Stories

Informal, Organic, Eclectic Group Brings Afghans to Safety

  As US government systems have fallen short in their capacity to move individuals to safety as the Taliban takes control within Afghahistan, the gap is being filled by "an informal, organic and eclectic group" spanning the public and private...

“Because I opened the door for a stranger”

In 2011, parents in the Richmond, VA community of Hillside Court locked their children inside to protect them from rampant gun violence. Today the neighborhood is bustling with activities for citizens of all ages because a group of concerned citizens...

Rio Women Reinvent Businesses through As Josefinas Colab

As stories spanning world has demonstrated over the last year, those who have responded to crisis collectively have unearthed an astounding abundance of creative solutions. Below is the story of how As Josefinas Colab women's collective became a network...

Community Development and Anti-Racism Work

Broadway United Methodist Church in Indianapolis was the recipient of a grant for anti-poverty work in their predominantly African-American neighborhood. Broadway is a predominantly white organization.  The Learning Tree (a neighborhood organization) which is a collection of neighbors centered around...

In Westwood Unidos, gifts & dreams drive change

Westwood Unidos was a successful example of organizing residents to achieve health equity in a historically disinvested, working-class, predominantly Latino neighborhood. Formed in 2012 in Denver, Colorado, Westwood Unidos (WU) utilized an Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) community organizing approach...

We are the Key to Our Own Recovery

"Today, I'm going to tell you three stories of people who didn't move out of their neighborhoods," says Majora Carter - McArthur "genius" Award winner originally known for her pioneering work "greening the ghetto" in the South Bronx in...

A Neighbor-Based Pandemic Response: Jefferson Park Neighborhood

  This unique story from Menasha, Wisconsin reveals what is possible through the steady efforts of just one person to create a culture of connection and relationship. Read how her ongoing conversations and relationships with neighbors created the conditions an...

Rewriting the Rules: the Ujima Boston Project

In Boston, communities of color are taking charge of their own economy in homegrown, innovative ways. After fighting to thrive despite generations of disinvestment, racist lending, banking and harmful development practices targeting their neighborhoods, individuals from across Boston are finding...

The Hearts & Housing of Island People

To most of us, housing seems to be one of those things like the weather or the stock market controlled by unseen forces far outside our reach. Yet decade after decade, we feel the impacts of these forces keenly...

The Power of Story

Stories have always been our way of knowing ourselves... as individuals, as families, and as communities. Stories hold and reaffirm our past, our strengths and challenges, our hopes and dreams. With each re-telling, stories shape the world anew. How might...

What Could Neighborhood Health Autonomy Look Like?

Years ago I saw an acupuncturist who, while sitting with me post-treatment to review her recommendations for an herbal medicine regimen along with diet, sleep, and exercise adjustments, paused for a moment to explain a rule from her tradition:...

“40 acres and a mall:” Building Black community wealth in L.A.

An emerging co-operative development project in L.A.'s Crenshaw neighborhood is boldly challenging the model of urban development by asserting their vision for a co-operatively owned, community-backed mall that will directly benefit community members and their small businesses, rather than...

Neighborhood Planning: Doing “With” Not “For”

It is often the habit of organizational professionals who interface with communities to do "to" or "for" local residents. However, when such staff step back from their traditional functions and shift their focus to supporting community members to decide...

Algerian Women “Start Somewhere” to Create their Own Destiny

"When women decide something, I think they can get to it," says Nadia Aïssaoui, of the Mediterranean Women’s Fund as she tells this story about a group of women living in the mountains of Algeria who chose to come...

The Role of Community in Reducing Crime and Securing Peace

In 2020, massive protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis forced the US and the world to confront longstanding racial disparities in violent policing within local communities. As a result, the very role and responsibility of...

Libraries and Museums as Catalysts for Change

“Communities that know themselves, that know their assets, especially the gifts and talents of individuals and the neighborhood associations that they create, build powerful networks for promoting change."​ (Howard Rosing, Director, Steans Center at DePaul University) What might happen if...

When Renters Can Earn Equity

Writing in Backyard, a newsletter exploring scalable solutions to make housing fairer, more affordable and more environmentally sustainable, Emily Nonko puts Cincinnati's Margie Spinney and Renting Partnerships in the spotlight. The renter equity model changes everything by making wealth...

Strong Neighborhood Project

Neighbor to neighbor, block by block. That's the approach they're taking in connecting people to one another and other resources available to them in Central Louisiana. It's the asset-based work of the Strong Neighborhood Project, centered in Pineville, LA. They...

Small Acts of Bravery, Caring and Connection

Small acts of bravery, caring, and connection can heal this pain and weave the future we want This is the Hammonton Health Coalition (HHC) Facebook cover, a colorful picture showing a diverse group of kids, teachers, parents, first responders, and...

Roundup: Community at Work

Stories from our friends around the globe about how families, neighbors and friends are sharing and caring for one another in the COVID-19 environment. ABCD Instutite Resources & Inspiration for Unleashing Abundance & Community in Times of Crisis https://mailchi.mp/b35752005336/abcd-institute-newsletter-and-resources-12241970?e=9440f051f7   Al Etmanski Love During Adversity...

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Corporate Capture: Can We Find a Way Out?

This article, published originally by Nonprofit Quarterly, from Nonprofit Quarterly Magazine’s summer 2024 issue, “Escaping Corporate Capture.” The aircraft manufacturer Boeing,...