CTA Accepts Two New Projects!
We are extremely proud to introduce two new CTA Project Partners: Social Good Guides and Bike Walk Tompkins.
Social Good Guides 
The Social Good Guides are a series of 20+ small-business guides created to support early stage social entrepreneurs, nonprofit founders and individuals working on social impact projects. Each guide has been authored by a distinguished professional with sector expertise in the social impact space, designed by a seasoned graphic designer, and brought to life by a dedicated team of volunteers. The goal of the guides is to centralize general knowledge and equip changemakers with the essential small-business skills needed in order to achieve success during their startup year.
 We live in an unprecedented time in history where not only governments, corporations, and NGOs, but individuals around the globe have the ability to be agents of change. Much of the focus regarding who will "lead the way" is on the Millennials. Known for their independent spirit, progressive attitudes, and size (77 million - they are 24% of the total US population) all eyes are on them. Studies show that 54% of Millennials would rather start their own business than work for a company. However few are equipped to create sustainable businesses. It has been reported in numerous studies that between 60-90% of all small business and 15% of nonprofits fail within the first 5 years. Other notable statistics state that only 1% of for-profit startups get funded and nonprofit founders will donate 42.4% of their startup year budget out of their own pocket. While running out of funding plays a significant role in startups failing, the lack of business planning and strategy result in social ventures "closing up shop." The Social Good Guides addresses this critical need for imparting small business skills to changemakers.
Bike Walk Tompkins 
Active transportation--walking and bicycling for everyday travel--is good for our health, our economy, our transportation system, social equity/affordability and our environment. While the Ithaca area has made strides towards serving the needs of pedestrians, our cycling infrastructure and services lag far behind. This is a huge missed opportunity for our community. We are missing out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in local economic development potential, opportunities to address our community's greenhouse gas reduction goals, opportunities to increase access to reliable transportation for low-income residents, opportunities to increase rates of daily physical activity as a preventative health measure, and opportunities to lessen exposure to diminished well-being from the safety risk of crashes. Our region can and must better accommodate cycling and walking as preferred modes of daily transportation.
 Ithaca and Tompkins County are extremely well poised to realize the benefits of increased use of active transportation in the next several years. We have a political culture which is supportive in general terms, supportive staff in key positions, nascent education and encouragement programs like Streets Alive!, allied organizations with an interest in partnering on more active transportation programming, and soon-to-be completed flagship public infrastructure projects such as the Cayuga Waterfront Trail and Black Diamond Trail. What's missing is a formal community organizing and advocacy initiative to leverage and expand these existing efforts, to tie them together and take them to the next level.
Bike Walk Tompkins (the working name of this project) intends to fill this gap. It plans to develop a formal active transportation advocacy initiative whose primary activities in the first two years will be to:
- Partner with existing programs that support a safe and accessible biking and walking infrastructure, and together develop two major active transportation campaigns;
- Direct at least two annual Streets Alive! events over two years;
- Build a membership base that reflects the diversity of our community and diverse needs for an accessible and active transportation infrastructure;
- Ensure a strong presence at Bike-to-Work Day (May 16, 2014 and May, 2015) and other active transportation encouragement events and programs;
- Facilitate the education and encouragement components of the city's Safe Routes to School initiative;
- Set the groundwork and key partnerships for future encouragement and education activities and advocacy campaigns; and
- Recruit, coordinate and mobilize volunteers for specific events and advocacy initiatives.
Taken together, these programmatic efforts will help the Ithaca area develop a safe and prosperous active transportation infrastructure and culture, and build on our strengths as a leader in alternative, eco-friendly modes of transportation. For more information contact Karim Beers.
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News and Events
CTA Executive Director Presents at the National Ashoka U Exchange
Anke Wessels, CTA Executive Director, presented at the Ashoka U Exchange, which took place February 20-22 at Brown University. Anke's presentation, ""Developing rigorous methods for assessing experiential learning and reflection," was based on her work as a Faculty Fellow with Cornell's Engaged Learning & Research. Anke will present on this topic again at the June Forum of Middlebury's Center for Social Entrepreneurship. Ashoka U takes an institutional change approach to impact the education of millions of students, by collaborating with colleges and universities to break down barriers to institutional change and foster a campus-wide culture of social innovation. Parenting Course in Compassionate CommunicationOur children are so important to us, yet sometimes we struggle to parent in ways we feel truly good about. By participating in this two-meeting parenting workshop, you will explore how to: - Understand the needs behind your children's behavior;
- Parent effectively without relying on the threat of punishments or promise of rewards;
- Transform power struggles into opportunities for building connection and trust;
- Discover a quality of connection that will sustain your family through life's challenges;
- And contribute to peace by raising children who can make peace.
Dates: This two-part workshop will be held on two Saturdays, April 26th and May 17th, from 9:30am to 5:00pm, allowing for practice between meetings Cost: $160-$250 (Sliding Scale) Includes Booklet Location: Ithaca, TBA Register by April 13th. To register and learn more contact Judy Burrill: JudyBurrill@gmail.com
Durland Alternatives Library
Celebrate People's History Art Show, at Studio West, 516 W. MLK Street, Ithaca, NY It's been nearly two years since we launched the "Celebrate People's History" poster project. This project brings together art from the Just Seeds Artist Cooperative, making print and design work that reflects a radical social, environmental, and political stance. The Alternatives Library has Just Seeds art for sale throughout the year, and occasionally puts together a special gallery night show of this unique and powerful work. We're returning to one of our favorite places to showcase art. Studio West, a co-working environmental on West MLK St. in Ithaca. This is an organization that provides a shared work environment which is minimalistic and absolutely perfect for our art show. It would be great to see you and your friends down at the Celebrate People's History Art Show at Studio West, 516 W. MLK Street, Ithaca, NY April 5th, 9:30 - 3:00pm - Mark your calendar! Annual Book & Art Sale at the Greenstar Annex USED BOOK SALE: We combine discarded books from our collection with donations from college faculty, students, and community members and hold a community-wide book sale. Funds from the sale are used to develop the library collection and support our prisoner correspondence program Prisoner Express. The books for sale are an eclectic mix of authors and subjects, and the prices are reasonable. POSTERS / ART SALE: The Alternatives Library is happy to provide another opportunity to buy Art from the Just Seeds Artist Cooperative. We will be selling original prints and the entire Celebrate People's History poster series at our April 5th Sale. Learn more about Just Seeds and the artwork at www.justseeds.org Donate your books! Have some favorites you'd like to share? What about those boxes of unused books sitting in storage? Well, the Alternatives Library is accepting book donations for our Annual Book Sale Fund Raiser on April 5th. Books can be brought to three locations. The Alternatives Library itself, our drop box at Greenstar, and the Tompkins County Worker's Center. For more information, contact us alt-lib@cornell.edu or call 607-255-6486
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 The Center for Transformative Action (CTA) helps to create communities that work for everyone. We do this by providing fiscal sponsorship to innovative social change agents in New York State, as well as financial, human resources, and grants management services. CTA is an educational non-profit organization affiliated with Cornell University.
Our Vision
We envision change makers everywhere engaging and strengthening the power of the heart to remake the world.
Our Mission
We are an alliance of individuals and organizations inspired by principles of nonviolence and committed to bold action for justice, sustainability, and peace. CTA supports change makers with the tools to build thriving, inclusive communities that work for everyone. We serve our projects, the public, and Cornell University by offering educational programs and strategic organizational resources.
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Project Partners
| Bike Walk Tompkins
Human Rights Educators USA
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New Projects!
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Next deadline to apply to become a Project Partner with CTA is April 15. Please see our Fiscal Sponsorship Guidelines if you have or are starting a social change project in New York State that needs a nonprofit umbrella. |
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CTA Staff
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Anke Wessels
Executive Director
117 Anabel Taylor Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
607-255-5027
Della Herden
Director of Operations
119 Anabel Taylor Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
607-255-6202
Email
Lisa Marsella Assistant to the Director of Operations
119 Anabel Taylor hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
607-255-6202
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