Brief TEDx Video - Empowering U

Click on the headline above to reach our full News Blog and a short TEDx talk video on Empowering U --  TEDx Video  --  in which Tom Vellenga makes the case for robust civic empowerment programs such as ours.  The Blandin Foundation sponsored a conference -- Expanding Opportunity:  Economy, Education, and Inclusion -- using the TEDx format.  Listen to Tom describe critical challenges to our democracy, our response, and the crucial benefits to our people, our communities, and our economy.  Spread the word to others!  Make a tax-deductible donation now to help scale up Empowering U to serve more people through our host and partner organizations. 

November 16 Give Maximal Slices of Pie

On November 16 "Give to the Max" to Heartland Democracy and all your favorite charities.   Bake a bigger pie and share larger slices with your best 501(c)(3) nonprofit groups!  You can give directly to us through our Donate button or go to GiveMN's page on Razoo at Heartland Democracy on Razoo's GiveMN.   That same web page will also provide you with an updated summary of our deep civic empowerment program, Empowering U, and the first-of-its-kind project we coordinated with five allied groups, the Framework for Governing, which we will release soon. 

We are preparing to scale up Empowering U in 2012 with the help of foundations, donors, and three new partners -- Twin Cities Rise!, 180 Degrees, and Unity Leadership, whose participants we will serve and whose staff we will train.  This is how we are getting "the uninvolved" back into their community, the wider democracy, and the networked grassroots economy -- and providing them with the tools and motivation to stay involved long after they have completed Empowering U.  That is one crucial strategy for reviving community, democracy, and the networks that sustain local economies.  In 2012, a new grant from the F.R. Bigelow Foundation will allow us to realize our dream of scaling up Empowering U with an expanded curriculum, training for additional trainers, and many more participants in the St. Paul region. 

The Framework for Governing gathered together statewide initiatives for Minnesota from Envision Minnesota's 12-member collaborative, the Minnesota Environmental Partnership, Growth & Justice, Ready 4 K, TakeAction Minnesota's ReNewMN values statements, and the report of the Legislative Commission to End Poverty.  Heartland Democracy identified the themes and values common to all the initiatives and statements, organized them in a framework of values, and crafted a case for a practical, progressive approach to governing ourselves.  The top three values emerging from the policy initiatives:  Community, Justice, and Equality of Opportunity.  If we truly conceive of every person and resource in Minnesota as part of one community,  we will make the best and most sustainable decisions for Minnesota over the long term.  Early reviewers have remarked that the Values Framework is beautifully written...we look forward to sharing it with policymakers, you, our allied groups, and the media soon. 

Saturday 11/12 Join the Discussion

November 12 from 8:00 to 9:30 am please join the Stone Arch discussion series for remarks and a discussion on these great questions:  1) How can we get more neighbors involved in community and politics and 2) How can we win over more hearts and minds to progressive goals?  Why are these twin challenges so absolutely critical to our fate?  What does "progressive" mean in 2011?  Heartland Democracy's Tom Vellenga will present our innovative responses to these timely questions, followed by an hour of discussion. 

Breakfast foods, coffee, and other savories will greet you at the Gardens of Salonica (specializing in Greek delicacies), at 19 Fifth Street Northeast in Minneapolis.  The event is free and open to all.  Tell your friends!