In late June, 2023, NEW’s leadership got together to discuss participatory budgeting and what it’s like at NEW. Here’s a recording of their conversation. Featuring Yodit Mesfin Johnson, president & CEO; Carrie Hammerman, chief strategy & programs officer; and Linda Tam, chief finance & operations officer.

Fatigue and burnout can get in the way too. Certainly, the last three years have taken a toll on most of us. For me, it feels as if 2020 has been one long, perpetual year that won’t end. Three (3) years later COVID is still here (recently joined by the flu and RSV). Extremism and strife within our political systems persist, our democracy feels fleeting. Nonprofits are still clamoring for resources that should be flowing to them and the communities they sit in.. Not only is the work challenging, our collective and personal mental health is weaker. Our physical bodies and minds are exhausted. We are in an existential crisis. The mission, vision, and core values of our country, its states, and our sector are in shambles. And, so too, I believe, are our personal commitments to them.

As  you can imagine, their puzzle collection is massive. It literally spans decades – some of the oldest I’ve seen date back to the 1950s. They’re a record of intergenerational connection, a time capsule. When working on one, I can imagine aunts and uncles as children, touching those same pieces, while their parents (our grandparents) worked beside them.

If the word success begins to sound weird after reading the sentences above three times, well you’re not alone. Each person who answers will likely have different responses. It’s also likely that they’ll each interpret the questions differently, as well. Even with consensus on the definition of success, the range of experiences between people may prevent us from defining the group experience as successful.

As NEW always has, we’re placing our values directly at the center of this process of expansion. Our values were central as we reflected on our needs to thrive and grow. They were central in our community engagement and design processes, and now in the first architectural drawings. And they are central in our fundraising practice, too. We’re “walking the walk” as we enter into a fifteen million dollar ($15M) campaign to expand our programs and evolve our physical space. As we do, we invite you all into the process with us.

Thirty (30) years ago, philanthropists in Washtenaw County envisioned an arts incubator in Ann Arbor. Their aim was to help drive economic stimulus in the downtown area. The building they landed on was in an old warehouse district heading out of town. They wanted to offer rent below market rate and spur the economic activity in the nearby community. And in the thirty (30) years of NEW’s practice, we’ve been successful in doing just that.