Maintaining a talent pool in today's nonprofit workplace has its challenges. There's what's being called "The Great Resignation," the recent trend of workers leaving their jobs over the past two years in search of better ones. Last year alone, 47.8 million workers quit their jobs, a record high. There's an increased focus on the need for diversity, equity and inclusion. And the pandemic has changed what the workplace looks like and feels like.

Stories bring community together. Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership (SMHP) learned this years ago, and has used storytelling and the arts to educate and share experiences of the wide variety of people who live in Worthington, Marshall, Wilmer and points between. 

Eric Nokes was having trouble finding a job. Plus, he was doing community service, part of a sentence in a Missouri drug court. But when he began doing community service at North East Community Action Corporation (NECAC), staff there also entered him into the Expanding Your Employability program. That put him on a path to finding work.

Nationwide, there are nearly 40,000 homeless U.S. veterans. NeighborWorks network organizations are working to reduce that number. One of those organizations is Southwest Solutions. 

In 2019, Gloria Ortiz-Fisher, executive director of Westside Housing, was considering new ways to help clients. That's when she learned about a program helping residents establish credit by formally reporting on something they already did each month: Pay rent.

As a financial empowerment coach and housing counselor primarily serving older adults, Keith Davis knew tax season would be different this year. To meet the challenge, Davis utilized the resources and information from his NeighborWorks online training to make key operational changes and address his clients' needs.

Middle neighborhoods – those neighborhoods caught between growth and decline – were first developed to provide modestly priced homes to the growing middle class. "Middle neighborhoods provided families with the opportunity to own a home, build community and realize the American Dream," explains Paul Singh, NeighborWorks America's vice president for community initiatives. But many middle neighborhoods are facing serious challenges. Housing stock is aging.

​The cucumbers are ready, dangling on the vines at Splitlog Farm and Orchard, an urban farm that is a partnership between Community Housing of Wyandotte County (CHWC) and KC Healthy Kids. On raised beds, the property produces the cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries, cherries and more. An apiary is also on site.

Every little bit helps. Leaders at Aeon, a NeighborWorks network organization in Minnesota, know this, which is why they focus on small ways, along with the big, to improve energy efficiency and sustainability. Their residents see the difference. Staff members work with partnering organizations to do free energy audits for their buildings.