Neighbors of Belknap Lookout
Neighbors of Belknap Lookout
“To empower residents of the Belknap neighborhood to identify their interests, support their own well-being, and to facilitate community health and prosperity.”
Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States
Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States
Company Information
Neighbors of Belknap Lookout (NOBL) is a neighborhood association on the NE side of Grand Rapids. We are completing our strategic plan now, and have just revised our mission:
How many internships are you providing to the program?:
I'm guessing the limit is 2 again.
Company History
NOBL was organized in the late 1970s under ACORN and incorporated in 1980 to access CDBG funds via the City of Grand Rapids’ Community Development Department to deal with crime and blight. Our activities are clustered under the values Justice, Community, Quality of Life, and Accountable.
Placements require a financial obligation of $1,600 for each youth under 18 years old, and $2,000 for each intern 18 or older. Please indicate if you are a nonprofit organization and need wage assistance.:
Yes
What transportation options for getting to and from work are available to you?:
Unsure
Public Transportation Supports: Proximity to bus line and details of which line/stop. Wheels to Work program participation and cost.:
We are a block off route 11 (Lafayette at Trowbridge), 3 blocks from Silver line and Michigan St routes (Coit and Michigan).
Is your organization a Minority Business Enterprise?:
No
Diversity Equity, & Inclusion Commitment: Share your organizations commitment to DEI, including local or national diversity commitments/pledges, links to public content outlining your strategy, and current representation in leadership and the general workforce.:
NOBL Diversity Policy
Adopted September 2017
No person is excluded from receiving NOBL services due to discriminatory reasons including
age, disability, economic circumstance, race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression,
sexual orientation, world view, spiritual beliefs, marital status, national origin or veteran status.
No one is excluded from consideration for employment or volunteer participation with NOBL,
regardless of age, disability, economic circumstance, race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or
expression, sexual orientation, world view, spiritual beliefs, marital status, national origin or
veteran status.
NOBL strives to intentionally increase inclusive practices and incorporate diversity throughout
its mission, governance board, staff, volunteers, vendors and constituents.
We will be reviewing our processes to determine how people are left out of our services.
Some easy items we will incorporate into our communications plan are
likely to include sharing our pronouns, using simple language, and hopefully
adding more Spanish translation. We are learning cultural competency
topics. We are starting to engage in more deliberate outreach particularly at
Creston Plaza. We are grateful to be able to continue to send out annual
postcards with GVSU PILOT funds. Our digital meetings include a phone
only option.
Our board is 56% female, 14% African American, and 14% biracial. With only one staff member it is hard to embody the diversity of the community, but this is still a topic that we expect to cover and hopefully determine future action in our strategic plan.