Each year Northcountry Cooperative Foundation brings together leaders from resident owned manufactured home communities across Minnesota and Wisconsin for an exciting educational event called Common Ground. It is an essential opportunity for residents to connect, network, and learn together in a shared community.

Attendees of the in-person event at Woodlawn Terrace in Richfield, Minnesota gather for a group shot

After two years of convening remotely, leaders were able to come together for a hybrid conference — having both virtual and in-person events. This year’s sessions focused on planning for our communities, from the preparation before NCF becomes involved with a community through both short and long-term strategic planning. Topics included market development, co-op fundamentals, a three-part series on strategic planning, Refinance 101, and weatherizing manufactured homes. The closing session focused on bringing additional homes into communities with vacant lots which included representatives from Home Source, Inc., a Burnsville Minnesota-based company with special expertise in the manufactured home sector.

Residents discuss how to successfully fill vacant lots in their communities at Woodlawn Terrace

The in-person event was hosted by the newest community in NCF’s network, Woodlawn Terrace Cooperative (WTC), where leaders were able to tour Woodlawn’s customized new homes. WTC Board members shared their infill strategy and experience along with representatives from Home Source, Inc. in a Q&A that provided actionable information for several other communities’ decision making about the vacant lots in their home co-ops. This was followed by dinner together and a chance to connect and reconnect with co-op leaders and members from other communities. The connections and peer-to-peer learning and resource sharing is one of the most important parts of Common Ground.

We were especially pleased to broaden our outreach by offering Spanish options for Spanish-speaking community members. NCF staff member Sam Estes was key to making this work, providing real-time interpretation. Attendance increased by 35% over 2021, and participants represented seven different communities across two states.

A big thank you to all the sponsors of Common Ground: Home Source, Inc., Southwest Initiative Foundation, Park Plaza Cooperative, the Ralph K. Morris Foundation, First Alliance Credit Union, the Co-op Development Foundation, the Midwest Minnesota Community Development Corporation, and Haylor, Freyer & Coon.