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The Summer of Solutions

Apply to host Summer of Solutions 2009

Our 2008 Summer of Solutions

In early 2008, students in the Twin Cities came together to address the “summer gap” that slowed down the projects the amazing sustainability work they did in their colleges and communities.  created as a summer program for young leaders from around the country to build transformative social, political, and economic models that focus not on dealing with specific issues, but creating holistic solutions.  In the summer of 2008, Summer of Solutions was created in the Twin Cities, alongside similar programs led by others in Portland (The Northwest Institute for Community Energy – NICE), Oakland (Breakthrough Generation), and Appalachia (Mountain Justice Summer).

Our work as a group began with several Twin Cities-focused initiatives that developed spectacularly over the two months that we were together.  Throughout the two months, we envisioned, planned, and managed the program ourselves, creating our own capacity as we focus on building the solutions.  We worked as a profound community of change, integrating our projects with collective reflection and discussions with community leaders.
           
At the end of the summer, those of us here in Minnesota have a set of incredible campaigns and efforts to continue to run with, and participants from across the country have a set of experiences and skills to develop their own projects in their own communities. We've built a community and created a model for how we live the solutions.  You can check out more in this brief video developed by one of our student participants: Summer of Solutions video.

So, what's next?

Summer of Solutions 2009 seeks to build off the successes of the past summer and act as a catalytic event for a solutions-based approach that empowers young people to engage older generations, community groups, non-profits, local, state, and federal governments, business, labor groups, faith groups, and many more in the creative process of reenergizing our society. After reviewing the summer with our local team and then sharing the idea with friends and allies across the country, we see both the importance and the existing capacity to escalate rapidly. Our friends at the Northwest Institute for Community Energy (NICE) came to exactly the same conclusion; we're partnering to help plan the Summer 2009 program.

We're looking for local leaders to help establish at least 10 programs next summer, each hosting roughly 15-40 participants. From working with young people around the country, we know there are already dozens of groups of youth leaders working innovatively at the local level from a solutions-based perspective. From talking with our organizational allies, we think that with an early start and the evidence of our past successes, we can mobilize the funding base and grassroots capacity to make this possible.

Value Proposition (what we want to do for grassroots solutionaries and the movement): We seek to generate funding and volunteer capacity through our existing organizational partnerships to support the development and continuation of transformative solutions-based initiatives through the summer and to link these initiatives to create a common voice for solutionaries.

Goals of Summer of Solutions 2009:

1. Expand and strengthen existing solutions initiatives in locations around the country
2. Create open spaces that empower and support youth leaders to create new initiatives
3. Train youth leaders as solutionaries who can apply their skills in their own communities
4. Develop and share a set of approaches and vision with other leaders/ broader society
5. Support youth leaders over the summer in the service of society and their own vision

Roles and Responsibilities of local planning teams and central organizers:

Each site will have a planning team made up of youth and community leaders you identify and others who notify us of their interest from the same area. Once this team has formed, its responsibilities will be to:

1. Identify and coordinate local housing logistics for your site during Fall 2008.
2. Identify/ develop potential action projects for your local program through the year.
3. Build partnerships/ relationships with local groups/ leaders through the year.
4. Coordinate outreach and recruitment efforts in your local area starting in November.
5. Support applicants in grassroots fundraising efforts and local funding opportunities for your specific program starting in December (holidays).
6. Choose a couple members of your team to join us in a January summit (dates pending everyone's availability) of SoS leaders and other youth leaders in the movement.
7. Select applicants based on program needs, participant abilities, and available funding.
8. Work with your summer team of Solutionaries to facilitate an amazing local program!
   
   

The student leaders involved in the central organizing team for Summer of Solutions 2009 will focus on coordinating programs, centralized fundraising for participant stipends with organizational partners, designing a centralized website, outreach materials, and grassroots fundraising materials, and other coordinating functions. You're welcome to join us in any of these roles if you’re interested. We've done this once before for the MN 2008 SoS program, but this is a whole different scale so we can use all the help we can get. We'll support you with:

1. Central fundraising – we'll be fundraising for all programs and appealing to major foundations and donors, mostly for participant stipends. We'll aim for about 20 $1500 stipends per program. Grassroots/ local fundraising can provide more $ as needed.
2. Web capacity through Grand Aspirations to describe and promote your local program.
3. Outreach and recruitment materials, grassroots fundraising materials for applicants, and guides related to specific projects/ approaches you could use.
4. Connections to regional and local partnerships through our social networks.
5. A non-profit structure through which program planners and applicants can raise funds and garner donations for your local program.
6. Media connections and support for SoS as a whole and your local program.
7. Support and guidance in creating and facilitating your program based on our experience, particularly in solution-based approaches, social entrepreneurship, and creative strategy.
8. Coordination with other local programs to empower collaboration and interchange.
9. The 2nd January Climate Movement Institute to meet with other leaders, forge a collective vision, and link our efforts to broad movement strategy. We are working to secure travel funding, and will not expect you to attend unless we can cover costs.