The Miami Foundation Accelerator Grants Ideas

I am the Founding Partner and Strategies + Solution Lead for Urban Impact Lab. Our mission is to design urban experiences that cultivate civic innovation. Over the last two years I have been actively engaged in a number of city-related issues.

Improves the community's perception of the city structure and increases the likelihood that residents will take on a more active role in shaping their city.

This access to the city and related activism would likely increase overall civic engagement, in the areas of volunteering, advocacy and voting.

Civic engagement data points are the primary target. An increase in volunteer activity (all age levels) is also expected, which may positively affect voter turnout.

This also speaks to the future of data points such as investment in public space/park space, libraries and parkland.

Civically engaged or community-minded individuals and organizations are not discouraged at the city/county level from pursuing ideas that are in the public realm (demonstration projects, etc).

The city/county has a dedicated resource that facilitates its leadership in civic innovation ideas and projects.

We represent a coalition that includes the Education Effect at Miami Northwestern High School, the School of Journalism at Florida International University, the Liberty Square Trust, and the Open Technology Institute at the New America Foundation.

Providing open access to the Internet offers essential opportunities for civic engagement, whether seeking out volunteer opportunities, launching voter outreach campaigns, or running/joining community organizing initiatives. LCDC users will be able to use the network as a portal to both seek and post job and educational opportunities, and through these efforts, contribute to a community that is focused on strengthening social capital.

Because political engagement now relies heavily on digital media, increasing Internet penetration can boost voter outreach campaigns and ensure greater engagement around pressing issues when voters go to the polls. LCDC will create volunteer opportunities as residents build and maintain the Wi-Fi network, and learn of other volunteer opportunities posted to the network such as community gardening, working with charitable and after school programs, and joining neighborhood revitalization efforts.

LCDC is modeled after other successful open Wi-Fi projects launched by a project partner, the Open Technology Institute, in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and in neighborhoods throughout Detroit. Additionally, one of the benefits of launching a community-based Internet project like LCDC is that there will be useful metrics used to measure whether or not the project is meeting its goals—among them general usage data, popular access points, time users spend on the network, and the peak times for use.

Trinity Empowerment Consortium(TEC) provides counseling and education to families by helping them to identify affordable housing solutions and maximizing their potential by focusing on the limiting factors that preclude them from achievement.

The lack of awareness within the low-moderate income communities for which the subsidy programs were developed continues to be a problem. The subsidy programs help make home ownership more affordable, but require stricter guidelines than FHA or conventional programs. By Increasing PR and marketing about the programs coupled with counseling and support to help prepare the potential home owners will result in greater utilization of the funds to make housing more affordable.

The data in the Our Miami Report indicated that over 65% of renters in Miami are spending 30% or more on housing and that there was a decline in ownership rates from 2011 to 2013 are a part of the impetus behind our proposal. When the increase of 36% in the median sales price is added into the mix, the severity of the problem becomes more significant.

Ms L contacted us about the availability of subsidies to help her purchase her 1st home. It was determined that she was not eligible for subsidies due to a low credit score. Fast forward 8 months, after counseling, not only does she have an excellent credit score (765+), but a pre-approval for a mortgage utilizing subsidy programs. This is just one example of the success received when we are able to provide the combination of intense credit empowerment counseling and homebuyer education.

Naomi is a connector dedicated to creatively developing initiatives that spark conversation on diversity, encourage collaboration, and inspire action for positive social change. She is currently pursuing a Master's in Community & Social Change at UM.

As described by U of Michigan professors, intergroup dialogue “… represents a grassroots effort to meet one of the major challenges facing our democracy today: the lack of communication among diverse groups of people in schools … communities, and … workplace. By forging lines of communication among different elements of society, [it] helps to create a more just, harmonious, and strong democracy.” This approach can impact Civic Participation by developing a more empathic & collaborative culture.

To effectively address the “unmet needs of … residents,” CDM will focus on bringing people of all cultural & economic backgrounds together. CDM believes that part of feeling “connected … to the place they live” includes cultivating stronger connections between residents themselves. Since there are so many “transplants from out of the state or country” it’s very important to familiarize them with what makes our community unique; and what better way to do so than by dialoguing with local citizens?

CDM held an interactive kick-off event in Oct. ‘14, bringing together 150+ people of all ages & cultural backgrounds on a bicycle ride to learn about several positive social change efforts taking place in Overtown, Liberty City, & Little Haiti. We've also been developing partnerships with local schools & community-based organizations in order to connect with the largest network of residents possible for the initial photo-voice exhibit, & upcoming intergroup dialogue component of our initiative.