Urban Grind East

Come celebrate summer's bounty at the Forum, where in August we'll address "extended harvests." We will be exploring techniques, spaces and technologies that extend growing seasons, increase yield, increase opportunities for local food production and bring the harvest to new places and spaces. Mark your calendars now and please join us!

General Forum Info: The Springboard Social Innovation Forum offers a monthly event designed to support those interested in creating a better future. Our focus is to help practitioners or potential practitioners of social projects push beyond discussion and debate into action. Each Forum will inspire and teach with ideas, powerful role models, and stories. Speakers, content experts, panels, and workshops will help you improve your strategies for planning and launching effective social ventures. The Forum will create a context to connect, learn, and take action around ideas that lead to tangible change—all in a venue designed for building community.

Our July Forum will offer an exciting shift in format. We get to participate in the launch of Family Forward, a new nonprofit focused on inspiring workplaces, communities, and policies that value families.

Did you know that motherhood is the single biggest predictor of poverty in old age? What does this say about our community’s priorities and values? Join us for an evening of thought-provoking discussion about the economics of family-raising, the crisis of care, and what we can do to set a new course in Oregon. We will hear from experienced leaders who are working for family forward change on a number of fronts: employment, parent activism, women’s leadership, state policy, and more. We will work together to develop a new vision for a Family Forward Oregon. Please join us! Date: Wednesday, July 8th Doors open at 5:30pm Forum 6-9pm Cost: $5 Location: Urban Grind East 2214 NE Oregon St.

June's Forum focuses on sustainability. How do you implement innovation in a way that creates lasting change? How do you preserve and maintain the change you've worked for? This month's forum will guide you through both of these considerations, the two sides of real sustainability. Join us to share your ideas and discuss emerging local and national concepts and projects and how they are sustaining the good! The Springboard Social Innovation Forum offers a monthly event designed to support those interested in creating a better future. Our focus is to help practitioners or potential practitioners of social projects push beyond discussion and debate into action. Each Forum will inspire and teach with ideas, powerful role models, and stories. Speakers, content experts, panels, and workshops will help you improve your strategies for planning and launching effective social ventures. The Forum will create a context to connect, learn, and take action around ideas that lead to tangible change—all in a venue designed for building community. Cost is $5.00 at the door.

The Springboard Social Innovation Forum offers a monthly event designed to support those interested in creating a better future. Our focus is to help practitioners or potential practitioners of social projects push beyond discussion and debate into action. Each Forum will inspire and teach with ideas, powerful role models, and stories. Speakers, content experts, panels, and workshops will help you improve your strategies for planning and launching effective social ventures. The Forum will create a context to connect, learn, and take action around ideas that lead to tangible change—all in a venue designed for building community.

  Cost is $5.00 at the door, which will offset costs and provide a light dinner.

  April's Forum showcases Online Tools that promote social innovation. We launch the ChangeXchange! This month's forum is themed “Online Solutions” and will use emerging local projects for real-time, hands-on learning. Learn how the internet can be used to raise seed-funding for social entrepreneur startups. Learn how the online space can be a successful social innovation, and learn how social marketing can be used to market social change.

The Social Innovation Forum provides a facilitated, empowering time and space for proactive community members to unite, learn, gain inspiration, and create innovative strategies that address social and environmental problems in Portland neighborhoods. This month, the forum turns its focus to “caring.” Speakers, including Charles Lewis of Ethos Music and Amy Sacks of the Pixie Project, represent successful social entrepreneurs and people in the community who are leading community change; Workshops will review innovative trends in elevating the value of caring and how to apply these trends to your work and passion.

Unfortunately, caring is something society doesn’t value much. We value numbers, and data. And we almost think caring is a weird thing to say. What does it even mean? This forum will bring caring to the forefront, and talk about how it's a wonderful thing to care, and to say you do. Do we talk about that on our websites? Do we ask others if they care? Do we acknowledge when they do? How do we help people care? When we care, do we act?

Workshops: Engaging Volunteers Effectively, Efficiently, and Appreciatively led by Hands on Portland, Developing a Caring Economy led by Real Wealth of Portland, and Caring--Inspiration to Implementation led by the Giving Tree and Community Warehouse. Guest speakers include Jane Green and Melissa Owens of Children’s Cancer Association, Amy Sacks of the Pixie Project, and Charles Lewis of Ethos Music.

The forum is your chance to talk with others in the community who share your concern. And if you have an idea ready to turn into action, you’ll find experts ready to help you get started. That’s all in keeping with the goal of the Springboard Social Innovation Forum: unleashing the potential of “ordinary” citizens to address local challenges with lasting solutions.

Admission $5 (includes a light supper). To learn more about Portland-based nonprofit Springboard Innovation or to find out about future forum topics, visit www.springboardinnovation.org or contact: [email protected]

With economic turmoil spreading from financial markets to local communities, it’s a tough season for raising funds to start or support good causes. Join us for this free event on December 10th to explore diverse ideas and new models for “financing the good.”

Panelists representing banking, angel investing, micro-philanthropy, and grant funding will discuss innovative approaches for funding social change that reflect shifts in the way their organizations do business. Specifically, they will highlight opportunities for "average" Portlanders to obtain funding for their social change projects and visions.

During the workshop segment, learn tips and tricks for obtaining one of Portland's community building or environmental grants, discover how community currency can fund social change, talk with a lawyer about how to apply for a 501(c)(3), learn how a social stock market generates seed funding for launching good ideas and how to implement "sustaining strategies."

Panelists: Mark Moffenbier, Shorebank Pacific Mark Holloway, Social Venture Partners Portland Amy Pearl, ChangeXchange Social Stock Market Joy Hunt, Vision into Action Grants

Workshops Angela Southwick, Neighbors West-Northwest Neighborhood Grants Emily Rice, Community Watershed Stewardship Program Environmental Grants Janelle Geddes, Metro Grants John Brown, Rooms for Peace Alan Rosenblith, Community Prosper, community currency Nancy Murray, Community Development Legal Clinic

The forum is sponsored by Portland-based nonprofit, Springboard Innovation. Springboard's mission is to launch community-led community change. The purpose of the forum is to empower "average" Portlanders with the resources and tools needed to take action to solve problems our society is facing.

The Springboard Social Innovation Forum is a new monthly event designed to engage community members in solving local challenges with lasting solutions. This free event promises a mix of conversation, collaboration, and professional support for social venture launchers, all designed to help move good ideas into action.

This month's topic is "Hunger." Hear from gleaners, food educators, school gardeners, state offices, food security policy makers, nutritionists, CSAs and others who are feeding our neighbors---and feeding them well. Join this important conversation to learn where your work overlaps and supports this goal.

In conjunction with the forum, nine local artists have converted refrigerators into creative statements about hunger. Their provocative art installation opens Friday, November 7th from 6-8pm at the Urban Grind and will remain on display through the month of November.

Learn more about our non-profit and the monthly forum at www.springboardinnovation.org

Date: November 12th (every second Wednesday) Topic: Hunger Time: 6-9pm Cost: Free Location: Urban Grind @ 2214 NE Oregon, Portland

Media Contact: Amy Pearl - 503.407.8459

On October 22nd at 8 p.m., Back Fence PDX and storytellers Beth Lisick, Sarah Gilbert, Slim Moon, Tina Newton, Dave Jarecki, Sadie Medley and David Bragdon will take to the stage at Urban Grind East for a raucous evening of storytelling. Each of the six storytellers will tell an eight-minute, unscripted story related to this month's theme: Just Can't Get Enough; Getting Stuffed and Being Stuffed. Intermission entertainment includes belly dancing by Bellypalooza and food, wine and beer will be available.

Presenting Our Storytellers:

San Francisco author and Porchlight co-founder, Beth Lisick. Beth Lisick is the author of two books, Everybody into the Pool and Helping Me Help Myself.

Sarah Gilbert was once an investment banker. Her transition to the dotcom world looks prescient in retrospect. Now she works from home managing financial blogs for AOL and writes away the wee hours after her three little boys fall asleep.

Slim Moon still thinks of himself as a punk rocker, after all these years. After 17 years at record labels as founder of Kill Rock Stars and later briefly working as an "A&R guy" for the Warner Music Group, Slim is happy to now be pursuing his true calling in life - helping artists he loves - in the way that best suits him - artist management. Notable artists that Slim has worked with in his life include Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, Elliott Smith, Miranda July, The Decemberists, The Gossip, and Deerhoof, among literally hundreds of others...

Tina Newton is the founder and color genius behind Blue Moon Fiber Arts, the company that makes the perpetually popular sock yarn, Socks that Rock. Tina has a fertile imagination and the practical creativity to support it. This energy is contagious and inspiring. She loves sharing her vision and working with others. This is the spirit of Blue Moon.

Dave Jarecki founded Breakerboy Communications to provide strategic messaging, copy and grant writing services to small businesses and non-profit organizations. Writing workshops started in 2005. He likes working with kids because they're smarter and funnier than adults. Recently, a student in one of his workshops said, I have three weekends between now and next Sunday.

Sadie Medley has her finger in a whole bunch of pies. By day, she is a freelance graphic designer and creative thinker-chick. By late afternoon she can be found teaching people to stay calm while standing on their heads. In the early evenings she sings opera, and lately, she is obsessed with becoming a voice over actor. Her mutable, and restless personality make this type of life feasible.

David Bragdon became the Metro Council's first regionally elected President on Jan. 6, 2003, representing the voters of the metropolitan region.Under David's leadership as Council President, the Metro Council has undertaken new initiatives to preserve natural areas and protect water quality, support thriving neighborhoods, create jobs and economic prosperity, and improve our transportation network. He's a native Portlander.

Bellypalooza consists of members from local belly dancing troupe Tigerlillys and solo-dancer Miriam. They enjoy shiny objects, phat beats, and womanly forms.

Back Fence PDX is the kissing cousin to San Francisco's Porchlight Storytelling Series.

Back Fence PDX is an evening with six people telling their true eight-minute stories based on the month's theme. The stories must not have been performed publicly prior to their Back Fence PDX telling. We are also a blog with a weekly story by a writer, blogger, or someone with an unusual story about the topic.

Back Fence PDX is a storytelling series in Portland, Oregon. Six storytellers tell true, unmemorized six minute stories based on the theme True Colors.

Storytellers include, Matt Davis, news reporter of the Portland Mercury; Adam Arnold, Fashion Designer; Adrienne Flagg Creative Director of IFCC; activist and writer, Frances Miller; Frank D'Andrea, short-story smithy and English Instructor and Reuben Nisenfeld, performance artist and writer.

Dinner service begins at 6:30pm
Doors open at 7:30pm
Event admission: $7

Location: Urban Grind NE
2214 NE Oregon
Portland, OR

www.backfencepdx.com

http://wiki.personaltelco.net

http://www.personaltelco.net/static/index.html

http://www.dc503.org/

http://www.personaltelco.net/static/index.html