WELCOMING COMMUNITIES
Developing equitable economic ecosystems by expanding cultural agility and creating asset building systems that improve livelihoods for individuals, organizations, and communities.
What is culture?
Culture is a word that refers to the social norms, ideas, arts, beliefs, and other characteristics shared by a group of people in a set time and place. Because these characteristics can be very different among different groups of people, misunderstanding can quickly arise, and these misunderstandings can seriously hamper the efforts of a business and community to expand, grow, or operate successfully.
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What is cultural agility?
Cultural agility refers to the ability of an organization or community and its members to understand, incorporate, and successfully work within and between multiple different cultural contexts and locations.
What is our focus?
Organizations and communities apply to participate in this program based on their desire to create a welcoming space. There are funding dollars available for the implementation of a community project that highlights and showcases the Welcoming Communities initiative. Projects could be centered around a wide variety of cultural groups, such as veterans, millennials, youth, those living in poverty, Latinx, Native Americans, people affected by mental illness or disabilities, LBGTQ, and seniors. We seek to find areas of common ground through faith, hope, love, and charity, but also through hard work with a focus on entrepreneurship, workforce and economic development.
R5DC supports resiliency, inclusion and collaboration as guiding concepts in achieving mutually shared goals.
The IDI Assessments assist our understanding of and ability to experience cultural difference, and how to set and achieve goals that further develop individual and group skills that impact community service.
JUSTICE SYSTEM CONSORTIUM
Bridging Law Enforcement and Community Relations
The goal of the Justice System Consortium is to build upon our regional assets, make appropriate investments, celebrate efforts that maintain the most effective and trusting police community relations possible. This group represents diverse perspectives, cultures and communities that include; LGBTQ+, persons living with mental health, low-income, limited English speaking community members and Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) residents.
To learn more about these initiatives, please connect with Hannah Smith.
This program is funded by the Blandin Foundation, Northwest Area Foundation and Sourcewell.
Regional storytelling is funded by the McKnight Foundation.