True Charity
- Redemptive Charity Requires More of Us
- Food Aid Should Be Linked to a Willingness to Work
- A Review of In the Shadow of Plenty: Biblical Principles for Caring for the Poor by George Grant
- Collaboration Is Overrated: Why Charities Working Together Is Not the First Step
- What It Means to Flourish like a ‘Watered Garden’
- Lessons Learned in Affordable Childcare Ministry
- Measuring a Different Kind of ROI: How Philanthropists and Churches Can Spark True Transformation
- Does A Christian Worldview Boost Economic Outcomes?
- Why Voluntary Charity Is Not Optional: A Reflection on Rights and Duties
- How to Do Redemptive Welfare Reform
What Is Community Development, and How Do I Start?
The phrase “community development” can bring up images of everything from trash pickups to bike lanes to block parties. What really is community development, and how can your church or organization incorporate it into your work?
Community development can be so nebulous because it is, very simply, members of the community coming together to make their community better. So, what do beautification projects and festivals and mixed income housing have to do with poverty?
14 Best Practices for Turning a Class Into a Community
You’ve identified some of your clients who could benefit from some new skills. It’s easy to say, “Let’s teach a class.” But let’s be honest, running a class is tough. We’ve collected some advice from experienced leaders and programs so that you can make your class a time of real transformation and community—and something everyone looks forward to.
Choose Support that Doesn’t Crowd, Cramp, and Hurt
Several years ago in a meeting with some city and nonprofit leaders, I shared the need and vision for a long-term recovery center. The idea became a central piece to a ten-year plan to address homelessness. City-government leaders involved in the discussion voted to allocate $500,000 dollars as seed money to realize the new brick-and-mortar project. Some were shocked when we turned it down. Why would anyone turn away half a million dollars of free government money? Because it’s not free.
Three Things You May Not Know About Your Top Donors
It’s no secret that maintaining a strong relationship with your organization’s top donors is paramount to long-term sustainability. It takes intentional effort to ensure those relationships extend beyond a mere exchange of money. Wouldn’t it be helpful to know their thoughts and attitudes about your organization, their resources, and the factors that bring the two together?
Keep Excellence on Track with Operational Reviews
Imagine that you spend months crafting a relational, empowering program at your ministry. You carefully craft a series of questions for clients designed to find their talents and abilities. The person responsible for asking the questions changes out several times and one day you decide to sit in on the process. What was designed as an exercise in personal connection has become quite the opposite – an adversarial bureaucratic process that demeans your client. This happens more often that we know. It’s not enough to design your programs well, or implement them well in a trial run; you must maintain their effectiveness over time.
Approaches to Christmas Gifts: Restoring Dignity
As the holidays approach, many churches and nonprofits run programs to give Christmas gifts to kids in need, and many more partner with existing national programs. The traditional toy drive is simple. Donors buy gifts and volunteers distribute them. The volunteers either go to the homes of the children or have a day of distribution in a central location. Kids smile, donors feel good … everyone’s better off, right? Unfortunately – it’s not that simple.