• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

THE NEW BARN-RAISING A toolkit for citizens, politicians, and businesses looking to sustain community and civic assets Gareth Potts May 2014 © 2014 The German Marshall Fund of the United States. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF). Please direct inquiries to: The German Marshall Fund of the United States 1744 R Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 T: 1.202.683.2650 F: 1.202.265.1662 E: [email protected] This publication can be downloaded for free at www.gmfus.org/publications. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of GMF. About the author Prior to undertaking the Urban and Regional Policy Fellowship that served as the basis for this toolkit, Dr. Gareth Potts worked in central government as a policy advisor in the Cabinet Office (Office for Civil Society and Strategy Unit). Before that, he was director of research and policy at the British Urban Regeneration Association, a national membership body. Other employment has included consultant based in the Economic Development Unit at the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham; senior researcher at think-and-do tanks the New Economics Foundation and Young Foundation; manager at Marsh Farm Community Development Trust, Luton; and post-doctoral researcher on an Economic and Social Research Council-funded funded project looking at economic competitiveness, social cohesion, and the policy environment in London. In 1998, he was awarded an ESRC-funded Ph.D. in economic geography looking at the role of universities in regional economic development. Dr. Potts also has a first degree in social policy and administration and a European Social Fund-supported masters in civic design (urban planning). He can be contacted via email at [email protected] or via LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/garethpotts. He is on Twitter as @garethpotts1. About GMF The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) strengthens transatlantic cooperation on regional, national, and global challenges and opportunities in the spirit of the Marshall Plan. GMF does this by supporting individuals and institutions working in the transatlantic sphere, by convening leaders and members of the policy and business communities, by contributing research and analysis on transatlantic topics, and by providing exchange opportunities to foster renewed commitment to the transatlantic relationship. In addition, GMF supports a number of initiatives to strengthen democracies. Founded in 1972 as a non-partisan, non-profit organization through a gift from Germany as a permanent memorial to Marshall Plan assistance, GMF maintains a strong presence on both sides of the Atlantic. In addition to its headquarters in Washington, DC, GMF has offices in Berlin, Paris, Brussels, Belgrade, Ankara, Bucharest, Warsaw, and Tunis. GMF also has smaller representations in Bratislava, Turin, and Stockholm. On the cover Top image: The Detroit Institute of Arts (source: Detroit Institute of Arts) Bottom image: The East Phillips Park Cultural and Community Center, Minneapolis (source: East Phillips Improvement Coalition) ii CONTENTS Summaries ............................................................................................................................1 Summary in brief ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Full Summary ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction ........................................................................................................................20 Raising awareness about your assets....................................................................................24 Auditing your community and civic assets — how does your area do? .............................................................................................. 24 Who could support your assets? .............................................................................................................................................................. 28 Your message — getting your case for resources right .......................................................................................................................... 31 Delivering your message — messengers and media .............................................................................................................................. 44 Draw attention to your “asset offer” ........................................................................................................................................................ 50 Raising money for your assets ............................................................................................67 Your state or city can use a range of tax mechanisms to sustain assets ............................................................................................... 67 Your asset managers need to use money as efficiently as possible ....................................................................................................... 72 You can also charge user fees for assets and their resources ................................................................................................................. 77 You can rent space in assets to generate income and enhance assets ................................................................................................... 84 Your local government can secure resources for assets by transferring them ..................................................................................... 86 You can raise money and awareness by selling goods and services ..................................................................................................... 94 Your networks and, increasingly, technology are important to securing donations .......................................................................... 99 Charitable Foundations can add to your asset base in novel ways ..................................................................................................... 116 Your businesses can gain benefit by giving to assets ............................................................................................................................ 123 National-level funds can help offset inequalities between areas......................................................................................................... 137 Raising help for your asset ................................................................................................138 You first need to think about why you can benefit from volunteers .................................................................................................. 138 You need a framework to produce a volunteer strategy ...................................................................................................................... 141 There is a range of mechanisms for you to involve volunteers ........................................................................................................... 146 There are some key practical tips to bear in mind if you want to use volunteers ............................................................................. 156 Concluding thoughts ........................................................................................................163 What has the toolkit shown? .................................................................................................................................................................. 163 Where does the New Barn Raising concept go from here? ................................................................................................................. 164 Appendix ...........................................................................................................................166 Bibliography and further reading .....................................................................................169 Acknowledgements ...........................................................................................................178 iii SUMMARIES Summary in Brief About the toolkit This toolkit outlines a range of policies and practices through which politicians, citizens, community and civic groups, charitable foundations, unions, and businesses are endeavoring to sustain community and civic assets such as parks, theaters, libraries, art galleries, recreation centers, senior centers, and museums. The toolkit draws heavily on extensive research conducted in three U.S. metro areas — Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Baltimore — in 2012 and 2013 as well as examples gleaned from elsewhere in the United States. The research focuses on city- and state-level policies, but refers to national policies, organizations, and programs when relevant. The Barn Raising of the toolkit title is a reference to neighbors who volunteer to help build barns for local farmers — mainly in 19th and early 20th century North America but also today in some Amish and Mennonite communities in the United States. The metaphor is used because the toolkit’s central focus is the advantages to be had from involving a broad set of people

Load more

  192

Copy Link