How to foster community problem solving: Filled with fresh ideas, concrete strategies, wisdom from the field, compelling case studies, and contact information, Community Visions, Community Solutions provokes both thought and action, fosters new ideas, and leads to solutions. This book is for community, independent, public, family, or corporate foundations; federated giving organizations; government agencies; corporate giving programs; capacity building providers; independent consultants; management support organizations; for-profit consulting firms; intermediary organizations; retired executives; community support organizations; state associations of nonprofits; research groups; staff or trustees of a nonprofit; and academic institutions. Benefits you'll get include a three-step process for laying groundwork for community-wide change, pros and cons of different community governance strategies, three strategies for funding solutions, a list of community support organization dos and don'ts, case studies, and an extensive resource list for further reading. This book is the second in a series of funders guides developed by Fieldstone Alliance and GEO. The series is aimed at strengthening nonprofit organizations, the communities they serve, and the nonprofit sector through effective grantmaking.

Equal parts inspiration, perspiration, and information -- a book that is sure to take the Vibrant Communities story to new heights as it begins its next exciting phase.In Canada, "poverty reduction" is no longer a "wouldn't it be nice" dream discussed after yet another failure to make a dent in an age-old problem. It's a living, breathing, exhilarating reality. Why? Because all across the country people are approaching poverty in a positive, creative, and energetic way. They are doing so courtesy of a new social phenomenon called Vibrant Communities: a network of people who are getting people together -- citizens (no matter what their income), community developers, business people, and representatives from all levels of government -- to determine needs, community assets, and strategies. They're putting plans into action with astonishing results. This book tells their story. And perhaps yours, too.

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

Community visioning is key in helping local public officials and community leaders create a flourishing future for their cities, and is essential for the effective planning and implementation of these strategies. Visioning involves collaborative goal setting to motivate actions – of planners, citizens, and officials – in order to design and carry out a strategic planning process for the successful development of the community. The use of visioning since the 1980s has led to a wealth of information on the productivity of the paths it has taken. The contributors, all with experience working in the area, review the successes and failures of the strategies, and look at new innovations which are pushing the frontiers of community visioning. This review of the development of visioning focuses on small and medium sized communities in North America. It aims to guide citizens, local leaders and planners on what strategies are best to help them revitalise their communities and ensure a prosperous future.

In the United States, public talk about charity for the poor is highly moralistic, even in our era of welfare reform. But how do we understand the actual experience of caring for the poor? This study looks at the front lines of volunteer involvement with the poor and homeless to assess what volunteer work means for those who do it. Rebecca Allahyari profiles volunteers at two charities—Loaves & Fishes and The Salvation Army—to show how they think about themselves and their work, providing new ways for discussing charity and morality. Allahyari explores these agencies' differing ideological orientations and the raced, classed, and gendered contexts they provide volunteers for doing charitable work. Drawing on participant observation, intensive interviewing, and content analysis of organizational publications, she looks in particular at the process of self-improvement for these volunteers. The competing visions of charity Allahyari finds at these two organizations reveal the complicated and contradictory politics of caring for the poor in the United States today.

The Community Book Project: 20/20 VisionThis is a "bigger book" in The Community Book Project series-one devoted to completing one decade and welcoming a new one. The vision: The idea was to bring together a number of writers to paint, with words, a picture of inspiration and vision for readers world-wide. It would include humorous and poignant stories of years' past, along with ideas for the future. The book would be buttoned up with essays of gratitude. The contributors would receive guidance and editorial feedback from a USA TODAY & WALL STREET JOURNAL bestselling and award-winning author, and then the essays would be collected in this volume. The contributors: We welcomed nearly 40 writers to this project. They came from all walks of life and from all around the world. It was such a joy and pleasure to get to know them, their writing styles and their stories. How it worked: After selecting a prompt, contributors were asked to write and submit "200 words-ish." The pieces were collected and reviewed by me, the editor. Some were good to go-and some were good to go with a few revisions. All contributors had an opportunity to stretch their "expression through writing" muscles and be a part of a greater community where they shared, laughed and inspired each other. This is the result-we do hope you enjoy it! Donna Kozik, creator and lead editor of The Community Book Project, is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling and award-winning author. You can find out more about The Community Book Project and how to join the writing fun at www.TheCommunityBookProject.com.

This is your complete guide to putting together a collaboration that gets results! You'll see how to get a collaboration going, define the results you're after, determine everyone's roles, create an action plan, and evaluate the results. Includes a case study, worksheets, and special sidebars with helpful tips such as what to do at your first meeting.