NPQ’s latest webinar in our Remaking the Economy series looks at the intersection of community organizing and wealth building in Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities.

This webinar looks at efforts to organize and build wealth in three specific communities in the United States: the border town of El Paso, Texas; a worker co-op organizing group in Cincinnati that has also supported similar efforts in California and Mississippi; and community-based business development in Indian Country among Minnesota tribes.

Leading this discussion are our three expert panelists:

Lorena Andrade is the director of La Mujer Obrera in El Paso, Texas, a group started by Chicana activists in 1981. The nonprofit operates two small social enterprises, while also organizing for environmental justice in the 6,000-resident Chamizal border neighborhood.

Pamela Standing is cofounder and director of the Minnesota Indigenous Business Alliance, which supports Native businesses across the state, including a “Buy Native campaign,” as well as training co-op developers on how to work in tribal communities.

Ellen Vera directs co-op organizing at Co-op Cincy in Cincinnati, Ohio. In her role, she has not just worked to organize co-ops in Cincinnati, but has supported worker co-op organizing across the country, including in Jackson, Mississippi and Santa Ana, California.

This webinar will explore:

• How does one organize to build both community wealth and community power? Where are there synergies? Where are there tensions?
• How does one maintain the deep relationships necessary to effectively organize at the community level?
• What are concrete examples emerging from the work that are proving effective in building wealth in communities of color?
• How have efforts to build community wealth and power been maintained amid COVID-19?
• What does equitable food-oriented development entail? How have its principles been implemented in El Paso?
• What lessons has Co-op Cincy drawn from its Co-op U program of working with co-op organizing groups in multiple communities across the country?
• What strategies have proven effective to help create co-op development infrastructure in Indian Country that speaks to Indigenous values?
• What role can nonprofits and philanthropy play in building organizing capacity and wealth in communities of color?

Whether you’re a nonprofit leader, board member, or engaged in community-based organizing, this webinar will provide you with real-life examples and lessons learned that can inform your work in your own community.

Register to learn how nonprofits and movement activists are advancing strategies to address the economic and social inequalities of our time!

The moderator for this webinar is NPQ Economic Justice Program Director Steve Dubb. Steve has worked with cooperatives and nonprofits for over two decades and has been both a student and practitioner in the field of community economic development. You can send your questions to editorinchief@npqmag.org to have them answered during the web event.

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*The recording and slides of this webinar will be available on the NPQ website 2-3 days after the live event.