Sharing Best Practices Through Community Networking

May 27, 2009

Reframe “volunteerism” from donating time to strengthening democracy

Reframe “volunteer coordinator” from herding cats to building civic capacity

Provide you with tools to promote civic learning and civic impact

Mobilize ourselves for the common good

A non-profit organization

A growing network of civic partners

A new “operating system” for civil society

Civil Society as Associational Life◦ Separate sphere from market and state◦ Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone—social capital built from

reciprocity, norms of trust Civil Society as “The Good Society”

◦ “A society that is civil”—working across sectors toward shared goals

◦ Example: Denver’s Road Home Civil Society as Public Sphere

◦ Space for deliberation, association, collaboration◦ Coffee shops, town halls, blogs

◦ Adapted from Michael Edwards, 2004

Volunteers Volunteer Coordinators

Serving the community

Working toward meaningful goals

Building relationships with new and diverse people

Helping build bonds of trust and reciprocity

Promoting organizational goals and the common good

Connecting people across lines of difference

A open-source space for learning and collaboration

Cross between Facebook, Google Groups, and CraigsList

www.thecivicnetwork.org

Reframe “volunteerism” from donating time to strengthening democracy

Reframe “volunteer coordinator” from herding cats to building civic capacity

Provide you with tools to promote civic learning and civic impact

Mobilize ourselves for the common good