Travel to St. Paul to Advance Your Community's Economic Development Strategy—and Return Home with a Plan for Action.
Travel to St. Paul, Minnesota, September 14–18, 2026, to explore how one of the nation's most innovative community wealth-building ecosystems is creating new pathways to ownership, investment, and economic opportunity.
What is LEAP?
LEAP (Learn. Explore. Activate in Place.) is a leadership development and strategic learning initiative that connects community and economic development leaders with innovations across the country. Through immersive site visits to exemplary cities, participants explore innovative economic and community wealth-building strategies they can adapt and apply in their own communities.
The LEAP Model
Build a foundation in community wealth building and shared ownership through expert-led cohort learning and peer exchange.
Learn
Translate ideas into impact by identifying the strategies, partners, and opportunities best suited to your community
Activate
Experience innovative ownership models firsthand through immersive site visits and conversations with practitioners in St. Paul.
Explore
Return home with an Implementation Roadmap and the tools needed to advance community wealth building locally.
In Place
The LEAP Process
From pre-trip learning to post-trip strategy development, NGIN helps participants navigate every step of the LEAP journey.
01
In Preparation for Your LEAP
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Build a common understanding of the ownership economy
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Explore employee ownership, community land trusts, and shared-equity models
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Learn from practitioners advancing these models across the country
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Begin mapping your local ecosystem, stakeholders, and opportunities
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During Your LEAP
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Visit projects and organizations advancing community wealth building
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Engage directly with practitioners, partners, and community leaders
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Connect lessons from St. Paul to your local context
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Refine your strategy, stakeholder map, and implementation priorities
03
After Your LEAP
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Debrief key takeaways and identify local opportunities
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Determine which models are most adaptable to your community
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Draft first steps, timelines, partners, and early wins
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Finalize an Implementation Roadmap and next steps for action
Day 1
September 14
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Day 1
September 14
Arrive, settle in, and connect with fellow participants.
Meet your cohort, explore the goals of the LEAP experience, and gain an introduction to the community wealth-building themes that will guide the week.
Day 2
September 15
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Day 2
September 15
Hear from local leaders, practitioners, and subject matter experts working to advance innovative ownership and economic development strategies.
Participate in site visits with organizations, projects, and places that demonstrate community wealth-building approaches in action.
Discuss key takeaways and connect lessons from the day to your own community.
Day 3
September 16
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Day 3
September 16
Explore the partnerships, policies, financing approaches, and ecosystem supports needed to implement community wealth-building strategies.
Continue learning through site visits and practitioner conversations with leaders advancing innovative models.
Connect with local leaders and fellow participants in a more informal setting.
Day 4
September 17
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Day 4
September 17
Examine examples of how communities have adapted ownership and wealth-building strategies to fit their local context.
Begin identifying opportunities, partnerships, and next steps that could support similar efforts in your community.
Gather with the cohort for dinner and continued peer exchange.
Day 5
September 18
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Day 5
September 18
Synthesize key lessons from the week and identify priorities for future action.
Leave with new connections, practical insights, and a stronger foundation for advancing community wealth-building strategies at home.
A Day-by-Day Walkthrough of the 5-Day LEAP Experience
What You'll Explore in St. Paul
St. Paul has become one of the country's leading examples of community wealth building in practice. Across the city, community organizations, lenders, local government, and residents have worked together to create an ecosystem that supports shared ownership, community investment, and long-term local wealth creation.
Participants will explore how strategies such as community land trusts, worker ownership, cooperative development, community-owned real estate, and innovative financing models are being used to address displacement, expand ownership opportunities, and strengthen local economies.
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A community land trust (CLT) is a structure that allows land to be held “in trust” for community needs, outside of the influence of market pressures. A classic CLT is an independent community-controlled entity that owns land and takes care of (or “stewards”) that land, making sure it is being used in ways that support the community it is accountable to. (Credit: ShelterForce)
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A worker cooperative is an employee-owned business where each member (worker) has one equal share of the business. (Credit: Cooperative Development Institute)
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Community-Owned Real Estate (CORE) is a collective model of property ownership and management where land and buildings are held by local organizations, residents, or tenants rather than private landlords or corporate investors. (Credit: Transform Finance)
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Financing for Community Wealth Building (CWB) involves deploying capital to support local, democratic, and shared-ownership businesses rather than extracting wealth out of a neighborhood. It redirects financial resources into the "real economy" using public banks, credit unions, and community investment vehicles. (Credit: University of Maryland)
Sign Up Today to Join the Next LEAP
The all-inclusive program fee covers four nights of hotel accommodation in St. Paul, all meals during the program, curated site visits, facilitated sessions, and all LEAP-related activities and materials. Not included: Airfare to and from St. Paul.
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On-the-ground access in St. Paul and the Twin Cities — Curated site visits to employee-owned businesses, community land trusts, and cooperatively owned real estate projects, with facilitated reflection time.
Facilitated strategy sessions — Structured time to translate what you’re seeing into actionable thinking for your own community.
Guided Learning Before and After the Host City Visit — Virtual sessions covering the core pillars of CWB ecosystem design: ownership models, stakeholder alignment, financing strategies, policy levers, and ecosystem mapping. Sessions are facilitated by NGIN and include peer discussion and pre-work materials.
Networking Opportunities — Connect with a vetted group of community and economic development leaders from across the country who are committed to community-centered economic development .
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NGIN will work with each participant before, during, and after the trip to develop an Implementation Roadmap — a concrete action plan for what your team will do next to develop their Community Wealth Building strategy.
About LEAP
LEAP (Learn. Explore. Activate in Place.) is a leadership and strategy initiative that brings community and economic development leaders to exemplary host cities to explore innovative models of economic development through peer exchange and on-the-ground engagement with local practitioners, projects, and community wealth-building strategies.
LEAP St. Paul | September 2026
St. Paul and the broader Twin Cities region have become a nationally recognized hub for shared ownership innovation. The 2026 LEAP cohort will travel to St. Paul for a hands-on, place-based experience focused on employee ownership and community owned real estate models. This is intended to support participants in seeing firsthand how CWB strategies can work together prior to engaging in a virtual ecosystem accelerator covering the foundations of Community Wealth Building ecosystem building.
LEAP Readiness Training: Pre-trip consultation and preparation facilitated by NGIN, including a community scan to better understand each participant’s local ecosystem, priorities, and opportunities ahead of the experience. Participants will also take part in virtual sessions covering shared ownership models, stakeholder alignment, financing strategies, policy levers, ecosystem mapping, and peer exchange.
Participants will receive:
Direct engagement with local leadersin St. Paul and the Twin Cities — Through curated site visits to employee-owned businesses, community land trusts, and cooperatively owned real estate projects, hear directly from developers, organizers, and anchor institutions that built these models from the ground up.
A national peer cohort — Connect with a vetted group of community and economic development leaders from across the country who are confronting the same challenges.
Facilitated strategy sessions — Structured time to translate observations into next steps for your community.
Implementation Roadmap — Each participant will leave with a concrete action plan for what your team will do next to develop their CWB ecosystem.
Need funding approval? We've created a template you can customize and share with your supervisor or funding partner.
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This LEAP is designed for leaders interested in community wealth building and shared ownership strategies. Ideal participants include community development professionals, economic development practitioners, local government leaders, nonprofit organizations, philanthropic partners, and leaders from anchor institutions.
While the program focuses on community wealth building, participants do not need prior experience with shared ownership models. We welcome individuals from a variety of sectors who are eager to learn, explore new approaches, and bring ideas back to their communities.
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You are welcome to attend on your own or bring colleagues from your organization or community. In fact, many participants find value in attending alongside teammates so they can explore ideas together and build momentum for implementation back home. As long as space is available, multiple participants from the same organization or community are welcome.
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The program fee is $7,500 and includes hotel accommodations, meals, local transportation, site visits, learning sessions, program materials, and all LEAP-related activities. Airfare is not included.
If you would like to reserve your spot and split your registration into multiple payments, please contact Director of Operations, Sean Thompson (innovate@newgrowth.org) to discuss available payment options, including a non-refundable deposit to secure your seat.
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We strongly encourage participants to engage in the full LEAP experience, including the pre-trip learning sessions, the St. Paul immersion, and the post-trip implementation support. Each component is designed to build on the others and maximize the value of the experience.
We understand that schedules can be complicated, and travel arrangements can be adjusted if needed. If you anticipate arriving late or departing early, please contact our team to discuss your situation.