Community Wealth Building Workshops

LISC seeks new ways to increase neighborhood resident awareness of policy decisions leading to economic inequity, as well as, to develop their awareness and inclination to advocate for polices and initiatives that will better their lives and those of their neighbors.

This spring, LISC held a six-week training series designed to empower community leaders to tackle traditional economic systems that reinforce poverty within low-income communities. The training also taught participants how to create new, more equitable opportunities, and build wealth for themselves and their communities. Participants represented a variety of neighborhood organizations. The workshops are part of a broader strategy to foster equitable economic development in Milwaukee through education and practice. 

The Community Wealth Building Workshops were held weekly between April 3, 2018 and May 15, 2018. The key objectives of the workshops were to:

• Assess and act on current economic development policies and initiatives through a community wealth building lens;
• Support business development efforts that grow and keep wealth within the community;
• Activate existing assets within in a community to stimulate economic growth;
• Generate new projects that involve small businesses, social and cooperative enterprises that build community wealth.

LISC worked with Rusty Borkin and Christopher Boston who facilitated the workshops of 25 participants drawn from neighborhood organizations including Dominican Center, Metcalfe Park, Near West Side CDC, Walnut Way, Milwaukee Jobs Work, Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District and others.

Six sessions were delivered as follows:

Workshop 1, Introduction to Community Wealth Building. This workshop presented examples that covered a broad range of community wealth building practices and strategies, with case studies to help participants understand the definition of Community Wealth Building (CWB).

Workshop 2, Economic Actors and Their Roles. This workshop compared relationships in traditional and CWB enterprises, and the economy as a whole, with case studies that highlighted new relationships between employer, employee, owners, etc.

Workshop 3, Building Healthy Local Economies I: Introduction to Economic Development. This workshop explored economic development strategies and community wealth building as an alternative strategy.

Workshop 4, Building Healthy Local Economies II: Wealth and Ownership. This workshop dived deeper in the community wealth and individual wealth connection and as capital for investment on citywide and statewide basis.

Workshop 5 Asset-Based Community Development. This workshop explored ABCD and its potential impact on economic development.

Workshop 6, Community Wealth Building Wrap Up: Getting Ready for the Work.  In this session, participants were given the opportunity to go over the key models of community wealth building that were discussed including worker cooperatives, housing cooperatives and community land trusts. Participants were also led by Sakuri Fears in a discussion of next steps and technical training opportunities they would benefit from, including one in August 2018, titled: “Housing Cooperatives: Strategy to Stabilize Neighborhoods, Mitigate Displacement and Foster Resident Engagement,” that will be delivered by Teresa Prim of the Prim Lawrence Group.

During each session, participants received packets containing information, case studies, and links to community wealth building models that have been successful across the country.

LISC has also done an evaluation of the workshops through participant surveys and is in the process of analyzing the results.