The Main Street Project

Filing Period

Jan 1, 2010 to Dec 31, 2010

Signed

Aug 3, 2011

Return Version

2010v3.4

Gross Receipts

$286,278

Mission

Major Activities

Activity 2

Media justice: our media justice program provides training to organizations and individuals in the art of storytelling and the use of new media tools that can help address issues important to rural residents and communities of color. The goal of training and outreach is to build multicultural leadership networks and coalitions with capacity to advance media policy reform on behalf of marginalized rural communities and communities of color. In 2010 main street project continued to serve as a regional hub coordinator and advisory council member of the media action grassroots network (mag-net), successfully recruiting 20-member organizations from minnesota, and leveraging the knowledge and skills of partner groups. Our association with mag-net continues to expand our knowledge and available resources, helping us identify more opportunities for including historically marginalized voices in the discussion of our digital future. The minnesota digital justice coalition was formed to build capacity with multiple organizations in digital skills and influence a digitally inclusive national broadband policy. Working with the group, we organized internet day of action event in march, with a keynote speech by the minnesota secretary of state. We also coordinated, a national 'digital justice coalition meet-up" of similar networks at the allied media conference in june. Main street project staff created curriculum and delivered digital storytelling, media justice basics and podcasting training to more than 300 adults and youth across minnesota, albuquerque, nm and philadelphia, pa, and conducted digital story training session at both the 2010 allied media conference and u.s. Social forum. Organizations that participated in training are incorporating these skills into their own programming. For example, the minnesota center for neighborhood organizing is working with hmong youth to create a podcast campaign on the need for hmong police in their neighborhoods; centro cultural (fargo-moorhead) is helping immigrant parents create digital stories to help building understand in their community; twin cities community voice mail and crossing barriers are using the powerful digital stories participants created in organizational communications and fundraising efforts. Early in the year we facilitated ssrc research commissioned by the fcc on barriers to broadband adoption in low-income communities. In august, main street project's media justice team worked with free press and the center for media justice to host and co-sponsor the future of the internet public hearing featuring fcc commissioners clyburn and cobbs, the minnesota secretary of state, and senator al franken in august. The event was attended by more than 700 people (standing room only) and by another 1,100 who watched the live stream via the internet. Media coverage of the event was extensive. Staff conducted pre-event training for twenty minnesota digital justice coalition members who testified at the hearing.

Activity 3

Community building: a major focus in 2010 was census outreach with immigrant, low-income and communities of color. We produced and distributed nearly 33,000 four-language community census guides to nonprofit community organizations, and schools and collaborated on dozens of community-based trainings and events throughout minnesota. We continued to support the common threads project in fargo-moorhead, working with our partners, people escaping poverty project (pepp) and cultural diversity resources to build connections between immigrants and refugees and area organizations, and the capacity of organizations and individuals to advocate for themselves.

Filer

EIN

20-1788275