Stage 2:  Build and Bond the Leadership Group

A great deal of your eventual success will depend upon your ability to recruit a group of leaders who represent the full economic and racial/ethnic make-up of your community. As you go about this process, here are some suggestions:

• Think inclusively.
• Establish an appropriate size.
• Promote a visionary tone.
• Bond the team.

The first meeting of the group is important. Consider how this meeting will set the tone for the group. You may want the first meeting to be at the home of a leader who has trust throughout the community. Or, perhaps a more business-like meeting held in a meeting hall or conference room will be more suitable.   Consider carefully who should invite people to come. Generally, those calling the team together should reflect the diversity you plan for the group as a whole.

Two comprehensive papers on Stage 2, "Building a Diverse Team" and "Bonding a Diverse Team", prepared by the Philanthropy Index staff, are available on this web page by simply clicking on their titles in the column to the left.

 

            Building the Team

Grassroots Leadership Development – Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation.  For years the Babcock Foundation has funded some of the most exciting leadership development efforts in the country.  Their grantees have focused particular attention on dismantling racism work.  This webpage leads to resources and papers developed out of the wide-ranging experience of the Foundation and their grantees.  http://www.mrbf.org/resources/?cat_id=1.

Leadership for Change .  “MDC has created and led some of the South's most effective leadership development programs, as well as making it an integral aspect of our community development work over the past 15 years.  This new publication from the demonstration phase of the Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI) discusses MDC's framework for understanding the multiple levels of competencies community leaders need to undertake effective community-change efforts and explores the methods and strategies of the RCCI as a structure for addressing those multiple-level needs.”  Available online only at: http://www.mdcinc.org/.

Appreciative Inquiry:  Change at the Speed of Imagination.  Jane M. Watkins and Bernard J. Mohr.  Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer (2001).

The Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry.  2^nd edition.  Sue Annis Hammond.  Thin Book Publishing Co. (1998).

            Working with Racially Diverse Groups

Black and White Styles in Conflict.   Thomas Kochman.  University of Chicago (1981).

Training for Racial Equity and Inclusion:  A Guide to Selected Programs.  Ilana Shapiro.  The Aspen Institute (2002).  Available as free download at:  www.aspenroundtable.org.

ChangeWorks.  Anti-Racism Training.  Kenneth Jones. kenneth_j_32250@yahoo.com.

StrategicInterventions, Inc.  An international consulting firm dedicated to advancing progressive social change through building the long-term institutional capacity of organizations and expanding the skills and acumen of leadership.  Strategic Interventions draws upon the unique culture and experience of each client organization or institution to address its specific organizational and leadership challenges.  http://www.strategic-interventions.com/Home.asp.

             Communities of Color and Philanthropy

Cultures of Caring: Philanthropy in Diverse American Communities is an outstanding report that examines potential ways to expand the use of institutional philanthropy in four population groups:  African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos and Native Americans.  Working closely with organizations representing these four groups, the research team studied affluent donors in each group.  “The idea was to learn from givers themselves the lessons that would inform efforts to expand diversity in philanthropy.”

Available as free download at: http://www.cof.org/Content/General/Display.cfm?contentID=235.

“Caring for Each Other:  Philanthropy in Communities of Color”, Lisa Durán, Grassroots Fundraising Journal (September/October 2001), pp. 4-7.

“Why People of Color Need to be Good Fundraisers”, Mike Roque, Grassroots Fundraising Journal (October 1998), pp. 3-5.