Ashoka's Citizen Base Initiative

Thanks to Dave, in a comment on an earlier post, alerting us to Ashoka's Citizen Base Initiative: 

Citizen sector organizations (CSOs) of any size, age, or geography can free themselves from the chronic dependence on unpredictable and unsustainable foundation and government funding. CSOs can become self-sustaining and maximize their social impact by developing a broad base of citizen support.

Ashoka's Citizen Base Initiative stimulates the citizen sector to cultivate a broad base of resources—money, people, goods, services, information, and partnerships—in order to increase the sector’s efficiency and social impact on a global scale.

The CBI approach 'tips' the mindset of the citizen sector toward building a broad base of support...

Ashoka has researched and is now disseminating a powerful set of proven best practices in building Citizen Base Initiatives. (Note how nicely this nomenclature gets combines forprofit, nonprofit, and  governmental elements; all could be represented in a Citizen Base Initiative, as it spirals upwards based on the energies, synergies, and results achieved by its citizen stakeholders. Fundraising takes on a different complexion when you consider your "donors" not as cash machines, but as fellow stakeholders in a common intiative as citizens for community benefits in which the giver shares.

Comments

[Dave]

Thanks for the hat tip. I really do think the nomenclature makes a difference. If we change the way we talk about the donor-recipient relationship then we will see a change in behavior and interaction. With that shift to common stakeholders I think the trust level rises and the need for endless paperwork diminishes.

[phil]

I agree. I struggle constantly with what word to use when talking about "donors." That word objectifies people. To call them clients objectifies them in another way. To call them constituents is better but sounds like jargon. Stakeholders sort of works. Citizens is best. Fellow citizens. Givers is not bad either, since we are all givers in our own way. But citizen base is a great phrase. (Donor base, client base, customer base - the citizen base includes all those roles and relations.) I had an "aha" reading the Citizen Base Initiative site. I think that way of looking at the "ecosystems" around social benefits and civil society and social ventures is a breakthrough. Thank you for pointing to it. Are you associated with that project?