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Event Spotlight

Highlights from the Compass Annual Meeting 2014

Minnesota next: Millennials, leadership, and the information economy

On February 11, Paul Mattessich, Wilder Research executive director and Minnesota Compass project director, welcomed a full house at the 6th Minnesota Compass Annual Meeting, thanking our collaborative of funders for their support and advice, and highlighting key partnerships.

Guest presenters included Marilee Grant, MN Director of Community Relations, Boston Scientific; Trista Harris, President, Minnesota Council on Foundations; and Jennifer Ford Reedy, President, Bush Foundation.

The Buzz

Find out what people are saying about the event at Storify

View photos from the event on Facebook

Trends to watch: Compass Points

Millennials' reflections from the event:

Accountability, millennials, and data: Minnesota Compass Annual Meeting review by Kyle Bozentko for Young Nonprofit Professionals Network

Minnesota now: Millennials, leadership, and the information economy by Diane Tran and Eriks Dunens for Minnesota Rising

Don't just scare, inspire by Chris Oien for Philanthropy Potluck

Taking action:
Sparking tweens and teens interest in STEM
Lisa Peterson de la Cuerva, CTEP (Community Technology Empowerment Project), blogs about how CTEP partners are linking empowerment, ability, and interest in STEM fields for teens and tweens.

Recap and videos of the presentations:

Shaping our future: Millennials outnumber boomers

Compass Project Manager Craig Helmstetter and researcher Jane Tigan paired up to highlight trends about our next generation of business and civic leaders, millennials age 14 to 33.

Perhaps the most surprising trend: Millennials make up the largest share of Minnesota’s population.

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Among the most encouraging trends: The racial gap in high school graduation rates is narrowing.

Other trends:

• 39% of Minnesotans age 25-34 have a bachelor's degree or higher, ranking #7 in the nation.
• The recession was particularly hard on younger workers.
• Although millennials are least likely of Minnesota adults to volunteer, they still rank #6 in the nation.

View Craig and Jane's full presentation: Video or Slides

Navigating a changing workplace: STEM skills are critical

STEM-literate workers are critical to Minnesota's future workforce. By 2020, STEM occupations are expected to grow 18 percent compared with an overall job growth of 13 percent. Marilee Grant, Boston Scientific, led a cross-section of STEM stakeholders who partnered with Compass to build a cradle-to-career STEM framework to ensure we are preparing our future workforce. Some "Aha!"s from Compass researcher Allison Liuzzi: About one-third of Minnesota's 54,000 high-school grads are college-ready for STEM-related course work, and there are large racial gaps. However, racial gaps are not due to lack of interest -- students of color express similar or greater interest in STEM than other students do.

About one-third of Minnesota's 54,000 high-school grads are college-ready for STEM-related course work

 

View Marilee and Allison's presentation: Video or Slides

Engaging millennials; Inspiring action

Trista Harris, president, Minnesota Council on Foundations; and Jennifer Ford Reedy, president, Bush Foundation, provided insight on how we can successfully mentor and engage this next generation of leaders to promote our communities' quality of life.

Will demise of bowling leagues end civil society?

Not according to Trista Harris, who says young people are not going to engage in their communities in the same way as baby boomers. Trista told the audience to expect that the next generation of leaders will disrupt the traditional ways of doing things -- they are going to tear it apart, take what works, and build new things. The next generation always creates their own paths. That's how humanity progresses. Some take-aways from Trista in looking at our future generation of leaders: Share your network, change your mental image of a leader, and offer growth opportunities to develop millennials in your organization.

Building on the positive: success breeds success

Jennifer Ford Reedy advised the audience to look to the positive when framing your story. She pointed out a lot of good news stories have been overlooked because the bad news gets the spotlight. For example, a common perception among Americans is that serious crime is on the rise. However, that is not true. Compass data show the serious crime rate has gone from 35 per 1,000 in 2000 to 28 per 1,000 in 2012. She cautioned nonprofits and advocates to frame challenges in a way that still gives people hope that they can make an impact.