What do you do to make people in your community feel welcome? How do you create opportunities for people from all backgrounds to participate fully in building and improving your community?

[ register here ]

June Conference Call:

Featuring:

10:00am to 11:30am (CST)

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The concept of Collective Impact has captured the imagination of would-be change makers who are eager to be more than the sum of their parts. There are examples of Collective Impact efforts across North America focusing on everything from nutrition, early childhood development, homelessness, poverty, and gang violence. The dramatic expansion in the number and variety of collective impact initiatives has led to more and more people asking, “How do we evaluate collective impact efforts?”
Thankfully, there are decades of work in assessing many other approaches to community change - and some promising emerging practices specifically focused on Collective Impact – upon which to build.

On May 23rd, 2014 RDI will present Mark Cabaj, the President of the consulting company From Here to There and an Associate of Tamarack – An Institute for Community Engagement, via webinar.
Mark’s current focus is on developing practical ways to understand, plan and evaluate efforts to address complex community issues (e.g. neighbourhood renewal, poverty and homelessness, community safety, educational achievement and health).

Mark served briefly as the Executive Director of the Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet) in 2001. He was the coordinator of the Waterloo region’s Opportunities 2000 Project (1997-2000), an initiative that won provincial, national and international awards for its multi-sector approach to poverty reduction.

Mark lives in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada) with his wife Leann and their children Isaiah and Zoë.

Audience:
Municipal Managers, Community Economic Development Officers, Local Leaders, Development Practitioners, Municipality Staffs and Managemnt, Students and Faculties, and everyone interested in Community Engagemnt and Collective Impact

For more information or to register contact Rural Development Institute at:
adedirany@brandonu.ca / 204-571-8585 / 800-571-8585
www.brandonu.ca/rdi

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Unleashing Local Capital is a new and innovative local financing program that supports communities in establishing Opportunity Development Co-operatives (ODCs) that pool capital within a designated community using RRSP eligible shares. This lunchtime webinar will teach you everything you need to get started, as well as provide an opportunity to ask questions and discuss your local business development project.

The webinar will include an overview of the project, drawing from successful examples in Alberta, and the process of raising capital in your community. It will also speak to the rules and regulations related to local financing, and how to raise capital in accordance to the current rules. At the end of this session you will be prepared to get started on a local financing project in your community!

If you are involved in local business, community economic development, or are an entrepreneur this webinar will provide you with some excellent new information and insight into how local financing can be used to build strong and vibrant communities.

Register now

Contact Paul Cabaj, Director of Co-operative Development at pcabaj@acca.coop

Opportunity Development Co-operatives can be used to finance:

• Expansion, renovation, and upgrading of existing businesses
• Revitalization projects of a once-bustling main-street
• Succession planning that will keep an important business in the community
• New businesses

Opportunity Development Co-operatives also:

• Keep wealth in communities
• Let you invest in your community
• Connects you to a local business and the local economy in a meaningful way

Introduction to the ULC Guide for Community Leaders from Alberta Coops on Vimeo.

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This is an information webinar for those who are thinking about taking one of the courses through the CoopZone On-line Training Program. This webinar is open to anyone. 

Please RSVP to Hazel Corcoran (hazel@canadianworker.coop) by the end of the day on June 12th. You will receive the dial-in information by the start of the day of the call. (If you do not receive it by then, please write again at that time.) 

CoopZone offers various levels of training:

• The Introduction to Co-op Development course runs from late October through March (but half the number of weeks as the Foundations Program) and is appropriate for people interested in understanding the types and roles of co-ops and the basic co-op development process but who will not be active developers; 
• The Foundations Program course runs for one year (mid-September - April) for those who may become developers or who are in the position of advising groups interested in exploring the creation of a co-operative enterprise;
• The Advanced Program (Years 1 and 2) lasts for two years.  This level is designed for people who seek to provide full development services to co-operatives.

All of these on-line courses are designed to fit around a full-time job, taking a few hours per week. The Course Director is Peter Hough, and experienced co-op developers provide mentoring to students.

Click here to find brochures for download

Here's what some of the students have had to say:

"The course is concise, informative and interactive. Mentors and course director are very knowledgeable, skilled, experienced, approachable and helpful. The readings and tools were very useful."  --Billy Granger, SEED Winnipeg. 

"I would absolutely recommend the CoopZone program to anybody interested.  The course is pretty amazing in the way that it creates a common community amongst us aspiring co-op developers and several fully established and tremendously experienced ones. The instructors are great, and the mentoring system gives me the chance to have hours of one-on-one time with an expert in my desired field."  --Joel Ratcliffe, Ontario. 

"The Advanced Co-op Developer training has enabled me to connect with other Co-op Developers and a Mentor which allowed me to apply what I am learning directly to the groups and projects I am working on, in real time.  I would recommend this program for anyone interested in Co-op Development as we are often working alone or in small teams in communities; the course allows you to feel part of a co-op team!"  --Amanda Hachey, CEC-NB

"What I like about the program:
• The webinars and online presentations, and the opportunity to connect with others across the country involved in the same work.
• The mentor element is great it's been wonderful to have access to (my mentor's) wealth of knowledge and perspectives.
• Access to the CoopZone listserv & tele-learning sessions has been good, too.
• The wonderfully curated and assembled reading materials.
• Learning together with great people--the director, cohort and mentors."
               --Zoë Creighton, Upper Columbia Co-op Council.

coopzone.jpg

This is an information webinar for those who are thinking about taking one of the courses through the CoopZone On-line Training Program. This webinar is open to anyone. 

Please RSVP to Hazel Corcoran (hazel@canadianworker.coop) by the end of the day on May 26th. You will receive the dial-in information by the start of the day of the call. (If you do not receive it by then, please write again at that time.) 

CoopZone offers various levels of training:

• The Introduction to Co-op Development course runs from late October through March (but half the number of weeks as the Foundations Program) and is appropriate for people interested in understanding the types and roles of co-ops and the basic co-op development process but who will not be active developers; 
• The Foundations Program course runs for one year (mid-September - April) for those who may become developers or who are in the position of advising groups interested in exploring the creation of a co-operative enterprise;
• The Advanced Program (Years 1 and 2) lasts for two years.  This level is designed for people who seek to provide full development services to co-operatives.

All of these on-line courses are designed to fit around a full-time job, taking a few hours per week. The Course Director is Peter Hough, and experienced co-op developers provide mentoring to students.

Click here to find brochures for download

Here's what some of the students have had to say:

"The course is concise, informative and interactive. Mentors and course director are very knowledgeable, skilled, experienced, approachable and helpful. The readings and tools were very useful."  --Billy Granger, SEED Winnipeg. 

"I would absolutely recommend the CoopZone program to anybody interested.  The course is pretty amazing in the way that it creates a common community amongst us aspiring co-op developers and several fully established and tremendously experienced ones. The instructors are great, and the mentoring system gives me the chance to have hours of one-on-one time with an expert in my desired field."  --Joel Ratcliffe, Ontario. 

"The Advanced Co-op Developer training has enabled me to connect with other Co-op Developers and a Mentor which allowed me to apply what I am learning directly to the groups and projects I am working on, in real time.  I would recommend this program for anyone interested in Co-op Development as we are often working alone or in small teams in communities; the course allows you to feel part of a co-op team!"  --Amanda Hachey, CEC-NB

"What I like about the program:
• The webinars and online presentations, and the opportunity to connect with others across the country involved in the same work.
• The mentor element is great it's been wonderful to have access to (my mentor's) wealth of knowledge and perspectives.
• Access to the CoopZone listserv & tele-learning sessions has been good, too.
• The wonderfully curated and assembled reading materials.
• Learning together with great people--the director, cohort and mentors."
               --Zoë Creighton, Upper Columbia Co-op Council.