Current e-Journal
-
May 13, 2025
“Think Globally / Act Locally” starts here
.jpg){kind=link}
In this week’s Systems Change Newsletter…
- Invitations and Announcements
- Catalytic Thinking Exercise:“Think Globally / Act Locally” starts here
- Resources to Further Your Practice
Invitations & Announcements
Move Beyond FUNDING Frustration…
The funding scenario is so uncertain right now. Will there be government grants? Will foundations have less money to distribute if the stock market dips? It’s time for a more stable approach to funding. A strength-based approach that no one can take away from you. That’s why we’re hosting a webinar about a more powerful – and easy to execute - approach. Filled with lots of how-to and examples. Get more stable funding now!
Catalytic Thinking Exercise:
“Think Globally / Act Locally” starts here
This week’s podcast guest, Seth Kaplan, had so many gems to share in this one interview! Here’s just one of Seth’s observations that stood out to us:
“When you uplift a place, you lift up everyone in that place.”
In that segment of the conversation, Seth observes that narrowly focused programs, whose successes are measured via narrowly-focused metrics, cannot create the kinds of communities we want to live in. Given how many nonprofit programs are focused narrowly (mostly because that is the only way to get funded), this hit home!
Seth’s point is that to create truly livable, humane, healthy, vibrant places to live, we can’t just focus on one silo, one aspect of life. We need to focus on all of it.
That is why Seth’s work is focused on making PLACES more livable. A place has all the aspects of life.
Is there housing? A market? Fresh food? Healthcare nearby? A local school or library or rec center?
And importantly, do neighbors know each other? Care about each other? Are they in relationship with each other?
This is not just about how each of us lives in our own neighborhoods. This is about how organizations develop and budget for programs. And because that all comes down to the questions we’re asking about those programs – and those places – Catalytic Thinking can help us design programs that create that sense of place and relationship.
Try this
The very first question in Catalytic Thinking is, “Who will be affected by whatever we are considering, and what would it take for them to lead the direction we take together?”
While that question is first and foremost about the people living in our communities, it is also about all the other organizations who are working in that space. Banding together with all those organizations is where our true power lies.
Working alongside all those other organization, you will be thinking more comprehensively about all the interrelated issues that are affecting the people who live in that place. The added bonus is that you will also be tapping into all the people those other orgs know, all their wisdom, all the resources they bring to bear.
This means stepping back from seeing other organizations as competitors,
and instead seeing them as
potential allies and collaborators and co-conspirators.
If you are working in human services, imagine all you could accomplish in a community if you worked together with recreation-focused organizations, or environmental organizations. Tree planting. Or clearing a vacant lot to create a ball field or dog park or simply a green space for hanging out.
So much of the work of human services is related to the isolation and loneliness of modern life. Imagine what could be possible if people could find that connection in the places they live. And imagine what your role could be in creating that!
It brings us back to Seth Kaplan’s inspiring words: When you uplift a place, you lift up everyone in that place.
One of the most exciting aspects of Catalytic Thinking is how many of the questions lead us back to that sense of interconnectedness and interdependence.
Question 1: Who will be affected, and what would it take for them to participate and/or lead?
Question 3: What would “good” look like in your community? What would healthy and humane look like?
Question 4: What are all the interconnected conditions that must be in place for that vision of “good” to be reality?
Question 7: What resources do we all have together, that we can build upon to create that vision?
As you are stepping into your annual planning sessions…
As you are thinking about next year’s budget…
As you are hoping to get past the toxic polarization that so many of us are facing, everywhere around the world…
It all starts at home. “Think globally / Act locally” starts with a sense of place and the relationships that keep that place whole and healthy and strong.
We can all do better at walking that talk. If we want our communities to come together, we as nonprofits and changemakers can model that, coming together with all the other organizations we used to think of as our competition.
And the good news is that the questions of Catalytic Thinking will help lead you there!
Resources to Further Your Practice
- REVIEW: Want a quick review sheet on Catalytic Thinking? You’ll find that here…
- LISTEN: Hildy’s podcast conversation with Seth Kaplan is chock full of wisdom. Listen here…
- READ: We are loving Seth’s book, Fragile Neighborhoods: Repairing American Society, One Zip Code at a Time. Purchase it online at Bookshop.org, where 100% of profits go to local bookstores in your community.
- LEARN: Need an intro to Catalytic Thinking? Your learning starts 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