Convening, Recruiting, and Connecting People Who Repair Local Economies
CategoriesUncategorizedCommunity Wealth Activation GO! You don’t have to be a social media maven to be aware of Pokemon GO, the enhanced reality single-player game from Niantic Labs that debuted on July 6th and has captured the imagination (and pocketbook) of the American public. The game brings forward feelings of nostalgia, inclusion and connection to a […]
CategoriesUncategorizedCo-Creating the Community Social Contract I recently had a conversation with a very bright, well educated, intellectually curious Millennial about the importance of the social contract as a tool to enforce accountable engagement in the world. She looked at me blankly, smiled and said, what a great idea, how did you think of that? I […]
CategoriesUncategorized“What we also need, more than ever, is civic engagement. We need to see the challenges that face us as just that, challenges, and ones that with prudent, careful action we can overcome.” ~ Dan Rather “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller A thriving community starts […]
CategoriesUncategorizedThe Community Stakeholder is key to a thriving community. The model of sustainable community development is changing from one of shareholders (generally driven by monetary capital) to one of stakeholders (engaging the full spectrum of community wealth) for the purpose of producing the individual and mutual well-being of all the participants, in an ongoing way. Who […]
CategoriesUncategorizedJoin us in September! Join the people creating the new local economy, building an inclusive system that works for all. Here you will meet the people making it happen, the leaders who are taking back the economy from Wall Street to Main Street. We are thrilled to host this first of its kind one day […]
CategoriesUncategorizedGentlemen (and Ladies), Stop Your Engines. How can municipalities move beyond the title of ‘Smart City’ to being a ‘Genius Community’? Here in Austin, it could be something as simple as turning off the car engines. With the daily conversation revolving around mobility and affordability, I have been advocating for the solution that equitably addresses […]
CategoriesUncategorizedActivating Community Wealth – Educational Engagement Spaces In the perfected pattern of nature, the caterpillar becomes a butterfly. There is no obvious hint of the caterpillar’s destiny, it all becomes manifest from the imaginal cells deep within the body that activate the process in which a deconstructed Earth-bound body reforms, sprouts wings and becomes a delicate […]
CategoriesUncategorizedTransforming Waste to Wealth to Strengthen Communities One man’s trash is another man’s treasure One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor One man’s pain is another man’s pleasure And nothing’s for certain, mister, that’s for sure No, nothing’s for certain, mister, that’s for sure Song credits: ‘One Man’s Trash’ ©1988 by John McCutcheon. Published by […]
CategoriesUncategorizedSummarizing the Summit It was 10AM on a mid-April day and the members of Jessica Norwood’s brain trust, after months of anticipation, was finally assembled face-to-face around a 14th floor Manhattan conference room at the Nathan Cummings Foundation. Almost everyone in the group had taken part in phone conversations with Jessica, Kevin Jones, and myself during […]
CategoriesUncategorizedCornerstones of Community Wealth Community Wealth is all the monetary and non-monetary capital (relationships, respect, trust, environmental, energy, knowledge, etc.) that create the basis of shared experiences leading to wisdom, empathy and community. It is these capital elements which transform a neighborhood from a collection of individual families sharing a ZIP code to a real community in […]