SmartLink.org is pleased to alert you to a new resource from our colleague organization, GrantCraft.
When the election of Barack Obama brought community organizing to the fore, many family foundations with a long history of supporting local community change efforts found the attention--in most cases--positive and affirming.
For others who are just beginning to consider ways to support leadership development, civic engagement and grassroots problem solving, learning the the how-to's and why's of this compelling strategy can seem daunting.
Two of SmartLink's five Strategic Options emphasize and organize topical content around community organizing. See Organzing for Change and Advocating for Change.
And, in a soon-to-be published guidebook, our colleague organization, GrantCraft, has developed some nuts-and-bolts guidance on this powerful strategy, especially for grantmakers. While written for program officers and larger foundations, this guidebook will provide even novice donors with insight and tips for giving wisely to community organizing efforts.
What you will find:
In the guide, grantmakers talk about how and why community organizing works – and it does work, they say, to build community, increase democratic participation, and solve problems. Experienced funders offer a grounding in organizing's basics, describe how the field is changing, and explain how they handle relationships and the tensions that occasionally arise.
Many foundations are deeply committed to promoting a vibrant democracy: some see broad democratic participation as an end in itself, while others see it as a way to get better solutions to complex problems. Our nation and society are built on democratic participation, said a grantmaker who funds organizing nationally, "yet we don't do a very good job of teaching how the ordinary resident can participate fully in democracy."
Community organizing fills that gap by bringing people into the problem-solving process, including those who are least likely to raise their voices: members of historically marginalized groups, newcomers to the society, or people who don't believe their participation will make a difference.
The guide was written by Craig McGarvey and Anne Mackinnon. It is part of the GrantCraft series and was prepared by GrantCraft in collaboration with the Linchpin Campaign, a special project of the Center for Community Change. Underwriting for this guide was provided by the Ford Foundation.
Visit www.grantcraft.org to get your copy.
