/ By Jackie Brennan / For an area that was almost entirely razed by a devastating fire in 1871, we have to give Downtown Chicago props: they have all kinds of fascinating historic landmarks. And many of them are within blocks of where Upswell Chicago is going to be happening this November 13-15. Core to…
Details
/ By Debra Rainey / Mihai Patru could not have imagined that the “seed” planted during a discussion with changemakers in Detroit would sprout into an incubator for budding social innovators and be featured during a workshop on empowering emerging grassroots entrepreneurs at Upswell LA! Patru is Senior Policy Fellow at University of California, Riverside…
Details
We wanted our inaugural Upswell to be an experience where people confronting community challenges and those with ideas for innovative approaches could (not so) randomly interact during a myriad of activities – and BOOM! – find themselves in social collisions that result not only in a solution for one community – but with some inspired…
Details
Linking vision and strategy, dreamers and doers, changemakers and problem solvers. That’s the key to solving the challenges that confront communities around the country – and one of the main goal of Upswell. It’s also the goal of the MacArthur Foundation’s new nonprofit affiliate, Lever for Change, intended to connect philanthropists and social change organizations.…
Details
Upswell community engagement is going to look a little different this year. Last year, we experimented with Upswell Labs, which were designed to get feedback and test new ideas leading up to Upswell LA. We engaged over 220 changemakers from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, and Chicago and learned a lot about what worked (and…
Details
/ By Jackie Brennan / Any time we travel to a major American city, almost all of us have cursory knowledge about some basic touchstones—major attractions, staple fare, maybe even a few iconic historic figures associated with the city. Like any city, Chicago has plenty of those things. But it also has a lot of…
Details
Each year thousands of LGBTQ immigrants and asylum seekers come to the U.S. from their home countries to escape persecution based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, many with the added worry of not knowing where to find safe and supportive help once they arrive here. Hans How, vice president at AsylumConnect, wants to…
Details
Transformative leadership was front and center during our inaugural Upswell LA in November, where we presented the 2018 American Express NGen Leadership Award to Stacy Stout, assistant to the city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Stacy’s outstanding efforts on behalf of Grand Rapids’ communities embody the award’s purpose — to recognize one emerging changemaker who…
Details
/ By Christian Clansky / I’m not from Chicago. My dad is – and I’ve seen The Blues Brothers so many times that my VHS and DVD copies both stopped working – but I’m writing this post as an admitted outsider who mostly knows downtown. I am, however, something of an expert on pizza. My…
Details
If you had the attention of the nation’s brightest, most influential, most energized changemakers, what would you say to them? Teach them? Ask them? What could you accomplish together? The possibilities are as big as your imagination – and Upswell is where you can co-create with other changemakers to turn your innovative ideas into bold…
Details