Neighborhood
Institute

Since 2007, Strong City’s signature annual event has brought together neighborhood leaders, nonprofit professionals, and activists for a daylong skill-building and networking conference.

Neighborhood Institute 2020
POSTPONED DUE TO COVID-19
Baltimore City Community College

Strong City Baltimore has postponed Neighborhood Institute 2020, originally scheduled for March 28th at Baltimore City Community College, in accordance with the mandates from state and city leadership about cancelling large-scale events due to public health concerns over the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). We are hoping to present the annual skill-building conference for neighborhood leaders in fall 2020. Subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of the page to get updates.

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Volunteer for Free Entry

Volunteers that complete at least one shift get free entry to the event and a Strong City t-shirt!

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2020 is the Year to Build Civic Power

We are joining with other civic-minded local organizations in response to the special opportunities presented in 2020 by the elections and the Census. In addition to traditional Neighborhood Institute programming, NI 2020 will include presentations and discussions curated by the Baltimore Planning Department’s Census team, OSI-Baltimore, and Strong City fiscally sponsored projects such as Baltimore Votes and Step Up Maryland.

Strong City moved January 2020 to the Hoen Building in East Baltimore, but we are a citywide organization, and this partnership with BCCC, one of West Baltimore’s most important institutions, reinforces our commitment to the whole city.

Tracks and Workshops

Activating Communities

  1. Building a Robust Block Captain Program
  2. Increasing Resident Involvement in Community-Based Associations
  3. Power of Play: Lessons From the Eutaw Place Play Days
  4. Using Data to Create Neighborhood Action Plans

Civic Engagement, Civic Power

  1. Blueprint for Baltimore: Using Community-Owned Data for Organizing and Advocacy
  2. Census 2020: Everyone Counts in Baltimore
  3. Civic Culture in Hard to Persuade Communities
  4. Plan Your Party at the Polls!

Diversity and Inclusion

  1. Advocating for Families of Children With Disabilities
  2. Engagement and Partnership With the Latino Community
  3. The Reframing Initiative: Changing How We Talk About Human Service Work
  4. Working With and for LGBTQ People in Baltimore

Future of Transit

  1. The Ballot Initiative As a Tool for Direct Democracy: Creating a Regional Transit Authority
  2. Traffic Calming and Pedestrian Safety Through Art and Engineering
  3. Transit Equity in Baltimore: A Conversation

Get the Job Done!

  1. Being Legit: Ten Ways to Keep Your Nonprofit in Compliance
  2. Bracing for Kirwan: How To Understand and Engage With Baltimore’s Budget
  3. Do Your Job! Getting City Agencies to Respond in a Timely and Effective Manner
  4. Financial Oversight for Nonprofit Boards
  5. How to Use Strategic Planning

Making It Work

  1. Achieving Work/Life Balance
  2. Barriers Facing Those Returning From Incarceration
  3. Tackling Long-Term Unemployment in Baltimore: How You Can Help
  4. Understanding Baltimore’s Workforce System

Pathways and Tools for Better Living

  1. A Community Approach to Improving Birth Outcomes
  2. Preserving and Protecting Baltimore’s Green Spaces
  3. The Reframing Initiative: Changing How We Talk About Human Service Work
  4. Using the Maryland Public Information Act to Access Public Records

Racial Equity and Justice

  1. Defining Equity in Neighborhood Revitalization Planning
  2. Fair Housing Enforcement As a Tool for Advancing Equity
  3. How White People Can Fight Racism and Avoid Involving the Police
  4. Truth-Telling and Healing as Part of an Anti-Racist Agenda

Revitalizing Neighborhoods

  1. Marketing and Restoring Historic Properties: What Communities Should Know
  2. Neighborhood Placemaking
  3. Re-creating Vacant Lots As an Asset in the Community’s Vision
  4. Vacancy and Code Enforcement From a Community Perspective

Stronger Nonprofits and Stronger Businesses

  1. Finding the Funds: State Resources for Greening and Revitalization
  2. Grow the Local Economy By Investing in Local Business
  3. Hacking the Grant Narrative: Competing for Funding
  4. Introduction to Grant Writing

Telling Baltimore’s Story

  1. “Building Blocks” Goes Live: A Conversation About Neighborhood Transformation
  2. Five Years Later: A Panel Talk on Building Civic Power in Post-Uprising Baltimore
  3. How Negative Narratives Hurt Communities; How New Ones Can Help
  4. Theater-Based Community Building

Tentative Schedule

8:15-9:00 AM Registration & Breakfast

9:05-9:25 AM Welcome/Entertainment (auditorium)

9:40-10:35 AM Workshop Session 1

10:50-11:45 AM  Workshop Session 2

12:00-12:45 PM Lunch Group 1 / Workshop Session 3A

1:00-1:45 PM Lunch Group 2 / Workshop Session 3B

2:00-2:55 PM Workshop Session 4

3:05-3:30 PM Awards/closing remarks (auditorium)

We Can't Do This Without Our Sponsors!

Sponsors help make Neighborhood Institute happen.  We can’t put on a day long event for 400+ people without the generous donation of partners. We want companies committed to change, companies like yours, to be a part of our efforts. Join us today and become a sponsor for a weekend of celebrating with and learning from devoted Baltimore community leaders, residents and businesses committed to making our city stronger!

Sponsorship Form
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