Mission

The Phillips West Neighborhood Organization (PWNO) is a 501(C)3 nonprofit and is the officially recognized Citizen-Participation Neighborhood Organization with the City of Minneapolis. Our mission is to engage the diverse voices of all those who live, learn, work, and play in Phillips West in order to advocate for greater individual well-being and community empowerment. PWNO aims to be an inclusive and accessible hub of resources, information, and connection  for all in Phillips West. (Adopted 8/23/21)

Vision​

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• Should represent the general sentiment of all Phillips West residents, not just those in formal leadership or committee capacities, or those who have more capacity to regularly engage with the organization.​
• A trusted connector, communicator and convenor for neighbors.
• A hub for information, resources, and advocacy.
• Transparent about organization positioning on issues (if any), how the organization operates, and organizational structure and composition.

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Organizational Ethos

PWNO acknowledges that our neighbors work, study and build lives on lands violently taken from communities Indigenous to the area; further, we acknowledge that racism, in all its forms and as borne out of the atrocities of slavery in this country, is a real and pervasive threat to the lives and livelihoods of our neighbors locally and globally. We thereby commit to increasing our knowledge of Indigenous sovereignty, equity and antiracism, and to apply these principles in everything we do on behalf of our community. (Adopted 2/28/22)

Organizational Priorities

​In mid-2021, the PWNO Board approved a new strategic plan that outlines 4 core priorities for 2022 - 2024: community safety, housing & food access, community connection, and organizational capacity. These priorities were developed through the 2021 Phillips West Community Survey which PWNO conducted in partnership with the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs. You can learn more about the survey and its results here.

If you would like to engage in neighborhood efforts to pursue any of these priority areas, please check out our programs which focus on
Housing Support, Community Safety, and Food Access.