Dear Friends:

The first six months of 2009 are gone. I cannot believe that. So much has happened around the Community-Driven Institute in that six months, that the flip chart sheet in our conference room marked “Celebrate!” is already on Page 2!

(BTW, you do have a “Celebrate” sheet, don’t you? We are all so good at thinking about what we haven’t gotten done. Our “Celebrate” sheet reminds us that there is plenty we DO get done!)

In addition to releasing The Pollyanna Principles (no small feat in itself), here is just some of what’s on our Celebration sheet so far for 2009.

Clients Who Are Changing the World!
Our consulting work has changed dramatically over the years, as we have learned to aim organizations at their highest potential. Rather than describe all the work we have been doing (which would likely be interesting to no one but us...), I want to share a bit about one client we have been enjoying tremendously - the Nebraska Community Foundation.

The Nebraska Community Foundation is a pioneer in so many ways. They see their role as catalysts for rural community development - a far cry from so many community foundations.

When NCF says it is using philanthropy as a tool to develop rural communities, they don’t just mean giving grants. They mean developing local philanthropy in local communities, and supporting that all across the state. They mean ensuring that when elderly residents pass away, their philanthropy continues to benefit that rural community in perpetuity. As we see again and again with organizations who take off the “That’s Impossible” blinders, the results of NCF’s work has been dramatic and fast.

Our work with the Nebraska Community Foundation has focused on helping their already high-functioning board of directors to raise the bar even higher. As the board seeks new ways to hold themselves accountable for the community change they want to create, their vision is creating enough energy to power one of those small communities they serve!

As we continue to work with groups that are ready to leap to the next level of what is possible for improving their world, we are heartened by the power of that sense of potential.

Which brings us back to you. What do you want your community to be like because your organization exists? And what are you doing to make sure that vision comes to pass - not in 100 years, but now?

Consultants Who Are Changing the World!
This year marked the kick-off of our curriculum for Pollyanna Principled Consulting. And the response to those classes has been beyond even our own fairly vivid imaginations!

Imagine classes with seasoned consultants who, after 20 years of consulting, realize their consulting could do more to change their clients and their communities.

Imagine a 34 year corporate veteran (and 20 year consultant) who told us, “If the work I’m doing is not changing my community, then I need to learn to change that work!”

Imagine a 77 year old consultant who is ready to transform not only the work of her whole career, but herself.

These immersion classes are not about tools and techniques and methods. Instead, the classes remind me of this quote by Abe Lincoln: “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six hours sharpening my ax.” For 5 days these seasoned consultants relearn how to think and be in their work - how to spend far more time in planning for their own work, to help clients take giant leaps forward during their limited time together.

And how effective is all this immersion? You can read the story of one of our attendees here, to see how powerful a change she has seen in her work in just 2 months.

And then there is this quote from Ann Vermel, a consultant in Fresno, California.

"I've learned more here in five days than I learned at the Harvard Graduate School of Business in seven weeks!"

If you know a consultant who is committed to changing the communities they serve, please let them know we have two immersion classes scheduled for this fall. (More information here.) And while our summer special is going on, this is a great time to dive into the self-paced Phase 1 pre-requisite for that immersion course!

YOU Who Are Changing the World!
As we continue to aim all aspects of the Community Benefit Sector at its potential to change the world, we hope you will join the thousands of individuals who have already joined this movement for change. With the prize being nothing less than a world filled with humane, vibrant, healthy, resilient communities, the energy, inspiration, and excitement of this movement are growing every day.

So climb on board!

• Follow me on Twitter and join the conversation there CLICK. You will meet all kinds of kindred spirits, all working to change the way Community Benefit work is done around the world.
• Join the conversation at my blog CLICK. Sign up to be notified of new posts, as we are about to launch an Open Mic series where readers ask questions about how to move their organizations forward. CLICK
• Join one of the teleclasses we have coming up in August! These will not be standard “7 Ways to Do X” teleclasses. Instead they will all focus on reaching for your organization’s potential. Our newsletter will announce those next month.
• And then we have a special gift for our fellow Tucsonans. For the first time in 5 years, we will be doing a workshop and clinic here in August - our “Governing for What Matters” workshop. That will be announced in our newsletter as well.

As I said in the beginning of this note, we have much to celebrate in just the first six months of this year. All this, and the phenomenal acclaim The Pollyanna Principles has been receiving - well it has quite taken our breath away.

We hope you will continue to be part of this incredible journey with us. As always, we wish you all the possibilities life holds, and more importantly, the willingness to embrace those possibilities when they show up at your door.

COMMUNITY-DRIVEN INSTITUTE

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