Community Development

Good data, fair media practices, and an understanding of organizational needs and assets are fundamental to progress.

Watch Aspen Young Leaders Fellows, Brenda Velarde and Tyler Yarbrough, as they moderate a town hall with Troy Carter on what it means to push beyond resilience and lead in turbulent times.

In the wake of COVID-19, the McNulty Foundation, in partnership with the Aspen Global Leadership Network, created the Global Response Fund to address the devastating impacts of the pandemic in the most vulnerable communities around the globe.

Since its opening in Cleveland, Ohio, in November 2013, EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute has been one of America’s most successful social enterprises, a nonprofit restaurant that gives formerly incarcerated adults a foundation in the culinary and hospitality industry while providing the network and support necessary for successful reentry.

In early March, a group of experts and practitioners came together to discuss the challenges rural students face in pursuing education beyond high school. We checked in to see how their students are coping, how their teams are reacting, and what the novel coronavirus could mean for rural education.

Aspen Institute President and CEO Dan Porterfield delivered closing remarks at the Collective Impact Virtual Convening hosted by the Aspen Forum for Community Solutions and FSG on Friday, May 8, 2020.

In the face of COVID-19, people across the U.S. are stepping up to maintain and deepen connections and care for their communities. Along with 300 community partners, Weave: The Social Fabric Project launched the #WeavingCommunity in Crisis campaign to respond to this moment of deep and compounding crisis by celebrating those actions, inviting honest conversation to create authentic human connection, and inspire meaningful civic action. It strives to turn this moment of shared pain into a moment of shared possibility, so we can create a better future on the other side. Learn more on weaving.us.

Turn on the radio or TV. Open a newspaper or website. COVID-19 is front and center. What’s harder to grasp is the health and economic effects of our shared crisis on rural regions and tribal nations across the United States.

Dan Porterfield talks about the power and value of providing real second chances to America’s 4.6 million “opportunity youth”—young people who are not connected to education or employment.