Neighboring is an asset- and empowerment-based approach that engages underserved and underresourced community members to find innovative, sustainable solutions to address local challenges. Asset-based refers to the acknowledgment that all members of a community can offer something to improve the community: talents, skills, knowledge, or resources. The resident-led approach primarily focuses on a specific geographic area (i.e., ZIP code, neighborhood, or street) in which the majority of the volunteers, activities, and organization come from within a community.
You can implement Neighboring as new, locally identified programming. But you can also incorporate the principles into existing programs and program models.
Take a look at your current practices for community engagement and define the communities your current initiatives
and programs’ impact. The definition may be geographic—a neighborhood—or it may focus on a stakeholder group, such as a school or nonprofit partner organization.
The Neighboring principles of asset identification and community engagement and empowerment can be incorporated into many aspects of your organization. Think about
- Who is on your Board or advisory group? Do residents of the under-resourced community your organization impacts have an opportunity for input about your priorities and goals?
- Do you know the local community leaders for the community you’re working in? Do they know you?
- As you create a new project or continue an existing one, do you consult community residents for project focus, activities, and overall plan?
Service projects. Do representatives of the partner organization’s client base provide input into the program model? Do they sign on to volunteer?
- Example: Adult ESL tutoring program. Residents who will participate offer their priorities for learning and provide input about their learning styles, the best location for tutoring, and preferred times. Local community leaders who learned English as a second language participate as volunteer and project leaders along with external volunteers.
Days of Service. Have residents of the community to be served participated on planning teams, provided input into the projects, and signed on to volunteer on the day of service?
- Example: MLK Day. Community residents from a priority neighborhood are supported in identifying one-day service project priorities, neighborhood leaders support recruitment efforts, and a project is developed to clean a local park and build benches. Volunteers come from the local community as well as the city at large.
Youth Service Learning. Are youth engaged in asset mapping exercises before developing their service projects? Are parents and other local community members engaged in the project?
- Example: Students from a fifth grade class conduct an asset-mapping exercise for their school community, identifying the skills of teachers, parents, and students. They decide to develop a lunchtime reading program, which will engage parents, teachers, and students in reading with one another, developing skills in parents and students simultaneously.
Financial Stability. Have local community members identified financial stability as a priority area? Have you partnered with local institutions (faith, schools, nonprofits, government) to develop the new programs? Have those institutions identified community leaders to engage as advisers, program developers, and volunteers?
To effectively weave Neighboring principles into existing organization practices, initiatives, and programs:
- Invite community residents from the under-resourced communities your organization impacts to provide advice and feedback into organization goals and priorities.
- Engage community residents in project planning. Ask them to provide feedback into current projects.
- Get to know the community leaders for the communities you work with.
- Define the community geographical, by client base (via a partner organization), and demographically.
- Engage community residents to volunteer. Don’t run your program with volunteers who are all externally based.
Have you built neighboring into already existing programs? Let us know in the comments!
Related articles
- Seven Essential Principles of Neighboring
- Won’t You Be My Neighbor? A Place-Based Approach to Volunteering
- The Impact of Neighboring Programs
- More Tips for Overcoming Challenges in Neighboring Programs
the project around that.
Your garden will be a great way to celebrate the month of May while improving your community’s overall well being. Gardens contribute to a better ecosystem, overall.
The birds are chirping, the weather is perfect, and you need an activity to get you outside and active! Spring is the time to organize a community sports activity! There is no better reason than perfect weather to get your community together for a fun activity?
you would like to collect donations or you will charge for admission. Determine your space size and how many participants it can hold.
Forming a sports team is a great way to start the process of neighboring in your community. Whether you form a little league baseball team or an adult swim team it is a great way to be social with your community members, while improving overall health through being active.
In case you have just awoken from winter hibernation, spring has finally arrived! From the high levels of pollen to the newborn animals running around spring is in full swing and will not be ignored. Since we cannot hide from it, it is time to celebrate the new spring season with volunteer work (we would not be 
Keeping your community beautiful is a great way to better your economy, environment and well-being. This month get out and take pride in your community’s appearance. Let’s clean up our neighborhoods and make every month Keep America Beautiful Month!
Today at 
to play a role in the garden activities. These members will be vital in funding the garden, keeping up with its maintenance, and planning events.
exchange phone numbers or email addresses, it is important that all members can get in touch with each other in case anything comes up. It will also help maintain that sense of community between all those involved!
l media channels lately, you may be asking yourself what is this #Haiti365 stuff? It is a good thing you are reading our blog today because we are about to tell you exactly why we are talking about this and why 
UNICEF has saved more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization in the world. Working in more than 150 countries, UNICEF provides children with health and immunizations, clean water, nutrition, education, emergency and disaster relief, and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF’s work through fundraising, advocacy, and education in the United States.
excitement! Who can resist watching funny commercials, seeing Madonna perform for the halftime show, seeing your favorite teams fight to the death, eating yummy food, and just participating in some good ol’ American fun!
Compose cheers, make signs, wear uniforms, etc. Whoever collects the most food gets the trophy. Competition adds a fun aspect to the service initiative because it keeps players’ adrenaline going! Isn’t that why the most of us watch the Super Bowl in the first place?
Today’s post comes from Michael Nealis, Interactive Strategy Coordinator for 
There is no ordinary turkey for us. Instead, 
Our dinner is a great opportunity for all of us to take some time to think about Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which isn’t very far away. Dr. King’s envisioned a beloved community where people would not stand for their neighbors to be homeless or hungry, where human existence is social and we reach out to our neighbors to come together.
Whether you represent a nonprofit organization, volunteer center, corporation, community foundation, community of faith, or other group, these guidelines can help you thoughtfully approach and organize a successful partnership, thereby playing a key role in strengthening neighborhoods and families.
Meet with key community leaders or invite community representatives to forums where they can participate and become informed about resources for the neighborhood. Develop connections with leaders and residents that foster sustainable activities to address the issues they want to work on in their community.
