Engage Winona

Engage Winona drives equitable civic action and social change by working to ensure everyone has access, voice and power in community planning, decision-making and changemaking in the Winona, Minnesota area.

Our vision is of a community where everyone is welcomed, heard and included; sees themselves as community leaders and changemakers; and has the tools and resources to create change that supports a resilient, inclusive community.

We focus on three areas that encompass the cycle of community leadership and changemaking:

• GATHER: We host conversations, dialogues, storytelling events, and other creative and innovative gatherings that bring folks together across traditional divides to learn from each other, connect in new ways, and create shared visions for the community’s future.
• BUILD: We build capacity: In individual changemakers, through workshops, trainings, mentorships, and cohort leadership programs; and in groups and organizations through organizing, facilitation, goal-setting, resource connections, and technical support.
• ACT: We support changemakers and amplify their voices as they bring their skills and visions to organizing, direct action, advocacy, and community service.

Engage Winona was launched as a volunteer project in 2016 by a group of community leaders seeking to change whose voices were heard and at the table when it came to community planning and decision-making. In early 2017, driven by community interest and support, it became a full-time nonprofit. Engage Winona has since grown into a widely and deeply trusted convener, facilitator, trainer, and leader in community change efforts, with state and regional recognition for innovative place-based programs and community leadership.

Engage Winona’s programs operate in three broad areas:

• Community engagement: We design and facilitate conversations, events, dialogues, and creative ways to get the full community involved in imagining and creating their future.
• Empowering leaders: Our core work is our immersive cohort leadership programs. We also provide accessible activities, workshops and events.
• Guiding groups: We facilitate coalitions and provide project and people management to community groups working to address challenges and opportunities through organizing, direct action, advocacy, and service.