Our community offers a safe, welcoming, energizing environment that provides positive economic growth and an excellent quality of life for residents, businesses, and institutions.
Four Activity Areas:
- Workforce Development Including:
- career and technical education for in-demand fields
- guidance and support for unemployed residents pursing post-secondary education
- soft skills and job placement assistance
- Development of job opportunities that pay livable wages and benefits
- Business Development that teach participants business planning and business operations skills
- Building the community’s social fabric through economic means such as local gathering places and visible improvements
To support these activities, TGKVF seeks to invest in collaborative efforts that grow the following forms of wealth achieve the associated short-term outcomes.
Individual Wealth: (Skills, Health, Confidence, Income)
- Improved attitudes, knowledge, beliefs and awareness
- Improved skills of program participants
- Increased GED attainment rates for dropouts
- Increased number of people employed in the economic sectors of Health, outdoor and recreation, and or local food
- Increased livable wage
Intellectual Wealth: (Shared Knowledge, Innovation, Technology)
- Established and sustainable proven educational or vocational program (i.e. How will program outlast TGKVF funding?)
- Increased access for a diverse population (target population) to qualify post-secondary and training programs (particularly for promising sector jobs)
Social Wealth: (Trusting Relationships, Mutual Support)
- Participants engaged in (non-school and work) activities in the community (Including after-school educational programs)
- Improved social bonds / improved personal relationships among target population
- Increased feelings of support and trust among target population
- Increased civic engagement and diversity in volunteerism, voting, community leadership
- Increased number of people who volunteer
Political Wealth: (Influence and voice)
- Increased self-advocacy and civic involvement among target population
- Changes in policy or practice (may affect any of 3 priority areas; however, please note that the Foundation does not directly support legislative activity or lobbying)
- Public support for Community Economic Development
Natural Wealth: (Access to and Stewardship of Natural Resources)
- Increased improvements to the natural environment
- Number of new or expanded acres of greenspace
- Improvements to facilities that provide trails, greenspace, and stream access while managing the sites to ensure user safety
- Increased awareness / appreciation / use of natural environment
Built Wealth: (Community Infrastructure)
- Increased improvements made to “built” structures (buildings, roads, sidewalks, websites, broadband, etc.)
- Increased new “built” structures
Financial Wealth: (Community Investments and Household Savings)
- Improved participant employment outcomes (e.g. wages, hours, connections) beyond survival / household savings
- Increased participant financial literacy skills / knowledge of how to spend, save, and invest
- Investments in the local economy
- Increased small business development growth and micro business growth (new businesses start-up focus)
- Increased access to capital
