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