Asset-Based
Community
Development
A Framework for
Building
Communities
from the Inside
Out
Neighborhood needs
map
Unemployment Homelessness
Broken Families Slum Housing
Graffiti
Gangs Child Illiteracy
Abuse Mental Crime
Disability
Welfare Recipients
Drugs Dropouts
Consequences of needs
map
• Local residents internalize
“deficiencies”
• Local relationships are destroyed
• Funds are directed to professional
helpers, not residents
• Leaders magnify and exploit
deficiencies
• Failure is rewarded
• Dependency is perpetuated
Neighborhood assets
map Local Institutions
Businesses Schools
Citizen Associations
Churches Block Clubs
Individual Gifts
Parks Income Seniors
Youth Volunteer
Artists Groups
Cultural Groups
Hospitals Colleges
Successful community
building
• Citizen-led
• Asset-based
• Relationship-driven
• Internally-focused
• Comprehensive
Community-building
paradigm
• Old • New
– Focus on deficits – Focus on assets
– More services – Fewer services
– Problem response – Opportunity
– Focus on individuals identification
– – Focus on community
Maintenance
– – Development
See people as clients
– See people as citizens
– Fix people
– Develop potential
– Programs are the
answer – People are the answer
– Emphasis on agencies – Emphasis on
associations
– Charity orientation
– Investment orientation
Community assets
• Institution
• Association s
• Individuals s
Individuals assets
• Talents “Every living
person has some
• Skills gift or capacity
• Creativity of value to
• others. A strong
Culture
community is a
• Sense of history place that
• Time recognizes those
gifts and ensures
• Enthusiasm that they are
• Relationship & given.”
networks − Building Communities from the
Inside Out,
• Income Kretzmann & McKnight, 1993
Associational assets
“The basic community
• Councils organization for
empowering
• Block clubs individuals and
• mobilizing their
Church groups capacities is the
• Sports teams association. An
association is a group
• Business groups of citizens working
• Political groups together. An
association is an
• Service clubs amplifier of the gifts,
• Exercise groups talents and skills of
individual community
• Arts members.”
organizations − Building Communities from the Inside Out,
Kretzmann & McKnight, 1993
Local institutional
assets “Every community
• Parks hosts some
combination of more
• Libraries formal, public, private
• Schools and non-profit
institutions. Since
• Colleges these institutions
represent significant
• Hospitals concentrations of
• resources, local
Churches neighborhoods have
• Social service begun to capture
them for community-
agencies building purposes.”
• Police − Building Communities from the Inside Out,
Kretzmann & McKnight, 1993
From AB (Asset Based) to CD (Community
Development)
ABCD Principles Organizing Organizations Community Building Tools
Citizen-Led Membership Supported Individual Development
Accounts
Asset Based Democratic / Open
Neighborhood Develop. Trusts
Relationship Driven by Principles
Centered Asset I.D. and Mobilization
Growth Oriented
Internally Focused Grants for Blocks
Action Oriented
Investment Oriented Community-School Partnerships
Collaborative
Comprehensive Land Trusts
Empowered
Neighborhood Newspapers
Independent of Institutional
Control Neighborhood Networks
Self-Sustaining Community Resource Centers
Mobilizing community
assets Local
Institutions External
Institutions
Association
s
Individuals
Thank you!
Community Building Institute
3800 Victory Parkway
Cincinnati, Ohio 45207-7770
513-745-3896
www.xavier.edu/cbi
