cfleads – adapted with permission by community foundations of canada © cfleads in collaboration...

CFLeads – Adapted with permission by Community Foundations of Canada © CFLeads in collaboration with Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group for the Council on Foundations, 2008

For Community Leadershipby a Community Foundation

Presenter’s Name

Organization

Contact

Framework


Stepping Up to Leadership

• Visionary and inclusive

• Beyond single issues and partisan politics

• Grounded in clear values, committed to improving quality of community life

We need new forms of civic dialogue, engagement, and

leadership that are:


Using the CFLeads Framework

• Specific to community leadership by community

foundations

• Manageable ‘bites’

• Making the shift from occasional to intentional community

leadership


Defining Community Leadership

The community foundation

is a catalyzing force

that creates a better future for all

by addressing the community’s most critical or persistent

challenges,

inclusively uniting people, institutions and resources,

and producing significant, widely shared and lasting results.


First Level Building Blocks

A. The community foundation manifests the values, culture

and will to exercise community leadership.

B. The community foundation continuously builds the relationships

to exercise community leadership.

C. The community foundation accesses and develops the resources

necessary to exercise community leadership.

D. The community foundation accesses and develops the

understanding and skills to exercise community leadership.


A. Values, Culture and Will

• Embed community leadership in the DNA of the

foundation

• Overcome organizational silos

• Prepare internally to increase impact


B. Relationships

• Building relationships is ongoing

• Staff and board members are all involved

• Board members, donors and volunteers receive

information, become more engaged, support community

leadership work internally and externally


C. Resources

• Includes more than money, but money matters

• Types of resources:

◦ Provide staff, meeting space, amenities for collaborations

◦ Serve as fiscal agent when no one else can

◦ Loan in-house expertise (i.e., communications staff, sit on committees)


D. Understanding and Skills

• Can acquire internally, on-the-job, specialized hires,

consultants, community partners

◦ Commission studies, scans

◦ Create indicator projects (i.e. Vital Signs)

◦ Stakeholder interviews, focus groups

◦ Convene organizations, entities that all deal with a particular issue


Building Block AValues, Culture and Will

1. Effect change that advances the common good

Second-Level Building Blocks



2. Increase opportunity, diverse participation and fairness




3. Focus on results-driven learning




4. Be humble, respectful and transparent



Building Block BRelationships

1. Join with or convene those involved in or concerned about an issue



Building Block BRelationships

2. Engage and support other community leaders



Building Block CResources

1. Use internal systems to maximize ability to influence community change




2. Use human resources to exercise community leadership




3. Engage donors and other co-investors




4. Ensure business model provides flexible financial resources



Building Block DUnderstanding and Skill

1. Actively learn about, with, and for the community




2. Understand processes of community improvement:


• community development• economic development• community organizing• cultural change• systems change



3. Stimulate dialogue and understanding; build

consensus




4. Strategically craft and act on community leadership

opportunities




5. Engage in public policy to advance the common good




6. Measure the impact of community leadership work



Story Reflection Tool

• Think about your community leadership strengths and

gaps

• To start, reflect on a specific community leadership

experience – it may be completed or in progress…


Story Reflection Tool:Instructions

• Gather a group of people

• Identify leadership activities

• Complete activity in document

• Repeat as needed


Assessment and Planning Tool

• Checklist to think about leadership attributes and

capacities your community foundation has in place

• Steps to take to get the attributes / capacities that you

want and don’t have (yet)


Assessment and Planning Tool: Instructions

• Gather into teams

• Review relevant building blocks

• Identify building blocks in place

• Inventory those needed

• Plan action steps

• Act by making choices


For More Information

• Go to the “Building Community Vitality: A Leadership

Toolkit” members area of the CFC website to find other

tools, resources and stories to help you

cfleads – adapted with permission by community foundations of canada © cfleads in collaboration...

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