Spruce Root and Southeast Alaska are enjoying a sunny March
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After a huge dump of late February snow, March has been a surprisingly sunny respite to the shoveling. While winter has kept us busy with many endeavors, we are looking forward to the increased sunlight and spring to return to Southeast Alaska.
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Deadline to apply for Business & Balance is March 19
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Path to Prosperity Business & Balance is a transformational course that will help you build a thriving business and a balanced life.
During this 9-week course, you will invest in your personal well-being, develop strategies to generate more income, and more.
There will be two sessions offered in 2023, one held in late spring and the other in the fall.
We welcome Individuals, for-profit businesses, and tribal entities that have or intend to have a significant operating presence in Southeast Alaska. Business ideas may include a new business or an expansion of an existing business. Note that 501(c)3 nonprofits are not eligible. Applicants must be Southeast Alaska residents.
We especially encourage applications from entrepreneurs who are Indigenous, Black, people of color, women, transgender and/or nonbinary and/or who are located in rural Southeast Alaska (outside of Juneau, Ketchikan or Sitka).
Participants who complete this course will be eligible to compete for three $20,000 awards. Businesses that choose to compete will be judged based on their feasibility and their contributions to community development.
Learn more and register at spruceroot.org/balance
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What you have to say about Spruce Root
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The 2022 Spruce Root Participant Survey is going live and we came across this quote from a Path to Prosperity Business Basics participant:
"Spruce Roots has made a positive impact on our community by lighting the entrepreneurial spirit in our community, so, our tribal citizens can thrive and obtain self-sufficiency."
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Join us at the Innovation Summit
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The 12th Annual Innovation Summit will be hosted in Auke Bay at The University of Alaska Southeast on March 15-16, 2023.
Organized by the Juneau Economic Development Council, the annual Innovation Summit is Alaska’s premier innovation conference, gathering hundreds of entrepreneurs, business and industry leaders, policymakers, and academics all focused on shaping our economic future.
Spruce Root's Events Manager will be leading a deep-dive session on purpose and values, called "The Purpose of Your Business."
Technical Assistance Program Manager Marc Wheeler will be leading a session on Indigenizing your business plan.
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Business and career coaching is back open for business
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We put our one-on-one coaching services on hold in October because of staffing turnover, but now we're back up and running, and better than ever!
We want to take this opportunity to remind everyone that, in addition to our skill-building workshops, Spruce Root also provides free, personalized business and career coaching.
Whether you're interested in working on a business plan, applying for a loan, or setting career goals, we can help connect you to the tools, resources, and skills you need to grow.
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The Tongass: A way forward for fhe Forest by A Matter of Degrees
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Something powerful is taking root in Southeast Alaska. The latest episode of A Matter of Degrees podcast delves into the decades-long fight to protect the Tongass.
This episode features Sustainable Southeast Partnership Interim Program Director Marina Anderson and Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska President Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson.
Marina and Richard describe the boom-and-bust extractive economy of the past, and they share new collaborative approaches that are now moving Southeast Alaska toward a regenerative economy — in which the forest and local communities can thrive. Click here to listen.
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Launch Alaska is looking for companies who are solving problems related to #energy, #transportation, and #industry. Additionally, companies should fit the following criteria:
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Make a positive climate impact
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Have a product/service that is ready for deployment or a minimum viable product (lab tested, if applicable)
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Are validating their business model
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Are seeking early customers
For detailed information, check out the Applicant Information Packet. Reach out to Suzanna Caldwell, Tech Deployment Track Lead at deploy@launchalaska.com with questions.
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We're celebrating a successful Southeast Alaska Farmers Summit
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During three bright snowy days in Petersburg, over 100 farmers and growers gathered to share learnings for how to grow healthy, delicious food in Southeast Alaska.
There was a visiting slug scientist who lead participants in a slug ID workshop; shared meals of venison meatballs, hydroponic butter lettuce, and garlic scape pesto; mushroom farmers who spoke about myco-remediation and growing indoors (including P2P winner Alannah Johnson!); a discussion about how to reduce plastic while farming; and so much more. What a joy to be able to support this continued collaboration among farmers in Southeast Alaska! Thank you to our friends at Farragut farm for co-hosting this event with us.
Many sections of the summit were recorded and are available online. View them here: https://www.seakfarmerssummit.com/resources
This project was funded in part by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and with the help of multiple sponsors.
~ Izzy Haywood, events and facilitations program manager
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- Sustainable Southeast Partnership Program Director: The Sustainable Southeast Partnership Program Director provides vision, leadership and strategic direction for the SSP network.
The Program Director is responsible for preparing and overseeing annual SSP budgets, providing support to all SSP Catalysts and partners, tracking progress and performance, and building overall capacity for triple-bottom-line community development.
- Community Economic Development Fellow: The Fellow supports development and management of projects that improve Spruce Root’s ability to attract, support and retain clients across all programming.
Specifically, the Fellow may be involved in supporting the small business support and lending programs by conducting needs assessments, market research, or support in the piloting of new supporting programs.
- SSP Rural Economic Development Catalyst: The overall goal of the Rural Economic Development Catalyst is to catalyze and support economic development activities in rural, especially tribal communities in southeast Alaska.
You should expect these economic development activities to be guided by a blend of indigenous cultural values and a triple bottom-line framework that integrates economic, social and ecological sustainability principles into each economic development project and activity.
- Southeast Alaska Resilient Circles Director: Resilience Circles Director excited to co-develop the pilot implementation plan and lead the program management team in Alaska.
The ideal candidate is looking to dedicate 20+ hours a week to support the success of the Resilience Circles pilot program in Southeast Alaska, with an openness to the growth of this role.
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For more details about jobs at Spruce Root, go to spruceroot.org/careers.
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JEDC Innovation Summit
SSP Spring Retreat |
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Reminder: Deadline to apply for the Alaska PFD is March 31
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You can now select Spruce Root as a charity through your PFD and Pick. Click.Give. Visit pickclickgive.org to learn more and access your MyAlaska account.
Your support of Spruce Root through Pick.Click.Give allows us to provide critical support to small businesses and artists and to further our mission of building a regenerative Southeast Alaska through community and economic development.
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Other ways to donate to Spruce Root
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Thank you to all our partners, supporters, donors and communities for continuing to share in our vision for the region!
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Spruce Root is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). Our services for small businesses include coaching, training and lending for startup enterprises, working capital, business expansion, leasehold improvements and other business capital needs. We are a driver of a regenerative economy across Southeast Alaska so communities can forge futures grounded in this uniquely Indigenous place.
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