Courses

GRASSROOTS COMMUNITY ADVOCACY: This course will focus on the tenets of grassroots community advocacy at the local level. From stop signs to school funding, local government plays a fundamental role in designing communities for people to thrive. Over this six week course, students will learn about the basic functions of county and city government, how to organize around issues of concern or opportunity, and the best means of organizing to influence local elected officials and others. The class will meet weekly for 2hr sessions for 6 weeks (the last class will meet for 2.5 hours), with socially distanced and carefully managed in-person sessions.

Wednesdays 5:00-7:00 beginning Summer 2022

This course is not limited to UMBC students and is open to the general public.

GRANT WRITING FOR SOCIAL CHANGE: In this five session class, students will learn the fundamentals of grant proposal writing including: ethics, finding and vetting funding opportunities, analyzing Requests for Proposals (RFPs), organizing, writing, & submitting compelling proposals, and the do's and don'ts of teaming with organizations. Throughout the class students will choose one real nonprofit organization to work with (either their own or one provided for them to partner with) and identify, write, and submit a grant proposal for their organization. All assignments will be written exercises that will receive feedback from the instructor and contribute to the ultimate class goal of submitting an actual grant proposal. Bring a passion for an issue you care about, a desire to learn the proposal writing process, and a sense of camaraderie and humor. The class will meet weekly for 2.5hr sessions with socially distanced and carefully managed in-person sessions.

Wednesdays 4:30-7:00 beginning Fall 2023

This course is not limited to UMBC students and is open to the general public.

STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:The course will teach the concept and guide students through the steps of strategic planning for nonprofit organizations. Strategic planning is an organizational management activity used to set priorities, focus energy and resources, strengthen operations, establish agreement for intended outcomes and to assess the organization's direction. Engaging the community in this process is imperative to successful outcomes, trust building and equity. The course will equip students, as community-based leaders, with an understanding of the concept of strategic planning and the value of community engagement to create positive change. The class will meet weekly for 2.5hr sessions with socially distanced and carefully managed in-person sessions.

Wednesdays 4:30-7:00 beginning Fall 2023

This course is not limited to UMBC students and is open to the general public.

COMMUNITY ORGANIZING: Community Organizing is a means of bringing people together to address problematic social conditions and to collectively participate in cultural and economic aspirations. Organizing is a purposeful, collective and sometimes an individual effort for change . As Organizing is an intentional effort, it requires analysis, political insight, good planning, flexibility, and interactional skills. The course is for students who seek to expand, learn, and refine their skills in building organizational, social, and community power of action. The class will meet weekly for 2.5hr sessions for 5 weeks, with socially distanced and carefully managed in-person sessions.

Wednesdays 4:30-7:00 beginning Fall 2023

This course is not limited to UMBC students and is open to the general public.

RESTORATIVE PRACTICES: This course will address the application of restorative justice/restorative practices to community leadership frameworks. Restorative practices is a relational framework grounded in interdisciplinary theories and collective processes. When used to create spaces for engaged learning, inclusive decision-making, and social capital building, restorative practices has the potential to transform communities and systems by allowing community members to maintain and sustain relationships even when harm has occurred. The class will meet weekly for 2.5hr sessions for 5 weeks, with socially distanced and carefully managed in-person sessions.

Wednesday nights 4:30 to 7:00pm, 3/8/23 - 4/12/23, OCA Mocha Cafe Community Room in Arbutus, MD

This course is not limited to UMBC students and is open to the general public.

SOCIAL JUSTICE LEADERSHIP & DIALOGUE: This course is designed for people who have a deep interest in issues related to race, social justice, power, privilege, oppression, intercultural dialogue, and the ways such issues influence our leadership abilities and interests. By focusing on how we learn, think, and talk about social justice broadly, including race and other intersecting social identities in the United States, students will deepen their understanding of structural power and oppression, which result in a false hierarchy of human value. Designed for students who are interested in community-based public service and leadership, this course will support students' development of critical self-reflection and cultural storytelling, as well as techniques to engage in and lead constructive conversations and critical dialogues across differences. Further, it will equip students with the skills to more critically examine their role in perpetuating and disrupting inequitable structures embedded within the culture of public service and community-based leadership. The class will meet weekly for 2.5hr sessions for 5 weeks, with socially distanced and carefully managed in-person sessions.

Wednesday nights 4:30 to 7:00pm, 4/19/23 - 5/17/23, OCA Mocha Cafe Community Room in Arbutus, MD

This course is not limited to UMBC students and is open to the general public.

ASSET BASED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: This course will address the fundamentals of Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) -- how to practically implement ABCD in students' daily professional practice while developing a community of practice -- using ABCD as well as becoming ABCD practitioners in the field. Working through an ABCD process, participants can move towards whole-community mobilization through mapping the capacities & assets of individuals, associations, and institutions while building relationships. The class will meet weekly for 2.5hr sessions for 5 weeks, with socially distanced and carefully managed in-person sessions.

Wednesday nights 4:30 to 7:00pm, 2/1/23 to 3/1/23, location TBD. This course is not limited to UMBC students and is open to the general public.