March 17, 2021
“If you could describe your neighborhood in one word, what would it be?” This was a question our team asked of a group of leaders who are using our Flourishing Neighborhood Index. Their neighborhood is one of a handful of unique and storied neighborhoods that make up...
March 15, 2021
Impact is more important than intent. We live by that, and we emphasize it to every change-maker we work with. At the same time, it’s important to dream! Results are beautiful and important, but they are most inspiring when connected to a grander, captivating vision...
March 11, 2021
The spirituality of my young adulthood was fueled by an almost liturgical refrain, “God has great plans for your life.” This summons was intoxicating for me and my university peers. Our lives, our futures, our careers – which we felt we were on the cusp of...
January 29, 2021
How Community Development and Community Organizing Work Together As a change-maker, you’ve probably run into the phrases “community development” and “community organizing” many times. But did you know that these two concepts work together for mutual benefit? Today,...
January 26, 2021
Community Development was an innovation. Now, we are innovating even further by implementing. Holistic Neighborhood Development. Over 40 years ago, Bob Lupton and his team at Focused Community Strategies questioned the standard nonprofit model. In particular, they...
January 21, 2021
“My name is William, and I am an alcoholic. It has been 19 years since my last drink.” This was how a guest speaker in my college class introduced himself. I thought to myself, “Wait. How can you call yourself an alcoholic if your last drink was a...
December 17, 2020
How to Evaluate Community Development Program Impact It’s important to assess the impact of your community development program. Every community development organization wants to make change. We care about our neighbors and want to make things better, otherwise...
December 7, 2020
12 Approaches to Neighborhood Development It can be tough to find a list of common community development approaches. At the Lupton Center, we know that’s what budding developers need. A movement of people like you are ready to disrupt chronic inequity for good....
November 17, 2020
If you’ve landed on this page, it’s likely that you care a lot about material poverty and inequity. You’re dissatisfied with just treating symptoms of poverty. You want to know what you can do to make lasting change in people’s lives. If that sounds familiar,...
October 22, 2020
We are proud to announce that FCS has been awarded a $1 million grant by Lilly Endowment Inc. to support The Lupton Center’s expansion of City Shapers! With these funds, we will launch this program in 12 cities over the next five years! City Shapers is a place-based,...