LIBRARY RESOURCES & BLOG
This area is filled with how-to articles, engaging conversations, and tons of examples of Catalytic Thinking in Action including actual planning sessions. Much to explore and learn from!

Designing Communications / Engagement Strategy: Conditions for Success (Meeting #2)

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Designing Communication/Engagement Strategy Meeting #2 was held on Thursday, September 25th from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm ET Watch the meeting HERE or, After the meeting – LISTEN TO THE MEETING HERE https://creatingthefuture.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Designing-Communication-Engagement_Strategy_Meeting-2.mp3 or Download the MP3 (To download to your hard drive, right-click {or click and hold on a Mac} on the link above … Read more

Walking the Talk of Inclusion and Possibility in Communications Strategy

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This week, Creating the Future will begin developing a communications strategy, to move our work to the next level. (You can watch or participate in that session here.) Because we will use Catalytic Thinking to develop that strategy, you may notice that some of the questions we ask feel different from questions posed in traditional … Read more

Designing Communications / Engagement Strategy via Catalytic Thinking

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Creating the Future is embarking on a project to propel systems change towards its potential – creating a world that works for all of us. And you are invited to be part of that! The Project Creating the Future is taking first steps in convening an effort to align social change support systems (like funding … Read more

Frustrated at the Pace of Social Change? So Are We!

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Note: This post is part of an ongoing project, and as such, is frequently updated. Most recent update: September 27, 2022. In addition, see this January 2022 article in Nonprofit Quarterly, for a summary of our most recent findings. Do you ever feel like Sisyphus in your work to create a more humane world – … Read more

Engaging Unlikely Allies for Your Cause: How-to (Part 2)

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What is possible when you move beyond talking to the same people over and over, and begin instead to Engage Unlikely Allies in your work? In Part One of this post, we talked about the huge potential that is waiting to be tapped when you engage those unlikely allies. If you have not read that … Read more

Engaging Unlikely Allies for Your Cause: The Potential (Part 1)

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Question: What do climate change and autoimmune disease have in common? Answer: A lot. Bigger Question: Given that environmental factors affect all sorts of diseases, what could be accomplished if those two groups worked together? Bigger Answer: A lot! Over the past twelve months, I’ve had great opportunities to consider what engaging unlikely allies makes … Read more

Democratizing Boards – a Conversation

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In the world of social change, the word “accountability” is bandied about regularly. Unfortunately, beyond the mandate for compliance with legal entities and the regularly-noted-yet-little-understood notion of “accountability to the community we serve,” there is little discussion of what accountability really means. Accountable to whom? For what? And what does that accountability look like in … Read more

Board / Community Meeting: May 2019

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Creating the Future’s Board / Community Meeting: Monday, May 13th from 10am – 12pm Pacific time Topic: Continued discussion of ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE / DESIGN If there were no such thing as organizations as they currently exist, what would we build to accomplish social missions? Logistics: The meeting will happen right here at this post. Details … Read more

Community Engagement: 5 Tips

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This post is the 4th in a series describing Creating the Future’s first “Road Tour,” a two-month community engagement effort that saw our founders connecting with people in communities across California and Nevada in late 2018. You can read these posts from the beginning here. Last fall, we set out for two months on the road, … Read more

Board / Community Meeting: April 8th

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Creating the Future’s Board / Community Meeting: Monday, April 8th from 10:30am – 12pm Pacific time Topic: Continued discussion of ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE / DESIGN If there were no such thing as organizations as they currently exist, what would we build to accomplish social missions? Logistics: The meeting will happen right here at this post. Details … Read more