June 2nd 17:00 to 18:00 [GMT (London) Time]

JOY OF THE PEOPLE, ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, USA
Joy of the People was one of 12 organizations to take on older City of St. Paul-owned neighborhood recreation centers several years ago. Ted Kroeten, Founder and Director, outlines the innovative ‘express yourself’ soccer program that draws kids of all income ranges from across the city – fees are charged but these cover bursaries for poorer kids.

TYBURN COMMUNITY LIBRARY/CASTLE VALE SWIMMING POOL, BIRMINGHAM, UK
Like many UK local authorities, Birmingham City Council, has had to make substantial spending cuts. The city’s Castle Vale area has recently seen both the library and swimming pools adopted by social enterprises to keep them open – both ‘firsts’ in the city. A local social enterprise, the Castle Vale Tenants and Residents Alliance, has adopted the library and plays a key role in the non-profit established to manage the pool. Judy Tullett, Head of Enterprise and Development at the Alliance, will reflect on lessons from the two transfers and the business plans being put in place to sustain (and improve) the two assets.

About The New Barn-Raising

The New Barn-Raising is an initiative to encourage the exchange of international best practice around sustaining community and civic assets such as parks, recreation centers, libraries, neighborhood stores, senior centers, museums and theaters. These are places and spaces characterized by a high degree of accessibility, popularity and sense of belonging to 'the people'.

The term New Barn-Raising refers to how different groups (business, citizens, foundations, non-profits groups, politicians, social entrepreneurs, social investors, taxpayers and unions) can all pull together to support assets.

[ read more ]

17:00 to 18:00 GMT
(London Time)

THE BEIRUT GREEN PROJECT, LEBANON
Dima Boulad, a Lebanese designer, co-founded the Beirut Green Project in 2011. This is a collective aimed at creating more public green spaces in Beirut and bringing awareness to the importance of them being a right rather than a privilege. Dima will outline the project’s: innovative awareness-raising on greenspace; the Beirut Green Guide; and the different initiatives in beirut that are contributing to that goal.

BRUSSELS' MUSEUM NIGHT, BELGIUM
Pieter Van der Gheynst of the Brussels Museums Council will introduce the Council’s awareness work - in particular its annual Museum Night. This major event sees the collective marketing of the Belgian capital city's museums. There are guided tours and activities linked to the permanent and temporary exhibitions of 25 museums. The program is heavily focused on, and shaped by, young people – activities in the venues include dance, music, performances, circus, and theatre.

Read more and register

17:00 to 18:00 GMT (London Time)

LIVE THEATRE, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, UK
Chief executive Jim Beirne (MBE, FRSA, Dr Litt. (hons)) will outline the theatre's longstanding plans to operate in a context of reduced city council financial support. Three of the theatre's social enterprises are up and running: a small but highly-successful online playwright course, an office development, and a gastropub. The fourth enterprise is a large property development – with the City Council as lender rather than grant-maker.
https://www.live.org.uk/

HENNEPIN THEATRE TRUST, MINNEAPOLIS, USA
Tom Hoch, President and CEO of Hennepin Theatre Trust, will outline how the city government bought three historic theaters that were either closed or moribund, and pulled them back into the public sector fold with a view to improving them. To pay for the investment, the city issued bonds. It has since fulfilled its intention of putting the theaters in the hands of a non-profit, the Hennepin Theatre Trust. The Trust is continuing to operate and program the theaters and repay city investment, whereupon it will then own them outright. Tom will also touch on the Trust's role in Minneapolis's emerging Cultural District.
https://hennepintheatretrust.org/

About The New Barn-Raising

The New Barn-Raising is an initiative to encourage the exchange of international best practice around sustaining community and civic assets such as parks, recreation centers, libraries, neighborhood stores, senior centers, museums and theaters. These are places and spaces characterized by a high degree of accessibility, popularity and sense of belonging to 'the people'.

The term New Barn-Raising refers to how different groups (business, citizens, foundations, non-profits groups, politicians, social entrepreneurs, social investors, taxpayers and unions) can all pull together to support assets.

Read more and register

17:00 to 18:00 GMT (London Time)

COMMUNITY SHARES, U.K.
Community shares are an increasingly popular form of capital for enterprises serving a community purpose such as shops, pubs, community buildings, renewable energy initiatives and local food schemes. Jim Brown, consultant and Strategic Adviser to the UK Government’s Community Shares Unit, will outline progress with these shares and discuss the Microgenius crowdfunding platform which the Unit uses for brokering community share offers.

ioby CROWD-RESOURCING, NEW YORK, USA
Erin Barnes, co-founder and Executive Director of Brooklyn-based ioby (derived from the positive opposite of NIMBY) will talk about the crowd-resourcing platform that facilitates a mix of crowdfunding and resource organizing – local people help get neighborhood projects off the ground with money, volunteer time and connections. She will also talk about the potential (and limits) of crowd-resourcing and about what makes for successful campaigns and projects.

About The New Barn-Raising

The New Barn-Raising is an initiative to encourage the exchange of international best practice around sustaining community and civic assets such as parks, recreation centers, libraries, neighborhood stores, senior centers, museums and theaters. These are places and spaces characterized by a high degree of accessibility, popularity and sense of belonging to 'the people'.

The term New Barn-Raising refers to how different groups (business, citizens, foundations, non-profits groups, politicians, social entrepreneurs, social investors, taxpayers and unions) can all pull together to support assets.

Read more and register

11am - 12pm Eastern Time

Join Liz Mulholland, CEO of Prosper Canada for an interactive one-hour webinar to discuss findings from a new report looking at emerging ideas on best practice in financial counselling for people living on low incomes.

The report, Financial Counselling for People Living on Low Incomes: International Scan of Best Practices, summarizes research undertaken in response to growing demand from low-income consumers for personalized financial support to help them tackle financial challenges like debt, difficulty accessing benefits, and financial planning for the future. Different jurisdictions have taken different approaches to meeting this demand, but practitioners and other experts in Canada, the US, the UK, and Australia share some similar views when it comes to their thoughts on best practice.

Liz will explore key findings from the report and their implications for future work in this area.

Register now

Sign up early. Space is limited.