Women Creating Social Capital and Social Change

As Community Development Organizations (CDOs) are the primary vehicle for development in low-income neighborhoods, scholars have begun to examine them in terms of the degree to which they increase citizen participation, increase civic capacity, as well as stabilize and revitalize neighborhoods through the creation of social capital. According to Putnam, civic action requires the existence of social capital; he defines social capital as norms, trust, and networks. As Gittell and Vidal note, there has been a virtual industry of interest and action created around the implication of Putnam\u27s findings for the development of low-income communities. This article is an excerpt from a study published by the Howard Samuels State Management and Policy Center, The Graduate School and The University Center of the City University of New York entitled, Women Creating Social Capital and Social Change: A Study of Women-led Community Development Organizations

Citizen Participation in Urban Services: the Administration of a Community-Based Crime Prevention Program

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68929/2/10.1177_089976407800700105.pd

Advocacy, Democratic Theory, and Participation

This document was part of the Multicultural Philanthropy Project, funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. A series of fourteen guides examine the ways in which various gender, ethnic, cultural, religious and racial groups use their gifts of time, money, and talent. They reflect the ways giving and voluntarism are embedded in American life and challenge the notion that philanthropy is the exclusive province of elites. The guides include discussion topics, research questions, and literature overviews with annotated bibliographies. They were developed both to integrate the study of philanthropy into the curricula at colleges and universities, and to provide a tool to nonprofit professionals in the area of development and fundraising. Each volume provides background information on a selected community that will help practitioners work effectively with these groups. Divided into three sections -- Theory and Participation, Pluralism and Interest Groups, and Advocacy in Practice -- this volume explores the relationship between the formation of associations and democratic practice. Beginning with Madison's federalist papers, the chapters explore why individuals have formed organizations, the most important reason being the desire to redress perceived inequalities, imbalances and injustices. The guide is designed with a dual purpose; to provide a clear conceptual and historical foundation for those interested in the advocacy role of nonprofit organizations and to offer lessons learned from case studies for those actively involved in community advocacy. The guide can best be used to examine historical and contemporary models of change from the work of community organizer, Saul Alinsky to the current practices of environment, economic and health-related public interest groups