Minneapolis Urban League & GEICO – NO FORECLOSURES!
An important message from the Minneapolis Urban League and GEICO.
The crowd chanted “No foreclosure, No foreclosure!”
Community Outreach Coordinator, Ms. Cheryl Morgan-Spencer of the Minneapolis Urban League rallied the crowd of volunteers, students and supporters and asked for a show of hands of the group that knew someone in foreclosure or a homeless family – everyone in the room raised their hands. Ms. Spencer said, “We have to stop this madness to rebuild our communities – north and south!”
Thursday, May 29, at the Minneapolis Urban League there was a “pep rally” for volunteers going into the community, door-to-door passing out flyers to alert friends, neighbors and businesses about the upcoming Foreclosure Prevention Information and Awareness event at the Minneapolis Urban League, located at 2100 Plymouth Avenue North, (the corners of Penn & Plymouth Avenue’s).
The event, titled “Take Your Mortgage for a Checkup!” The collaboration between the City of Minneapolis; Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity; Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN); New Northside Community Re-investment Coalition and the Minneapolis Urban League is meant to inform the community about the ongoing Foreclosure Crisis that has not even reached its peak. Homeowners are encouraged to come out Saturday, May 31 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with banking/mortgage information for counselors to review, evaluate and advice.
Speakers for the Rally included Minneapolis Council Members Elizabeth Glidden and Don Samuels who brought up the fact that over 25% of home sales in the United States where foreclosed homes and Minneapolis zip codes 55405 and 55411 are the hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis.
This event is being sponsored by GEICO. Visiting the Minneapolis Urban League and the Twin Cities was GEICO’s vice president of public affairs Ms. Rynthia Manning Rost of Washington, D.C. who greeted the volunteers and other sponsors in attendance. Ms. Rost is also on the board of directors for the Washington Urban League.
Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 31 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. – “Take Your Mortgage for a Checkup!” For more information call the Minneapolis Urban League at (612) 302-3100.
NO FORECLOSURES!
It’s Not Who You Know, It’s Who Knows You!
Fly with the Eagles!
Look Before You Leap! There’s Aways Help!
Sometimes you can’t do everything yourself. You don’t have the budget to launch a big marketing campaign. Or you don’t even know where to start. One of the best ways to promote your website, business or youth entrepreneurial program is to work together with others to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.
The legal form of this is known as a joint venture, where two or more parties create a new entity by contributing equity and sharing revenue, expenses and control. Another form of collaboration is known as a strategic alliance, whereby the parties involved pursue common goals while remaining as independent organizations.
No matter what you call it, collaboration with others will benefit you in ways that go beyond what you can do on your own. Think about it. Each involved party comes with their own established audience, reputation, brand, networks and strengths. Some of them may overlap with your own but usually, they’ll reach people or own assets you don’t.
Some people may have more media contacts. Some may have a specific skill (e.g. design, programing) and others have an audience or customer base that you’re trying to reach. Partnering with them for short or long-term initiatives is a smart way to promote your business, on top of all the online marketing that you’re already doing.
How can you collaborate? The possibilities are endless. For example, you can run joint contests/competitions, set up incentivized referral networks, promote a co-op web product, create content together, exchange ad space or trade skills for exposure. There are many ways to collaborate for mutual benefits. It’s just about finding what works for you.
So how do you get started? Five simple steps:
*When partnering with a local existing program, see what they have done that has been successful. Example: (North Minneapolis) A local agency is given a grant from a local Foundation to create, idea and develop a youth entrepreneurial program, y-t-d this local agency does not have one successful outcome), the moral of this statement, “Fly with eagles!”
*Identify your goals. This is what you want to get out of the collaboration. Your goals will determine who you should work with and having a clear idea of what you want from the beginning will give you an immediate idea of what kind of marketing strategy you want to take, and hence who is most suitable for you.
*Determine what you can offer. Make a list of benefits you can offer to the opposite party. For example you might have specific personal skills or a website with a built-in audience. Perhaps you’re launching a new product and give away free samples of it away. In other words, this list consists of what you can do for the other parties.
*Create a List of Potential Collaborators. Start writing down a list of people you want to work with based on your goals, what you can offer and who you think will be potentially interested. Make the list broad: there’ll always be people who’ll turn you down so you want as many secondary options as possible.
*Pitch the people involved. Draft up an email template and send it off to the people on your list. Try to customize your pitch by using each recipient’s name and including unique information/comments. Keep the emails short and frame them in terms of benefits. Alternatively, try pitching over the phone or a face-to-face meeting. Remember to follow up before permanently striking a recipient off from your collaborators list.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. There’s no harm in reaching out to people, all you have to risk is your pride. When it comes to partnerships, you’ll be surprised with the people who will be interested in working together. Don’t automatically write yourself off, especially you have something valuable to offer to another party.
If you’ve never tried any strategic collaboration before, why not start today?
Make Extra Money From Work…Don’t Get Caught!
Free coffee, infrequently clean bathrooms, faux friendships—working a cubicle job has several obvious benefits. But in addition to the mysterious rashes, your employer has unknowingly given you everything you’ll need to make some money on the side. Supplement your salary with one of these five day jobs.
The exciting thing about these “extra” jobs is that they are easy to set up and will help you earn extra income!
Virtual Juror
Web sites like ejury.com and onlineverdict.com collect feedback on court cases from virtual jurors, then hawk it to real-life shysters. Cases take between 20 minutes and an hour to read and rate. “It’s an easy way to make money,” says ejury.com founder Chris Bagby, “and people learn to enjoy it because the cases can be intriguing.” Objection, your electronic honor!
Risk: Low (tell your boss you’re doing research)
Pay: $5–$60/case
E-Commerce Jockey
Brilliant T-shirt idea? Download a free trial of Photoshop, use your office scanner to create a design, and enlist cafepress.com or zazzle.com to print the goods. TakePride cofounder Patrick Gray started a line of clothing while working full-time at a corporate law firm. “We launched the business from our desks,” he says.
Risk: High (especially if you ship from work)
Pay: Pennies to gold bullion
Audio Transcriber
As you mindlessly transcribe speeches and interviews, your employer thinks you’re writing up reports while listening to iTunes. Sites like productiontranscripts.com and tigerfish.com prefer speedy typers, but contractedwork.com welcomes average keyboardists. Fingers, ho!
Risk: Low (unless office music is frowned upon)
Pay: $8–$40/hour
Personal Assistant
Making reservations, checking movie times, booking flights—you already run virtual errands for your girlfriend, so why not get paid? With Google, a phone line, and some local knowledge, you can be an at-your-service online assistant. “The pay’s competitive and goes up if you know golf or wine,” says red butler.com concierge specialist Chris Sterling.
Risk: High (use screen-minimizing shortcuts)
Pay: $12–$35/hour
Quality Assurance Specialist
Does the phrase “This call may be recorded for quality assurance” make you hot and bothered? Apply online at voicelog.com to verify calls and analyze customer service for telephone companies and other service industries in shifts of two or more hours. Want to know more? Please hold for the next operator.
Risk: Moderate (you’ll always be on the phone)
Pay: $8.50 and up/hour
Good luck, don’t get caught!
Millionaire Intensive Training (MIT) Seminar – June 13-15 in Bloomington, Minnesota
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