Being a living laboratory means Creating the Future is always seeking others who are experimenting with different organizational forms.  

You can therefore imagine our joy to learn about the work being done at New Zealand based Enspiral!Per their website, “Enspiral is a bold experiment to create a collaborative network that helps people do meaningful work.”

The more Creating the Future has explored what leadership could look like if organizations were being the movements they want to see, the more the issues extend beyond leadership and decision-making. Organizational structure, relationships (within and outside the organization), business models – everything comes into question when we stop assuming that things have to be the way they’ve always been.

And these are the very issues Enspiral has been exploring! 

Which is why I am excited to have Enspiral collaborator Chloe Waretini join me for an hour, to provide insights into the grand experiment she is so fortunate to be a member of.

• If you have been looking for alternatives to centralized, hierarchical decision-making…

• If you have been wondering what it would take for your organization’s decision-making and participation to reflect the community you want to see…

• If you have sensed there is a way to get your company or organization’s people more engaged in creating their own future (and present!)…

LISTEN TO THE MEETING HERE

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Video Podcast interview with Chloe Waretini, member and active participant, Enspiral Network
Friday, October 30th
1pm Pacific time / 4pm Eastern time

To join the conversation, just tweet to the hashtag #CTFuture. See you there!

For a summary to date of the many months of discussion around this issue by Creating the Future’s board, head here. And to participate in our board’s next discussion about this on November 5th, head here.

Chloe Waretini is a Co-catalyst, Designer, Strategist and Activator at Enspiral. As part of that work, she heads up Enspiral’s Purposive Collective – a multi-disciplinary team of people who use their creative talents to build communities of purpose around social and environmental projects.

“Is there a way to change your org into a unit of movement capacity and momentum?”

That was the question posed by CompassPoint CEO Jeanne Bell when my article about “Organizations vs Movements” was posted at Stanford Social Innovation Review.

As our own board at Creating the Future will continue its inquiry into this very issue at its November 5th meeting, I’ve invited Jeanne to join me for an hour, the week before that meeting, to talk about CompassPoint’s efforts to be the movement they want to see.

• If you have ever wondered whether there is a more effective way to organize for social change…

• If you have ever asked, “Is there a reason boards have to operate like this?”…

• If you have ever looked at the power dynamics you are seeking to change and noticed, “Wow – we have similar power dynamics right here in our organization!”…

LISTEN TO THE MEETING HERE

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Video Podcast interview with Jeanne Bell, CEO of CompassPoint
Monday, October 26th
9am Pacific time / 12noon Eastern time

To join the conversation, just tweet to the hashtag #CTFuture.

For a summary to date of the months-long discussion Creating the Future’s board has had about this issue, head here.

Jeanne Bell, MNA is the CEO of CompassPoint Nonprofit Services – a national, nonprofit leadership and strategy practice that “intensifies the impact of nonprofit leaders, organizations, and networks as we achieve social equity together.” 

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Please join the meeting by watching right here on Friday, June 5th at 4:00 p.m. ET / 1:00 p.m. PT  (if the video doesn’t appear right away, we may just be running late). And add your input and ideas and questions by tweeting to the hashtag #CTFuture.

On Friday, June 5th the representatives of three Benefit Corporations (aka B Corps) will join host Hildy Gottlieb to talk about their experiences with infusing business with purpose. And these aren’t just any Benefit Corporations – these are some of the least likely professions one might think of when the phrase “B Corp” comes to mind: an attorney, an accountant, and a banker!

What are B Corps? “B Corp is to business what Fair Trade certification is to coffee or USDA Organic certification is to milk. B Corps are certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency,” as www.bcorporation.net explains.

Carolyn Sechler (CPA) and Ellis Carter (attorney) have both chosen to go through the rigorous process of having their businesses certified as B Corps. Mark Stevenson was most recently CEO of the certified B Corp Capital Pacific Bank. We say “most recently” because Capital Pacific was acquired by Pacific Continental Bank in March, where Mark is now leading their sustainability initiative while the bank explores B Corp certification. 

Join these three pioneers as they share their thoughts about walking the talk of a purpose-driven business.

To participate in the FREE event, please use the link below to register! The event will be recorded and saved. If you are unable to make the live event, you can watch the broadcast at a later date!

 

Mark Stevenson Having recently joined Pacific Continental Bank as executive vice president and chief nonprofit and sustainability officer, Mark most recently served as president and CEO of Capital Pacific Bank. Mark has more than 30 years of experience in commercial banking, credit management and corporate finance at financial institutions such as U.S. Bank, Piper Jaffray and Security Pacific Bank. Mark is a director at “I Have a Dream” Oregon and Kompanion, Mercy Corps’ microfinance institution in Kyrgyzstan. He is a past member of the FDIC Advisory Committee on Community Banking and is a past chair of the Oregon Bankers Association. Mark is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from Stanford University with a degree in economics and Spanish.

By Joyce Lee-Ibarra

Who do you consider the most vulnerable members of society?

For many of us, the young and the elderly spring to mind. In the context of volunteerism, youth and seniors are often thought of as the recipients, rather than the providers, of volunteer services. At-risk children, for instance, fill a common narrative as the recipients of mentoring or tutoring services. Low-income seniors, meanwhile, might be imagined awaiting a Meals-on-Wheels delivery, or perhaps sitting quietly in a nursing home, anticipating a weekly visit from volunteer visitors.

What if we turned those familiar notions on their heads?

What if we were to pair these two “needy” populations through volunteering, and grew community strength from individual need?

What if we were able to add -1 to -1, and come up with +2?

I recently came across a terrific example of “intergenerational reciprocity” in Bridge Meadows, a housing development in Portland, Oregon that provides homes to adoptive families of foster children as well as low-income seniors. What binds these neighbors together is that the seniors must volunteer at least 10 hours per week with the foster children and their families to qualify for reduced-rent apartments.

Far beyond the housing provided, both groups benefit from the symbiotic relationship nourished by their time spent together. The foster children thrive under the additional interaction and care the seniors provide, while the seniors enjoy the affection and social connection the children bring.

What speaks to me most about this innovative housing community is not merely its development of authentic symbiosis between foster families and low-income seniors. It’s that the model takes for granted that both “vulnerable” groups possess tremendous strengths, rather than focusing on their deficits. By assuming the presence of—and working from—each group’s strengths, we honor and dignify those groups, and give them power and agency to shape the communities of which they are a part.

Perhaps more importantly, the model addresses the often uncomfortable undercurrent of some volunteer relationships—the power dynamic of noblesse oblige, that the “recipients” of volunteers’ largesse are somehow beholden to their “providers.” Rather than reinforcing a unidirectional flow of volunteerism, Bridge Meadows demonstrates a virtuous circle of reciprocity. And by reimagining the “needy” as a wellspring of generosity, support, and compassion, Bridge Meadows has found a way to harness the complementary needs of individuals, giving them the power to engage, build, and bind community.

How else might we reimagine “providers” and “recipients” of volunteerism?

In what other ways can volunteering serve as a vehicle for connection, contribution, and reciprocity among those labeled as “in need”?

And what examples have you seen in your own lives, where community members are seen for their gifts and strengths, helping each other without labels?

Since 2003, Joyce Lee-Ibarra has served as a development consultant, providing grant writing, program evaluation, and academic research and writing services to a range of community benefit organizations and public sector agencies. To learn more about Joyce and her work, visit JLI Consulting.

When we see change happening in communities, in organizations, in people’s lives – what is supporting that change to happen? What are the factors that cause change?

In the April edition of Making Change (live in video, recorded as a podcast), I’ll be joined by two people whose lives are dedicated to creating change in communities – Rebecca Hurd and Lisa Humenik.

Rebecca (top photo) is a change catalyst working to build community throughout her home state of Idaho. Rebecca’s life is all about bringing people together to share their strengths towards a positive vision of what is possible in the small towns that dot that rural state.

Lisa (second photo) has over 2 decades working as an advocate for volunteer engagement, from running a volunteer center to facilitating the on-the-ground volunteer response to Hurricane Sandy.

This is guaranteed to be a lively hour of exploration, conversation and fun!

LISTEN TO THE MEETING HERE

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Twitter stream from the Community Engagement and Volunteerism Making Change Broadcast

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How can the questions we ask in our day-to-day work significantly enhance the quality of life in our communities?

Last month, I was honored to speak at the prestigious City Club of Portland, to share what we have learned at Creating the Future about what really creates social change.

And when I say it was an honor, I couldn’t mean that more.

First, City Club is a place where civic-minded big thinkers go to stretch their minds. From racism to climate change to the debates for local and statewide elected offices, City Club is definitely where I would be every Friday lunchtime if I lived in Portland.

Second, the audience was amazing. They tweeted their thoughts for days after the event, long after I was already 1,000 miles away. They asked insightful questions. They got it – deep in their bones. That is every speaker’s dream!

Lastly and so importantly, City Club models so much of what Creating the Future is all about. They ask the big questions, and then, through their partnership with Oregon Public Broadcasting, they ensure that all that big thinking reaches out into the airwaves, so that anyone can listen and learn and explore. So many membership organizations hoard their best stuff as a perk of membership; City Club stays true to its purpose, seeing their mission as being first and foremost about the community. Wow.

As a gift of gratitude to City Club of Portland, we’ve added a bit of a thank-you onto the video of my talk there. If you live in or around Portland, we encourage you to be part of their work!

And no matter where you are in the world, we hope this 40 minutes (plus Q&A) inspires you to change how you think about your work, your community, and your life!

Note: There is an MP3 link below the video, for those who want to download and listen while you commute.

 LISTEN TO THE MEETING HERE

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(To download to your hard drive, right-click {or click and hold on a Mac} on the link above and select “Save Target As”.. or “Save Link as”… depending on your browser)

When we see change happening in communities, in organizations, in people’s lives – what is supporting that change to happen? What are the factors that cause change?

In the March edition of Making Change (live in video, recorded as a podcast), I’ll be joined by Joe Iarocci, Founding Partner at Cairnway Center for Servant Leadership Excellence. 

Join us for an hour of exploration, conversation and fun!

Use the link below Joe’s photo to Register .

Joe Iarocci is a Founding Partner of the Cairnway Center for Servant Leadership Excellence. Cairnway is a leadership development firm serving organizations seekoing to build cultures anchored in servant leadership.

Joe founded Cairnway after serving as CEO of the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership and, before that, in several executive roles at CARE, one of the largest international NGOs dedicated to ending extreme poverty. Joe began his professional career as a Wall Street lawyer.

Joe holds degrees from Brown University, the Cornell Law School and Emory University’s Candler School of Theology.

Research about hunger and transportation. And about economic development and the environment. And pretty much any area of focus that has to do with changing the world!

IssueLab is an online resource with over 16,000 articles available – for free, thanks to the amazing folks at the Foundation Center! You can easily browse their massive collection by author, funder, issue area, geographical region or publishing organization.

To visit the site, click here. We are confident you will get lost in all the good stuff they have there! 

How could your annual planning create the future of your community? And how is that different from the planning most organizations already do?

Gayle Valeriote has been doing just that kind of planning with organizations across North America. In the February edition of the Making Change vid-cast, Gayle will be joined by the leaders of two of those organizations, to talk about what that planning looks like – and especially the results!

Join us for this free one-hour live event on Tuesday, February 10th at 4pm ET / 1pm PT. Like all our Making Change vid-casts, you are invited to be part of the conversation via Twitter (you’ll get details when you register). The event will be recorded, so even if you can’t be there for the actual live event, we’ll send you the link.

LISTEN TO THE MEETING HERE

Download audio file (PlanningThatCreatesTheFuture.mp3)

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Twitter stream from the Planning that Creates the Future Making Change Vid-cast

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Guest Bios

Gayle Valeriote
Gayle Valeriote has been a passionate advocate for social justice, global development movements and social inclusion for immigrants and racialized people in Canada for 30 years. For the past decade she has been consulting and teaching leadership, strategy and community development in her home town of Guelph, Ontario, Canada and across the North American continent.  

Karen Smith
Karen Smith is a community builder by nature and vocation. She is currently putting that passion to work as the Executive Director of the Community Child Abuse Council of Canada, a leading provider of child abuse prevention, education, and treatment programs in Hamilton, Ontario. Karen has also been the principal consultant at EnMark Associates since 1991, providing counsel and services to community benefit and public sector organizations in Hamilton and beyond. 

Kate Bishop 
Kate Bishop has lived, worked and volunteered across Canada in 4 provinces and Nunavut territory in the non-profit and public sectors. She has developed, managed and evaluated diverse educational, community development and volunteer programs and collaborative partnerships. Currently Kate is the Supervisor of Community Engagement at the City of Guelph. Over a 2 year period she led a steering committee of passionate community leaders to implement the City’s Sustainable Neighbourhood Engagement Framework and create a new community benefit organization, the Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition (GNSC). Kate is privileged to continue her work with the GNSC as a Director of the Board. 

What if instead of focusing on the values of gratitude and generosity once a year, individuals focused on these values every day? Not just personally, but professionally as well? What does it look like when business is built around gratitude and generosity? What does it look like when community work is built around gratitude and generosity? How does this approach differ from “the norm?”

If you’re curious about the role of gratitude and generosity in both the business and community development worlds you won’t want to miss “Gratitude and Generosity: An Online Conversation.” Christy McGill and Rhonda Lorch joined Hildy Gottlieb on December 16th in a discussion about gratitude and generosity as the foundation for business and community work. Christy is executive director of the northern-Nevada based Healthy Communities Coalition, and Rhonda is owner and manager of Lorch and Associates out of Winnipeg, Manitoba. (Check out their bios below.)

Here is the recorded conversation. And as always, we encourage your participation via the Twitter hashtag #CTFuture or in the comments below.

Listen to the Audio Only

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Bios