Category Archives: Intentional Communities

May 7, 2017 at 10:00 am | Print View

IOWA CITY In the age of online shopping, a group of three hopes its new space will foster the next generation of small businesses and brick-and-mortar stores.

RADinc short for retail arts design incubator opened in downtown Iowa City last month. Its a mix of retail storefront, event space and shared studio space.

We want to do as many interesting, cool, creative things as possible with as many different types of people as possible in a way that is incredibly affordable and accessible, said co-founder Simeon Talley.

Making the space cheap and centered downtown, he said, is key because thats where a lot of everything happens in Iowa City but a lot of times a lot of artists, a lot of makers, outside of the university are really priced out of it.

So far, six retail tenants and 10 others work or sell out of RAD. The current location, 123 E. Washington St., is not permanent, but Talley said RAD has at least a year to try its concept.

Talley came to Iowa while working on Barack Obamas 2008 presidential campaign. He started RAD with Andre Wright and John Engelbrecht, two other Iowa Citians interested in the retail and arts communities.

Talley explained more about RAD and the three founders hopes for it.

Q: What type of tenants are you trying to attract?

A: We want people that are serious about what theyre doing and testing it out, seeing if its a viable product, business idea, artistic endeavor. People that want to turn the thing that theyve been doing on the side or the thing that theyre really passionate about in to their livelihood or something thats a little bit bigger part of their life and can benefit from space and connecting to other artists.

Q: Do you want tenants to outgrow the space?

A: Absolutely. That would be ideal.

Q: Why have all of these different interest areas in one place?

A: I think everybody benefits from a community-driven approach and just learning about, connecting to people in similar situations, but youll always be surprised by the sort of collaborations that just sort of happen.

Q: What do you want RAD to become?

A: Incubators have popped up and gone away with very mixed success and reviews. If we can figure out how to do that correctly on the creative, artistic side, that would be great, but also just this idea of incubating the next generation of brick-and-mortars, of local artisans, of makers and providing an intentional, supportive ecosystem for people in Iowa, I think that would be a very powerful and compelling thing.

Q: What is an obstacle for RAD?

A: I think the scaling up and figuring out the right pricing for our tenants and the different services that were offering that still makes it affordable and accessible, but still allows us to afford the rent ourselves. This is a commercial enterprise, were an LLC. Were treating this as a business.

Q: You started in politics. How did you wind up in this creative world?

A: A lot of it is just community organizing. One of my first jobs in politics was as a field organizer. That approach of connecting dots, connecting people, identifying resources, being resourceful, collaborating with other like-minded people, finding areas where there should be more collaboration, thats just a skill set and a way of approaching work, life, existing in a community that I learned from the Obama campaign.

l Comments: (319) 398-8366; matthew.patane@thegazette.com

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New Iowa City space wants to incubate the next brick-and-mortar stores - The Gazette: Eastern Iowa Breaking News and Headlines

By Rodney Harrell and Stephanie K. Firestone

The thousands of community planners who will come together this May at the American Planning Associations (APA) National Planning Conference are increasingly aware of a demographic trend: nearly 20 percent of the US population will be over age 65 by 2030.

Translation: Planners need to get together with aging network professionals and talk!

Why? While many aging network professionals are in the business of designing plans with individuals to help them to thrive in their homes and communities for as long as possible; planners, meanwhile, envision and bring form to livable communities.

The conversation, in fact, has already begun. An in-depth discussion of this kind took place in March through a half-day Livable Communities Summit at the American Society on Agings (ASA) annual conference in Chicago. AARP sponsored this first-ever joint event between the ASA and the APA, where over 250 professionals from both sectors explored areas of overlap and discussed how to collaborate better moving forward.

Participants discussed a number of tools, including:

The summit also engaged participants in a survey on these emerging cross-sector relationships (a follow-up survey and results will be publicly shared at a later date) and presented case studies from a variety of community types across the country where planning and aging practitioners are increasingly intertwining disciplines. Summit organizers were even intentional regarding seating arrangements, mixing planners and aging professionals together to ensure dynamic exchange between those with diverse perspectives.

Participants discussed issues and opportunities that impact many communities:

One participant at the Summit articulated that policy changes must pay attention to the needs and wants of older adults, not what we think is best. To be sure, these are conversations that should be happening in every community.

Planners everywhere are confronting the challenges posed by aging communities. At the event planners were able to find value in the realization that there are other planners like me involved in thisthere are many people keenly interested in this mission that I can join forces with. Moreover, using national resources and working with local aging network professionals enhances planners ability to address challenges and maximize the benefits of the asset that older adults in the community represent.

The Summit dialogue should mark the beginning of a strengthening collaboration. We at the AARP Public Policy Institute welcome the ideas of planners and aging network professionals alike on how to continue these cross-sector discussions at the local, regional, and national levels. We also would love to hear from all sectors about your own experiences engaging in these conversations.

Rodney Harrell, PhD is the director of livability thought leadership for AARP. Hediscusses livable community issues@DrUrbanPolicy. Stephanie K. Firestone is a senior strategic policy advisor covering the areas of health and age-friendly communities for AARP International.

The AARP Public Policy Institute is the home of the Livability Index and many other resources. Visit http://www.aarp.org/livablefor informationon making communities more livable. FollowDr. HarrellonFacebook,Twitter,Pinterest,LinkedInandGoogle+.

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'We Should Talk': Cross-Sector Conversations on Livable Communities Show Great Promise - AARP News (blog)

This spring, Ive been building a greenhouse and thinking about St. Thereses idea that we are all different types of flowers planted in Gods garden. Specifically, Ive been thinking about in relationship to the controversy that has grown up surrounding The Benedict Option and Christian isolationism. As humans we often have a tendency to think that only certain very specific types of personalities deserve to be cultivated and cared for and that certain types of pastoral care are fundamentally inappropriate because they would be really, really bad for ourselves, personally, and for the kinds of people that we happen to get along with. The fact that something which causes me terrible harm might actually be really good for other people can be bewildering, even enraging. How could something possibly be good when in my direct experience is has only ever been a cause of pain? Its a problem that you become keenly aware of when youre gardening and you have to answer questions like how acid do I want my soil to be? or what temperature should I maintain in the greenhouse? Whats good for one kind of plant can be literally deadly to another type. So you try to create a lot of different conditions using different techniques: cold frames for spinach and lettuce, sod-pots for cucurbates, direct-sow for peas and potatoes. Garlic gets planted in the fall, is expected to survive the winter and then put up sprouts well before the last frost date. Some kinds of peppers will never leave the greenhouse at all. Thereses idea of the human world as a garden is powerful because it draws attention to the fact that God actually values all of the very different kinds of people who populate His creation. He doesnt demand that we conform to a one-size-fits all program for spiritual success, because He didnt create us to be uniform. Some of us are roses. Some of us are dandelions. Some of us are venus fly traps. And thats okay. Now, heres where it gets sticky. Most Christians who are of a relatively progressive, liberal or sentimental disposition, love this kind of metaphor. The idea of a God who loves the wild diversity of human nature is highly appealingso long as it applies primarily to the types of people who thrive in a relatively liberal, progressive, sentimental climate. A lot of more conservative, dogmatic, rationalistic folks also like this metaphor (St. Therese is, after all, a doctor of the Church)provided it applies mainly to folks who thrive well in an environment defined by tradition, dogma and rationalism. None of us especially likes the idea of human diversity when it encroaches on our assumption that the world would be a better place for everyone if it were better for people like me. As humans, we all tend towards a certain kind of natural narcissism. Our subjective frame of reference is ultimately the only frame of reference that we have direct experience of, which means that when we look at other people were always seeing them, hearing them, understanding them in relation to ourselves.We assume that basically we can understand the hearts of others by scrutinizing our own hearts. And this holds true a lot of the time, because human beings really do have a lot in common. But it doesnt always hold true. This is where we run into problems. We have a tremendous amount of difficulty empathizing with people who fundamentally think, feel and desire differently from ourselves. For one thing, the Golden Rule can no longer be simply applied because what I would have others do unto me is not necessarily what others would have me to do unto them. For example, I prefer communication that is straightforward and direct, where nothing is inferred or implied. I have very little awareness of non-verbal social cues so when people express themselves in subtle polite ways it goes over my head and creates misunderstandings. When I encounter people who are behaving this way I cant tell what they are actually thinking, whether they like me, whether they are interested in what Im saying, or whether Im quickly exhausting their social patience and offending them unintentionally. For a long time I thought of these people as fake, dishonest or shallow. I thought it would be much better for everyone if people just said what they were thinking and talked their disagreements through in a rational way. But I noticed that a lot of people who were more socially competent than I was preferred the precise opposite. They perceived directness as blunt, too much honesty as rudeness, and they got deeply offended, sometimes even badly hurt, by hearing opinions that contradicted their beliefs or behaviours. To them, being upfront and clear about what you thought and why you thought it was often evidence of callousness, lack of compassion, even arrogance. If I treated them the way that I preferred to be treated, it caused them pain. They thrived under different conditions. Which brings us back to the greenhouse, and the Benedict Option. Ive seen a lot of hate poured out on the idea that Christians should seek out sheltered, intentional communities where they can live together, protected to some degree from the cultural elements that blow through the world. Some people see it is cowardly, others see it as unwelcoming. Surely, we are supposed to go through the world with open arms rather than seeking a sheltered existence inside a little Catholic bubble. But then I think of the cacti. The eggplants. The Bolivian Rainbow Peppers. Here, in my Canadian garden there are certain plants that cannot thrive outside of the greenhouse. They need to live a sheltered existence because the climate is not right for them. I could stick them out in the ground, and maybe they would eek out a semblance of a life for a season. Some of them would never fruit. Others would produce a poor harvest. But if I create a little artificial environment for them, regulate the temperature and the moisture and keep out the wind, then they can be very happy. If these plants had minds and personalities, Im sure that some of them would self-identify as hardy and robust. In New Mexico, a cactus is a truly imposing bit of vegetation. I imagine that it must be difficult, humiliating even, for such a creature to find itself hiding in a little clay pot, sheltered by plastic, wilting at the slightest gust of the Canadian winter. Im sure that if the cacti of Canada had access to social media and could form communities they would be full of theories about how the world was being destroyed by frost and snow and they would see greenhouses as a universal necessity until somehow the warmth enjoyed by their ancestors returned. And so it is with people. What we need to accept is that there is nothing inherently shameful about a Christian needing this kind of shelter. Some need it only for a short time, at the beginning of their faith formation. Others dont ever need it at all. But for some, it remains necessary throughout life because thats just the kind of person that they are. For some reason, God the gardener has decided that He is going to grow a cactus in Canada. Because He can. Because it delights Him to do so. Because He loves a diversity that is really much more radically diverse than even the most liberal among us would prefer.

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Benedict Option: Do We Need A Catholic Bubble in the Universal Church? - Patheos (blog)

Matt Weinstein , mweinstein@ithacajournal.com | @SteinTime44 Published 1:24 p.m. ET May 4, 2017 | Updated 58 minutes ago

Orinthia Montague, incoming president at Tompkins Cortland Community College, discusses the concerns students have raised during her previous visit to the college. Matt Weinstein / staff video

Orinthia Montague poses for a photograph on Thursday at Tompkins Cortland Community College. Montague will be the school's fourth president and begins her new role on July 5.(Photo: Matt Weinstein / staff photo)Buy Photo

Orinthia Montague gained plenty of experience working various roles in higher education for the past 18 years, and now she is ready to use that knowledge in her new role as president of Tompkins Cortland Community College.

The college's Board of Trustees selected Montague to succeed retiring President Carl E. Haynes following a national search, which was narrowed down to three finalists in March. Montague has been serving as vice president of student affairs and chief diversity officer at Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Montague's appointment is effective July 5, which allows for a transition before Haynes retirement on Aug. 31.

We spoke to Montague about her accomplishments, goals and the "culture of love" she is striving to create within the Ithaca City School District.

Q: How excited are you to start your new position and what was the reaction to the news by your current employer?

A: Very excited. I would start tomorrow if I could but I need to give notice and do my due diligence with my current institution for that handoff. Nothing but good from Normandale. Theyve supported me in this journey. Its recognizing growth for individuals. Whether its to attain a presidency, attain a certificate or degree, whatever it is, thats what Ive gotten from my institution. Theyre very supportive of me and dont want me to go. My president did text me last night, hes like Oh I cant believe youre leaving me but congratulations. Now I have another set of colleagues that I can draw upon and use knowledge and skills. Its another way for people to be connected across our nation.

Q: You have had success at your current university in increasing enrollment. What is the key to addressing the issue?

A: There is no one specific fix for increasing enrollment, but I will say that I have been very intentional at my current institution connecting to the community. Figuring out what their needs are, figuring out ways to connect to students, different populations of students and understanding what drives them. We ask what their goals are, what they need from us as a college. Whether its to get their certificate, diploma, or get some retooling for their current job, its figuring out that mix and having an environment where people feel, Yeah, this is where I belong. Whether its a group connection or one-on-one individual connection, thats the piece that draws people in and keeps them.

Orinthia Montague, incoming president at Tompkins Cortland Community College, discusses the concerns students have raised during her previous visit to the college.(Photo: Matt Weinstein / staff photo)

Q: Have you had a chance to talk to students, and what issues have they talked about?

A: I talked to students during my time here in the forums. Childcare space was a concern for some of them but thats being addressed and were moving forward on that. Easy win right there. The students brought up making Tompkins Cortland known as a destination rather than just another option. Marketing and branding our institution as a place you want to come to first and I think thats very important, the spirit of the community. So that was very eye-opening to hear that from the students. Thats their belief and thats what Im going to do when Im here.

Q: How important is diversity, among staff and students?

A: Extremely important to me. I always stressed as my additional title of Chief Diversity Officer at my institution, diversity is just not what we can see its not simply race, perceived gender, socioeconomic status. It is everything someone brings with them to that table and so its our lived experiences and recognizing that those who are different from us are very much similar as well. Its very important and that is what holds communities together.

Budget deficit and projected gap could mean TC3 layoffs

TC3 names its next president

Q: Any comparisons between Normandale and Tompkins Cortland?

A: Welcoming of the folks, very open. Eager to move forward as an institution and as a community. Every place Ive stopped and talked to people on the way, theyre always willing to engage. Thats a little bit better than where Im coming from. In Minnesota, everyone grew up there and its like a where did you go to high school? thing. I think here, its kind of a melting pot of everyone coming in whether its to go to college or to work in the area and thats a different kind of diversity that is brought forward.

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Five questions with incoming TC3 president - Ithaca Journal

ROCHELLE The Rochelle Moose Family Center was recently honored by Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn for their 20 years of service with the Adopt-A-Highway program. To commemorate the occasion, and to honor all Adopt-A-Highway groups, a redbud tree was planted on the campus of the Illinois Dept. of Transportation headquarters in Springfield. The idea for the Moose Lodge Adopt-A-Highway came from member Al Crumbacher who applied back in November of 1996. The Moose Lodge is responsible for a section of IL Route 251 from IL Route 38 to Twombly Road. Another Moose member, Paul Bearrows, has also been a part of the cleanup crew since the beginning. First impressions are important, and every year millions of visitors get their first glimpse of Illinois as they drive along our highways, Blankenhorn said. Our Adopt-A-Highway volunteers give hours of personal time and effort to ensure Illinois roads are well-kept and free of hazardous items. Their commitment is inspiring, meaningful and truly valued. Litter is more than just blight on the landscape. It is costly to clean up, impacts quality of life and economic development, and eventually ends up in waterways. As states look for alternative ways to keep roadways safe while facing budget cuts, the volunteers of the Adopt-A-Highway program are vital to helping achieve this goal. Weve got some really dedicated groups in District 2, said Illinois Dept. of Transportation District 2 Adopt-A-Highway coordinator, Ken Tressel. Theyve made a real difference in our communities. Whether intentional or accidental, litter begins with the individual. The most littered item is cigarette butts, followed by food and candy wrappers and loose paper. We are very grateful for the invaluable contributions made by the Adopt-A-Highway volunteers, concluded Tressel. To learn more about the Adopt-A-Highway program, visit http://www.idot.illinois.gov/about-idot/employment-opportunities/community-involvement/index.

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Rochelle Moose honored for Adopt-A-Highway program - Rochelle News Leader

In the state of Texas, Hispanics and Latinos make up 38 percent of the population, and Spanish is spoken in 29 percent of Texas homes. While a large amount of these individuals speak English, theres also a large amount that do not. Many are quick to say that they should learn English, but few look at themselves and say that they should learn Spanish. This becomes a problem when monolinguals dominate working fields, especially in fields such as journalism.

Journalists in Texas lack access to the Hispanic community when they do not speak Spanish. News sources that produce content in Spanish and translate the stories and experiences of Spanish speakers into English are necessary in Texas. In a time when newsrooms are shrinking, hiring people who speak multiple languages going into the job and who could provide these services to the population of Texas is not only preferable, but necessary. Through effective journalistic coverage, Spanish-speaking communities would have the ability to understand the issues which affect them and have a presence in the halls of power. When lawmakers and other people in power read stories and understand their issues, only then can they act with their best interest in mind.

Now, more than ever, its crucial for journalists to speak Spanish. Many issues that representatives battle over in the Texas Legislature directly affect immigrants, who mostly speak Spanish. Lawmakers pass and implement legislation to the detriment of millions of people in the state without truly understanding their lives and language. Why would they, when journalists cannot give them a voice because of language barriers?

The reporter who is multilingual can have their ear to the ground and really listen to the communities that are not heard for instance at the Capitol, or in the Legislature, Spanish-speaking journalist Joy Diaz said. How do you craft bills that benefit everyone when you dont know what everyone thinks or everyone wants or what everyone needs?

Established news sources such as The Dallas Morning News provide voluntary weekly Spanish lessons to their employees because they understand that individuals must know the language in order to serve a community. When Diaz, the first Spanish speaker to work at KUT, started the job in 2005, she knew the efforts needed to be intentional to create a newsroom that better reflects the state, not only in race, but in language.

Be intentional when recruiting, say we need someone who speaks these languages, we need someone who immersed in X, Diaz said. If its someone whos not a minority but they cover those requirements, more power to them, but more often than not, youll find that expertise in minority communities.

Texan news sources such as the Austin American-Statesman effectively cover issues in the Hispanic communities in Spanish, but these articles and the topics they cover never meet the eyes of English speakers. The stories that are shared in these sections do not reach those with governmental power because they are printed only in Spanish. This is why Diaz values in working for newsrooms who publish their media in English.

A lot of times people ask me why dont I report for Spanish-speaking media, and its because I see the benefit of working for English-speaking media, Diaz said. Because the voices that I bring are the voices that my English-speaking lawmakers will never hear, unless I bring them to them.

Bilingualism is the future of Texas, although its not one-sided. Spanish speakers in Texas must also work to speak English, creating a space between these two demographics where conversation can happen. The proposed solution that immigrants from Latin America and other parts of the world must learn how to speak English and stop speaking Spanish is unrealistic and erases key aspects of culture. Learning Spanish in the field of journalism will only make coverage more objective and fair.

Sanchez is a journalism freshman from Austin. She is a columnist. Follow her on Twitter @narwhalieee.

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Spanish-speaking reporters best serve citizens - UT The Daily Texan

Cathy OConnor

For more than half a century, anchor institutions, like the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, have contributed significantly to Oklahoma Citys economy through employment, entrepreneurship and innovation.

Through the recent designation of the Innovation District, we have the opportunity to use this kinetic energy to further economic growth. Not by constructing more buildings, but by developing relationships among surrounding communities and across industries.

Anchor institutions are often major employers. The organizations within the Oklahoma City Innovation District employ more than 18,000 people, almost 5 percent of the citys total. As the demand for health care services increases, so will the need for additional health care workers. Nearly 55 percent of the district jobs do not require a four-year degree in occupations that include medical assistants, respiratory therapists, radiology technicians and emergency medical technologists. By providing workforce training, hiring incentives, and career development for nearby residents, anchor institutions can deepen their employee base by connecting to the communities immediately surrounding them.

Anchor institutions within the district are already innovation drivers. Often, collaborative work in the lab is groundbreaking and viable enough to bring to the market or create a spinoff company that is attractive to investors. A recent example of this is Oklahoma Citys Selexys Pharmaceutical, which sold to Novartis Pharmaceuticals for $665 million.

The Brookings Institution report highlighted how anchor institutions can collaborate for even more origination and development, including looking for opportunities to work with the energy sector to expand its hub of entrepreneurial activity. Even though these are different industries, they share some of the same challenges, such as big data, imaging and robotics.

For more than 50 years we have experienced the positive impact these anchor institutions have had on our city from innovative health care to employment and community involvement. It is exciting to consider the transformative potential when intentional collaborations between people, businesses and the community create a place where people want to work and socialize. It is an opportunity for inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

Cathy OConnor is the president of the Alliance for Economic Development of Oklahoma City.

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O'Connor: Opportunities for economic growth - Journal Record (subscription)

Hunt for Elizabeth Thomas and Tad Cummins comes to an end.(Photo: Kent Travis / USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee)

The electricity-free Siskiyou County commune where 15-year-old Elizabeth Thomas stayed with alleged captor Tad Cumminsmay join the digital age so that it doesn't unknowingly harbor a fugitive again.

Meanwhile,co-owner Karuna Greenberg also shed more light Friday on the duo's stay at Black Bear Ranch. Thomas and Cummins were asked to leave because, among other things,Greenberg said they didn't seem interested inthe "intentional community" tenets of socializing and helping with chores.

Thomas,15, and Cummins, 50,stayed at Black Bear Ranch for over a weekuntil that conversation happenedApril 17, Greenberg said. Cummins Thomas' former teacher had been wanted since March, when he left with her from their Tennessee hometown.

Greenberg said the duogave fake names and ages, and the commune doesn't have internet access or newspaper delivery. The frightening revelation that it had been housing a fugitive and a teenage victim means changes may be coming at the ranch, she said.

"We might decide to install internet up there just so that there's a little bit more ability to interact with folks up there," Greenberg said Friday.

Greenberg said other policy changes at the ranch are on the table as well, including a temporary freeze on hosting any unexpected visitors.

"People do show up (unexpectedly), and that's not always a bad thing. But were definitely just considering that right now, in light of this kind of strange circumstance that we became a bystander in," she said."Wewant to make sure that sort of thing doesn't happen again."

Greenberg, who doesn't live at the property but did meet Thomas and Cummins while visiting,said the duoseemed "a bit uncomfortable" with the Black Bear Ranch lifestyle, including social norms there that encourageresidents help out with chores and foster a sense of community with each other.

"There werent any indications to people that something was awry about them, but simply that they seemed a little bit uncomfortable with just the kind of overall sense of the community," Greenberg said. "I think also they werent particularly into helping and interacting with other people there, wanting to help with the gardens and help make food, that sort of thing. They didn't seem like they were super interactive on that level."

While there are Christians among the half-dozen residents at thecommune near Cecilville, Goldberg said Thomas and Cummins were "very clear" about their own Christian faith, whichmay have led to clashes with some. Black Bear doesn't have a religious denomination, but some of its rites are decidedly bohemian, includingannual Summer Solstice celebrations.

"Itdefinitely seemed likefor them, not for the residentsas much that that might be a barrier to them," Greenberg said."They were definitely clear that they were very Christian."

While Thomas and Cummins seemed genuinely interested in commune life, Greenberg saidin retrospect, residents wonder whether Cummins just wanted a remote place to hide.

Cummins was arrested three days after leaving the commune,when 29-year-old Griffin Barry let him stay on the Cecilville property where he lives, but found out who Cumminsreally wasand called 911. He faces life in prison.

Greenberg said the ending to Thomas' story shows that remote, rural communities aren't necessarily the hideouts criminals want them to be.

"Ithink people just think you can go to rural areas and disappear, and that's really not the case," she said."Ithink that this really shows that you stand out when you're in a really rural area, and people actually pay attention to people coming in who are unknown."

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Commune may get internet after missing-teen snafu - Redding Record Searchlight

by Rebekah Erway

Rachel Rowland, senior intercultural studies missiology major and leader of the New York City Evangelism spring break trip, recently appeared as Marian in Cedarvilles Winter production of The Music Man. Rowland said she tries to engage with the art and theatre communities in general. She has also been in womens choir for four years and has volunteered to help with recitals and acting scenes for directing classes.

The arts are really important to me, Rowland said. I try to be involved in whatever ways I can.

Rowland said throughout high school, when she was questioning her identity, art was a tool for her to understand God on a deeper level and understand the human experience.

Art is not something that decorates our life but its something that enhances it and makes it so much more beautiful and expressive, Rowland said.

Rowland doesnt simply live for the arts. Her life displays her desire to be intentional with her gifts.

She is intentional in her relationships, intentional about her purpose, intentional about her walk with God, said Beth Cram Porter, associate professor of vocal music. She lives consciously.

Rowland said her desire to live purposefully led her to switch her major from vocal studies to intercultural studies during her second semester of sophomore year. When Rowland entered college in the fall 2013, she planned to go into performance. Then, during the missions conference her sophomore year, Rowland decided to be more intentional about life after graduation.

I decided I would really love to reach people through the arts in a missional context, Rowland said. I dont necessarily know if thats oversees, but I do know that I want to use the arts to reach people for the gospel and for furthering of the kingdom.

Rowlands internal drive led her to start the NYC Evangelism spring break missions trip between her freshman and sophomore year. That summer, Rowland prayed about God using the resources she had to serve him because she didnt know how to serve.

I didnt know where I could be used at Cedarville, she said. I was struggling.

Rowland said that as she prayed, she thought about what she was passionate about, which included NYC. Growing up near the city, Rowland said she knew there were a lot of opportunities to serve there. She began thinking through the logistics it would require to take a missions team to the city.

I just wanted to be able to use my knowledge of the city and the fact that I lived somewhat close to NY to be able to expose people to urban ministry and homeless ministry, Rowland said.

Rowland created a mock plan of a missions trip and presented it to the Global Outreach office that fall. To her surprise, they asked her to lead it. Rowland said she did not feel prepared as a sophomore, but she was willing to lead the trip.

It was kind of one of those things where you dont really feel prepared to do it, but God equips you to do it as you proceed, Rowland said.

Rowland has led a team of five to seven people to NYC for the past three spring breaks. This year, the team went to neighborhoods in different boroughs of NYC: Brooklyn, Chinatown and Midtown. Because each borough had a different environment, each place the team went tackled a different side of ministry. In some places, the team ministered to those who were homeless. Another was to those in a shelter working toward restoration. The third was to those who lived in extreme poverty but were not yet homeless.

You minister differently according to where you are, Rowland said.

Rachel Rowlands New York trip has allowed about 35 students to experience evangelism in a way they never had the opportunity to before. [Photo by Campbell Bortel]

Another challenge to planning the mission trip was figuring out transportation, Rowland said, which is especially difficult in an urban environment where it takes forever to get anywhere always.

Rowland said she realizes short-term missions trips do not make a large impact during the week they are there. She said she hopes each year that someone on the trip sees urban or homeless ministry in a way they did not before and decides to do those ministries in their area for years to come.

Ultimately, short-term trips are a segue into a much larger picture of what ministry is; working day in and day out and working, building into the same peoples lives again and again and again, Rowland said. Showing a commitment to the people you are serving, whose hearts and souls you are pouring into on a daily basis.

Students who have gone on these trips shared that they appreciated the effort Rowland put into leading the trips.

On the trip, she was gung-ho about anything, even the really small, said Arielle Feustel, a sophomore biblical studies major.

No matter how tired we were, we had a devotional time, shared testimonies, highs and lows, Feustel said.

While these were times of fellowship, they were also times where Rowland prioritized the spiritual health of the team. Feustel said she appreciated how Rowland kept the teams eyes fixed on God throughout the whole week, and she recommends that others get to know her.

She knows how to balance being so fun and so carefree and so crazy energetic with also being so serious and wise and pursuing the Lord in what she does, Feustel said.

Rebekah Erway is a junior journalism major and campus news editor for Cedars. She is a diehard Disney, Veggietales, and Lord of the Rings fan and enjoys speaking in a British accent.

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Student Spotlight: Rachel Rowland Intentional Mission - Cedars

When the Christopher Reeve Foundation was considering how to increase support for caregivers who provide home care for paralysis patients, it came up with an unusual idea: Why not create a grant-making program for healthcare organizations so they can offer their specialized support to family members who need to take time off?

The foundation knew that burnout is a frequent challenge for caregivers, especially those faced with caring for individuals with paralysis. It also knew there was a dearth of government funding for such support, and private respite care is expensive.

Sothe foundationlaunched its Respite Care Grant Programlast month to help organizations with an interest in providing fill-in care for family caregivers. The grant program will help fund respite care for at-home caregivers, while providing income for home care agencies that serve as the professional backbone to home care.

While the Christopher Reeve Foundations new grant program sounds unique (and it is), its altruistic goals arent. Philanthropy has been around almost as long as humans have, serving an often indispensable role in ensuring community resiliency.

Plato, in the 5th century B.C., directed his nephew to sell off his farm after he died so the money could be used to support students and faculty at the school he founded.

Roxelana, the wife of the Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, used a charitable trustto give support for widows and orphans in Jerusalem during the 16thcentury.

The ethos of philanthropy cuts across all cultures and religions. And its valuecan be found in the literature and founding principles of all major religions, including Hinduism,Judaism, Christianity,Islamand Buddhism.

Here in North America, the concept of providing grants for community improvement has been an integral part of sustainable growth in big and small neighborhoods. The JM Kaplan Foundation, for example, has funded support for human rights, environmental conservation, civil liberties and the arts. And for the smaller but equally important endeavors of the First Nations Development Institute, philanthropy has served as an essential tool to bettering Americas cities, rural districts and families.

But each one of these unique organizations has, at one time or another, faced the same challenging questions: What is the best way to create a funding program that will benefit my target community? How do I determine whom to fund? And how do I build longevity into my program?

How you approach that first question will help ensure your grant program stays strong and successful, said Aaron Dorfman, CEO and president of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy.

Determining your priorities before you decide whom to fund is critical to being an effective grant-maker.

We too often see people or organizations with good intentions, who say we just want to help everyone in our community! Well, the fact of the matter is: That is usually not possible, Dorfman said bluntly.

Most grant-makers have very limited budgets in comparison to the issues and challenges they are seeking to address. And so, in trying to help everyone in the community, often philanthropy will end up doing very little good for anyone. So it is a far better strategy to be intentional about which communities you are seeking to help.

The First Nations Institute, for example, developed itsNourish Native Children, Feeding Our Futuregrant program in order to helpNative American communities expand their child nutrition programs. The funding targets children ages 6 to 14 living in Native American communities.

The specificity of the grant program not only makes it easier for grantees to understand the qualifications they need in order to apply (i.e., an existing nutrition program for Native American children), but it also tells donors that the grant-making organizationalready has a fact-based plan for improving the economic conditions in certain communities.

Dorfman also said it is important for potential grant-making organizations to think carefully about the kinds of benefits they want to bring to their communities.

We also see too little philanthropic support in general that is intentionally seeking to benefit the most vulnerable and marginalized communities: low-income communities, communities of color, women and girls, [and the] LBGT community, Dorfman explained.

Ensuring that your grant program will be helpful and useful within your community is also important, advised Dorfman, who said grant-makers are often afraid to step out of their comfort zones and consider projects that may seem bold or even controversial.

I think a mistake grant-makers make is that they dont take enough risk, Dorfman told us. If a few of the grants you are making dont make you just a little bit nervous about I dont know if this is going to work out, then you arent taking enough risk. If you are only making safe bets, you arent going to make transformative change in your community.

The collaborative arts organization South by Southwest, based in Texas, is known for its unconventional grant projects. This years SXSW community grant winners include a mobile child-minding unit for kids whose moms work in film and a project that uses music and camaraderie to help veterans talk and heal from their wartime experiences.

You want to have some of those kinds of groups in your portfolio along with safer, more traditional groups, Dorfman advised.

Designing a grant application process to match and reflect its financial benefits is also important, he explained, adding thatthere is a risk with making the application process too burdensome, especially for smaller grants. Applications should reflect the award that is being offered. Subjecting your grantees to hours of work to apply for a small award can send the message that you arent really in touch with the needs of the communities you are soliciting.

Many applicants have recurrent funding needs. A nonprofit theater program, for example, will probably be looking for funding next year as well if its expecting to continue to grow. Offering multi-year grants rather than single-term funding allows the applicant to look ahead and plan for the future. That look-ahead approach assures a better use of your investment in their project.

The evidence is clear that long-term support that is unrestricted does the most to contribute to impact and effectiveness of nonprofit grantee organizations. And far too few philanthropies provide that kind of funding, Dorfman told us.

He said a lot of corporate grant-makers think that by offering single-year grants (with or without an option to reapply), they are making their funds available to more eligible applicants. The truth is that single-term funding can make it harder and more expensive for startups to survive.

For companies and foundations, building a resilient grant program like many business initiatives often starts with the top leadership of an organization. Dorfman said it is critical to the longevity and success of a grant program that the organizations leadership is fully behind the effort and has buy-in to its continued success.

Make sure there is deep commitment to a grant-making program from the top executive of the corporation, that they understand how this is not just a nice thing to do, but this is in fact essential to the values and the DNA of who the company is and what it stands for in the world.

Dorfman said organizations that see the grant funding program as integral to their corporate culture and identity have a better success at maintaining a strong, resilient program that meets its goals and contributes to its community

And its also important to remember that a grantors responsibility doesnt end when the money is awarded. Encouraging a good rapport with your grantees can have a lasting impact on your programs longevity and success as well as theirs. Keeping an open door and being willing to dialogue with grantees demonstrates that the relationship doesnt end with a check; you are invested in and want to be part of their community endeavor. Its all part of being a good grant partner, Dorfman said simply.

Grant programs have a plethora of online resources at their fingertips these days. The NCRP publishes a list of what it considers to be the top criteria for potential grantors to consider, along with periodic studies and findings about best grant-funding practices.

Peak Grantmaking (formerly Grant Managers Network) also helps with the nuts and bolts of setting up and running a grant program.Project Streamline(part of Peak Grantmaking) helps grant providers simplify and direct their strategy and processes. And for those looking for tips on how to create small community grant programs, Exponent Philanthropy is a wealth of information.

Dorfmans final advice: Keep it simple. Grant funding is a learning process like everything else. Start funding some really good things, and learn as you go and as you grow your philanthropy.

Flickr images Lance Cheung/USDA; George Dutton/USACE

It can often seem difficult for companies with broad national supply chains to engage with every community in which they operate. But it is possible! To establish a genuine connection, its best to focus on an issue that aligns with your companys values. For the Aetna Foundation, that means crafting localized programs to promote healthier communities.

In this four-part mini-series, well unpack how large firms can get down to the grassroots level when it comes to engaging communities around health and wellness. From traditional corporate philanthropy to public-private partnerships, your company may have more options than you may think.

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Microgrants Make Big Impacts for Local Communities - Triple Pundit (registration) (blog)