A  Basic  Guide  
to  ABCD  
Community  Organizing  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
By  John  McKnight  
Co-­‐Director,  Asset  Based  Community  Development  Institute  
Northwestern  University    

  1  
      
 

 
The  Culture  of  Community  
 
Every  community  creates  its  own  culture  –  the  way  the  community  members  learn,  
through  time,  how  to  survive  and  prosper  in  a  particular  place.  Displaced  people  lose  
their  culture.  But  it  is  also  possible  to  lose  a  community  culture  even  though  you  stay  in  
a  place.  Many  people  have  lost  their  culture,  even  though  they  live  in  a  neighborhood.  
They  occupy  an  apartment  and  don't  know  the  people  who  live  around  them.  Or  they  
may  live  in  a  house  but  their  neighbors  are  strangers  to  whom  they  give  a  smiling  nod.  
These  people  are  not  really  neighbors  in  a  neighborhood.  They  are  merely  residents  
occupying  a  building.  They  have  lost  their  way.  They  are  lonely  people  depending  on  
malls,  schools  and  cars  for  survival  and  the  tenuous  appearance  of  prosperity.  
 
How  would  these  lonely  people  go  about  creating  another  way  of  life,  so  that  they  could  
say,  “In  this  place,  we  have  Our  Way?  Kin,  friends,  and  neighbors  surround  us.  We  are  a  
group  of  families  who  have  a  special  kind  of  relationship.  We  feel  productive,  cared  for  
and  safe.  We  have  found  Our  Way.”  
 
Our  Way  is  the  culture  of  community,  and  something  you  cannot  buy.  Nor,  can  it  be  
created  by  programs.  A  culture  is  the  creation  of  people  who  are  seriously  related  to  
each  other.  It  takes  time  because  serious  relationships  are  based  upon  trust,  and  trust  
grows  from  the  experience  of  being  together  in  ways  that  make  a  difference  in  our  lives.    
 
Pioneer  Community  Building  
If  we  need  a  community  that  will  make  a  difference  in  our  lives  and  we  can't  buy  it  or  
create  it  through  a  program,  where  would  we  start?  It  is  a  great  puzzle.  And  yet  the  
early  history  of  the  United  States  gives  us  a  clear  direction  to  pursue.  
 
The  first  European  pioneers  who  settled  down  in  a  place  had  a  daunting  task.  Perhaps  
they  were  two  families  with  children.  They  had  two  covered  wagons  and  oxen  to  pull  
them.  Inside  the  wagons  were  simple  tools,  a  trunk  or  two,  and  basic  provisions.  They  
were  at  the  beginning  of  creating  a  new  community.  Perhaps,  if  we  understand  how  
they  did  it,  we  could  see  how  we  could  do  it,  too.  
 
What  did  they  have?  There  was  some  land,  their  tools  and  themselves.  These  were  the  
assets  they  had  to  create  a  homestead  and,  shortly  thereafter,  a  hometown.  It  would  all  
have  to  be  home  made,  hand  made.  And  because  of  that,  everything  they  created  was  
an  expression  of  themselves  –  their  vision,  their  knowledge,  their  skills  and  their  
limitations.  The  result  was  a  community  in  which  they  had  pride,  because  it  was  
fashioned  their  way.    
 
This  new  community  was  the  creation  of  a  group:  Mary,  Sam  and  their  children  and  
Charles,  Abby,  their  children  and  Charles'  father,  Josh.  This  new  community  was  the  

  2  
      
 

personal  creation  of  these  people,  their  gifts,  skills  and  capacities  and  their  strong  
relationships  that  grew  as  they  worked  together.  
It  is  our  good  fortune  today  that  we  also  have  the  neighborhood  assets  of  those  first  
settlers:  the  gifts,  skills  and  capacities  of  each  of  the  residents,  and  the  power  to  
establish  working  relationships  that  also  allow  us  to  find  our  way.  So  like  the  pioneers,  
we  start  community  building  in  our  neighborhood  by  using  our  gifts,  our  skills  and  our  
capacities.  
 
The  pioneers'  process  can  help  guide  us.  Like  us,  their  families  were  imperfect,  limited  
people.  Sam  was  given  to  too  much  drink.  Mary  was  six  months  pregnant,  their  oldest  
boy,  John,  had  a  shriveled  left  leg  from  birth.  The  younger  boy,  Peter,  they  called  “slow.”  
He  would  never  learn  to  read  or  count  money.  
 
Charles  had  lost  his  right  arm  in  a  mill  accident  back  where  they  came  from.  Abby  was  a  
bitter  person.  Their  teenage  daughter,  Jane,  often  drifted  away  in  her  mind  and  forgot  
what  she  was  doing.  Charles'  father,  Josh,  had  a  hard  time  walking.  
 
These  were  the  people  who  created  a  homestead  and  a  hometown.  They  each  had  clear  
problems,  limitations  and  dilemmas.  But  they  had  a  clear  priority:  we  must  create  a  
community.  And  so  it  was  that  they  set  aside  their  limits  and  focused  instead  upon  their  
capacities.  
 
Sam  knew  carpentry.  Mary  knew  weaving  from  childhood.  John  was  a  tireless  worker  in  
spite  of  his  heavy  limp.  And  little  Peter  loved  tools.  Charles  could  do  any  kind  of  
ironwork  and  was  a  crack  shot.  Abby  knew  the  Bible  by  heart  and  could  preserve  any  
kind  of  food.  Jane  sang  beautifully  and  loved  to  make  a  garden.  And  old  Josh  had  a  mind  
full  of  know-­‐how  about  nearly  everything.  
 
They  built  their  community  by  recognizing  every  capacity  of  everyone  and  using  them  to  
make  a  new  way.  They  also  set  their  needs,  problems  and  deficiencies  aside.    
 
This  is  the  same  reality  that  is  true  anywhere  in  the  world  where  communities  grow.  
Communities  are  built  on  the  gifts,  skills  and  capacities  of  people  who  also  have  deficits  
and  needs.  But  the  unique  pioneer  insight  is  that  you  couldn't  build  a  community  with  
needs.  Communities  are  built  with  the  gifts  of  its  members.  
 
   

  3  
      
 

Community  Begins  With  Gifts  

So  the  community  beginning  is  to  recognize  the  gifts  of  everyone  in  the  neighborhood  –  
the  families,  the  young  people,  the  old  people,  the  vulnerable  people,  the  troublesome  
people.  Everyone.  Consider  the  possibilities.  Which  of  your  neighbors  have  these  gifts?    
• Carpentry  
• Writing  poetry  
• Driving  a  truck  
• Game  playing:  chess,  backgammon,  etc.  
• Organizing  ability  
• Singing  
• Wallpapering    
• Storytelling  
• Care  of  children    
• Accounting  
• Soccer    
• Internet  knowledge  
• Listening  
• Math    
• Auto  repair  
• Airplane  flying  
• Gardening  
• Entrepreneurial  abilities  
• Hair  cutting  
• Filmmaking  
• Peace  making    
• Praying  
• Knowledge  of  environment  
• House  painting  
• Bartending  
• Repairing  things  
• Art  –ceramics,  painting,  jewelry,  sculpture,  graphic  design,  other    
• Writing  
• Pruning  trees  
• Electrical  work    
• Cooking  
• Caring  for  the  old,  disabled  and  /  or  ill  
• Family  nurturing  
• Motorcycling    
• Playing  musical  instruments  
• Debating  
• Knowledge  of  “wellness”  –  Exercise,  nutrition,  resources    

  4  
      
 

Gifts  Create  Possibilities    

If  you  and  the  other  neighbors  know  of  each  other's  gifts,  new  community  possibilities  
emerge.  The  neighbors  could:  
 
• Create  neighborhood  forums  
• Build  a  clubhouse    
• Create  a  neighborhood  choir  or  a  band  
• Have  young  people  teach  the  Internet  to  seniors  
• Repair  some  older  houses  
• Organize  a  learning  exchange  for  exchanging  skills  from  haircutting  to  wall  
papering  
• Teach  each  other  and  young  people  painting,  writing,  poetry,  storytelling    
• Learn  from  the  peacemakers  how  to  ease  our  family  and  neighborhood  quarrels.    
• Have  broken  things  repaired  instead  of  making  more  waste.    
• Have  neighborhood  hikes,  parties  and  trips.    
• Create  neighborhood  sports  teams.    
• At  neighborhood  forums,  ask  our  listeners  to  help  us  know  what  we  said  and  our  
organizers  to  help  us  decide  to  work  effectively  toward  our  vision.    
• Ask  chess  players  and  debaters  to  teach  our  children  these  wonderful  learning  
skills    
• Create  a  neighborhood  flag,  and  each  household  creates  their  own  flag  after  
learning  how  from  the  people  who  sew.    
• Have  story  telling  evenings  to  learn  the  story  of  each  family.    
• Exchange  childcare    
• Write  a  tutor  list  so  our  children  can  have  special  help  learning  about  the  
hundreds  of  things  the  neighbors  know.    
• If  we  have  professional  neighbors  –  our  nurses,  engineers,  teachers,  etc.–they  
could  inform  us  at  our  forums  about  what  they  know  that  we  need  to  know,  
“decoding”  their  trades.    
• Have  monthly  potluck  dinners,  where  we  sing  together  and  urge  our  children  to  
share  their  gifts  with  the  adults.    
• Conduct  an  inventory  of  the  jobs  of  each  neighbor,  and  then  connect  our  teens  
to  people  with  interesting  jobs  so  they  can  learn  what  they  do  and  how  to  
prepare  for  a  vocation.    
• On  a  neighborhood  website  bulletin  board,  neighbors  can  post  job  openings  that  
are  available  in  their  workplaces.  Identify  the  neighborhood  entrepreneurs  and  
convene  them  to  sharing  insights.  They  can  offer  advice  to  neighbors  who  want  
to  start  a  business.    
• At  the  neighborhood  forum,  invite  local  business  people  to  make  presentations  
and  then  develop  a  neighborhood  compact  to  support  the  local  businesses  as  
well  as  new  entrepreneurs  from  the  neighborhood.    
• Share  transportation  to  work;  carpool  with  neighbors  to  schools,  activities.    

  5  
      
 

• Create  mutual  support  groups  for  single  parents,  bereaved  neighbors,  parents  of  
teenagers  and  any  other  situation  where  the  wisdom  of  common  experience  can  
help  us  make  our  way.    
• Exchange  children's  clothes.    
• Hold  a  forum  on  neighborhood  security,  where  participants  pledge  to  support  
doable  actions  rather  than  merely  complain.    
 
Now  we  are  on  our  way  to  creating  a  culture  of  community.  By  recognizing  our  
individual  gifts,  capacities  and  skills,  we  can  see  that  the  neighborhood  is  a  treasure  
chest.  By  putting  the  gifts  together  in  many  different  ways,  we  open  the  chest  and  use  
its  riches.    
 
The  Power  of  Our  Gifts  
 In  the  process,  we  have  discovered  several  things.  First,  working  together  we  have  
begun  to  take  creative  responsibility  for  our  families  and  our  lives.  We  have  begun    
to  make  our  neighborhood  safer,  healthier,  wiser,  and  richer  and  a  much  better  place    
to  raise  a  family.  Instead  of  feeling  alone  and  overwhelmed  by  our  family  dilemmas,    
we  began  to  connect  other  parents,  children,  youth  and  seniors  by  extending  our  
families.  We  have  felt  the  comfort,  help,  pleasure  and  tangible  support  from  those  
surrounding  us.  
 
Second,  as  we  invented  Our  Way,  all  kinds  of  new  connections  and  relationships  were  
created.  We  crossed  lines  once  drawn  between  youth  and  adults,  parents  and  children,  
seniors  and  juniors,  the  frail  and  the  able.  We  are  becoming  a  community:  a  group  of  
specially  related  people.  
 
Third,  we  have  begun  to  understand  the  limits  of  money.  Our  community  inventions  
usually  cost  little  to  nothing,  and  yet  they  become  a  treasure.  We  see  that  you  can't    
buy  more  safety,  health,  wisdom  or  wealth.  But  together  we  can  create  them.  We  feel  
less  burdened  financially  and  less  dependent  on  outside  institutions.  We  were  finding  
Our  Way.  
 
Fourth,  as  we  created  together,  we  found  a  new  kind  of  trust  emerging.  Our  neighbors  
became  people  we  could  count  on.  And  they  would  count  on  us.  There  was  a  profound  
sense  of  security  that  began  to  emerge.    
 
Fifth,  we  began  to  feel  powerful.  We  had  found  our  own  way,  and  that  sense  of  power  
led  us  to  hold  celebrations,  acclaiming  our  successes  while  recognizing  our  frailties  and  
those  among  us  who  passed  away.    
 
Finally,  we  have  begun  to  create  a  history  together.  We  could  say,  “We  know  how  to  
join  in  educating  our  children.  We  learned  how.  We  found  Our  Way,  and  we  would  love  
to  share  it  with  your  neighborhood  because  we  also  can  learn  from  your  way.”  

  6  
      
 

A  competent  community  builds  on  the  gifts  of  its  people.  But  it  also  knows  that  a  gift  
isn't  a  gift  until  it  is  given.  Before  the  giving,  it  is  only  a  beautifully  wrapped  box  in  a  
drawer.  It  needs  to  be  connected  to  a  Birthday  person  before  it  is  really  a  gift.  
 
Connected  Gifts  Create  Associations  
 This  is  also  true  of  the  gifts  of  neighbors.  They  become  useful  when  they  are  connected  
to  someone  else.  It  is  that  kind  of  connecting  that  is  the  key  to  Our  Way.    
 
These  connections  have  many  benefits:  
...the  giver  sees  his  own  value  in  the  appreciation  of  the  receiver.  
...the  receiver  sees  the  value  of  the  giver  in  the  gift.  
...the  community  becomes  more  valuable  as  the  value  of  the  gift  is  
     shared  to  benefit  others.    
 
There  is,  however,  a  common  dilemma  in  many  neighborhoods.  People  and  their  gifts  
are  not  connected.  The  neighborhood  is  filled  with  isolated  people  and  families  living  
alone.  Who  or  what  will  initiate  the  connections  in  our  neighborhood?    
 
Here,  we  can  return  to  the  pioneer  families  and  see  how  they  proceeded.    
 
As  soon  as  there  were  enough  new  settlers  around  the  original  families,  they  all  
gathered  together  in  small  groups  to  undertake  tasks  a  family  couldn't  accomplish  on  its  
own.  Several  families  shared  their  labor,  pulling  stumps  and  raising  barns.  Homemakers  
joined  together  to  share  information  on  weaving,  gardening  and  cooking.  Farmers  
joined  in  sharing  information  about  the  best  way  to  grow  crops  on  this  new  land.  Many  
parents  created  a  group  to  locate  and  start  a  new  school.    
 
Other  families  of  the  same  faith  joined  together  for  weekly  worship.  Some  musical  
people  joined  together  and  created  a  choir.  
 
Whatever  vision  they  had  or  necessity  they  felt,  a  small  group  was  created  to  bring  it  to  
life.  And  it  was  through  the  formation  of  these  small  groups  that  a  community  was  
created.  Because  of  their  joint  efforts,  a  culture  was  created  and  they  called  it  Our  Way.  
 
A  brilliant  observer  of  how  North  American  communities  were  actually  created  was  a  
young  French  count  named  Alexis  De  Tocqueville.  In  1831,  he  traveled  to  cities,  towns,  
villages  and  settlements  in  Canada,  the  East,  Midwest  and  South.  He  was  amazed  to  see  
how  communities  were  created  anew  on  prairies  and  in  forests.  He  concluded  that  the  
key  to  those  community  creations  was  the  hundreds  of  small  groups  that  the  pioneers  
formed.  They  were  the  essential  building  blocks  of  pioneer  Americans  and  Canadians.  
   

  7  
      
 

When  Tocqueville  returned  to  France,  he  wrote  a  brilliant  report  on  the  new-­‐world  
community  building  process  that  he  had  observed.  He  titled  it  “Democracy  in  America”  
and  focused  especially  on  the  small  groups  of  newly  connected  neighbors.  He  named  
these  groups  “associations.”  They  were  the  small,  face-­‐to-­‐face  groups  of  local  people  
who  took  on  thousands  of  missions––and  they  were  not  paid.  
 
He  reported,  “Americans  of  all  ages,  all  conditions,  and  all  dispositions  constantly  form  
associations.  They  have...associations  of  a  thousand  kinds,  religious,  moral,  serious,  
futile,  general  or  restricted,  enormous  or  diminutive.  The  Americans  make  associations  
to  give  entertainments,  to  found  seminaries,  to  build  inns,  to  construct  churches,  to  
diffuse  books,  to  send  missionaries  to  the  antipodes;  in  this  manner  they  found  
hospitals,  prisons  and  schools.  If  it  is  proposed  to  inculcate  some  truth  or  to  foster  some  
feeling  by  the  encouragement  of  a  great  example,  they  form  an  association.  Wherever  
at  the  head  of  some  new  undertaking  you  see  the  government  in  France,  or  a  man  of  
rank  in  England,  in  the  United  States  you  will  be  sure  to  find  an  association.”  
 
And  he  concludes  that,  “Nothing,  in  my  opinion,  is  more  deserving  of  our  attention  than  
the  intellectual  and  moral  associations  (of  North  America).  We  understand  them  
imperfectly  because  we  have  hardly  ever  seen  anything  of  the  kind.  In  democratic  
countries  the  science  of  association  is  the  mother  of  science;  the  progress  of  all  the  rest  
depends  upon  the  progress  it  has  made.  Among  the  laws  that  rule  human  societies  
there  is  one,  which  seems  to  be  more  precise  and  clear  than  all  the  others.  If  men  are  to  
remain  civilized  or  to  become  so,  the  art  of  associating  together  must  grow  and  improve  
in  the  same  ratio  in  which  the  equality  of  conditions  is  increased.”  (Book  2,  Chapter  5)    
 
The  Power  of  Associations    
Tocqueville  observed  that  associational  life  was  unique  to  North  America  –the  new  tool  
for  building  both  community  and  democracy.  And  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  recognize  
that  our  associations  were  central  to  our  democracy.  Voting,  he  observed,  is  vital,  but  it  
is  the  power  to  give  your  power  away,  i.e.,  to  delegate  your  will  to  a  representative.  An  
association,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  means  to  make  power  rather  than  giving  it  away.  
This  new  associational  tool  involved  using  these  community  powers:  
 
....The  power  to  decide  what  needs  to  be  done.  This  power  is  not  
delegated  to  experts.  It  is  based  upon  the  belief  that  18  local  
citizens,  connected  together,  have  the  special  ability  to  know  
what  needs  doing  in  their  community.  
 
....The  power  to  decide  how  we  could  do  what  needs  to  be  done.  Here  
again,  local  knowledge  is  the  basic  expertise.  
 
.....The  power  to  join  with  their  neighbors  to  do  what  needs  to  be  done.    
 

  8  
      
 

The  association  is  the  tool  to  produce  the  future.  A  citizen  is  a  person  with  the  awesome  
power  to  determine  and  create  a  common  future.  And  so  it  is  that  the  association  
makes  citizenship  possible.  It  empowers  us  because  neighbors  can  decide  what  needs  to  
be  done,  how  it  can  be  done  and  of  greatest  importance,  they  are  the  people  who  can  
do  it.  In  associations  we  are  not  consumers.  We  are  not  clients.  We  are  citizens  with  the  
power  to  make  powerful  communities.  
 
Associations  Today  
It  has  been  nearly  2  centuries  since  Tocqueville  discovered  the  unique  associational  
heart  of  North  American  communities.  And  it  is  our  good  fortune  that  we  are  still  the  
earth's  most  associational  people.  If  each  of  our  neighbors  would  itemize  the  
associations  he  or  she  belongs  to  or  participates  in,  we  would  probably  find  that  we  
would  have  a  list  of  50  –  100  groups.  And  as  Tocqueville  noted,  they  would  be  groups  of  
every  kind.  A  list  of  the  kinds  of  community  associations  neighbors  are  typically  involved  
in  include:    
 
Addiction  Prevention  and  Recovery  Groups  
Testimonial  Group  for  Addicts  
Campaign  for  a  Drug  Free  Neighborhood  
Advisory  Community  Support  Groups  (friends  of...)  
Friends  of  the  Library  
Neighborhood  Park  Advisory  Council  
Animal  Care  Groups  
Conservation  Association    
Humane  Society  
Anti  Crime  Groups    
Children's  Safe  Haven  Neighborhood  Group  
Senior  Safety  Group    
Business  Organizations/Support  Groups  
Jaycees  
Economic  Development  Council  
Charitable  Groups  and  Drives  
Local  Hospital  Auxiliary  
Local  United  Way  
Civic  Events  Groups  
Committees  to  celebrate  holidays  
Health  Fair  Committee    
Cultural  Groups  
Community  Choir  
Drama  Club    
   

  9  
      
 

Disability  /  Special  Needs  Groups  

Parents  of  Disabled  Children    
Local  Mental  Health  Association    
Education  Groups  
Local  Book  Clubs    
Parent  Teacher  Association    
Elderly  Groups  
Retired  Executives  Club    
Church  Seniors  Club    
Environmental  Groups  
Neighborhood  Recycling  Club  
Save  the  Park  Committee    
Family  Support  Groups  
Teen  Parent  Organization  
Parent  Alliance  Group    
Health  Advocacy  &  Fitness  Groups  
Neighborhood  Health  Council  
Senior  Fitness  Club    
Heritage  Groups  
Neighborhood  Historical  Society  
Ethnic  Heritage  Association  
Hobby  and  Collectors  Groups    
Arts  and  Crafts  Club    
Garden  Club  of  Neighbors  
Men's  Groups  
Church  Men's  Organizations    
Men's  Sports  Organizations  
Mentoring  Groups  
After  School  Mentors    
Church  Mentoring  Group    
Mutual  Support  Groups  
La  Leche  League  
Family-­‐to-­‐Family  Groups  
Neighborhood  Improvement  Groups  
Council  of  Block  Clubs    
Neighborhood  Anti-­‐Crime  Council  
Political  Organizations  
Democratic  Club    
Republican  Club  
Recreation  Groups  
Bowling  Leagues  
Little  League    

  10  
      
 

Religious  Groups  
Churches    
Mosques  
Temples  
Resident's  Association    
Block  Clubs    
Tenant  Association    
Service  Clubs    
Zonta    
Rotary  Clubs  
Social  Groups  
Card  Playing  Club  
Dance  Clubs    
Social  Cause/Advocacy  Issue  Group  
Community  Action  Council  
Soup  Kitchen  Group    
Union  Groups  
Industrial  (UAW)  
Craft  Unions  (Plumbing  Council)  
Veteran's  Groups  
Veterans  of  Foreign  Wars  (VFW)  
Women's  Veterans  Organizations    
Women's  Groups  
Women's  Sports  Groups  
Eastern  Star    
Youth  Groups  
4-­‐H    
Teen  Leadership  Club  
 
Associations  Are  the  Workhorses  of  Communities    
In  addition  to  the  gifts  and  skills  of  local  residents,  associations  like  these  are  the  second  
major  tool  available  for  community  building.  They  have  three  major  roles  in  helping  us  
on  Our  Way.  
 
First,  many  are  engaged  in  work  that  strengthens  community  life.  For  example:  
 
...The  Parents  of  Disabled  Children  are  broadening  the  opportunities  for  
all  children  to  learn  and  play  together.    
 
...The  neighborhood  Park  Council  is  guiding  the  local  park  manager  in  
developing  the  park  to  engage  the  diverse  interests  of  local  
residents    
 

  11  
      
 

...The  Drama  Club  is  involving  neighbors  in  theater  and  entertaining  the  
neighborhood.    
 
...The  Seniors  Club  is  involving  local  school  children  in  their  inter-­‐
generational  initiative.    
 
...The  Garden  Club  has  transformed  the  vacant  lot  into  a  refreshing  green  
space.    
 
...The  Softball  League  has  a  project  to  mentor  local  youth.    
 
...The  Veteran's  of  Foreign  Wars  are  organizing  the  annual  patriotic  
celebration.    
 
Indeed,  every  local  association  is  strengthening  the  local  community  by  bringing  
neighbors  together  to  use  their  powers  as  citizens.  
 
Second,  many  associations  often  take  on  new  community  roles  that  reach  beyond  their  
primary  function.  One  of  the  most  exemplary  is  a  national  organization  of  local  
motorcycle  clubs  called  Bikers  Again  Child  Abuse  (www.bacausa.com).  Certainly  none  of  
the  motorcycle  clubs  were  formed  to  deal  with  child  abuse,  but  many  have  adopted  this  
community  function  in  addition  to  their  primary  functions  
 
We  see  this  broadening  of  functions  in  many  groups:  
 
• The  Lions  Club  collects  used  glasses  for  use  in  less-­‐privileged  communities.  
 
• The  local  union  collects  toys  each  year  from  its  members  to  give  to  
neighborhood  children.  
 
• The  Westside  Seniors  Club  creates  a  literacy  initiative  to  assist  immigrant  
neighbors.  
 
• The  Drama  Club  produces  a  play  for  local  residents  that  advocates  recycling  and  
other  “green”  practices  at  home.  
 
• Several  bowling  leagues  raise  money  to  equip  a  new  neighborhood  “tot  lot.”  
 
• The  Garden  Club,  following  the  vision  of  two  members,  creates  a  family  movie  
night  in  the  local  park.    
 
• A  local  political  club  sponsors  a  monthly  children's  clothing  exchange  for  the  
neighborhood.  

  12  
      
 

So,  if  we  look  beyond  the  association's  name,  we  will  see  that  many  are  involved  in  all  
kinds  of  additional  activities  that  produce  a  significant  community  benefit.  In  fact,  if  we  
identified  all  the  associations  our  neighbors  are  involved  in  and  identified  the  basic  
functions  of  these  groups  as  well  as  the  additional  community  benefit  activities,  we  
would  uncover  the  same  foundation  of  our  community  that  Tocqueville  found  in  l831.  
 
There  is  a  third  way  many  associations  strengthen  their  local  community.  This  occurs  
when  many  of  them  join  together  to  create  a  neighborhood  association  to  improve  the  
lives  of  all  the  residents.  These  “associations  of  associations”  have  proven  to  be  the  
most  powerful  tool  for  making  Our  Way.  The  reason  is  clear.  Every  association  is  
empowering  and  powerful,  because  it  acts  as  the  amplifier  of  the  gifts,  skills  and  talents  
of  each  member.  It  is  the  principal  community  means  helping  people  to  give  their  gifts.  
It  is  the  community  connector  that  joins  our  talents  so  each  member  is  much  more  
powerful  than  when  acting  alone.  
 
As  each  association  makes  its  members  more  powerful,  in  the  same  way,  an  association  
of  associations  greatly  amplifies  the  power  of  each  association,  which  makes  each  
individual  member  more  powerful  in  turn.  
 
Community  is  a  word  meaning  “people  in  relationship.”  Association  is  a  word  meaning  
“people  in  powerful  relationships.”  A  powerful  community  finds  its  own  way  through  
ever  increasing  connections  of  people  who  exercise  their  right  to  freedom  of  association  
in  order  to  create  a  better  future  together.  
 
If  we  understand  the  potential  place  of  associations  in  community  building,  how  can  we  
use  this  knowledge  to  move  ahead  toward  making  Our  Way?  
 
The  Vital  Role  of  Connectors    
The  basic  tool  for  community  building  with  the  gifts  of  individuals  and  the  power  of  
associations  is  making  connections.  The  gifts  of  individuals  become  valuable  when  they  
are  connected  to  someone.  Associations  become  powerful  when  they  connect  the  gifts  
of  many  individuals.  Associations  become  even  more  powerful  when  they  are  connected  
to  other  associations.  
 
Finding  Our  Way  depends  on  initiatives  that  result  in  more  individual  connections  and  
more  associational  connections.  So  the  basic  question  is  how  to  multiply  the  same  
connections  that  pioneers  used  to  create  new  communities.  Who  are  the21st  century  
connectors?  
 
What  about  you?  You  are  as  likely  as  any  other  neighbor  to  be  a  connector  or  have  the  
potential  to  become  one.  However,  you  can't  pay  for  a  degree  in  Community  
Connecting.  It  is  a  skill  often  underused,  undeveloped  or  unrecognized.  But  it  is  a  natural  

  13  
      
 

skill  and  abundant  in  every  neighborhood.  The  key  to  finding  Our  Way  is  enhancing  a  
spirit  and  culture  of  connecting.  
 
So,  who  are  the  proven  connectors  of  your  acquaintance?  Who  sees  the  gifts  of  local  
people  and  figures  out  ways  to  share  them?  Who  do  people  turn  to  when  something  
needs  to  be  done  on  the  block?  Who  are  the  people  who  take  responsibility  for  civic  
events?  Who  are  the  leaders  of  your  local  associations?  Who  took  the  initiative  to  
create  a  new  neighborhood  group  to  solve  a  problem  or  carry  out  a  vision?  
These  are  the  proven  connectors.  Some  may  be  called  leaders.  Most  will  not,  because  
compared  to  a  leader,  a  connector  has  a  very  different  role  in  the  community.  A  leader  
is  a  person  at  the  front  of  the  room  who  acts  as  a  voice  for  the  community.  A  connector  
is  in  the  center  of  the  room,  often  unrecognized  but  always  creating  new  relationships  
often  acting  in  a  modest  way.  
 
Connectors  have  certain  characteristics  in  common:    
 
• They  are  “gift-­‐centered”  people.  They  see  the  “full  half”  in  everyone.  
• They  are  well  connected  themselves,  active  in  associational  and  civic  life.  They  
know  the  ways  of  their  neighborhood.  
• They  are  trusted  and  create  new  trusting  relationships.  The  trust  they  have  
grows  from  the  fact  that  they  see  the  gift  of  their  neighbors,  and  they  are  willing  
contributors  to  their  neighbors  and  the  neighborhood.  
• They  believe  in  the  people  in  their  community.  They  are  not  cynical,  doubting  
observers  of  local  residents.  They  know  that  their  community  is  a  place  rich  in  
resources.  
• And  they  are  people  who  get  joy  from  connecting,  convening  and  inviting  people  
to  come  together.  They  are  not  seeking  to  lead  people.  They  know  the  power  in  
joining  people  together.  
 
When  you  think  of  your  neighborhood,  who  are  the  connectors?  
 
A  Table  for  Connectors    
One  starting  place  for  finding  Our  Way  is  to  invite  the  local  connectors  to  come  together  
and  share  their  successes  and  ideas  by  forming  a  Connector's  Table.  They  could  then  
discuss  what  new  connections  of  neighbors  and  associations  would  make  a  better  
neighborhood?  Who  are  the  people  with  connector  potential  who  could  be  invited  to  
join  the  Table?  Are  there  senior  connectors  at  the  Table?  Are  there  teen  connectors  
involved?    
   

  14  
      
 

This  core  group  could  become  initiators  of  a  new  community  culture  as  they  consciously  
pursue  the  connective  possibilities  they  envision.  
 
They  could  begin  to  identify  the  gifts  and  skills  of  all  the  neighbors  –the  gold  in  the  
community  treasure  chest.  There  are  4  simple  questions  they  can  ask  each  neighbor  as  
they  identify  the  neighborhood  treasures.    
 
1. What  are  your  gifts  of  the  head?  What  do  you  especially  know  about  –  birds,  
mathematics,  neighborhood  history,  etc.  ?  
 
2. What  are  your  gifts  of  the  hands?  What  do  you  know  about  doing  things–
baseball,  carpentry,  cooking,  guitar,  etc.?  
 
3. What  are  your  gifts  of  the  heart?  What  do  you  especially  care  about–children,  
environment,  veterans,  politics,  etc.?  
 
4. What  clubs,  groups  and  associations  do  you  and  your  family  belong  to  or  
participate  in?  
 
These  gifts  are  the  neighborhood  treasures  waiting  to  be  given.    
 
Connecting  Individual  Gifts    
The  Connector's  Table  can  begin  to  see  how  these  gifts  of  head,  hand  and  heart  can  be  
connected  in  new  relationships.  They  will  learn  that:  
...Charles  knows  how  to  juggle.  Who  are  the  neighborhood  kids  who  
would  love  to  learn  from  him?    
 
...Sue,  Mary,  Charlene  and  Diane  all  have  young  children  and  are  willing  
to  swap  baby  sitting.  They  don't  know  each  other  so  we  can  connect  the  
four  of  them.    
 
...There  are  twenty-­‐two  people  who  play  musical  instruments  –alone.  
They  can  be  connected  to  start  a  band–maybe  two.  
 
...Seven  people  care  especially  about  the  environment.  Connected,  they  
could  develop  a  plan  to  engage  the  neighbors  in  renewing  the  
deteriorated  local  park.  
 
...Eleven  people  say  they  know  how  to  start  a  business.  They  can  be  
introduced  to  Sam,  Sarah  and  Joan  who  say  they  want  to  start  a  business.  
 
...Jane,  Nancy  and  Sylvester  care  about  health.  They  can  be  connected  to  
create  a  healthy  neighborhood  initiative.    

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...Twenty-­‐nine  people  have  all  kinds  of  skills  relating  to  home  
maintenance  and  repair.  They  can  become  a  neighborhood  home  adviser  
group,  available  when  neighbors  need  advice  on  their  houses.  
 
Connecting  Associations    
As  the  Table  members  make  these  connections,  they  are  often  creating  new  
associations.  Because  of  their  inventory,  they  also  know  the  names  of  the  associations  
with  which  the  neighbors  are  active.  There  will  be  more  than  anyone  in  the  
neighborhood  imagined.    
 
This  associational  treasure  chest  provides  the  Connector's  Table  with  many  new  
possibilities:  
 
First,  they  can  see  which  residents  might  be  connected  to  the  existing  associations.  If  
there  are  4  choirs,  which  people  who  like  to  sing  can  be  connected  to  them?  Which  
teenagers  can  be  connected  to  associations  of  adults  so  they  can  learn  the  way  of  
community  and  citizenship?  The  young  people  could  become  participating  members  of  
environmental  groups,  drama  clubs,  hobby  groups,  men's  and  women's  organizations,  
neighborhood  block  clubs,  bowling  leagues,  etc.  
 
Second,  appropriate  associations  can  be  connected  to  the  newly  connected  neighbors.  
For  example,  if  the  new  environmental  group  focuses  on  park  renewal,  they  could  be  
joined  or  assisted  by  men  and  women's  groups,  faith  groups,  the  neighborhood  
historical  society  and  the  fitness  groups.  
 
Third,  if  the  neighborhood  focuses  on  any  issue  or  vision,  all  the  associations  can  be  first  
notified  (electronically)  and  asked  if  they  wish  to  participate.  Which  associations  will  
help  with  holiday  celebration  or  the  neighborhood  picnic?  We  want  a  new  clubhouse  in  
the  park.  Which  associations  will  help  raise  the  money?  Which  will  help  build  it?    
 
Fourth,  and  perhaps  of  greatest  importance,  the  members  of  the  Connectors  Table  can  
meet  with  the  president  or  chairperson  of  each  association  and  find  out:  
 
1. What  community  benefit  activities  the  association  is  presently  engaged  in.    
 
2. What  kinds  of  new  neighborhood  initiatives  would  their  membership  be  willing  
to  join?  Would  they  help  with  efforts  to  improve  health,  safety,  youth,  the  
environment,  etc.?  
 
3. Would  they  be  willing  to  join  with  all  the  other  local  groups  in  creating  a  new  
neighborhood  “association  of  associations”  to  make  the  new  neighborhood  a  
great  place  to  live  and  raise  families?  
 

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The  answer  to  this  last  question  is  most  important  of  all.  For  an  “association  of  
associations”  is  the  most  a  powerful  force  for  creating  a  new  neighborhood  vision  and  
finding  Our  Way.  While  each  association  has  a  particular  focus  that  is  usually  not  the  
neighborhood,  in  an  “association  of  associations,”  each  group  adds  its  power  to  the  
vision  of  a  better  neighborhood.  In  this  way,  disconnected  associations  of  diverse  
interests  become  the  unified  neighborhood  force  for  a  new  way  for  citizens  to  produce  
their  own  future.  
 
The  Connectors  Table  has  been  transforming  because  it  has  initiated  new  relationships  
between  individual  neighbors,  between  neighbors  and  associations  and  between  
associations.  Each  connection  is  an  asset  that  has  been  invested  through  connections.  
And  the  sum  of  the  connections  is  a  community  wealthy  in  security,  health,  wisdom  and  
enterprise.  
 
What  About  Outsiders?    
There  is,  however,  one  dilemma  that  faces  even  neighborhoods  with  a  wealth  of  
invested  gifts  and  transformed  associations.  It  is  the  dilemma  of  the  outsider  –the  
outsider  in  the  neighborhood  and  the  outsider  outside  the  neighborhood.  
 
Usually,  the  outsiders  inside  the  neighborhood  are  the  people  who  have  names  that  tell  
about  their  problem.  Remember  the  pioneer  families?  Sam,  a  father,  drank  too  much.  
Mary  was  pregnant.  Their  boy  John  was  born  disabled  with  a  shriveled  leg.  And  his  
brother  Peter  was  “slow”  to  learn  and  never  did  learn  to  read.  Charles,  the  father  of  the  
other  family  had  one  arm.  His  wife  was  a  mentally  troubled  person.  Their  daughter  Joan  
was  mentally  fragile,  too.  And  Charles’  father  was  feeble  and  found  it  hard  to  walk    
 
But  each  of  them  also  had  gifts,  capacities  and  skills.  They  used  them  to  create  the  
community  where  you  now  live  –in  spite  of  their  deficits,  needs  and  problems.  
 
The  same  is  true  of  our  own  neighborhood.  While  we  all  have  deficiencies  and  
problems,  some  of  our  neighbors  get  labeled  by  their  deficiencies  or  condition.  They  are  
given  names  like  mentally  ill,  physically  disabled,  developmentally  disabled,  youth-­‐at-­‐
risk,  single  moms,  welfare  recipients,  people  in  the  trailer  court,  immigrants.  All  of  these  
people  have  gifts  we  need  for  a  really  strong  community.  And  many  of  them  desperately  
need  to  be  asked  to  join  and  contribute.  Their  greatest  deficiency  is  the  lack  of  
connection  to  the  rest  of  us.    
 
And  our  greatest  community  weakness  is  the  fact  that  we  haven't  seen  them  and  felt  
their  loneliness.  We  have  often  ignored  or  even  feared  them.  And  yet  they  are  our  
greatest  undiscovered  treasure!  
 
Therefore,  the  Connectors  Table  needs  to  be  especially  focused  on  the  people  at  the  
edge,  the  people  with  the  names  that  describe  their  empty  half  rather  than  their  gifted  

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full  half.  The  connectors  are  motivated  by  the  fact  that  historically,  every  great  local  
community  has  engaged  the  talents  of  every  single  member.  For  the  strongest  our  
neighborhood  can  possibly  be  is  as  powerful  as  we  will  be  when  we  all  give  all  our  gifts.  
 
This  means  that  the  key  words  for  our  community  are  invitation,  participation  and  
connection.  Our  connectors  will  be  great  inviters,  like  a  host  or  hostess,  opening  the  
door  to  our  community  life.  Their  goal  will  be  to  have  everyone  participating,  giving  and  
receiving  gifts.  And  their  method  will  be  connection  –introducing  the  newly  discovered  
gifts  to  the  other  neighbors  and  associations.    
 
The  great  Irish  poet,  William  Butler  Yeats,  wrote  a  line  in  a  poem  that  guides  the  
Connectors.  Speaking  of  a  local  community,  he  wrote,  “There  are  no  strangers  here,  just  
friends  we  haven't  met.”  So  perhaps  the  best  description  of  a  real  neighborhood,  a  
powerful  neighborhood,  a  great  community  is  one  that  is  filled  with  friends.  We  have  all  
met  and  shared  our  gifts  and  associations.  
 
Outsiders  Beyond  our  Community  Borders    
What  about  the  outsider  outside  our  community?  The  foreigner  who  lives  on  the  other  
side  of  Halsted  Street,  the  boundary  of  our  neighborhood,  or  the  person  outside  the  
neighborhood  who  prays  on  a  rug  5  times  a  day,  or  the  outsider  who  lives  in  a  
neighborhood  where  people  park  their  cars  on  the  lawn  and  repair  them  on  the  street,  
or  the  rich  man  who  doesn't  want  to  live  among  us.  
 
The  truth  is  that  every  local  community  of  any  kind  is  a  group  of  specially  connected  
people.  But  the  very  fact  of  their  special  connection  necessarily  creates  outsiders.  An  
association  of  Labrador  Retriever  owners,  without  intention,  makes  outsiders  of  Poodle  
owners.  And  every  neighborhood  necessarily  creates  outsiders  by  establishing  
boundaries.  The  question  is,  what  kind  of  boundary  is  it?  Is  it  a  boundary  of  superiority  
and  exclusion,  a  dangerous  place  to  approach?  Or  is  it  the  edge  of  a  place  that  has  a  
welcome  at  the  door?  
 
There  is  a  name  for  this  welcome  at  the  door  –hospitality.  Hospitality  is  the  ability  to  
welcome  a  stranger.  This  welcome  is  the  sign  of  a  confident  community.  It  has  nothing  
to  fear  from  the  outsider.  The  outsider  has  gifts,  insights  and  experiences  to  share  for  
our  benefit.  
 
A  confident  community  has  found  its  way.  It  looks  forward  to  sharing  Our  Way  with  
others.  “Come  on  in.  What  would  you  like  to  eat?  We  have  a  great  community  band  we  
want  you  to  hear.  And  let  us  show  you  our  new  park  that  we  created  ourselves.”    
 
The  beautiful,  remarkable  sign  of  a  secure  community  is  that  it  has  a  welcome  at  the  
edge.  And  whom  better  than  the  Connectors  Table  to  remind  us,  should  we  forget,  that  

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there  are  important  connections  to  be  made  beyond  our  borders?  For  beyond  them  are  
people  who  need  our  gifts,  as  we  need  theirs.  
 
The  only  thing  we  have  to  fear  in  our  community  is  fear  of  outsiders.  
 
Community  Building  Questions    
Creating  a  community  culture  often  requires  neighbors  to  begin  by  asking  some  new  
questions.  A  few  of  these  pioneering  questions  that  can  spark  a  community  vision  are:    
 
1. What  are  the  gifts  of  the  people  in  the  neighborhood  and  how  are  they  given?  
 
2. Where  are  the  places  in  our  community  where  people  gather  or  could  gather  if  a  
welcome  was  offered?  
 
3. What  do  people  in  this  neighborhood  create  together?  
 
4. What  are  the  reasons  that  have  gotten  neighbors  together?  
 
5. What  is  it  in  this  neighborhood  that  creates  community  and  how  did  that  
happen?  Who  was  involved?  
 
6. How  does  our  neighborhood  show  that  we  care  about  each  other?  
 
7. What  do  we  do  to  help  keep  our  streets  clean?  
 
8. Where  do  we  spend  money  that  stays  in  the  community,  and  what  more  can  we  
do  to  keep  our  money  local?  
 
9. What  does  our  community  do  to  provide  learning  opportunities  for  our  children  
(aside  from  the  school  or  more  professional  services)?  
 
10. How  do  we  show  our  neighborhood  children  how  to  be  effective  citizens?    
 
11. What  do  we  do  that  involves  youth,  our  older  people,  and  strangers  of  all  kinds?    
 
   

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12. Who  are  the  neighbors  who:    

• are  the  creative,  gifted  storytellers?  
• have  a  great  sense  of  humor?  
• have  huge  amounts  of  positive  energy?  
• have  the  most  generous  smiles?  
• are  the  natural  teachers  and  guides?    
• are  the  kindest?    
• And  how  can  we  learn  from  these  people  and  connect  them  to  our  
strangers  and  youth.  
 
13. What  local  problems  are  probably  un-­‐solvable?  How  do  we  recognize  these  
dilemmas  and  join  each  other  in  dealing  with  limits,  tragedy  and  death?    
 
14. What  would  this  community  be  like  if  we  were  satisfied  neighbors  rather  than  
frustrated  residents?    
 
15. What  would  have  to  happen  here  for  our  lives  to  feel  gratifying?  
 
16. How  would  we  know  what  is  enough?    
 
The  Signs  That  We  Have  Found  Our  Way    
A  community  that  has  found  its  way  is  nonetheless  always  on  its  way.  It  hasan  anchor  
and  it  has  sails  –a  history  and  a  dream.  But  it  is  finally  lived  by  each  one  of  us.  When  we  
have  found  Our  Way,  we  will  know  we  are  going  the  right  way  because:  
• Everything  is  personal.  The  neighbors  know  me  by  name.  
• I  am  valued.  It  is  recognized  that  I  have  gifts  to  offer  the  community.  
• There  are  opportunities  for  my  gifts  to  be  given.    
• There  is  informality  to  Our  Way.  Order  exists,  but  it  is  not  rigid  and  allows  for  my  
uniqueness.  
• There  is  creativity  and  spontaneity.  There  are  opportunities  for  singing,  
celebration  and  eating  together.    
• Invention  abounds.  
• There  is  tragedy,  and  it  is  acknowledged  that  tragedy  is  a  part  of  life.  So  we  
mourn  and  move  on  together,  always  finding  Our  Way.    

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