Strategies

Strategy 1 | Strategy 2 | Strategy 3 | Strategy 4 | Strategy 5 | Strategy 6

Strategy Six: Start with a Neighborhood Idea to Build Inclusion

Ideas to build neighborhood inclusion can turn into neighborhood programs, organizations, or projects that intentionally involve new people and generate new tools. Such organizations or projects - such as a neighborhood service exchange or a small grant program to spark community involvement - can gain a momentum that sustains inclusion efforts in neighborhoods over time. These intentional actions build knowledge, tools, and shared stories that reach out to all kinds of people who have been isolated from the community: elders, youth, shy people, people with limited English, people with different abilities.

Here's what we've learned by developing some good ideas that sustain neighborhood inclusion efforts:

• An inclusive neighborhood organization needs not only vision and mission for inclusion, it also needs to act on that mission. This might mean creating a committee that works on involving new people in the organization or applying for a small grant to buy supplies, hire staff, or hold events to help with inclusion efforts.
• Simplicity is key to involving new people. Anything that seems unnecessary or bureaucratic may keep people from participating.
• The stronger and livelier a neighborhood organization, the easier it is to involve people, including those with disabilities. An organization is inclusive when it structures itself in ways to provide opportunities for people to get involved, and when it connects individuals with those opportunities. Create fun opportunities for people to get to know each other and build relationships: potlucks, service exchanges, and community projects.
• The more creative and fun a project is, the better. Giving a project a jazzy name will make people curious to find out what it's all about.
• One small step is a good start. A project that's easy to complete provides a success that may motivate someone to take on another project in his or her neighborhood.
• It's essential to celebrate successes, provide place for storytelling, and learn from one another's experiences. Those things generate great ideas and build momentum for neighborhood involvement.

Read more about people who started with a neighborhood idea:

	FREMONT TIME: Inclusive by Design
	SMALL SPARKS: Small Beginnings that Ignite the Imagination and Create Community