News Release
July 1, 2009

UW conference keynote speaker uses community capital to fuel nonprofit success

Wyoming nonprofits will be asked to Cowboy Up during the Snowy Range Nonprofit Institute (SRNI) at the University of Wyoming by boosting weak areas and optimizing their strengths via direction from a vaunted community builder. 

Cornelia Flora will show nonprofit organizations how to recognize assets they have to help achieve their missions.

“We always move forward based on the past,” said Flora, keynote speaker and a workshop presenter at the annual SRNI Aug. 2-4 at the Hilton Garden Inn.  “An asset-based approach helps make sure we are building on the positive aspects of the past rather than dwelling on what didn’t work and who gets blamed for it.”

Information about SRNI is at www.uwyo.edu/srni/. SRNI is a project of the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service (UW CES) Community Development Education Initiative Team.

Flora recently began as a distinguished professor in the Department of Sociology at Iowa State University (ISU). She had served 15 years as director of the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development at ISU.

The asset-based approach – appreciative inquiry – was started by large companies. Nonprofits should look at the assets they have to access community strengths for change, she said.

Adding to appreciative inquiry, Flora examines seven specific community assets. In 2004, Flora determined communities successful in supporting sustainable community and economic development paid attention to seven types of “capital” – natural (air and water quality, natural resources); cultural; human; social; political; financial; and built (housing infrastructure).

“We have added (to appreciative inquiry) the community capitals framework as a useful organizational sorting and mapping tool that can be used with a variety of goals and by a variety of sizes,” she said. “It works best with organizations that acknowledge multifaceted goals and have a holistic approach.”

Flora so impressed community development extension team members two years ago during a presentation the team reworked how they do businesses to include helping communities strengthen their community capitals, said Mary Martin, UW CES community development specialist, and an organizer of the institute.

“I see people coming up with that ‘Aha! – we need to build the bridges and bonds between people and interests in an organization in order to build sustainable communities,’” said Martin, who has taught community development in Wyoming for more than 30 years. “Flora’s life research has been with building communities around their capitals and helping nonprofits frame their programs and goals around how they are going to be effective in their communities. Community capitals may be something that helps them grow their program and help them build sustainability.”

Self-examination and asset building are not always a part of organizations, said Flora. “The major reason given is that ‘we don’t have time, we are busy fighting fires and figuring out what is wrong to fix it’ rather than to figure out what is working and build on it to meet our goals,” she said.

Taking the next step – action – requires a vision. “Identifying and mapping community capitals can lead to an action plan in terms of what makes sense, given which investments of organizational resources worked best in the past to move toward where we need to go,” Flora said. “Some organizations choose to invest their strongest capitals to enhance their weakest capitals in order to increase organizational balance and effectiveness.”

ServeWyoming (www.servewyoming.org/) is SRNI’s presenting partner. The Regis University master of nonprofit management program is this year’s opening conversation sponsor. The Parkman Family Foundation of New Hampshire has provided a limited number of full-registration sponsorships to first-time attendees available on a first-registered, first-served basis.

###

Contact: Steven L. Miller, Senior Editor
Phone: (307) 766-6342
E-mail: slmiller@uwyo.edu
Archived News Site http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/UWAG/news.asp

###