Invest In Neighborhoods Leadership Manual

Leadership Manual

Defining the Neighborhood

   Neighborhood Asset Inventory
   Recruiting Your Neighbors To Participate
   Tips For Doorknocking
   Block Watchers

NEIGHBORHOOD ASSET INVENTORY

The Neighborhood Asset Inventory is made up of several parts which are listed below. Following this list is a brief narrative providing the philosophy and possible uses for the inventory. You may duplicate and/or modify each inventory to use as your community sees fit. Before making changes, read through all the inventories to be sure you are not recreating what is already there.

Physical and Social Description of the Neighborhood; Political Representation
Inventory of Neighborhood Organizations, Associations, and Clubs
Individual Asset Inventory
Household Inventory

THE PHILOSOPHY AND USES OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSET INVENTORY

The Neighborhood Asset Inventory is adapted from an inventory developed in Indianapolis which is based on two sources: John Kretzmann and John McKnight's Building Communities From the Inside Out and the Neighborhood Reinvestment Training Institute's Community Assessment Survey. The philosophy which guides this approach to community development is to recognize that neighborhoods not only have needs (often surveyed through "Needs Assessment" surveys), but that they also have assets. Once these assets become recognized, and people in the neighborhood with these assets begin to collaborate with one another, they are significant players in the rebuilding of neighborhoods and communities. The philosophy upon which the survey is based is also found at Xavier University's "Community Building Institute." Xavier provides leadership training consistent with this philosophy, and you may wish to contact their Community Affairs Office for further assistance with the survey and this approach to understanding and (re)building your neighborhood.

You can use all or parts of the inventory to get to know various aspects of your neighborhood or to collaborate with other organizations that display similar approaches to neighborhood development. Once the information is collected, it would be good public relations, good networking, and beneficial to membership development if it were printed and distributed by the community council. Some parts of the inventory may also be used by other organizations in your neighborhood. For instance:

The "Individual and Household Asset Inventory" could be useful for other clubs, such as Block Clubs or organizations, other civic organizations, or even churches. One of these, or a neighborhood-based social agency, could use it to help begin a "Time-Dollar" program, which is one name for a local skill-exchange network;
the "Business-Related Inventories" could be useful to the local business association or Neighborhood Development Corporation (NDC);
the "Neighborhood Organizations, Associations, and Agencies Inventory" might be used to compile a neighborhood calendar. This would not only encourage neighborhood participation, but could also be a service project and a moneymaker for a club or association.

COLLECTING THE INFORMATION

The information needed to complete the forms provided here for download can be collected from a variety of places. We provide some suggestions at the top of each inventory; however, you may identify additional sources and methods of data collection. (The survey forms we provide are in Adobe Acrobat format for easy viewing and printing on your own computer. You need the free Acrobat reader to open the file. If you don't have it, you can obtain it here.)

Some of the data in these inventories is available in the Community/Customer Guide section of the Cincinnati Bell Yellow Pages. Also check specific headings such as "Schools," "Libraries," "Churches," and "Social Service Organizations." Additional information is listed in the Customer Guide section of the Cincinnati Bell Alphabetical Directory.
Both the City of Cincinnati and the League of Women Voters print pamphlets that contain information on local political officials. Samples are included in this manual; however, you will need to obtain updated versions which are usually available at the City Hall Information Desk or by contacting the producer of the pamphlets.
Have two people work together when completing a windshield survey: one drives, and the other takes down names, addresses, etc.
Ask area service providers to make surveys available in their offices so that neighborhood residents can complete them while they wait.
Contact a high school or college class to help with door-to-door surveys. They may help collect and tabulate the data as a community service project.

---»RECRUITING YOUR NEIGHBORS TO PARTICIPATE

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