We hope that you will take a moment today to send a response to your local press in the form of an op-ed. The President’s plans to implement his vision for a skilled workforce will be detailed in his budget proposal, to be released on February 13. Then Congress will follow with its proposals. Now is a critical moment for the workforce development field to reinforce the President’s message, express hopes for how that vision will be implemented through the President’s budget, and call on Congress to invest in and improve—not cut—federal workforce funding.

Click here for tips on writing and submitting op-eds to your local paper. Click here for useful facts to include in your op-ed.

MONDAY

Statewide celebration, Central High School, St. Paul. 9:30 a.m. rally and 10:35 a.m. march from the school to Gangelhoff Center at Concordia University, Hamline Avenue. 11 a.m. program features keynote speaker Robin Hickman, president of SoulTouch. Event also includes spoken word, music and dance performances. Education Fair from 1 to 3 p.m. More information at www.csp.edu.

Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center, Augsburg College, 2211 Riverside Av., Minneapolis. 1 p.m. Convocation will feature “Five Feet Four Inches Forward,” an original play celebrating civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer. Recipients of the Spirit of MLK award will also be honored.

Brookdale Library, 6125 Shingle Creek Pkwy., Brooklyn Center. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. “I Have a Dream” speech will be shown in StarDome Room every hour on the hour. 952-847-5600.

Westonka Library, 2079 Commerce Blvd., Mound. 2 p.m. Multicultural folklore from Mike Mann. 952-847-6175.

Calvary Baptist Church, 2608 Blaisdell Av. S., Minneapolis. Service with guest speaker Sondra Samuels, CEO at Northside Achievement Zone. Prelude at 6:45 p.m. Program at 7 p.m. Music and spoken-word pieces by Wellstone Elementary Drumline, Maria Isa, Calvary Baptist Choir, Tryenyse Jones. 612-872-7855.

Martin Luther King Recreation Center, 4055 Nicollet Av. S., Minneapolis. Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board annual celebration, 6 to 7 p.m. Emcee Danni Starr, 2007 Ms. Minnesota International. Keynote speaker former NFL player Darrell Thompson. Program features “Living the Dream” award presentation to the Minnesota Twins. Refreshments follow. Attendees encouraged to bring nonperishable food item for Feeding the Dream community food drive. www.minneapolisparks.org or 612-230-6400.

Powderhorn Recreation Center, 3400 15th Av. S., Minneapolis. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Food, games, prizes and entertainment. www.minneapolisparks.org.

Whittier Recreation Center, 425 26th St. W., Minneapolis. 1 to 3 p.m. Food, games, prizes, entertainment. www.minneapolisparks.org.

Midtown Global Market, 920 E. Lake St., Minneapolis. Noon to 4 p.m. Showing of “I Have A Dream” speech in Suite 154.

Minneapolis Convention Center, 1301 2nd Av. S. General Mills Foundation and UNCF present the 21st Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast at 7 a.m. Keynote speaker will be Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark, N.J. Tickets sold out, but several metro locations will broadcast from the center and provide hot breakfast, some for free. www.mlkbreakfast.org .

Minneapolis Convention Center, 1301 2nd Av. S., Minneapolis. Martin Luther King Jr. Career Fair. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. www.psijobfair.com.

Shepherd of the Hill Presbyterian Church, 145 Engler Blvd., Chaska. 7 p.m. celebration with pianist Momoh Freeman, guest musicians and the Rev. Paul Jarvis of Guardian Angels. www.shepherdofthehill church.com.

Minnesota History Center, 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul. Noon to 4 p.m. History HiJinx art activity will let visitors create luminarias with messages of tolerance and understanding. Fees $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and college students, $5 for children 6 to 17. Free for children ages 5 and under and Minnesota Historical Society members. www.mnhs.org.

March and rally, 4th Street and Lake Avenue, Duluth. Gathering for march at 10:30 a.m. It begins at 11 a.m. Route is from Washington Center through downtown to the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. Rally begins at 11:45 a.m. Featured speaker be Robin Washington, editor of Duluth News Tribune. www.mlk-duluth.org.

Duluth Labor Temple, Wellstone Hall, 2002 London Rd., Duluth. 6 p.m. showing of documentary “At the River I Stand” about Memphis sanitation workers’ strike in 1968, where King gave “I have been to the mountaintop” speech. Child care available. www.mlk-duluth.org.

TUESDAY

Wescott Library, 1340 Wescott Rd., Eagan. 3 to 5 p.m. Young adults, ages 12 to 18, are invited to create a fabric quilt patch that incorporates African motifs. Supplies provided, but registration required at 651-450-2900.

Sundin Music Hall, 1531 Hewitt Av., St. Paul. Hamline University, St. Paul. 4 p.m. commemoration. Music by Hamline University Gospel Choir and audio and video presentations of King’s work. www.hamline.edu or 651-523-2423.

When leaders of government, business and nonprofits align resources and devote themselves to overcoming challenges, we can achieve great things. Let’s leverage the current environment through cooperation, innovation and alignment to achieve exponential results for children.

View and download available Handouts & Presentations

With half of Minnesota’s youth entering kindergarten unprepared, the State took a large step forward today to ensure all young children will have access to high quality early learning. At an event at the White House, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced that Minnesota has won a federal Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge grant to advance early education efforts.  READ MORE

See Complete Race to the Top Application

The start of a new year brings the beginning of tax season. Greater Twin Cities United Way, on behalf of the Claim It! state-wide partnership, has produced free marketing materials to support outreach to limited-income individuals and families.  For more information or ways to help, view the Claim It Toolkits.

Free Claim It! Materials
11″ x 17″ Claim It! poster (English) | 11″ x 17″ Claim It! poster (Spanish)
11′ x 17″ Claim It! poster (Somali) | 11″ x 17″ Claim It! poster (Hmong)

8.5″ x 11″ Claim It! flyer (English) | 8.5″ x 11″ Claim It! flyer (Spanish)
8.5″ x 11″ Claim It! flyer (Somali) | 8.5″ x 11″ Claim It! flyer (Hmong)

8.5″ x 11″ Claim It! multi-language flyer
Editable 11″ x 17″ Claim It! poster (can be customized with local information)
Editable 8.5″ x 11″ Claim It! poster (can be customized with local information)
Editable 8.5″ x 5.5″ Claim It! flyer (can be customized with local information)

Additional Resources
EITC Toolkit for Businesses
EITC Toolkit for Non-profit and Government

Your help promoting Claim It! to those qualifying for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Working Family Credit (WFC) will save these working families their hard-earned income. Tax credits average $2,200 and help families pay rent, mortgage or bills, and improve their financial stability. Claim It! also promotes free tax preparation services, which are high-quality and can save people up to $200 in fees.

How you can help

• Promote tax credits and free tax-site services to your employees and families so that qualifying individuals claim their tax credits.
• For basic information on tax credits, free tax preparation and related resources, register now for the Tax Credit Primer training.
• Place an article on Claim It! in your newsletter and on your website.

Thank you for supporting Claim It! outreach. With your help, we can spread the word about free tax preparation and tax credits, and assist more individuals and families this filing season.

For more information, download the Save the Date Flyer and share with direct-service staff.

Please visit Help Minnesota Save to access the recorded webinar and download materials from the event.

Thank you for joining United Front’s webinar series!

Leadership for Collective Impact
Friday, November 4; Noon – 1 p.m.
Download the presentation.

Critical Times – Critical Board Questions Webinar
Thursday, November 17; Noon – 1 p.m.
Download the presentation.

Critical Times – Critical Board Questions
Thursday, November 17; Noon – 1 p.m.

Before the webinar, please use this link to test your computer’s compatibility.
Click on “Participant” and it will run the compatibility test. If your computer is ready for the webinar, you will see a green check mark.

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If, at any point, you have difficulty accessing either element, please call ReadyTalk’s Tech Support at 1-800-843-9166 or via e-mail at help@readytalk.com. They’ll help get you into the conference quickly.

Critical Times – Critical Board Questions
Thursday, November 17; Noon – 1 p.m.

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Nonprofit leaders constantly consider how to differentiate ourselves from our peers. How is our solution more effective? Why are we different and worthy of support?

As we scale our work and compete for limited resources, we have been encouraged to look to the for-profit- sector for examples of best practices and effective principles. Borrowing from corporate business models, we implement strategic plans that challenge us to focus on goals and outcomes with razor-sharp precision, all the while differentiating ourselves.

During the Art and Practice of Innovation breakout session that I attended, the facilitator made a compelling case for nonprofits to innovate as a way to remain competitive.  On the heels of the intense discussion about the need for collaboration towards collective impact, I began contemplating the relationship between collaboration and innovation. Many leaders, perhaps behind closed doors, would tell you when pressed that collaboration is extremely difficult to do well, and that it has often drained resources or resulted in uneven commitment, and consequently, limited impact. But the real question I pondered was does collective impact encourage or stifle collective innovation?