Building Social Capital in Our Communities
Communities can build and re-build Social Capital. (For an inspirational story, read Tupelo: The Evolution of a Community by Vaughn L. Grisham, Jr. (Dayton, Ohio: Kettering Foundation, 1999.) The basic tools of community development are very much applicable to building the bridging and bonding ties of Social Capital and in developing essential trust and reciprocity. We recommend these resources as good beginning points for learning more about some excellent tools.
Send us your thoughts, comments, and suggestions about these resources; you can mail us at sctools@nhcf.org.
Let’s Step It Up was designed by the Harwood Institute and funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to help the communities of Flint, Michigan begin to take charge of their neighborhoods. We have reviewed many community development guides in the course of our work, and none is clearer, simpler, or more accessible.
http://www.theharwoodinstitute.org/community/
Community Tool Box. Created and maintained by the University of Kansas Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development in Lawrence, KS, and AHEC/Community Partners in Amherst, Massachusetts, this site has a wealth of tools, resources and real-life examples of community building tools, projects, and more. http://ctb.lsi.ukans.edu/
Orton Family Foundation. Tools for promoting citizen participation in community decision making and land-use planning. http://www.orton.org
Community
Arts Network. Information on the project "Connecting Californians:
Finding the Art of Community Change that looked at the role of story in
strengthening communities.
www.communityarts.net/concal