When Can We Start?

Capacity Building is an umbrella term that covers a lot of things. Before we jump in, let's look at a small example of the difference between a volunteer organization and a Capacity Building organization:

A Volunteer Coordinator will call down a list of available people and ask if they are willing to help weed the out-of-control flower beds at City Hall.

A Capacity Builder will contact known resources, beginning with an identified leader who has influence at the local Garden Club or Master Gardeners and one who knows leaders at an environmentally oriented school. The CB will ask the two resources to see if there might be a mutual benefit to offering an outdoor learning experience to the school children. The CB will provide the name(s) of other resources who might have tools and equipment to facilitate. Another resource might be able to provide treats for the group, and a yard sign to be posted recognizing the workers.

The CB will ask the leader that a timetable be met and that an email be sent to another resource, a Publicity person. The Publicity resource will inform the media and arrange for photos to be taken to give to the participants, to put in the group's newsletters, to send to the media if they don't come themselves. The leader will be sure to get the contact information for all participants to send thank yous, and to add to the email list. All will be welcomed to the community.

Yikes! What a mountain out of a molehill! Wouldn't it be easier for the Capacity Builder just to weed the *** flower beds himself?

Doesn't matter to the Capacity Builder.  The whole point is to build, over time, a cohesive community that can work together efficiently, and creatively, to do what needs to be done. It takes a lot of up front work finding the leaders and resources; earning people's interest; developing goals, standards and values; providing a lot of training; and creating safety nets (insurance, emergency procedures.) But with the foundation in place, a simple project like weeding the flower beds builds even MORE community and brings to light new resources and partnerships. It is a win-win-win-win-win situation.

By the way, it comes as no surprise that the two groups who have been the earliest pool of resources for Urban Capacity Builders are Seniors and Youth. Here are two very large populations that up to now have not been asked to be involved– especially on a contributing leadership level. Smart cities and states that have started here got a jump start on their building effort.

So, in the end, Capacity Building isn't much different than what Easter Seals, or the Rotary, or the Hospital Auxiliary, or the United Nations, or Presidents Clinton and Bush do. It's just that it's time for our communities–neighborhoods, villages, cities, states–to do it. The longer we continue to believe that our Downtown issues can be fixed with Money-to-Buy-Things, without People-to-Build-Community, the deeper in we get. Today would be a great day to start building.