexibility, learning and innovation – that have served us well in ‘meeting the changing needs of the community’. There has been no greater change for our community than globalization, automation and downsizing of the paper industry; the backbone of our economy for over a century.  

Incourage drew on these organizational strengths and sought input from residents to determine what role we should play in meeting the need. We conducted community focus groups in 2002 after the sale of Consolidated Papers in which residents asked us to do more. They asked us to create jobs and focus on growing a strong, local economy. Again, in 2012 through the community survey, over 4,000 respondents identified the top four priorities for our region: a strong, local economy; attract and retain young adults and families; natural resources and recreation; openness to new ideas and change – priorities that continue to inform our strategic direction today.

“Meeting this changing need” – to rebuild and diversify an economy – is not easy work.  This is long-term, generational change. It requires new thinking, flexibility, persistence, innovation, collaboration and a sense of shared destiny among the people, businesses and organizations that call this place home.   

So then, “What is Incourage?”

Incourage is a community economic development organization. But not just any community developer.

We are a community developer that uses philanthropy as a primary tool, is anchored in this community and uniquely suited to lead long-term, multi-generational work.    

We are a community developer that stewards and connects community capitals – moral, social, human, intellectual, reputational, financial and natural – toward a powerful shared vision: a community that works well for all.

We are a community developer that uses our values of equity, opportunity and shared stewardship to guide our investments.

We are a community developer with a central belief that the greatest asset we have is our people, many of whom are featured in this 2013 presentation recognizing Incourage as a national “Big Bet for the Future of Philanthropy”. 

We are a community developer with a belief in the wisdom of residents to determine and shape the community they desire.

So, how do you accomplish this? What does the day-to-day look like?   

Incourage has and will continue to invest permanent charitable funds and distribute grants for the benefit of the community…and, we do so much more.

We are a lender to local small business and entrepreneurs. We are an investor in community banks, credit unions, affordable housing, downtown development and hold shares in local paper companies. We are leading efforts to transform manufacturing workforce development for the benefit of both businesses and workers. We bring individuals and organizations together for community dialogue on issues and opportunities important to our future. We support and facilitate networks of individuals and organizations with common interests to increase collaboration, impact and advance collective good. We commission and are a source of research, educational briefs and data on community indicators of economic growth and opportunity. We advocate for policies and investments that benefit our region.  We operate training and leadership programs that support the growth and development of residents and community organizations. We are a community organizer around a shared vision. 

Incourage will continue to learn, adapt and be responsive to the changing needs of south Wood County. We will seek partners and model shared leadership. We will respectfully challenge ‘business as usual’ thinking. We will embody courage and take prudent, values-aligned risk. We will be transparent and share both successes and failures. We will test new approaches that capitalize on learning, build trusting relationships, reflect resident priorities and maximize resources to realize a community that works well for all.

If you are a resident of south Wood County or have an interest in its future, I do hope you’ll take the time to read the Impact Papers. Economic Growth is a great place to start. You might be surprised and impressed by the involvement and support of so many in this journey – engaged board members and staff, donors, residents, former residents, volunteers, businesses, community organizations, national foundations, state and federal funding agencies. 

Perhaps you’ll consider Virginia’s foresight in creating an organization that is “by the people, for the people”, and join me in thinking “How lucky are we?”

Kelly

Become Informed. Get Engaged. Betting on the People of South Wood County

Incourage believes that a healthy community is an informed and engaged community. We’ve worked in partnership with John S. and James L. Knight Foundation since 2009, to understand and invest in the connected concepts of information and engagement as key drivers of economic health and the vitality of a community.

A recent example of this work is a partnership with Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service (WIPPS) to co-host “Community for Us, By Us,” elevating the voice and opinion of all residents on community issues that matter to them. The first two meetings surfaced three priorities:  Creating a Public Forum for Authentic Dialogue on Community Issues, Community Aquatics and Downtown Development.  

Simultaneously, the South Wood County YMCA and City of Wisconsin Rapids were separately pursuing action on the issue of aquatic facilities. They presented options to the public on July 26 (Wisconsin Rapids Aquatics Options Presentation 7-26-16).

It’s unfortunate, however, that the options were presented as seemingly mutually exclusive – one or the other - with no opportunity to ask questions, clarify information or voice opinions. Attendees were told to submit questions online or to call a council member to express an opinion. Given the format and delivery of the presentations, an “apples to apples” comparison of the information was difficult and a polarizing frame was created – are you for indoor or outdoor?   

The third WIPPS Meeting was held on August 9. An engaged group of 44 individuals showed up to discuss aquatics – not to talk about indoor versus outdoor options, rather, to fully explore this as a community issue.

Various opinions and perspectives were represented with civil dialogue and respect. Assumptions and questions were surfaced, including “How do we understand the options presented and make informed comparisons? What are the sources of funds and specifics of financing?  How can we assure aquatics are available to all? Is this really a choice of indoor versus outdoor facilities? How can we have both?” The process also encouraged individuals to think with a broader lens on the issue: to assess their own interest in aquatics, the benefit to the community and the impact on future generations. I encourage you to review the WIPPS Meeting report.

The issue of aquatics also presents an important learning opportunity that can inform future progress. In the last fifteen years, there has been research, leadership development projects and citizen action groups formed, all to address aquatics. Yet all failed to come to fruition. This is not a statement to cast blame. It is a statement that invites inquiry and examination of how we address community issues and take action. How do individuals participate?  How do institutions receive input from the broader community and make decisions?  What barriers were encountered in previous efforts? Do they still exist today?

Answering these questions will accelerate our ability to make progress in realizing a community – and an economy – that works well for all. One in which residents are informed and engaged, funders respect the wisdom of the user and don’t exert undue influence to achieve outcomes they believe are best, and organizations are committed to inclusive processes and working together for the common good. 

Kelly

Community Picnic: It’s About Us

Five years ago Incourage made a bet on the people of south Wood County.  We bet that if we replaced our traditional annual meeting with a community picnic celebrating local assets and designed to be welcoming and open to all, you’d show up. We hoped you might support the event in some way over time and might even help it grow into an annual, community-owned and led effort.

Here’s to the people of south Wood County. You not only showed up, you asked “What can I do to help next year?”. We have over 400 volunteers registered for this year’s picnic!  There are now more volunteers for the picnic than we had attendees at our traditional annual meeting. And, the composition of the volunteers and attendees at the picnic is more diverse and reflective of our community. People of all ages, income, professions, political views and ability are coming together to donate time, talent and resources to make the community picnic a success.    

A local farmer, Harold Altenburg, called the first year and asked, “What can I bring to the picnic?”. He showed up with 1,000 ears of corn, a roasting machine and volunteer help. Harold will likely exceed 20,000 ears of corn donated since the event began at this year’s picnic. Corn that is grown with love, served with a never-ending smile and a positive comment about our great community. Harold’s enthusiasm is contagious – take a look at his comments from a past picnic.

   

Partner organizations, including food vendors, have increased every year. As of this morning, 60 community partners are contributing time, labor, product and services. Although the picnic is offered at no cost to attendees, many people want to make a financial contribution – especially after experiencing the event. Free will financial contributions are accepted onsite at the picnic or online.   

Every year the number of people attending has increased – we expect over 6,000 this year – and, perhaps, we’ll even hit 7,000. The people of south Wood County are showing up and we’re happy to welcome all to this event. 

Importantly, this picnic is about so much more than food.

It’s about transitioning an economy, celebrating our assets and restoring a sense of pride and hope in our community.

Healthy communities create enabling conditions for all people to meet their full potential. We can’t support all people in meeting their full potential if we don’t know them.   

Healthy economies are local and inclusive. Local and inclusive means we know the people who live in our shared community. 

Look around at the picnic and really see the diversity of people that live in our community. Ask people to share their story. Why do they live here? What are their hopes for the future? What do they love about this place? What are their challenges?

Join us on the riverfront in downtown Wisconsin Rapids this Wednesday at 4:30. Get an ear of corn and a smile from Harold, food from generous local vendors, enjoy local talent and meet someone you don’t know. You’ll be building a healthy community and economy in the process.

See you there!

Kelly

It’s About More Than a Building

The Tribune building may appear quiet at the site these days, however, appearances can be deceiving as activity levels remain high and moving forward on all fronts. Incourage is committed to making good decisions about moving to the next phase of capital construction in a fiscally responsible manner.  In the context of these discussions and decisions, funding is important but only one factor in forward movement – and, frankly, one of the easier factors to address.   The building will get funded.  It’s one thing to renovate a building.  It’s another to create the conditions in the community for success and sustainability.  As we’ve said repeatedly, this is about so much more than a building.  

Realizing our vision – ‘a community that works well for all people’ – requires a holistic and long-term perspective on change that encompasses more than the Tribune building.  Rest assured – we’d like to see workers on site and renovation accelerating, and it will happen.  However, fostering community change is not quick or easy work. It requires long-term perspective, commitment to values, perseverance and patience.

In addition to securing financial support for the Tribune and broader community, we are focused in areas of work that are interdependent and when approached simultaneously create conditions for long-term success – not only for the Tribune, but for all development projects and investments.  These include:

• supporting increased engagement by residents in community processes & decision-making; 
• investing in training and supporting key institutional partners to increase collaborative practice in economic development;
• advocating for increased trust, collaboration and shared vision in development activities, and; 
• refining and adapting our own operating model to achieve greater impact. 

Tribune sits at the fulcrum of downtown development – or more broadly, how we approach business and decision-making as a community.

In our role as a ‘community developer’ we’re learning a lot about the need for changing the way we do economic development and conduct business as a community, state and nation.  Some of the changes are technical – a change in policy or procedure in terms of how financial capital flows to good projects and to different parts of the country.  Some needed changes are much more challenging – especially those that are cultural and embedded in old practice, privilege and power.  

This is particularly evident in local downtown development – the very environment within which this $14 million investment will be made.  Optimal development conditions are not those in which you feel compelled to be at every public meeting in case your project is compromised in some way because of opaqueness or individual agendas.  This is not conducive to engendering trust, collaboration and alignment toward a shared vision.  The analogy of a chess game comes to mind. 

We will not realize positive community change with legacy practices and thinking.  Concentrated power and control in the hands of few was a widespread practice of the past century – not just here, but in many places across the country whose economies were anchored in single industries and embedded structures of hierarchy. 

Authentic inclusion of all stakeholders in decision-making, strategy and determining desired outcomes – not just lip service in terms of conducting a nominal survey or a one-time focus group – is one of the most important cultural changes needed in our downtown processes, our broader region and across the nation.

At its core, Tribune is about people.  Putting people back at the center of community.  

And on this measure, Tribune has achieved significant success without the next shovel turned or new window installed.  In a mid-term evaluation report informed by over 225 engaged residents, it is consistently described as ‘hope’ for the future.  “A shining example of inclusion” – where some say they felt truly welcome for the first time.   It is described as an accelerator of new ideas, relationships and networks.  Residents indicate greater desire to support entrepreneurial activities, local business and increased environmental awareness as a result of their participation in the Tribune process.   These are baby steps, but important milestones on the path toward economic growth.  

We – every one of us that calls this place home - can strive to preserve that which is good about our past practice and shape a new future – one that is anchored in trust, transparency, user-centered process and shared power. Stewardship of this place and each other is a defining characteristic of a community that works well for all people. 

Kelly