Asset-based community development (ABCD) is a methodology that focuses on identifying and mobilizing local community assets rather than needs. ABCD defines assets as the skills and talents of individuals, local associations and groups, physical spaces, economic resources, and institutions within a community. The ABCD approach believes that community members, including those typically viewed as clients, have gifts to contribute and should lead efforts to build stronger, more sustainable communities from the bottom up. ABCD techniques include identifying community assets through inclusive stories, mapping, and gift surveys and empowering community members to connect assets to locally-defined needs and solutions.