Using Civic Engagement and Collaboration to Create Community Change: Lessons From Charlotte, N.C.

Community leadership as multi‐dimensional capacities: A conceptual framework and preliminary findings for community foundations

“…Convening involves engaging community members and stakeholders in identifying community needs, policy alternatives, grantmaking priorities, and evaluating their grants and projects. It necessitates various dialogic practices such as convening civic dialogues, facilitating policy deliberation and consultation, consensus building, and sometimes, striving for compromise (Carman & Hefner, 2012;Easterling, 2011;Graddy & Morgan, 2006;Millesen, Carman, & Bies, 2010;Phillips et al, 2016;Reynolds, 2008;Scherer, 2017).…”

“…Partnership allows organizations to do more with less, and thus increase the community capability to address complex wicked problems which cannot be tackled alone (Ansell & Gash, 2007;Fyall, 2016). Compared to convening, which can be a one-time occasion, the literature suggests that community leaders spend considerable time and resources to foster durable partnerships with networks of nonprofits, governments, business partners, and local leaders to broker solutions and leverage systems change (Ballard, 2007;Carman & Hefner, 2012;Graddy & Morgan, 2006;Wei-Skillern & Silver, 2013).…”

“…Using their grantmaking abilities combined with their relationships and knowledge networks, community foundations engage in direct advocacy, forge coalitions, advocate on social media, and fund nonprofits' advocacy work that resonate with the foundation's values and mission (Bushouse & Mosley, 2018;Easterling, 2011;Ferris, 2009;Su arez, 2012;Su arez et al, 2018). Philanthropic actors may engage in public policy indirectly by building an active citizenry through mobilizing civic and political participation in volunteering, voting, and protests, and other forms of collective action (Carman & Hefner, 2012;Grønbjerg, 2006).…”