Building Community

Welcome to April!  Finally, getting back to my time of the year.  Warmer weather, more sunshine, and blooms (at least for me in the midwest).  This all got me thinking about community and how we prioritize community.  So I thought I would write about Building Community.
 
Building community drives sustainability. Connecting people with values they share creates a structure that cannot be torn down.  It is a structure in which people are connected to people rather than just to a cause.  Community is stronger than one leader, and is the result of intimacy.  It is held up by a shared passion for our vision and our values.  In community, people give more of themselves through their time, passion, and treasure.  This understanding of community should guide how we build relationships with and among donors and volunteers.

 According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, there are three core definitions of community:
1.      A unified body of individuals
2.      Society at large
3.      Joint ownership or participation
 
Additionally, current research tells us that:  
1.      Donors who know that other donors are also giving to an organization, give more money. 
2.      Volunteers who know that others are also volunteering, give more time.
3.      People who are connected to others around a shared vision give more of their passion to what they care about. 
4.      Members of a social community are influenced to give more in the future by seeing others be generous in the present.
5.      The more those in community together are exposed to the outcomes of their shared vision the more they give.
6.      People in community who care together, also care more alone.
7.      The number one way to protect a group from group dysfunctions like group think, pluralistic ignorance, diffusion of responsibility is to connect them intimately in community together.

Organizations that understand community are able to build a web of socially connected relationships among their donors, volunteers and advocates and grow social capital (our sense of shared trust, passions, values, credibility, inspiration, relationships and leverage.)  So, it only makes sense that when we build community, our ability to transform society for the Kingdom grows. We move from doing good, to creating a bonded, sustainable movement for a cause. 

I leave you with one question: What are you doing to increase the sense of community among your donors and volunteers, ultimately your congregants? 

Start at the heart, your staff, and your leadership.  Cultivate a sense of community that becomes contagious. I believe the drive for real community can be transformational at a personal and organizational level. I believe this is what the church is supposed to be, a unified community living in society at large with joint ownership and participation in a vision bigger than us all.    
 
I hope you will keep the concept of community a focus for this Spring!
 
Warmly,
 
Jamie