Recent Publications

Community Information Tool Kit

Resource Type: Publication | Author: Knight Foundation
One year after the release of Knight's Community Information Toolkit, foundations putting the guide to use say it has been critical in identifying community needs, creating collaborations and helping push for important change. The Information Toolkit is a five-step guide to helping communities take better stock of their community information flows. Where do people go for information? Where are the gaps and areas for improvement? And how can the data gathered help lay groundwork for action? The aim: Strengthening communities by strengthening their information systems.  "We should all think about ourselves as being in the business of helping communities have conversations with itself," said Mayur Patel, Knight's Vice President for Strategic Assessment. Patel led a panel of community foundations speaking about how the toolkit has helped advance their missions.  Some key insights:  The toolkit helps create connections, conversations and collaborations. Several groups using parts of the toolkit report that reaching out to assess community information has has helped connect individuals to each other and connect those individuals to larger community conversations.

Vibrant Villages Resource Page

Knowing who you are working with is the best way to prepare for a task force meeting, a conference, a collaborative project or any other working session with a group of people. Do some exploration to find how you can best turn “cross-sector initiatives” into a “vibrant village!”
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Utilize your Year End Fundraising Momentum to Kick Off the New Year

Resource Type: Tool | Author: Convio
It's another new year. And with a new year come new goals, new ideas to further your organization's mission and new plans for communicating with your constituents. But it's not all new - there's an opportunity to carry on the heightened year-end fundraising momentum from November and December. If your organization is like most, you received nearly half of your annual online donations in the last two months of the year. So, how do you capitalize on this momentum? This is a guide of 10 simple steps that can make a big difference in your communications and list-building strategies in the new year. Pick a few that you can put in place today, and think of them as resolutions to ensure the growth of your supporter base for the year to come. Download the guide now to discover: Why you should mix online and offline communications Easy ways to personalize your message to each of your audiences Using your donors social networks to help grow your list Strategies for sustaining loyalty in a tough economy
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Community of Practice Design Guide

A Step by Step Guide to Designing and Cultivating Communities of Practice
A quick but helpful resource for designing and cultivating a Community of Practice.
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What New Zealand is Learning About Community-Led Development

ResourceType: Publication | Author: Inspiring Communities
How do we engage with and accelerate this capacity, and create cross-sectoral collaborative approaches, with residents and their aspirations, concerns and capabilities at the centre?   This is the question behind Inspiring Communities’ publication, What We Are Learning about Community-Led Development in Aotearoa New Zealand.  The book draws on the experiences of eight communities facing acute challenges in 2011 due to earthquakes and the grounding of a cargo ship that threatened environmental disaster to the New Zealand coast.  This resource shares learning ‘nuggets’ we have gleaned from walking alongside these communities around the following four themes:
1. Working together ‘in place’ – co-creating the focus and actively growing collaborative practice
2. Community building – intentional focus on creating social capital
3. Leading in and leaderful communities – seeking and growing new kinds of leadership
4. Creating and sustaining momentum – harnessing and maintaining energy together with both short and long term wins The potential of unleashing and nurturing local interest, energy and capacity and weaving it into decision-making and resource allocation systems holds enormous promise for sustainable transformation.
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Achieving Financial Stability in Today's Changed World

Resource Type: Article | Author: Adam Spence
From The Philanthropist comes an article, Acheiving Financial Stability in Today's Changed World, by Adam Spence. Adam Spence has focused his work on community development, education, social finance, social innovation, and public policy change for over ten years. Adam is currently Manager, Special Projects, with Social Innovation Generation (SiG) at MaRS and founder of the Social Venture Exchange (SVX) initiative. Adam's premise is that we [in the social sector] need to understand our current conditions and challenges in order to determine what we can do to build long-term financial sustainability for the sector. Access the article here.
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10 Tips for Writing an Effective Blog

Resource Type: Tool | Author: Donna Jean Forster-Gill
A quick and handy resource to create an effective blog on this site.  It is easier than you think. 
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Reframing the Housing Discussion

An Opinion Piece
A short opinion piece on the importance of the language we chose to use in the discussion of social housing, and the implications of it.
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Convening community

Using a network approach to convene community: A model
Hi Colleagues, Inspired by Peter Block's presence at the CCI in Calgary, I thought I would share with you a model we are applying to convene community, buisiness, politicans and goverment officials.  This convening is in the form of developing formal networks and is a way to take a holistic and coordinated approach towards improving the health and well-being of communities. Our organization, the Community Health and Social Services Network (Health Canada Funded) is supporting the birth and evolution of 18 community networks throughout the province of Quebec. Attached is a model, steps to network development.  It does take some explaining, however I thought some of you may find it useful.  We use this model as our development tool for the 18 networks.  We also have an self-assessment evaluation check list for effective network development if anyone is interested. Creating a community of practice! This has been a huge success for many of these networks.  This second community of practice document was created by network participants as a way to express some of the tangible benefits and value of their participation. If anyone out there wishes to learn more, don't hesitate to give me a call 418-684-2289 ext224 Au revoir from Quebec! Russ Kueber  
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Listening to Calgary's Immigrant Seniors

Proceedings Calgary Immigrant and Refugee Seniors "Speak Out"
This document refelcts the interst in the topic of immigrant and refugee seniors in Calgary and the common interest and concerns expressed by seniors themselves.