That headline–hope is as infectious as despair–came from Geoffrey Canada, of the Harlem Children’s Zone, speaking at the recent Council of State Governments East Annual Conference. You know I’m always taking notes, looking for ideas we can adapt from big cities and small towns to our own communities. I liked that statement about hope so…
No one creates jobs in a vacuum. To create new jobs, people need to connect to: Innovation works best when people connect with people outside their usual network, people who aren’t exactly like them. That makes it easier to put together pieces of seemingly unrelated ideas to generate a new idea. Your town has different kinds…
The first time I visited Pullman, Washington, in 2017, I bet half a dozen people told me they had a dirty sidewalk problem. Every time it rains, dirt and leaves and trash wash out of the streets and onto the sidewalks. As we walked around their downtown, they told me that they’ve done clean up…
I have so many stories from the amazing communities in Washington and Idaho that I toured and supported last month. People are doing heroic work to make their communities better. A new recreation area and ballfield is in process in Deary, Idaho. The next step is to install a culvert across part of it. Inspired…
And you can’t plan your way there, either. I ran into another one of those outdated “how to fix your rural community” prescriptions. I think you know the type I mean, written to address the “official leaders.” It started with shared vision, then planning (lots of planning), recruiting additional participants, assigning parts of the plan…
A couple of times last year I had the chance to hear Dell Gines talk about collaboration. Both times, he used the phrase “build robust networks for targeted purposes.” That resonated for me as Deb Brown and I often tell you stories about Building Connections and turning your crowd into a powerful network as part…
What’s the best way to get volunteers to take lots of required training or complete an intensive commitment? Help them take small steps. Take a large volunteering goal: Break it into easier subgoals: And make it flexible for them: It’s the same goal! But wording it differently made a big difference in how volunteers reacted…
Two people at the Oklahoma Arts Council conference mentioned their support message groups. This is such a simple idea I wanted to share it with you. Alena Jennings said people call her The Doodle Lady because she runs The Doodle Academy, an art experience education business in downtown Ponca City. Alena has connected with several…
You’d like to do more for your small town or rural community, but you’re held back by at least a couple of things: You don’t actually need either of those. Small steps can be meaningful and usually don’t require permission. That’s why Deb and I say: 99% of the best things you can do for…
Caldwell, Kansas, has a population of about 1000 people. The city has taken an active role in improving the condition and availability of housing in their town. That’s a LOT for a town of 1,000 people! But the city is not the only group interested in housing. When I visited the town, we made a…
At the Teeny Tiny Town Summit last week, JaNae Barnard from Fairview, Oklahoma, shared how they jump started their new housing project. “We stopped settling for talking,” she said. She loaded up the key folks from Major County Economic Development, and they drove past every single house in Fairview. That gave everyone a much clearer…
The other day, I told you about how the kids’ Photovoice project stopped me in my tracks and why we made a video for those kids. Today, I want to share one of the photo ideas the kids made and what Deb Brown and I said to those kids. It’s also part of the video…
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