This session on how to engage residents in community change efforts was the first in the Community Matters webinar series from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

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I. Background
II. Role of Place-Based Funders
III. Community Building: Strategies and Tactics
IV. Community Voice in Planning and
Implementation
V. Civic Infrastructure for Systems Change
VI. Questions
Webinar Overview
#caseychat

3. BACKGROUND
CASEY’S AND JACOB’S COMMUNITY CHANGE EFFORTS

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• The Foundation has worked in
the community change field for
more than two decades.
• Common thread: a focus on
making places better for the kids
and families living in them.
Casey and Community Change: A History
• More than a decade ago, the
Foundation designated two
cities as civic sites: Baltimore,
its hometown, and Atlanta,
home to UPS.

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The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Atlanta Civic Site
NPU-V
Our focus: five historic
communities less than a mile
from downtown Atlanta,
collectively known as
Neighborhood Planning Unit V.

6. Atlanta Civic Site: Agenda for Change
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7. Atlanta Civic Site: Community-Building Framework
Institutional
Accountability
Transparent Dialogue
Codesign and execute
communication activities
that allow funder and
community members to give
and get information and
feedback.
Participatory Planning
Design, model and promote
planning processes that create
spaces for residents to negotiate
priorities, identify common ground
and develop steps for ongoing
participation in decision making.
Community
Infrastructure
Resident Organizing
Support ad hoc, informal or
fledgling resident groups to
take action on issues of
community concern.
Organizational Capacity Building
Support existing or new community-
based organizations, groups and
networks to recruit and activate
constituencies, create campaigns or
action plans and attract resources to
carry them out.

8. Jacobs Family Foundation’s Southeastern San Diego Civic Site
Designated in 1992, 10 contiguous Southeastern
San Diego communities known as the “Diamond
Neighborhoods” were selected by the Jacobs Family
Foundation for funding, supported through the creation
of an operating foundation — Jacobs Center for
Neighborhood Innovation.

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Jacobs Family Foundation’s Southeastern San Diego Civic Site
• Community Characteristics
– 20 different ethnic groups
– More than 12 languages
– Limited cross-cultural
connections

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Jacobs Family Foundation: Agenda for Change
Agenda for Change: To implement a systemic
change approach to neighborhood improvement
that fostered resident-led work with emphasis
on generating sustainable community-owned
assets — sun setting in 2030.
“We believe in the creativity and innovation of residents to
change their own neighborhoods.”
— JOE JACOBS

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Jacobs Family Foundation: Agenda For Change
Building Networks
• Safety
• Education
• Arts and Culture
Building Capacity
• Leadership
• Economic, Investment,
and Ownership Opportunity
• Governance
Building Relationships
• Resident to Resident
• Residents and
Neighborhood Institutions
• Residents and
Community Change
Agents

12. ROLE OF PLACE-BASED FUNDERS

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The Casey Foundation’s Atlanta Civic Site
prescriptive
receptive
implementation
capacity
building
programming
systems
change

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• Model engagement and information-
sharing practices
• Build capacity and get out of the way
• Connect residents to each other and
community-based platforms
• Create dynamics of effective resident-
institutional partnerships
An Effective and Accountable Institution

15. COMMUNITY BUILDING
STRATEGIES AND TACTICS

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The practice of working with residents and community-
based organizations to strengthen civic life and support
community-driven responses to common challenges.
Community Building

17. Atlanta Civic Site: Tactics
Institutional
Accountability
Transparent Dialogue
neighborhood meet and greets
community forums
peer advocates
outreach
Participatory Planning
stakeholder engagement analysis
staff and resident working groups
community-led engagement
process design and coaching
facilitation
documentation
Community
Infrastructure
Resident Organizing
mini grants
sponsorships
training
coaching and planning
technical assistance
resource partners
Organizational Capacity Building
grants
sponsorships
training
coaching and planning
technical assistance
resource partners

18. To What End?
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19. COMMUNITY VOICE IN PLANNING AND
IMPLEMENTATION

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Jacobs Family Foundation: Capturing Practice
Building Relationships
Relationships are the cornerstone of
resident-centered community building.
Four Building Blocks:
1. Create multiple ways for people
to engage and contribute
2. Build trust and capacity
3. Communicate often and in many ways
4. Build the foundations for long-term work

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Jacobs Family Foundation: Capturing Practice
Building Networks
Building networks is a way to join stakeholders to address
comprehensive needs of the community, shift Foundation lead
role and empower participants.
Jacobs Networks:
• Safety – Unsafe Places; included District Council
Office, San Diego Police Department and Gang
Commission; schools, and residents
• Education – Reading By 3rd Grade; included
San Diego Unified School District; Up for Ed, YMCA,
Young Audiences, Groundworks and residents
• Arts and Culture; included community-based and
outside cultural organizations and residents

22. CIVIC INFRASTRUCTURE
FOR SYSTEMS CHANGE

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Jacobs Family Foundation: Capturing Practice
Building Capacity
Beyond the process of organizing residents, building
their relationships to their community, and involving
them in networks and network projects, ongoing
engagement is essential for capacity-building.
Fostering three key attributes among
community residents can drive systemic,
resident-driven community infrastructure
enhancement:
1. Leadership
2. Economic, investment,
and ownership opportunity
3. Governance

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Above: Market Creek Plaza and the
Joe & Vi Jacobs Center today.
Right: “Before” photo of the area.
Jacobs Family Foundation: Market Creek Plaza
Residents Planning, Building and Owning Neighborhood Change

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Jacobs Family Foundation
Advancing Resident Ownership of Neighborhood Change
• Transition Planning Elements:
– Board-resident retreats
– Setting vision, work and
measures
– Determining who governs
– Mechanisms for transferring
ownership
“For change to be sustaining, residents must own the decisions,
actions, and assets in their communities.”
— JOE JACOBS

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At www.aecf.org:
• Community Building to Drive Change
• Community Building in the Atlanta Civic Site
At www.jacobscenter.org/media.htm:
• Connecting Community Learning Exchange
(report and toolkit)
• Community Development Initial Public Offering
(evaluation synthesis report)
• Community Engagement Learning Series
– Resident Compensation for Participation
– Arts as a Civic Engagement Strategy
– Community Contractors Program
Resources

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For additional information…
Moki Macías: media@aecf.org
Reginald Jones: info@jacobscenter.org
Questions?