Central Gulf Coast Chapter- NIGP’s Post

As St. Patrick's Day approaches, let's imagine a world cloaked in green and gold, a future where Ireland hosts the largest annual global 'Luck of the Irish' lottery. For this #WhatIfWednesday, envision a 2035 where participants from every corner of the globe can enter for free to win one of 10 'pots of gold', valued at €100 million each, half of which would go to a charity the winner could choose. This lottery isn't just about the prize; it's a celebration of Irish culture and global goodwill. It brings together people of all nationalities in a shared moment of hope and excitement. The lottery becomes a symbol of unity and festivity, transcending borders and fostering a sense of global community and appreciation for St. Patrick's Day. Amidst the international revelry, critical questions emerge. How do we guarantee fairness and accessibility in the lottery, especially for those in remote or underprivileged regions? What measures can ensure the lottery's integrity and transparency? And importantly, could the allure of such a grand prize inadvertently fuel gambling tendencies or create unrealistic aspirations among participants? In one envisioned future, the 'Luck of the Irish' lottery becomes a beacon of global unity and joy, fostering a deeper appreciation for Irish culture and the spirit of St. Patrick's Day. In another scenario, the lottery becomes entangled in ethical dilemmas and regulatory debates, struggling to balance its cultural significance with responsible gaming practices. As we dream of this pot of gold at the end of the global rainbow, we are compelled to reflect – is it possible for a simple game of chance to unify the world in a celebration of culture and heritage, or does it risk overshadowing the true essence of cultural exchange and global goodwill? #GlobalIrishLottery #StPatricksDay2035 #CulturalCelebration #GoodwillGlobally #StPatricksDay

This is going to be a bit counter-intuitive, so bear with me.  Next week, Homestead Community Land Trust presents Pulitzer-prize winning Isabel Wilkerson, interviewed by Marcus Harrison Green. It’s not your typical benefit event. There's no meal, no TV personality emcee, speeches, no client testimonial. That's a model that works. Maybe we're wrong in not doing that. But what made sense to us was this: We want to deepen our collective understanding of how we got to this place where there’s such a crisis of affordable homeownership, and how we arrived at these egregious racial disparities of homeownership. We want to make visible the hidden assumptions and mental models that created historic housing inequities, and that continue to operate today in decision-making about what kinds of affordable housing gets built, who builds it, and where it will be. So, we’ve created an event to showcase the experiences of those most affected by these inequities. And we hope that you'll leave feeling like you are part of a community that is working together to create a different future. Our event *IS* a benefit. We do need your financial support. We’ve been blessed by big gifts in the last two years, but we are still catching up from 30 pretty lean prior years of underinvestment. There’s a lot more to raise because there’s a lot more homes to build. We want you to come to our event on the 12th to hear the brilliant Isabel Wilkerson and Marcus Harrison Green. Their conversation is going to be amazing. But we also want you to come because Homestead is effectively addressing the issues they will discuss through the lens of homeownership, by putting it within reach in one of the highest-cost markets in the country. To do more, all we need is you. Details to register are below. If you can’t make it, but want to support, make a donation from wherever you are or find out more about ways to engage. Together we are building a legacy of permanently affordable homeownership. *Together* we are building an equitable, environmentally sustainable, and affordable future for our region. Thank you!! #communitylandtrust #affordablehomeownership #isabelwilkerson

It's been 10 days since we had to close our doors. Here's the latest update: 📝 We submitted all the necessary paperwork to the city last Thursday, and now we're eagerly waiting for the State to review and approve our plans. 🔍 Once the plans are approved, the city will come back to reinspect the space. Unfortunately, there's no specific timeline for this process, but rest assured, we're doing everything we can to expedite it. The sucky part about the closure is that it impacts people. 🧗♂ To our founding members: We understand that losing access to our gym means losing a place for physical, emotional, and mental refuge. Your membership is on hold for now, so you won't be facing any financial burden during this time. 🐐 To our amazing GOAT Ambassadors: We recognize that being out of work isn't easy, especially when bills need to be paid. To support them, we're offering some hours with community service opportunities and will provide a raise once we reopen. 💪 These may not be perfect solutions, but we're committed to doing our best to support our community until we can navigate through this situation with the city.

If you enjoyed this Thread, you’ll love this one on Staying Connected to the Local Community: 🏘️ Engage in local events to strengthen community bonds. 🤝 Support local businesses to boost our economy. 🌟 Discover upcoming activities and make a difference! Here you go: https://lnkd.in/gFxJGdar #ShopLocal #CommunityFirst Discover the best local businesses near OKC OKC Small Biz Deals makes it easy to search and find the best local businesses, coupons and events. #okcsmallbizdeals #OKCdeals #OKCbusinesslistings

In a couple of weeks I’ll be talking about 3 key things 📍 Money 📍 Mindset 📍 Confidence Each one is important on their own though to operate a successful business which feels aligned and in flow, I believe you need all 3! Let me know if you have any specific areas you’d like to be covered in my presentation and I’ll see what I can do 😃

For those of you in affordable housing...

Today I wrap up a 2-year stint as President of The Outing Club, which is a pond house/social club here in Aiken. I've been on boards before, but this was my first experience leading one. A whirlwind experience that started with me having to kick a member out for ransacking the club in my first week. Thankfully it wasn't all bad! A few takeaways from the experience: 1. Make a plan and be prepared to ditch it. My plan was to fix our finances and then complete the upstairs clubhouse renovation which has been ongoing since what feels like I was in high school. The problem? Membership wanted the pond cleaned up first. The finances weren't in good shape (they weren't in bad shape either), but they left little wiggle room. So we had to raise dues and I did NOT want to be the President who raised dues for the first time in 20 years. But my job wasn't to do what I wanted to do, it was to do what membership wanted. Which led to..... 2. Don't try and please everybody. You end up pleasing nobody. I don't know who coined that phrase but it's 100% spot on. There was some resistance from older members about cleaning the pond. We even had some actually drop out of the club because we raised dues in order to pay for it. I had one member of the Board ask me if I felt bad about one of the longest tenured members quitting in protest of the additional $100 per year. My answer was "no." That was their decision, not mine. The Board member huffed and told me that I should. Which led to.... 3. Deal with blockers. Or don't deal with them. There is always resistance, no matter how unserious the matter is. I had a member of the Board who went out of her way to block or undermine just about everything we tried to do. I tried to work with her but she wanted no part of that. So I stopped. She was going to say what she wanted to say and I figured, "what's the point." Which led to.... 4. Know the outcome of every vote before it's cast. This is Sun Tzu right? This isn't to say to ram your agenda through at a board meeting. Quite the opposite. I knew when we walked into the board meeting to discuss cleaning the pond I had enough votes to get the dues raised and the pond cleanup contract started. I didn't push it through. I had 2 board members who staunchly opposed it and 1 board member who I couldn't get a read on, but was close with the opposition. We went through the formal discussion aspect of it, and the board member I couldn't get a read on spoke up in favor of it (after hearing the 789700 reasons from the blockers why it was a bad idea). His support ended up swaying the 2 blockers and all of a sudden we went from a potential 6-3 or 7-2 vote to a unanimous vote. Which led to.... 5. Be yourself. "My Way" by Frank Sinatra is one of my favorite songs. It's how I run Post Up, it's how I used to coach basketball, and I knew I had to be uniquely me if I was going to be successful leading my first board. Cheers!

The main story linked below was an interesting one to try and get under the skin of for the latest edition of The Raikes Journal. Councils, we are told, have no money. So why are they sitting on tens of millions of pounds in Gloucestershire and not spending it? A special thanks must go to SF Planning Limited, the Cheltenham planning experts, for drawing our attention to the question of why the county (all our local authorities and county council) has close to £80 million in its coffers to invest in the county’s schools, transport, culture, green spaces and leisure and why very little of it is being spent. Like all these things, it’s not as simple as it seems. Or is it? You’ll have to read the story and make your own mind up. Likelihood is, if you know a school or a leisure centre that needs investment or a road that needs resurfacing you may have been labouring under the idea the county didn’t have the money. Are you right? The edition laid out below also has some news-related briefing notes featuring good news for the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum, Willans LLP solicitors' annual Christmas concert, a special Budget/NI-bootcamp for businesses coming up from Randall & Payne LLP, whether this weekend's Christmas markets are on thanks to Storm Darragh - and a few ideas for what to do at the weekend. If you like what we are trying to do here at The Raikes Journal, deliver some journalism for the county, to highlight some of the challenges it faces as well as its successes, to publish original stories about businesses, charities, education and training providers - then please do think about supporting the platform by subscribing. It's a kind of 'less if more' approach we hope you'll like. Have a great weekend.

https://lnkd.in/etuzHU7H I'm sorry I don't buy that! I have had a lot of very nice freebies offered over the years and declined them all. Surely it compromises your integrity to accept freebies (no matter how attractive) especially if the donor is objectively competitively bidding for work. It is not sufficient to do the right thing but to be seen by other vendors to be doing the right thing also. Competitors invest time and money in expensive bidding processes and to perceive (rightly or wrongly) that they may be wasting money & time makes bidders mutter and tongues wag about the lack of transparency and/or fairness.

Looking to make improvements to your pavilion or clubhouse that'd make it safer, increase your income streams or support participation? Find out if you are eligible for a Football Foundation grant and learn more about how we can help you secure one ▶️ bit.ly/HFA-FF24