The Latest

Putting Community in Collective Impact

Considerable attention is being paid to the role and importance of community engagement in successful collective impact efforts. The recent paper entitled Putting Community in Collective Impact by Richard Harwood and published by the Collective Impact Forum, dives more deeply into this important issue and concludes that, "civic culture matters for Collective Impact. Big Time!" Civic culture refers to the unique characteristics that describe "how a community works: how trust is formed, why and how people engage with each other; and the degree of readiness for change amongst leaders." Each community has its own civic culture and paying attention to it, makes it possible to accelerate and deepen collective impact efforts.

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What Makes Revelstoke a Vibrant Community?

We talk a lot about reducing poverty and poverty reduction strategies in the VC Learning Community. But what do we really envision our communities will look like when we've achieved our goals? And, what are the unique ways that our communities are already vibrant? There is a plethora of diversity throughout our groups and within them in answer to these questions.

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When Shortcuts Cut Us Short: Cognitive Traps in Philanthropic Decision-Making

How do we make good decisions when trying to tackle tough social challenges? This has been a central concern of management experts, policy analysts and community developers for nearly 100 years.

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Valuing the Intangible: The Impact of Deepening Community

In a recent webinar exploring six patterns of social innovation, Tamarack Thought-Leader Al Etmanski spoke of his hope for a "resurrection of the ordinary" which he described as "recognizing ordinary people and their extraordinary power."

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Death is not the only route off the street; Home is.

He wheels his wheelchair up to where we stand on the platform waiting for a train back downtown. A co-worker and I have just come from a memorial service for people who have died on the street in the past few months. The man in the wheelchair was also there and as he straightens out his position, I greet him and we begin to chat.

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The New Philanthropy: Foundations in Complex Times

Last November, J.W. McConnell Family Foundation President and CEO, Stephen Huddart, gave a talk at MaRS Discovery District that sketched out the emerging path being trail blazed by contemporary foundations. It is a path that is as significant for how it is being created ­ emergently and collaboratively ­ as it is for its destination ­ system changes generating positive social and environmental outcomes.

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