Tools for people seeking to improve their communities

This significant guide puts the tools of democracy into everyones hands. Based on the best of Blandin Foundations 20-year experience in developing community leaders, it gives community members—like yourself—the tools to bring people together to make changes.

Here are some of the useful resources you’ll find:

Identifying Community Assets
Community Problem Analysis
Accessing Community Data; Appreciative Inquiry
Translating Vision to Action
Interpersonal Communication for Leaders
Managing Interpersonal Conflict as a Leader
Building Social Capital Across Cultures
Network Mapping: Locating Your Social Capital
Stakeholders Analysis
Building Coalitions
Building Effective Community Teams
Recruiting and Sustaining Volunteers
Getting the Most from Your Meetings.

Your roadmap to community leadership

Across the country, individuals and groups are hearing a bugle call to action. Rural, urban, rich, poor, left, right, and everywhere in between community members are waking up to bridge differences and make their communities the best they can be. If you want to make a difference where you live, this book is your roadmap. If you attend early and late night meetings to figure out what needs to get done, this book is your handbook. If you give your time and energy to make things happen, this book is your guide. If you work to involve your neighbors to solve problems, this book is your ally. Carefully crafted examples—based on real-life leadership issues—help you see how to put the tools of leadership to work where you live, today.

Whether you are an active community member who wants to make a difference, a nonprofit leader serving the community, a leadership advisor, a government liaison called on to convene the community, a business leader, a public servant, or a foundation program officer specializing in community needs, you will find in this book the tools and theories essential to getting your work done.

James F. Krile

The Community Leadership Handbook: Framing Ideas, Building Relationships, and Mobilizing Resources