Share this pageFor discussion
Partnership in action:
Nonprofits team up to close gaps in our community
By James Pagliarini, Twin Cities Public Television (tpt)
CEO of Twin Cities Public Television (tpt), James Pagliarini has been at the forefront of innovation in public television for over 30 years. The MN Channel works with nonprofit and public service organizations to reach a broader audience by partnering to create mission-centered programs.
How can nonprofits partner to impact our community?
One way is to share knowledge to bring people together, with a common framework of understanding, to address a common challenge. At tpt, we created the Minnesota Channel to do just that. One of the most enduring and powerful examples I can point to is Close the Gap, our five-part documentary series shedding light on disparities in the Twin Cities metro.
Co-produced by the Itasca Project and supported by our partnership with Twin Cities Compass, the Close the Gap series was inspired by a 2005 study by the Brookings Institution -- Mind the Gap. That study, commissioned by the Itasca Project, highlighted critical social and economic disparities -- of race, class, and place -- that negatively impact the economic vitality of the Twin Cities metro, and made recommendations to close these gaps to retain our strength and regional competitiveness.
Close the Gap takes the next steps in addressing this problem.
By interweaving data and statistics with compelling interviews and personal stories, the series demonstrates the devastating toll disparities take on our community. It shows community leaders and the general public why reducing these gaps benefits everyone. It brings to life the data and indicators studied by Twin Cities Compass, and helps viewers understand disparities, engage in cross-sector and grassroots leadership, and assists those of us in the nonprofit sector in applying what works.
Since its broadcast premier in 2008, more than 60,000 households have seen Close the Gap. And now, groups are beginning to take this information and work with one another to address this vital issue. For instance:
- Best Buy Children's Foundation held an event for 250+ people from across the corporate, nonprofit, government, education and community sectors. Inspired into "on-the-spot" action-taking, people found job connections, money was raised to repair a single mother's car, Mayor R.T. Rybak made new connections to find ways to support youth arts programs in North Minneapolis and more.
- The Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center hosted a community-wide event, bringing more than 175 people together across the community to highlight the positive work being done in the urban Native American community and to encourage new partnerships.
- A Minnesota Without Poverty has been holding gatherings state-wide for people to view and discuss segments from Close the Gap: Class Disparities and create action steps for ending poverty in Minnesota.
- Workforce diversity experts from a number of business and community organizations across the metro area have collaborated to create a companion guide and soon-to-be-released Web-video tools to help others actively engage in asking questions that lead to greater awareness and action.
This program demonstrates the best in nonprofit collaboration. Not only has it been shown on air, but by partnering with Twin Cities Compass, the documentary series is also available on the Web. In addition, you can order it on DVD free-of-charge from Greater Twin Cities United Way. Government, nonprofit and philanthropy organizations are using this information to work individually and collaboratively to help close the gaps in our region.
READ MORE ABOUT IT
More about the Minnesota Channel
Ways to get involved in reducing disparities in the region
Opinions in the For Discussion columns are the authors' alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Minnesota Compass. Compass welcomes a range of views about issues pertaining to quality of life in Minnesota.
