Mini-grantees adapt projects to meet Northside residents needs

Posted on November 14, 2020 by Alyse Horn-Pyatt

Above: a student working at the Believe & Achieve Learning Hub in Spring Hill.

Sometimes, a little bit of funding can go a long way.

For those who live or work on the Northside, $1,000 is available to create projects that empower their communities and increase their quality of life.

Many of the programs this year had to rework their original projects to adhere to Covid-19 restrictions, but were able to overcome the challenges and meet the needs of both adult and youth residents. We talked to three current mini-grantees about how they adapted their projects and the importance of community during uncertain times.

Have an idea to better your community? The next deadline to apply for a mini-grant is November 20, 2020.

*Photo courtesy of Ebony Lunsford-Evans*

Growing with Farmer Girl Eb – Ebony Lundsford-Evans
Instagram @FarmerGirlEb

Gardening started as something to do with her children, and after successfully growing 30 varieties of produce and teaching other youth in the neighborhood to grow their own food, Ebony Lundsford-Evans developed the nonprofit 1sound for the continuation of providing thriving skills to communities.

This year she applied for a One Northside Mini-Grant to host youth and adult programming around how to successfully grow vegetables, fruits, and herbs, but had to change direction due to Covid-19.

“I was stuck on what to do and then one of the senior citizens I had been working with in this program reached out to me during the pandemic,” Lundsford-Evans said.

The individual was unable to access fresh food without putting themselves at risk by getting on a bus to go to the grocery store, so Lundsford-Evans decided to use her mini-grant to buy the supplies needed to build a raised garden bed outside of the Northside seniors home. After that, someone else asks Lundsford-Evans for help building raised beds outside of her church, which led to another community member walking up to Lunsford-Evans and asking how to garden.

“And that’s how it grew into 10 families,” Lunsford-Evans. “I had to put a cap on it.”

She said the ONS Mini-Grant has been “really great” in giving her the opportunity to educate first time gardeners and for others to learn about her nonprofit; she is currently looking for funding to expand the program and help people in other communities learn how to grow their food.

Her advice to gardeners?

“First and foremost, share anything that you learn with other growers,” Lunsford-Evans said. “Also, if you make a mistake don’t let that be so discouraging. You can sometimes throw seeds in the ground and grow a whole lot of something, but sometimes you put a lot of work into something and get nothing. Don’t let that defeat you; use it as a tool to keep going because eventually if you keep going, you’ll keep growing.”

PREP – Theodora Cotten

Being a certified reading specialist with a doctorates degree, Theodora Cotten is highly aware of the impact Covid-19 is having on children, especially those in kindergarten and first grade.

“My experience with [this age group] is when they miss out at the beginning, they have a hard time catching up later on,” Cotten said. “I like to see them get a firm foundation right at the beginning so they do well as they go through school.”

To ensure young students are getting enough interactive reading material, Cotten applied for a One Northside Mini-Grant to purchase a one year subscription of Highlights High Five Magazine for 25 children ages 5 and 6 years old. She said her project, PREP, “encourages and empowers parents to help their children with literacy.”

The colorful magazine includes stories, puzzles, cartoons and hidden pictures that aim to get children excited about reading, and because Cotten is purchasing so many subscriptions with the grant, Highlights is able to give her a discount allowing her to reach more students.

During her career, Cotten has made a point to give books to preschoolers and newborn babies, once passing books out at Allegheny General and McGee-Womens Hospital in the maternity ward. She strongly advises parents to begin reading to their children at birth, because regardless of the baby not being able to understand what the parent is saying, “the baby learns speech from [the parent] and the baby will learn to like reading if [the parents] do.”

“This time I’m giving out books because [children] aren’t getting the firm foundation they normally get when they go to school and I don’t want any child to fall behind if I can help it,” Cotten said.

Believe & Achieve Learning Hub – Stephen Weiss

Stephen Weiss, executive director at His Place, is no stranger to One Northside Mini-Grants. His organization has been able to utilize the opportunity for a handful of projects over the years like the implementation of their Peace Room, which is a dedicated space for students to decompress and learn different strategies of social emotional regulation. Or the Comic Book Shop, an after school reading program to enhance student literacy.

“It’s a fairly small investment in terms of grants, but it’s still able to have a really profound impact,” Weiss said.

This year, Weiss applied for a mini-grant to create the Believe & Achieve Learning Hub in Spring Hill where 10 elementary and middle school students are able to safely and virtually attend class during the weekdays with Weiss and His Place Data Analyst Melanie Sandoval standing by for support. When the kids get breaks between their class assignments, Weiss and Sandoval hold “multiplication ninja’s” and test the kids for fact fluency. Once they’ve mastered a different fact family they get a ninja belt, which is “surprisingly motivating,” Weiss said.

The learning hub builds off of the organization’s after school and summer programs, which some of the students have been attending for almost nine years.

“We wanted to be able to support them as much as possible with their school work, but also with the educational priorities we have set for kids,” Weiss said. “We have 12 different key outcomes for the kids in that program based on the data for what kind of academic, social, and emotional metrics coordinate with students succeeding later in life, especially students who are underserved.”

Alternations needed to be done to the space before allowing children in the hub, like purchasing individual desks and adding ventilation, but the mini-grant was used to help cover supplies for the students like headphones and the addition of a second interest line and boosters to keep all the kids online. Weiss said the learning hub has a capacity of 25 students, which they hope to reach once they have sufficient and stable internet connections.

“From the administrative side, it’s relief to know we have a little cash to help cover the expected and unexpected expenses,” Weiss said.

New Sun Rising’s One Northside Mini-Grant Program is made possible through support by The Buhl Foundation.

One Northside Mini-Grant adjustments amid COVID-19

Posted on March 27, 2020 by Alyse Horn-Pyatt

The upcoming One Northside (ONS) Mini-Grant application deadline will remain March 31, 2020. Project applications submitted to New Sun Rising (NSR) by March 31 will receive a decision in April 2020.

In lieu of the 15 required signatures for applications, grantees must have 3 references email or call NSR (412-407-9007) to give their full name, home or business address, and the name of the project they are supporting. References cannot be from the same Northside home or business address.

At this time, all grant deadlines have been extended to August 31, 2020.

The mini-grant program awards Northsider’s up to $1,000 to support small scale community projects that demonstrate pledged support of their neighbors, help strengthen connections, increase accessibility to resources, and/or activate significant places in their community.

NSR encourages prospective applicants to email vibrancyfunds@newsunrising.org with any questions or concerns about the mini-grant process in advance of preparing their application.

Contact

For mini-grant applicants, the preferred method for submitting your application is to use the online form accessible at: www.newsunrising.org/project/ignite-northside/

Printed applications are accepted by postal mail. You may also submit your applications as attachments to vibrancyfunds@newsunrising.org. Postal mail submissions should be addressed to New Sun Rising, Attn. One Northside Mini-Grant, P.O. Box 58005, Pittsburgh, PA 15209 and must be received by the grant deadline. All projects must be completed by August 31, 2020.

In pre-approved circumstances, project leaders may submit for additional mini-grants. Only one mini-grant per project leader may be active at one time. Please contact vibrancyfunds@newsunrising.org for additional information.

About New Sun Rising

New Sun Rising supports nonprofits and small businesses to build vibrant communities through culture, sustainability, and opportunity. NSR believes that people and communities hold the knowledge and power to make positive change. We envision a future where regenerative community development practices create the conditions for true social, environmental, and economic justice.

About One Northside

One Northside is a community-driven initiative to improve the quality of life in all 18 neighborhoods of the Northside. Since early 2014, hundreds of Northside residents have engaged with local leaders and stakeholders in community-wide conversations to create a shared agenda for the revitalization of this vital component of the greater Pittsburgh region.

ONS Mini-Grants ’empower’ community members, support projects

Posted on January 7, 2020 by Alyse Horn-Pyatt

Above: Marlo Jones helps women learn how to crochet at a senior citizens home on the Northside.

Northside neighbors with small-scale projects are able to utilize the One Northside Mini-Grant program to get their ideas off the ground, with the next application deadline being January 30, 2020.

The program awards Northsider’s $1,000 for their projects that demonstrate pledged support of their neighbors, help strengthen connections, increase accessibility to resources, and/or activate significant places in their community.

Cecelia Ware has been an advocate for the mini-grant program since she began applying for different projects several years ago, and believes that community members can feel “empowered” by engaging with their neighbors in this way.

“If you’ve got something that you want to share with the community, why not apply for a mini-grant and go ahead and do it?” Ware said.

The mini-grants were first supervised by The Sprout Fund, and when the nonprofit sunset, New Sun Rising took over the process in 2018. Ware applied for funding with both organizations, initially because she “needed to do work in [her] community” and wanted to help kids that may be navigating difficult experiences.

Ware has been awarded several mini-grants over the years, her first being the Saving Our Sons and Daughters after school program at Propel Northside that focuses on violence prevention and coping skills for high school students. Her current mini-grant project is an extension of the first, and is a Teen Drop in Center at 3577 McClure Ave. to ensure that students are supported beyond the school year. She said they are always looking volunteers, and those interested can email infinitelifestylesol@gmail.com.

“We still focus on violence prevention, but also social justice and African American history as well as leadership skills,” Ware said. “We provide the kids with a free meal, and we have a food bank and clothing bank so they can take those things home if needed.”

For Marlo Jones, this was the first year she applied for a mini-grant. As a talented crocheter, Jones wanted to share her craft through The Crochet Group, where she visits senior citizens each week and teaches them the basics of crocheting to create a beginner scarf or hat.

Jones said the mini-grant has helped her cover the costs of supplies, so each participate can choose and take with them several different yarn colors and their own pair of needles. She also uses a projector to present the different crochet techniques in an easy to digest fashion. She said the experience has been great for those involved.

“This is a safe environment, and people can talk and share what’s been going on in their lives” Jones said. “ It’s therapeutic… to start from nothing and create something beautiful with your hands.”

Project applications submitted to New Sun Rising by January 30, 2020 will receive a decision in February 2020. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until the mini-grant funding pool is depleted, and the next mini-grant deadline is March 31, 2020.

The preferred method of submitting applications it to use the online form accessible at: www.newsunrising.org/project/ignite-northside/. Printing applications are accepted by postal mail, or via email attachment sent to vibrancyfunds@newsunrising.org. Postal mail submissions should be addressed to New Sun Rising, Attn. One Northside Mini-Grant, P.O. Box 58005, Pittsburgh, PA 15209 and must be received by the grant deadline. All projects must be completed by August 1, 2020.

Upcoming ONS Mini-Grant deadline January 30, 2020

Posted on December 3, 2019 by Alyse Horn-Pyatt

The upcoming One Northside (ONS) Mini-Grant application deadline is January 30, 2020.

Project applications submitted to New Sun Rising (NSR) by this date will receive a decision in February 2020. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and the next mini-grant deadline is March 31 of 2020.

For mini-grant applicants, the preferred method for submitting your application is to use the online form accessible at: www.newsunrising.org/project/ignite-northside/

The ONS Street Team will launch early next year. Stay tuned for future announcements. Those with questions may email vibrancyfunds@newsunrising.org.

About New Sun Rising

About One Northside

Managers passion for inclusion reflects dedication to diverse programming

Posted on November 2, 2019 by Alyse Horn-Pyatt

Programs that connect people with resources and inspire action are an essential step to building more vibrant communities; more importantly are the programs co-created by the community the organization serves.

It’s the programs that are about inclusion that Jamie Johnson, Manager of Performance Improvement at New Sun Rising, has a real passion to support. At NSR, Johnson leads risk management, program evaluation, and process assessment to improve the outcomes of the organization, but her keenness for doing so comes from her own experiences with Youth Places at the age of 15.

“We pretty much internally ran an organization as youth for our own community and it was a great experience,” Johnson said. “I feel like it taught me about nonprofit process and program development, but also taught me a lot about leadership.”

Johnson went on to serve her community through AmeriCorps before and between attending Edinboro University for psychology and sociology, and earning a Master’s of Education in Marriage and Family Therapy from Duquesne University.

It was at Edinboro where Johnson met Ebony McQueen-Harris. The two stayed connected, and later during their careers McQueen-Harris told Johnson about NSR and Ignite Northside, an accelerator program that supported entrepreneurs from idea to action in support of the goals of One Northside. At the time, McQueen-Harris was the program manager.

“I was a behavior specialist for an after school program at Faison [Arts Academy] and then I fully moved into social services and worked for an organization called Touching Families,” Johnson said. “I became the program director there, but [Ebony] knew I always had an interest in starting my own business.”

That nudge resulted in Johnson founding Build You Up!, a business based on applying her counseling skills to entrepreneurs and “being able to help business owners and leaders work on themselves internally, so they grow and become their best selves for their organization.”

By the time Ignite Northside 2.0 launched, McQueen-Harris had brought Johnson on board to help facilitate the program. Anne George was a program participant during that time and had regular meetings with Johnson and McQueen-Harris to pin down her business goals. George created the app iXMessage, designed for tween girls to socialize online in a trusted environment.

“[Johnson] really helped me step out of my shell,” George said. “Here is a person who has never worked with someone like me before, in that field, and she wasn’t daunted by it at all. She helped me advocate for myself and did that when no one had a product like mine; I just think that speaks to how good they are and how they know what to do for people to get their business started.”

There is a sincere commitment that Johnson has to the people she works with, and that was on full display during Ignite Northside where she helped participants like George dig into who they are as individuals and find out how that connects them to the work they do. This commitment, along with her passion for process and performance, come together to provide unique benefits to those she supports.

“She is a very [strategic] and detailed person,” said Brettney Duck, Executive Director of G.O girls, a nonprofit that serves young women transitioning out of foster care into adulthood.

Duck was a caseworker at Touching Families when she met Johnson, who was program director at the time. After Johnson left to join New Sun Rising, Duck soon followed suit to create her own venture: G.O girls. Because of Johnson’s inherent ability to lead and direct, she was the first person Duck thought of when creating the board of directors for her organization and asked Johnson to be the president.

Both Johnson and Duck work together facilitating My Place, a program created by ACTION-Housing for young adults between 18-24 who have aged out of the foster care system and need assistance. Earlier this year, NSR was contracted to build upon the success of the program and provide increased support for residents’ employment stability, entrepreneurship, and leadership.

“We don’t want to be another program offering services to young people who have gone through the system,” Duck said. “We are very intentional about that and always ask ‘What are you getting from this program?’, and the feedback we get is, ‘You make us feel comfortable.’”

“Jamie is a good partner to have, because she doesnt take over. I’m the lead consultant for the program and she gives me my room; it’s always nice to have those types of [allies].”

It’s through the lens of inclusion, performance improvement, and a genuine commitment to meet people where they are at that she shares her appreciation of professional awakening with business and nonprofit leaders.

“I want people to know that they can establish things for themselves and they can make an impact in their communities, they don’t have to wait,” Johnson said. “They can do it now.”

Diverse experience of director leads people to take action

Posted on July 10, 2019 by Alyse Horn-Pyatt

Above: Daniel Stiker (center) tabling for New Sun Rising at Pittonkatonk in 2018. (Photo courtesy of Leigh Solomon Pugliano)

The combination of passion and profession could be defined as soul work; the feeling of fulfillment through actively contributing to the common good. It’s something that most hope to obtain during their lifetimes and they’re fortunate to find it.

“Looking back at where I had joy and where I thought I could find it, and meaningful soul work, was with nonprofits,” said Daniel Stiker, the Director of Culture + Operations at New Sun Rising.

Originally from the Pittsburgh area, Stiker left for several years in the late 1990s and moved to New York City. While there, he worked for a dotcom and got involved with the Beggar’s Group Theatre Club that primarily focused on underground and political performances. He said it was a life changing experience for him to be involved with a performing group that focused on important issues and “made a difference.”

“Theatre often moves people, sometimes to action, and that’s the theatre that I like,” Stiker said.

Similarly, nonprofit work is about moving people to action. Stiker said being heavily involved in theatre prepared him for his role in the nonprofit world and how to effectively communicate with people to create positive change.

Devin Montgomery, co-founder and executive director of Protohaven, began working with New Sun Rising in 2017 and Stiker was his primary contact. Montgomery said Protohaven was conceived to “preserve a community workshop” that would have otherwise disappeared without the fiscal sponsorship and guidance from NSR. Today, Montgomery said Protohaven is a nonprofit professional space for entrepreneurs and makers of any kind to create and scale their projects, “whatever that may be.”

“It was so helpful to go in as a new nonprofit and talk to someone who had a great deal of experience working with different funders and navigating [grant] requirements,” Montgomery said. “Dan has dealt with so many people in the same position that he really has a breadth of experience working with people in our situation that you don’t see in many other places.”

Stiker brings that cognizance to New Sun Rising, but it’s also what drew him to the nonprofit. When he returned to Pittsburgh in 2001, Stiker started a theatre company with Heather Lynn McNeish Gray and was able to land a tech support position with a large local nonprofit. Wanting to make more of an impact in the nonprofit realm, Stiker went back to university and obtained his bachelor’s and graduate degree in nonprofit management.

He began working with an organization that he loved, but still felt that he wasn’t fulfilling his soul work. So, in 2014 he founded the Pittsburgh Fringe Festival.

It was around this time Stiker heard about New Sun Rising and that it was looking for a board member. He ended up becoming the Vice Chair for the board with NSR Founder and Executive Director Scott Wolovich as Chair, and staff positions opened up as the nonprofit grew.

“At the time, and now, the mission of New Sun Rising is that soul work,” Stiker said. “It’s making an impact and working for the common good.”

Today, as the Director of Culture + Operations, Stiker works closely with Wolovich and Jamie Johnson, Manager of Performance Improvement. They touch base with every project, with Stiker and Johnson being the main contacts for fiscal sponsorships.

Ebony McQueen-Harris, founder and principal consultant at LEVELS Consulting, worked with Stiker around 2016 when she was managing Ignite Northside, a program under NSR that provides emerging social businesses and community project leaders with mentorship and development workshops. McQueen-Harris said what she has appreciated the most about Stiker is his realistic approach and support of those businesses and projects that NSR works with.

“Dan takes an objective stance when working with someone and asks ‘Is this business a viable fiscal sponsorship entity?’” McQueen-Harris said. “Business owners in the startup stage can be sensitive to critiques because it’s their baby, and I understand that, but Dan is kind of off the cuff and says, ‘This is your baby, but this is what I’m seeing and the things you need to consider.’”

Montgomery echoed this sentiment and said that Stiker’s ability to be “approachable and empathetic” makes it easy for others to open up and be frank during difficult conversations.

“That is very valuable and something about his personality that makes him suitable for the role he’s in.”

New Sun Rising Supports Resident-led Projects through the One Northside Mini-grant Program

Posted on June 3, 2018 by Scott Wolovich

The One Northside Mini-grant Program, supported by The Buhl Foundation, will invest $50,000 in awards and development support for community-driven projects. The 2018 program seeks to strengthen connections and create opportunity throughout the 18 Northside neighborhoods, and was previously known as ‘Neighbor to Neighbor’ when managed by our friends at the The Sprout Fund.

One Northside Mini-Grants of up to $1,000 will be awarded for projects that enjoy the support of their community and advance the vision of One Northside – focusing on improving the Quality of Education, Employment, Place, Safety, and Health for all Northside residents.

Grant recipients will receive additional project development support through New Sun Rising and the Mini-grant Street Team Ambassadors. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis and reviewed monthly with decisions announced around the end of each summer month (June, July, and August), as well as a winter cycle (October, November, December).

New Sun Rising, whose mission is to build vibrant communities through culture, sustainability, and opportunity, will facilitate the mini-grant program as a continuation of their Ignite Northside program. Joining them are the Mini-Grant Street Team Ambassadors including four residents (Kate Kelley, Maria Searcy, Ashlyn Taylor, Ginger Underwood) who received training from Levels Creative Empowerment + Consulting Group to recruit and support applicants for the duration of the mini-grant process.

While previous mini-grant recipients are encouraged to apply, New Sun Rising also seeks to broaden the support for long-time residents with projects, creatives, and business leaders making social impact. Applicants who live and work in underserved Northside neighborhoods are encouraged to submit proposals supporting One Northside’s expanded focus on Safety and Health, as well as those which strengthen connections, increase accessibility to resources, and activate significant places to build vibrancy with their neighbors.

Northside community projects seeking financial and development support are encouraged to attend an information session to learn more about the One Northside Mini-Grant process in advance of preparing an application. A public call for applications will be made in June and accepted on an ongoing basis until funds are expended. See www.newsunrising.org/project/ignite-northside for application details, meeting locations, dates, and times, or contact New Sun Rising staff by phone (412) 407-9007 or email info@newsunrising.org to request an informal meeting.

About One Northside

One Northside is a community-driven initiative to improve the quality of life in all 18 Northside neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. Since 2016, through the support of The Buhl Foundation, New Sun Rising has helped 92 Northside residents and community members put their ideas into action through the One Northside Consensus Plan’s focus on Quality of Education, Employment, Place, Health, and Safety. For more information, visit OneNorthsidePGH.org.

About New Sun Rising

New Sun Rising (NSR) is an innovative 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to build vibrant communities through culture, sustainability and opportunity. NSR provides programs and services that create equitable opportunity, solve social challenges, and strengthen the vibrancy of place. Since 2005, over 400 individuals, organizations, and funders have worked with NSR to launch their nonprofit projects, social businesses, and economic development initiatives throughout the Greater Pittsburgh region with $5 million of support. For more information, visit NewSunRising.org.