Lily Pabian is the new Executive Director of We Love BuHi, an organization that is near and dear to our hearts at CCI. We Love BuHi strives to build community within Buford Highway’s international corridor that fosters integrity, inclusion, and influence. COVID-19 has impacted so many families in Atlanta, and as they have done with or without a pandemic, We Love BuHi continues to show up for its community.
Join us THIS Thursday, July 30 at 6p on FB Live for our Community Conversation to learn more about Lily’s vision as a leader and about the continued work We Love BuHi continues to do in our city. We’re grateful for #CCIFellow Marian Liou’s leadership in founding this organization, and we can’t wait to hear about its evolution.
Click here to RSVP for a reminder ahead of the event: https://go-civicatlanta.org/lilypabian. Otherwise, you can tune in on July 30 here: https://bit.ly/CCILIVE
Social Studies: Back to School: Learning about Atlanta Public Schools
Each year, Atlanta Public Schools spends almost $1 billion to serve the needs of over 50,000 students. How do these decisions get made? Who are the major decision-makers?
The education system works through the collaborative efforts of organizations at federal, state, and local school levels. We’ll dive into the role each plays and how decisions are made in our Atlanta Public Schools.
We’ll cover these topics and more as part of the next installment of our monthly Social Studies series. Join the Center for Civic Innovation via Zoom on Friday, August 7 at 12:00pm for Back to School: Learning about Atlanta Public Schools. Registration link coming soon!
Leadership Breakfast: August – Save the Date
Mark those calendars! Our next Leadership Breakfast is on Tuesday, August 18 at 9 am. Stay tuned for more details soon to tune in virtually with us.
Other Events Worth Checking Out:
There are a lot of amazing conversations and events taking place online. Here are a couple on our radar. Know of any other upcoming events we should call out? Email us at community@civicatlanta.org
- Weekly, Tuesdays at 12:00pm: the Wellbeing Project is hosting a weekly WELLbinar series called “Wellbeing for Changemakers” which focuses on self-care for changemakers during these unprecedented times: Register here.
- Tuesday, July 28 at 10:00am: Atlanta Business Chronicle is hosting a panel discussion on The Future of Higher Education which will focus on how universities in Georgia are seeking to move forward in the midst of COVID-19. Register here.
- Thursday, July 30 at 2:00pm: The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America — a fascinating and urgent conversation about the racism behind American neighborhoods. Register here.
- Thursday, August 6 at 3:00pm: Join Jodi-Ann Burey for an interactive webinar, “Navigating Workplace Microaggressions for Women of Color: Parts 2 + 3”, which will go through case study examples on the microaggressions women of color face at work. Register here.
Policy Updates:
A full debrief of policy updates from CCI are available here: CCI Policy Updates
- Following a series of recusals, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jane Barwick ordered Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms into mediation over the governor’s suit against the mayor’s mask mandate. A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday at 10:00am. (news)
- The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners voted for a November referendum on extending MARTA rail from the Doraville station to Jimmy Carter Boulevard along with expanding Gwinnett County Transit. (news)
- The Atlanta City Council is on summer recess until August 3rd.
NPU Overview:
Tuning in to your NPU meeting is an awesome way to stay connected to what’s happening in your community — this week, Neighborhood Planning Units (NPUs) D, J, M, O, and Z will meet remotely (see the agendas here). Don’t know your NPU? Find your NPU here! NPUs typically meet in-person on a monthly basis, but many of them have now shifted to meeting virtually.
Do you know about NPU University? Last year the City of Atlanta started a community engagement curriculum to educate, empower, and equip community leaders with training to help solve the challenges neighborhoods face. Check out the course catalog for upcoming classes. And you can watch videos of the previous classes, too.
Active Financial Opportunities:
- Rolling Submission: SoftBank Group announced a $100 million venture fund for Latinx, Black and Native American entrepreneurs who are “at the seed, venture, and growth stages that use technology to reimagine traditional business models and create new ones”.
https://global.softbank/news/softbank-opportunity-fund
- Rolling Submission until September 25: Apply for grants up to $50,000 to support business growth, including $10,000 emergency COVID-19 Business for All Grants to help small businesses in crisis. $10,000 COVID-19 Business for All Grants are awarded on a rolling basis. General Business for All Grant applications are due September 25.
https://businessforall.helloalice.com/
- Rolling Submission: Atlanta Artist Relief Fund is delivering free home-cooked, nutritious meals to the doorsteps of artists who are unable to leave their home or out of work.
https://airtable.com/shrP4gF706OvJbW9V
Additional Resources and Opportunities:
- Georgia Small Business/Nonprofit COVID-19 Remote Pro Bono Clinic is providing free consultations:
https://www.lawyersforgoodgovernment.org/covid-small-business-georgia-client-intake
Click here to see the resources and opportunities we shared last week – July 20, 2020. If there are additional resources or opportunities we should add, please email us at community@civicatlanta.org.
The Center for Civic Innovation created a relief fund for Atlanta-based civic entrepreneurs and organizations. 100% of this fund will support the work of people and organizations affected by COVID-19: https://buff.ly/33P580m
NPU-W - City of Atlanta 