Webinar: Community Building as a Philosophy, Not an Initiative

What happens when a foundation invests in community building for the long haul? The Ford Family Foundation has made the transition from individual leadership development to broad, community-led community building over the past decade. Rural residents know this from the community building approach and field coordinators supporting community-led action across the region.
Through this work, the Foundation has learned alongside community builders. The result is a transformed organization with a 10-year strategic plan focused on helping rural communities build the futures that they want to see - places where children and families can thrive.
Foundation staff and community partners hosted an interactive Q&A webinar based on the recent article published in The Foundation Review, Community Building as a Philosophy, Not an Initiative.
Learn about rural community building, the practices, principles, and the “4Cs” on our website: www.tfff.org/r...
February 2, 2024
Panelists
Anne Kubisch is president emerita of The Ford Family Foundation. Her career focused on building community in developing countries as well as the urban U.S. led her to rural Oregon, where she spearheaded the Foundation’s organizational shift. She was recently awarded the Council on Foundation’s Distinguished Service Award.
Max Gimbel is the Director of Rural Community Building at The Ford Family Foundation. He supports rural people and communities across the state to take community-led action. Connect with Max on LinkedIn: / max-gimbel-68a8a1b6
Kasi Allen is the Director of Learning and Knowledge Management at The Ford Family Foundation. She leads the Foundation’s data and research investments to help communities achieve the future they want to see. Connect with Kasi on LinkedIn: / kasi-allen-74aabb89
Maurizio Valerio serves as a field coordinator for The Ford Family Foundation based in Union County. Rural community advocate by day, farmer forester by night, Maurizio also serves on Eastern Oregon University’s Board of Trustees. Connect with Maurizio on LinkedIn: / maurizio-valerio-72999aa
Megan Fehrman leads A Greater Applegate, a community building organization that serves an entirely unincorporated region in rural Southern Oregon. Learn about their work in this recent video: • Rural Community Buildi...
Lindsey B. Jones is the Executive Director for the Illinois Valley Community Development Organization - IVCanDO. IVCanDO believes in the power of partnerships both near and far to build a community for ALL to thrive. Learn more about IVCanDO at: ivcdo.org/
Brenda Smith is the Executive Director of the High Desert Partnership in Eastern Oregon’s Harney County. Coining the term “the Harney County way,” Brenda and partners have used community building to transform the rural region’s approach to organizational collaboration. Learn more about Brenda’s background and work at: highdesertpart...
Music
We hope you’ll enjoy this tune and the video filmed in each one of Oregon’s 185 beautiful state parks: • The Weather Machine | ...