The Quiet Power of Associational Life
If you really want to understand what makes a community strong, you have to look between the cracks. Not at the institutions or the official programs or…
Latest Articles
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The Art of Motivation: The Missing Ingredient in Community Development
When trying to employ Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) principles, there is one fundamental quality that must always be present in the community you’re trying to help develop.…
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The Hegelian Dialectic of Community Building
There’s this old philosophical idea that’s quietly at work in almost every successful community initiative, whether people realize it or not. It comes from Hegel: the dialectic.…
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Who Really Cares; A Reflection on Generosity and the Meaning of Giving
Arthur C. Brooks’s Who Really Cares is so much more than a study on charitable giving; it’s a surprising reflection of America’s moral and emotional life. The…
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From Online to Onlined: The Quiet Shift to Real Community
Somewhere along the way, since the advent of social media, the internet convinced us that “community” was just another word for “anonymous crowd (mostly bots to be…
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Community Building Isn’t About Making Everyone Happy; It’s About Making Progress
There’s a certain point in any good community project where someone crosses their arms, leans back in their folding chair, and declares that you’ve lost your mind.…
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Beat a Drum, Build a Tribe, Start a Movement
I recently watched a TED Talk where the speaker ended with a, to me, powerful line: “Beat a drum, build a tribe, start a movement.” I can’t stop thinking…
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Book Review: Building Communities from the Inside Out (By John L. McKnight and John P. Kretzmann)
If you’ve ever worked in community development, you’ve probably noticed that most efforts start with what’s broken (poverty, addiction, unemployment, poor health) and then try to fix…
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The One Thing That Keeps a Community From Falling Apart
Accountability is truly the glue that holds a community together. Without it, even the most well-intentioned group begins to unravel. People start slipping away; first in spirit,…
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Eight Simple Rules for a Better World
Today I was volunteering at a community free clinic that was being held in a Boy Scout lodge on the grounds of a Methodist church. It’s a…