Current e-Journal
-
October 1, 2024
Photo by User:Germain92, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What “Accountability to Community” really looks like
In this week’s Systems Change Newsletter…
- Invitations & Announcements
- Catalytic Thinking Exercise: What “Accountability to Community” really looks like
- Resources to Further Your Practice
Invitations & Announcements:
Your organization deserves a board that is making a difference.
Does your board spend most of their time talking about creating impact in your community? Are your board members engaged, energized, reaching for their potential? Do you wish they were more community-driven and inclusive – the kind of asset your organization absolutely could not live without? Join us for this month’s webinar, Unlocking Your Board’s Potential with Catalytic Thinking. It all starts here…
Applying Catalytic Thinking to a Real Issue, in Real Time
If you want to experience Catalytic Thinking applied to a real issue in real time, there is nowhere better than our Integrity Team discussions! In this month’s conversation, we will continue to apply the framework to a real issue – consultant referrals. Catalytic Thinking conversations are some of the most energizing and engaging conversations you can have. So join us, and see how you might apply these questions to your own work! Learn while doing here…
Catalytic Thinking Exercise:
What “Accountability to Community” really looks like
The word “accountability” is used so freely, you’d think we all know exactly what accountability looks like in practice. You would think people would be clear about who they are accountable to, and what they are accountable for.
Ask the question at your board meeting, though, and you may just find that clarity quickly vaporizing. Some may say your organization is accountable to the community you serve. Others may argue that it is your donors and funders to whom you owe primary accountability.
In an article at Community-Centric Fundraising, Hildy put to rest that latter notion with a piece titled “The Fact-based Fallacy of Accountability to Donors.”
So let’s start with the fact that any organization of any kind (nonprofit, government department or ministry, social enterprise) whose primary purpose is to provide benefit to the community is, first and foremost, accountable to that community – the recipients of that benefit. (And if you want to argue that, read Hildy’s article!)
This question of accountability is perhaps the most important issue you can discuss if you want to create a future that is more humane and healthy than our present.
Because we accomplish what we hold ourselves accountable for.
We accomplish what we hold ourselves accountable for.
That leads to asking…
- What does “accountability to the community” mean in the day-to-day of your work?
- How does that vague notion of accountability translate into action?
Accountability leads you to consider who is centered in every decision you make and every action you take. It is the question of who (and what) matters most as you make decisions of all kinds.
Organizational leaders often think they already hold themselves accountable to their communities. But the minute money enters the conversation, so does that notion of accountability to donors. In part that comes from fear and scarcity. In larger part, though, it is because we know what accountability-to-donors looks like, and we are not certain what any other accountability would mean in practice.
So let’s start with what we DO know… what accountability to donors looks like:
Holding ourselves accountable, we report to donors. We make decisions based on their priorities. We thank them, honor them, think of them first and foremost in our decision-making. We go the extra mile to ensure that our decisions are pleasing to them.
Now imagine paying the same reverence to your community, centering your community in every decision you make.
Imagine reporting to the members of your community, not so they will donate, but because they are in charge. Imagine making decisions based on your community’s priorities, and asking them to be part of those conversations – not as a focus group, but as the folks leading the direction you take. Imagine thanking your community for allowing your organization to be one small part of the fabric of your town. Honoring them, thinking of them first and foremost.
If that is what we do when we hold ourselves accountable to donors and funders, what steps can we take to hold ourselves accountable in the same way to the community we serve?
Try this:
The questions of Catalytic Thinking are rooted in community accountability. Let’s start with the first question:
Who will be affected by whatever we are considering?
We cannot hold ourselves accountable to someone if we cannot identify them. It’s one of the reasons it is so easy to see ourselves as accountable to donors. If Ms. Smith donates $10,000, it is easy to report to and consult with Ms. Smith.
This part of Catalytic Thinking’s Question #1 therefore leads us to identify those folks. First we might identify categories (school-aged children, their parents, their teachers). Then we might narrow that to specific groups (children at XYZ School, parents of those children, teachers at the school). Then we might narrow that to folks we know at that school – people we can actually keep in mind as we do our work.
Just as we would picture Ms. Smith in our accountability to donors, we can picture those children, those parents, those teachers. That accountability is no longer nebulous. We can picture who we are holding ourselves accountable to.
That leads to the 2nd half of that question about who will be affected…
What would it take for those individuals to be involved in your decision and potentially, to lead that decision?
Just as we so often include funders and donors in our decisions, we can find ways to engage our communities in our decisions. If you’re stuck as you seek ways to do so, there are tools in the Resource Section below to help you.
Creating the Future’s open board meetings are just one example of what it looks like to invite our community to authentically participate in making decisions about the direction we take with our work. The Resource Section below has a link to show you what that can look like.
The rest of the questions in the Catalytic Thinking framework continue to center the community, aiming your work at what your community aspires to. Because there is nothing more important than holding ourselves accountable to the communities we are part of.
And that is the key. Because our organizations do not stand alone. It is not “us in here” and “the community out there.” We are part of the community, a support to what they need and what they aspire to, not the other way around.
That is the heart of what it means to hold ourselves accountable. And that is why accountability to our communities is embedded in the Catalytic Thinking framework.
Resources to Further Your Practice:
- GRAB BAG: This grab bag of tools for engaging your community will keep you connected and accountable. Start connecting here…
- FOLLOW ALONG: We created an in-depth chronology of our months-long work to have Creating the Future’s community decide what’s next for our mission. Follow the breadcrumbs here…
- OPEN YOUR MEETINGS: Beyond transparency, opening the door to your decision-making conversations invites your community to authentically lead. See how we do it here…
Help Keep Our Programs Freely Available
Creating the Future’s eJournal is free. And there are no financial barriers to our classes – tuition is whatever folks can afford. Because we never want money to stand in the way of people learning.
If you value our content and our approach, please donate here – and please consider becoming a monthly supporter of our work.
eJournal Archives:
If you’re new to our eJournal, or just want to remind yourself of past practice exercises we’ve shared, check out our eJournal archives here.
SUBSCRIBE
to get this e-Journal
Creating the Future is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization in the U.S.A