In Columbus, Ohio, the city’s Department of Neighborhoods participates in ABCD101 for Civic Leaders to learn how they can implement ABCD.
Discovering Economic and Institutional Gifts
Every neighborhood is full of gifts including people with dreams and talents, places for connection, and local groups and organizations that provide resources.
The process of discovering these gifts is known as Asset Mapping (watch our webinar Getting Started with Asset Mapping for an overview). When rooted in the principles of Asset-Based Community Development, asset mapping is a proven way to discover the overlooked resources within a neighborhood.
In this blog, we’ll dive into how you can discover two of the six gifts found in every neighborhood — the economic and institutional gifts of a community.
Do you remember the ice cream shop you’d go to after little league? Or maybe it’s the bodega with the best tres leches?
The economic and institutional gifts of our community do more than just provide services, they provide places for residents to build community and are conduits of resources, skills, and capital.
Economic Gifts are the means by which people get what they need. In Asset Based Community Development, economic gifts fall into two categories:
- Formal Exchange is the local businesses and services in the community. This is important as research shows the money spent at a local business circulates the community 2-4x before leaving.
- Informal Exchange is the exchanges between neighbors such as babysitting, sharing baked goods, or borrowing tools. These are not formal businesses but are the informal means by which the community meets their needs.
Institutional Gifts are the local businesses, nonprofits, local government agencies, congregations, schools and more that are located in or provide services in that community. Institutions provide many gifts to the community. However, it’s important that institutions do not minimize or override the role of residents.
For asset mapping, you can find a helpful guide here on how agencies can support this process without taking it over.
Below are three practical activities to discover the economic and institutional gifts within a community.
Note: Asset Mapping is as much about the process as the end result. These activities are designed to foster neighbor-to-neighbor connections, not just create a spreadsheet. Schedule a Discovery Call with us here for a free asset mapping coaching session to dive deeper into best practices for your role.
Activities for discovering economic and institutional gifts
Conversation Starters
Conversation starters are a great way to engage residents and learn about other’s experience in the neighborhood. The following can be used in one-on-one conversations or in group settings:
-
Where’s the best place to get breakfast in this neighborhood?
-
What everyday services or resources do you need to leave the community to get?
-
What, if anything, would you be willing to share with your neighbors (a cup of sugar, lawn mower, projector, etc.)?
Institutional Asset Inventory
Check out this step-by-step guide to conducting an asset map session with business and organization leaders. This resource is developed by The Institute of Museum and Library Services and the ABCD Institute. You can check it out here.
Shareable’s Map Jam
A MapJam is an easy-to-organize event where a small, dedicated group of people get together for a few hours to map as many sharing services in their city or town as possible. Like a music jam, it should be fun, social, and interactive.
You can check out Shareable’s guide to hosting a map jam here.
Institutional and Economic gifts are just a few of the six types of gifts found in every community. Check out the blogs below for resources and ideas to discover the:
Do you want to activate residents to be the community builders and change makers in their neighborhood?
You don’t have to figure this out alone.
Check out the Discover the Gifts training to become certified to facilitate asset mapping workshops in your community. This workshop has been used from South Carolina to Florida to Texas to help residents move from focusing on problems to creating new possibilities in their community.