Imagine being in Manhattan, New York. Or Frankfort, Kentucky. Or Anchorage, Alaska. Or any town, really. In any thriving community, there’s an exciting and unexpected rhythm to public activity. You wander down the street and bump into an old friend. Duck into a quirky store and discover a new passion. Have a sudden moment of…
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/ By Robert Jones / It’s 9am on a Monday morning following the July 4 weekend. Not a great time to schedule a meeting, perhaps, but the room is filling up, anyway. Extra chairs are brought in to accommodate participants who thought they couldn’t make it but somehow found the time. These are some of…
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Selecting six finalists for the NGen Leadership Award is never a small feat. Whittling down the cream of the crop from this year’s 52 outstanding applicants was no exception. Each changemaker we considered had a track record of collaborating with others, strong ideas for a better world, and many examples of success in realizing those…
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Luis Gutierrez is founder and CEO of Latinos Progresando, a member of the Upswell Accelerator, and presenter of the Upswell workshop, “A Made-in-Chicago Model for Collaboration.” Find out how his positive outlook impacts his life, his work, and his advice for humanity. Q: If you could have dinner with any living person, who would that…
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One organization doing community work may make things a little better, but many organizations collaborating together can create meaningful, lasting change. Luis Gutierrez says “collective impact” is the way, and he’ll share the “how” and resulting positive impact on Chicago’s Marshall Square neighborhood during Upswell’s “A Made-in-Chicago Model for Collaboration” workshop. Gutierrez, a member of…
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In April, we launched our new Upswell registration model, which includes six options. The model was designed with the aim of democratizing access to Upswell—a goal that is overtly apparent in the Equity registration option. Changemakers who purchase the Equity option, in addition to securing their own Core Access registration to Upswell, effectively subsidize the…
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The countdown to Upswell Chicago is on, and with just about four months to go, we’re excited to add 19 new speakers to the list of presenters who will open your eyes and ears to new ways of thinking about how you address issues in your communities. Are you looking for guidance on making social…
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José Rico, co-presenter of the Upswell workshop “Leading and ‘Living’ Community-Led Initiatives,” is senior vice president of community impact at United Way of Metro Chicago. We took some time to get to know José better – including what motivates him, who inspired his journey to changework, and his hidden superpower! Q: If you could change…
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The constant news drumbeat about challenges facing Chicago often drowns out the great work underway to strengthen the city’s neighborhoods. José Rico, chief partnership and initiatives officer at United Way of Metro Chicago, wants to change that (check out our Q&A with José). Along with lead agency Austin Coming Together, he’ll be spreading the good…
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Upswell can bring together dynamic changemakers and put together a zany program with everything from traditional deep-dive workshops to group ukulele lessons. But at the end of the day, nobody can give you a more authentic experience or a sense of what’s happening on the ground in a city’s many diverse neighborhoods than the locals.…
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