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By Roxanne Joffe, lead communications strategist to The Patterson Foundation I’ve always been intrigued about how communities galvanize around issues they care about — whether it’s hunger, homelessness, kids, cancer — and advocate for causes that are near and dear to their hearts. This passion, this spark is what starts movements that accelerate change and awareness. In my line of work, we look for ways to make a difference in this world. We’ve worked with The Patterson Foundation to build a movement raising the profile of the 100,000 veterans in our local community (Legacy of Valor campaign) where I moved from personal knowledge about veterans to emotion ...

By Scott Westcott Lessons Learned For organizations, seeking to engage with the communities they serve in more meaningful ways requires an openness to new ideas, perspectives, and approaches. Denver Foundation President David Miller recommends exploring the Asset Based Community Development approach that focuses on leveraging existing community strengths to facilitate sustainable change. He also offered up some advice for organizations looking for stronger community connections. Listen: Don’t talk at community members. Instead, focus on listening with an open mind to their perspectives on the strengths of their neighborhood as well as the challenges ...