April Doner

As we look to the abundance within neighborhoods waiting to come alive, one of the best starting places is to seek out those gifts, skills and talents are possessed by the people who live there. Our first instinct to...

Years ago I saw an acupuncturist who, while sitting with me post-treatment to review her recommendations for an herbal medicine regimen along with diet, sleep, and exercise adjustments, paused for a moment to explain a rule from her tradition:...

An emerging co-operative development project in L.A.'s Crenshaw neighborhood is boldly challenging the model of urban development by asserting their vision for a co-operatively owned, community-backed mall that will directly benefit community members and their small businesses, rather than...

It is often the habit of organizational professionals who interface with communities to do "to" or "for" local residents. However, when such staff step back from their traditional functions and shift their focus to supporting community members to decide...

"When women decide something, I think they can get to it," says Nadia Aïssaoui, of the Mediterranean Women’s Fund as she tells this story about a group of women living in the mountains of Algeria who chose to come...

A path toward racial justice and equity cannot avoid a confrontation of economic injustice. I first heard of Damon Lynch as the pastor who corrected John McKnight's characterization of our communities as being not just "half-empty" as but also "half-full."...

In 2020, massive protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis forced the US and the world to confront longstanding racial disparities in violent policing within local communities. As a result, the very role and responsibility of...

“Communities that know themselves, that know their assets, especially the gifts and talents of individuals and the neighborhood associations that they create, build powerful networks for promoting change."​ (Howard Rosing, Director, Steans Center at DePaul University) What might happen if...

Last Tuesday, the world witnessed an attack on the US Capitol--a building that symbolizes and holds a home for difficult discussions and decision-making across barriers of thought and belief. The living, breathing humans elected to do and support this...

http://youtu.be/ZKwQ-w87E2g In an increasingly polarized and politicized world, what is the role of kindness -- and how might it be used to help us revive abundant communities? Recently featured on CBS, "The Antidote" is a new documentary that weaves together stories...