Weave+Community

We have observed five common reasons that leaders tap the power of networks: to weave community, access many and new perspectives, build and share knowledge, mobilize people, and coordinate resources and action. Just as most social change efforts have multiple purposes, many network solutions are designed to capture several of these benefits at once. As a result, the descriptions of network purposes that follow are archetypes, rather than mutually exclusive or exhaustive categories.  __Weave Community __ Building community and strengthening social capital has long been at the core of neighborhood revitalization and organizing efforts. But new approaches are now allowing community organizers and funders to view their work through a network lens, and to better understand the ties and complex connections between individuals in order to foster healthier communities. Organizers are deliberately acting as “network weavers”—a term coined by June Holley, who refers to herself as a network weaver, to describe the act of connecting others in an effort to strengthen ties. Weavers link previously disconnected individuals and groups, surface untapped opportunities for community members to produce better outcomes, and encourage new relationships and collaborations. In some ways, it’s what community organizers have always done, only the new approaches emphasize a lack of hierarchy or traditional power structures, focusing instead on connectivity and social capital.  The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s decade-long “Making Connections” initiative has been deliberately weaving social networks as a core strategy for improving the lives of children and families in many of America's toughest neighborhoods. Built on the belief that a person can get the strongest form of support through family and friends, the initiative seeks to strengthen that web of relationships and use them as a springboard for long-term community growth. One of the neighborhoods where Annie E. Casey has invested, Louisville, Kentucky, has formed the [|Making Connections Network.]  The have created a broad-based community network with over 3200 members that is linking residents from across four Louisville neighborhoods with one another and with opportunities, like jobs and childcare. The results are impressive: over $ 4 million generated in neighborhood salaries from job placements through the network; $1.75 million and $760,000 in Earned Income Tax Credit returned to families from free tax sites; and the numbers can’t begin to capture the power of relationships developed through the network. [i]
 * //What are networks good for? //**

[i] [|The Power of We: Making Connections Louisville Slideshow 2008]