Ellie Austin - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Ellie Austin
The City of Redmond recently completed a very successful community project, Hope Park. City offic... more The City of Redmond recently completed a very successful community project, Hope Park. City officials reported that the community rallied around the effort, and many individual donors and local businesses stepped up to support the project. On the heels of this successful public-private partnership, city officials wanted to explore the possibility of starting a community foundation, and what it would take to get the project started. Our team served as consultants to the City of Redmond, and this report provides information that will help the city decide to move forward. The city expressed a willingness to use its resources to help launch a community foundation that would harness the sense of community in a formal capacity, and allow for many more successful projects, like the playground, that would benefit the citizens of Redmond for many years to come. Scope of Work Knowing the City of Redmond has a city-initiated community foundation 3 in mind as the ultimate goal, the scope of our project has been threefold. First, based on our research, we make recommendations for mission, vision, service area, initial funding, and structure for a community foundation. Second, we describe alternative models that we encourage the city to explore in its analysis of whether to start a community foundation. Third, we provide legal and filing requirements as an overview showing what it takes to create launch a community foundation. Methodology Our research questions were developed with the idea that we needed to understand the various ways in which a community foundation is created, funded, operated, managed, and what projects they support. We began our research with various interviews with the City of Redmond in order to understand what their hopes and expectations were regarding a community foundation. From this meeting, we were able to outline the deliverables and begin our research. Findings Our findings indicate a common theme among successful organizations we researched: each had significant initial funding to get started, and an active working board. Furthermore, our research indicates that there are various approaches to starting a foundation even with limited resources. These case studies illustrate the variation of community foundations in creation, structure, and size (assets under management). The table below highlights four case studies that are relevant to this report. For more detailed case study findings please see Appendix A. City & Community Foundation Population Median Income 4 Initial Funding (Amount and Source) Assets Under Management Now
The Sustainable Cities Initiative (SCI) is a cross-disciplinary organization at the University of... more The Sustainable Cities Initiative (SCI) is a cross-disciplinary organization at the University of Oregon that promotes education, service, public outreach, and research on the design and development of sustainable cities. We are redefining higher education for the public good and catalyzing community change toward sustainability. Our work addresses sustainability at multiple scales and emerges from the conviction that creating the sustainable city cannot happen within any single discipline. SCI is grounded in cross-disciplinary engagement as the key strategy for improving community sustainability. Our work connects student energy, faculty experience, and community needs to produce innovative, tangible solutions for the creation of a sustainable society. About SCYP The Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP) is a year-long partnership between SCI and one city in Oregon, in which students and faculty in courses from across the university collaborate with the partner city on sustainability and livability projects. SCYP faculty and students work in collaboration with staff from the partner city through a variety of studio projects and service-learning courses to provide students with real-world projects to investigate. Students bring energy, enthusiasm, and innovative approaches to difficult, persistent problems. SCYP's primary value derives from collaborations resulting in on-theground impact and expanded conversations for a community ready to transition to a more sustainable and livable future.
More than One C: Educating Students to Be Ready for Careers and College. Policy Brief
The City of Redmond recently completed a very successful community project, Hope Park. City offic... more The City of Redmond recently completed a very successful community project, Hope Park. City officials reported that the community rallied around the effort, and many individual donors and local businesses stepped up to support the project. On the heels of this successful public-private partnership, city officials wanted to explore the possibility of starting a community foundation, and what it would take to get the project started. Our team served as consultants to the City of Redmond, and this report provides information that will help the city decide to move forward. The city expressed a willingness to use its resources to help launch a community foundation that would harness the sense of community in a formal capacity, and allow for many more successful projects, like the playground, that would benefit the citizens of Redmond for many years to come. Scope of Work Knowing the City of Redmond has a city-initiated community foundation 3 in mind as the ultimate goal, the scope of our project has been threefold. First, based on our research, we make recommendations for mission, vision, service area, initial funding, and structure for a community foundation. Second, we describe alternative models that we encourage the city to explore in its analysis of whether to start a community foundation. Third, we provide legal and filing requirements as an overview showing what it takes to create launch a community foundation. Methodology Our research questions were developed with the idea that we needed to understand the various ways in which a community foundation is created, funded, operated, managed, and what projects they support. We began our research with various interviews with the City of Redmond in order to understand what their hopes and expectations were regarding a community foundation. From this meeting, we were able to outline the deliverables and begin our research. Findings Our findings indicate a common theme among successful organizations we researched: each had significant initial funding to get started, and an active working board. Furthermore, our research indicates that there are various approaches to starting a foundation even with limited resources. These case studies illustrate the variation of community foundations in creation, structure, and size (assets under management). The table below highlights four case studies that are relevant to this report. For more detailed case study findings please see Appendix A. City & Community Foundation Population Median Income 4 Initial Funding (Amount and Source) Assets Under Management Now
The Sustainable Cities Initiative (SCI) is a cross-disciplinary organization at the University of... more The Sustainable Cities Initiative (SCI) is a cross-disciplinary organization at the University of Oregon that promotes education, service, public outreach, and research on the design and development of sustainable cities. We are redefining higher education for the public good and catalyzing community change toward sustainability. Our work addresses sustainability at multiple scales and emerges from the conviction that creating the sustainable city cannot happen within any single discipline. SCI is grounded in cross-disciplinary engagement as the key strategy for improving community sustainability. Our work connects student energy, faculty experience, and community needs to produce innovative, tangible solutions for the creation of a sustainable society. About SCYP The Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP) is a year-long partnership between SCI and one city in Oregon, in which students and faculty in courses from across the university collaborate with the partner city on sustainability and livability projects. SCYP faculty and students work in collaboration with staff from the partner city through a variety of studio projects and service-learning courses to provide students with real-world projects to investigate. Students bring energy, enthusiasm, and innovative approaches to difficult, persistent problems. SCYP's primary value derives from collaborations resulting in on-theground impact and expanded conversations for a community ready to transition to a more sustainable and livable future.
More than One C: Educating Students to Be Ready for Careers and College. Policy Brief