Movement-Building Conversation, CANPO Conference

• Different measure of success
• Strategic acceptance of diversity of all levels, inclusiveness, community
• Human capital
• Hard work
• Innovation
• Determination
• Hope
• Passion
• Vision
• Resilience
• Tenacious
• Imagination, creativity
• Enthusiasm
• Dedication
• Willingness to get involved
• Lots of people
• Original ability
• Money
• Ability to reflect and move forward
• Honesty
• Trust
• Volunteers, network of
• Resourcefulness
• Collaboration
• Common causes
• Selflessness
• Human spirit
• Ethics
• Financial abilities
• Commitment
• Perseverance
• Each individual
• Relationships
• Networks of volunteers
• Data-driven approaches
• Leverage of unique opportunities; smaller groups 'low to the ground'  - able to move quickly
• Leverage skills
• Starting to have unified voice
• Diversity of voices
• Altruistic volunteers
• Qualitative versus quantitative - need both
• People feel they can make a difference
• We have a vehicle that can
• Hybrid corporate/social ventures; new models - NPO's not fearful of corporate-centered methods
• Triple bottom line
• Dare to go where government and business don't care
• Bringing different talents
• "4^th sector" - public, private, NP sections
• Education

• Power, control
• Greed
• Low salary
• Money, funding
• Politics
• Denial
• Burnout
• Lack of leadership
• Under-appreciated
• Lack of awareness
• Budget constraints
• Competition
• Time
• Status quo
• Don't step out of comfort zone
• Work-life balance
• Stagnation
• Lack of tangible change; hard to see the change we're creating
• Lack of training
• Lack of collaboration
• Division
• Unrealistic expectations
• Unable to reach diverse groups
• Lack of volunteers, human power
• Resources not utilized well
• Inefficiency
• Aging workforce
• Lack of opportunity for growth
• Unintended consequences of our actions
• Failure to recognize our good work, accomplishments
• Organizations don't work together
• Organizations don't see how our work fits together
• We shouldn't see our organizations as the center of the universe, but our common goals as center
• Egos, turf wars
• Funder driven: you have to be unique
• Where is our common ground? Do we agree on ultimate goals? Do we have a common vision?
• No clearing house
• Overwhelmed by number of issues
• Too much competition
• Inability to move our efforts beyond the immediate needs of constituency (tunnel vision)
• Bureaucracy; paperwork overload
• Mission drift
• NPO have lost touch with the people (over-institutionalization)
• Expectations of executive is too broad and high
• Acknowledgements of volunteers and staff is too low
• Lack of formalized relationships/mentorship programs
• We need to pass on leadership
• Lack of diversity of skills/organization
• Chasing money
• Inability to be adaptable to changing circumstances
• Traditional funding is burdensome; more earned incomes needed
• Innovation among leadership
• Not patient and see natural alliances over time
• Fear of change

• Talk positive vision, not what against
• Find meaningful, common ground
• Come up with our positive vision together
• We're here for positive change
• We embody service, serving the community
• We are informed by history - movement history
• Singing, arts, culture - infuses our work!
• Hugely participatory
• How can we come together around ALL issues?
• We see interconnectedness of issues and facilitate
• Help us connect all these issues together
• Start with common ground
• Grassroots networking - we all work together, rather than rush for my piece
• We know and care about each other personally. This is fulfilling, sustaining.
• We rally around success, positive vision, bringing the positive to all.
• Arts as point of connection.
• Voting with our dollars - dollars aligned with social justice
• Care for future generations in every action.
• We honor all contributions, including smaller, day-to-day things
• Hope and joy are part of our work, not fear-based
• Emotions, humanity, community valued more than data, polling AND we're strategic!
• Fully resourced - no strings attached
• Collaboration between non and for-profit, and government
• Transcend 'us' versus 'them'
• Everyone in the community participates, has a voice
• Simplicity
• Take action (report back on change)
• Awareness of who you are
• Get specific about what change we want
• Recognize interconnections of issues
• Get of the way of our egos
• Money for operations and salaries; move beyond subsistence
• Resources to remove the stigma
• Sharing resources - outsource what isn't your mission
• People solving problem will include people who have problem
• Healthy- create the picture of what this looks like
• Service learning integral part of education at every level; young people involved
• Complete paradigm shift - no longer 'siloed'
• Sharing resource in synergistic fashion (space, technology)
• More men

What are we collaborating around?

What are people afraid of? Address this and move out of fear, fear of not enough.

There are so many nonprofits - bring people who do similar things together. Consolidate.

Build a pilot group to bring issues together and champion a model for others

Systems in place: transparency, accountability.

Survival of the fittest - some non-profits need to go away anyway.

Is your job to go out of business?

Merge if you need to

DOSP - maybe try a diversity of issues (?)

Pilot that brings corp/gov/diverse npos - people would then believe its possible.

What unites us? We're all in service. But we don't communicate and opportunities are not clear.

Define your issue as community, broadly - how issues are linked.

Develop a community.

Incubator: organizations in same "supply chain". Connect regularly. Include for-profits? (Humana Health funds? - mid-size business)

Fill voice of connection within sector.

Sector wide resource gap analysis

CO NP Assn could ask these questions of the sector.

Within each sector, redefine what the need is

A net to catch people who want to start NPOs before they do!

Systems that help move us in the best directions

There is not enough to go around. Someone will get my piece of the pie.

I'll lose my job.

I lose if they win.

Change is scary!

Hard time letting go, setting aside the ego.

IRS

(Keep it about who we're serving! Abundance exists!)

Wind and solar power, houses, windmills

Reclamation of ground water, for your own use in your house

Large community garden

School: music education, great library, and kids are engaged

Community is doing activities with kids - neighbors, men and women of different ethnic and financial backgrounds

Older neighbors, instead of being alone in their houses, walk kids to and from schools and host groups. A "walking bus."

Everyone on my block was outside and interacting with each other. We all knew each other. We're helping each other out, with yardwork or the house.

Good communication

Confluence Park: farmer's market, all local - literally local, within Denver metro area.

It felt communal: help each others with tasks, choosing to help.

Local arts communities flourishing, selling.

Recycling, renewables, art.

School: multi-use, and open on Sunday

Library: open as often as we need, packed with people. Hosts community meetings and interactions. Kids doing art in the conference rooms.

Collaborative sharing of resources to meet needs

Flatter - less power-over, more shared power and trust.

"The system" was US - people. Town hall meeting: people take part, ownership of community. Every generation was engaged. Didn't see any government!

Unschooling movement - share educational resources; always educating your child.

Foster different learning styles

Parents have time to engage with kids and their kids' education.

Kids grow up knowing how they'll be of service

We all have something to contribute to the greater good - not military - and this is part of the culture, for everyone.

Free flow of information and opportunities.

Education includes service, generosity, character development.

Culture is not about self-interest - people act purely b/c it's the right thing for someone else.

We have a lot to learn from our past.

Focus on what unites us, see what we have in common and work from there.

Form core leadership or advisory group from people who've participated

Have this dialogue with truly diverse groups - invite everyone.

Or not - just create the model.

Town hall meeting: if you come, you'll have a voice. Bring everyone together.  Technical assistance groups could help with this: CNDC, Metro Volunteers, CRC...

Include entrepreneurs, folks who don't have organizational baggage.

Bring a board member from your organization to this meeting. Share what we've done and get input.