Partners
MANI’s partnerships reflect a shared commitment to advancing education, equity, and community well-being. By collaborating with foundations, schools, cultural institutions, universities, and civic agencies, MANI connects research, arts, and storytelling to create a sustainable impact. These partnerships strengthen capacity, foster community engagement, and ensure that resources, data, and lived experiences inform meaningful change.
MANI provides services to nonprofit, government, and community-driven initiatives with several entities, including:
African Diaspora Council • City of Philadelphia • CulturexDesign • Jacarrie Kicks for Kids
My Sista’s KeepHer • Pathfinders • Shorewood Intermediate School • Your Move MKE
MANI Project Examples
MANI’s partnerships reflect a shared commitment to advancing education, equity, and community well-being. By collaborating with foundations, schools, cultural institutions, universities, and civic agencies, MANI connects research, arts, and storytelling to create a sustainable impact. These partnerships strengthen capacity, foster community engagement, and ensure that resources, data, and lived experiences inform meaningful change.
Community Engagement & Cultural Initiatives
Culture x Design – Capacity Building & Research Design
Culture by Design’s collaboration with MANI establishes a sustainable data collection and reporting infrastructure tied to Culture by Design’s educational programs and community engagement initiatives. This enhances Culture by Design’s capacity to manage a community engagement database for nonprofit grants, community impact reports, and long-term organizational growth, leveraging actionable insights for future programming, funding opportunities, and strategic development.
Education & Youth Engagement
Greater Milwaukee Foundation – Arts & History Educational Program
Through a grant from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, MANI facilitated interactive educational sessions that integrated history, empathy, and arts-based learning. These sessions used culture and storytelling as powerful tools to help students explore civic identity, equity, and critical thinking.
Public School Systems – Youth Civic Engagement & Creative Learning
MANI collaborates with Public Schools to deliver civic engagement workshops and creative learning experiences for middle and high school students. Through this partnership, students participate in interactive sessions that combine arts-based learning with critical discussions on equity, leadership, and community responsibility. This initiative empowers young people to develop a stronger sense of civic identity and agency within their neighborhoods.
Research & Evaluation
City of Philadelphia: Guaranteed Resources Optimize Wellbeing (GROW)
Philadelphia’s GROW Project explores how guaranteed income affects the economic mobility of extended Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (E-TANF) recipients. As a researcher and historian, MANI ensured that participant voices shaped the study’s outcomes. Dr. Blanks conducted in-depth interviews with the treatment group, conducted focus groups with state, city, and service provider staff, conducted an environmental scan of Philadelphia, and conducted a historical analysis of the social welfare system. Dr. Blanks served on the project team, which consisted of researchers from multiple institutions and city staff.
