Leadership: A Shared Responsibility

I'd like to point you to three places where there are significant discussions going on.

First is a post on the Chronicle of Philanthropy Blog.

This article points to another article written on the Grand Rapids (MI) Community Foundation Blog

These articles question the blurred role of philanthropy and government in providing resources for community benefit organizations.

After you read these, listen to this interview on the roles young people can take in leadership and problem solving: http://nlcommunities.com/podcasts/1798/blc06/entry127299.aspx

I feel the Internet changes the paradigm. Someone can post and idea, or describe a social benefit, using a web site. Anyone else in the world who is interested can visit that web site and use its ideas in their own actions and network building. Anyone can take on a leadership role to invite more people to look at this information, and anyone can take on a leadership role to help solve the problem that is being described on the host web site.

Thus, it's not a question of "is government or philanthropy doing too much" but a question of "how do we train people to be leaders in using more of their time, talent and resources to solve community or world problems."

If we can recruit more leaders who support the potential of volunteer based tutor/mentor programs like Cabrini Connections , we can have more programs like this available in all high poverty neighborhoods of Chicago and other big cities.