The Advocacy Institute

http://www.advocacy.org

The Advocacy Institute makes a difference around the world by strengthening leadership and movements for political, social, and economic justice. Working with our partners to help make democratic institutions accountable, our work links us with a global community of grassroots activists and non-governmental organization (NGO) leaders tackling critical human rights issues -- such as public health, gender equity, peace, ending poverty, sustainable development, and preserving the environment.

The Institute’s work includes: advocacy leadership development, movement building, strategy development and analysis, advocacy skills building, facilitating alliance building, strategic counseling, and networking of advocates from all over the world.

The Alliance for Justice

http://www.afj.org/

The Alliance for Justice is a national association of environmental, civil rights, mental health, women's, children's and consumer advocacy organizations. Since its inception in 1979, the Alliance has worked to advance the cause of justice for all Americans, strengthen the public interest community's ability to influence public policy, and foster the next generation of advocates.

The Alliance for National Renewal

http://www.ncl.org/anr/index.htm

The Alliance for National Renewal (ANR) is a coalition of over 200 national and local organizations dedicated to the principles of community renewal. Our diverse group of Partners range from the Study Circles Resource Center in Pomfret, Connecticut -- where a small staff has facilitated issue-based discussions in more than 70 communities -- to the National 4-H Council and the 33 million member American Association of Retired Persons.

The Association for the Study and Development of Community

http://www.capablecommunity.com/

The Association for the Study and Development of Community (ASDC) is committed to building the capacity of organizations and institutions to develop the health, economic equity, and social justice of communities. We intend to advance the research, practice, and knowledge of community development, community building, comprehensive community prevention, and collaboration through an integrated approach to providing research and evaluation support, technical assistance, and training.

The Carter Center

http://www.cartercenter.org/

Every day in countries all over the world, people live under difficult, life-threatening circumstances caused by war, disease, famine, and poverty. The non-profit Carter Center strives to relieve this suffering by advancing peace and health in neighborhoods and nations around the globe. The Center, in partnership with Emory University, is guided by a fundamental commitment to human rights, wages peace by bringing warring parties to the negotiating table, monitoring elections, safeguarding human rights, and building strong democracies through economic development. It sows the seeds of peace in other ways--by fighting disease, increasing crop production, and promoting preventive health care in the United States and abroad. The goal is to help create a world where every man, woman, and child has the opportunity to enjoy good health and live in peace.

Center for Community Change

http://www.communitychange.org/

CCC is committed to reducing poverty and rebuilding low-income communities. Its staff attempts to provide low-income people and local organizations with information and tools to improve their communities and to change policies and institutions that adversely affect their lives.

Center for Living Democracy

http://www.livingdemocracy.org

The Center’s mission is "to accelerate the emergence of Living Democracy, the broad awakening the essential role of regular citizens in solving America’s toughest problems."

The CivicSource Mission

http://civicsource.org

Serve people involved in grassroots organizing and community leadership by: Providing relevant information resources & Sharing strategies for using the Internet as an organizing tool.

The Civic Engagement Project

http://www.democracy2000.org/civicengage.htm

The Civic Engagement Project is grounded in three principles:

* All citizens can contribute ideas, energy and action.

* Proposals for improving a community are far more likely to be accepted if most citizens have a role in shaping them.

* The most effective way to capitalize on citizens' energy is to gather together representatives, each of whom accurately represents a segment of the community.

Civic Practices Network

http://www.cpn.org/

Born of the movement for a "new citizenship" and "civic revitalization," CPN is a collaborative and nonpartisan project dedicated to bringing practical tools for public problem solving into community and institutional settings across America.

The Community Tool Box

http://ctb.lsi.ukans.edu/

Here you will find practical guidance for improving community health and development. There over 3,000 downloadable pages of specific, skill-building information on over 150 community topics. We invite you to check it out.

HandsNet

http://www.handsnet.org/

HandsNet empowers organizations to integrate effective online communications strategies to strengthen their programs and policies for children, families and people in need.

Institute for the Study of Civic Values

http://www.libertynet.org/~edcivic/iscvhome.html

ISVC works to apply America’s historic civic values to contemporary issues and problems, to develop both theory and practical strategies aimed at building community, and to promote civic literacy through conferences, workshops, and seminars.

National Association for Community Leadership

http://www.communityleadership.org/

The mission of the National Association for Community Leadership (COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP) is to strengthen and transform communities by enhancing the capacity of inclusive, community leadership development efforts. Through training seminars, annual leadership conferences, collaborations and partnerships, and educational publications, COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP seeks to inspire and encourage community leadership programs across the country and to help them address issues of vital importance to their respective communities.

The National Commission on Civic Renewal

http://www.puaf.umd.edu/civicrenewal/

The Commission has been formed in response to a number of troubling trends in our civic life. During the past generation, the level of trust in government, in large institutions, and in our fellow citizens has fallen sharply. Basic civility has eroded, along with many kinds of civic participation. The content of our popular culture deeply troubles many of our citizens. Many Americans believe that the influence of religion in our society is lower than it once was and ought to be. The publication of Robert Putnam's now-famous essay "Bowling Alone" has helped to crystallize fears that America's distinctive source of social strength -- our network of voluntary associations -- is weakening and has sparked an important scholarly debate.

National Network for Collaboration

http://crs.uvm.edu/nnco/

Our purpose is to expand the knowledge base and skill level of Cooperative Extension System Educators, agency and organizational partners, youth, and citizens by establishing a network that creates environments that foster collaboration and leads to citizen problem solving to improve the lives of children, youth and families.

The National Welfare Monitoring & Advocacy Partnership

http://www.nwmap.org/

The National Welfare Monitoring & Advocacy Partnership (NWMAP) is a collaboration of organizers, advocates, service providers and researchers from across the United States concerned with the well-being of low-income people. NWMAP's activities are threefold: monitoring, advocacy, and organizing. NWMAP supports the monitoring of welfare at the community level to inform both grass roots and national advocacy efforts and to build the capacity of local communities to advocate on their own behalf.

Organizing Collaborative

http://www.organizenow.net/index.html

People Escaping Poverty Project

http://rrnet.com/~pepp1/

PEPP is a Non-Profit Organization located in the Red River Valley of Eastern North Dakota and West Central Minnesota. PEPP is organizing people with low income to impact policies that affect our lives. Through organizing, we hope to be able to gain enough power to make the system work for us rather than against us.

The Program for Community Problem Solving

http://www.ncl.org/ncl/pcps.htm

The Program for Community Problem Solving, a division of the National Civic League, is dedicated to helping community leaders build a collaborative civic culture that "gets things done". Since 1988, PCPS has provided a range of assistance to communities and those who work with them, including civic and neighborhood organizations, local, state, and federal government department and agencies, nonprofits, and foundations. PCPS offers a fully integrated array of services, from "hands-on" skills such as facilitation, training, coaching and lectures, to longer-term support such as designing multi-stakeholder collaboratives, community driven decision-making processes, and analytical research.

The Simple Society

http://www.simsoc.org/

The goal of The Simple Society is to create an innovative, more humane society that empowers everyone to achieve their full potential, that actually solves society's problems while using simpler institutional and social structures, and that lives by these six principles: 1) Everyone is personally responsible for their own behavior. 2) Everyone has the minimum personal obligation to become and remain self-sustaining. 3) Personalized help must be reliably available when it's needed. 4) We all benefit from motivating and empowering others to give us their best. 5) We all benefit from encouraging a positive creative environment. 6) In all human relationships, seek the greatest degree of fairness, not advantage. The Society will do whatever is necessary to smoothly integrate the model into everyday life.