Get ready to hear a lot more about ‘bridging social capital’

The survey of 500 area residents, one of 23 communities surveyed in 2006 by teams for Harvard University sociologist Robert Putnam, determined social capital benchmarks for the Duluth/Superior area. Putnam is the author of the best seller Bowling Alone, decrying the decline of community participation in the United States.

“Social capital” refers to the level of connectedness among residents within a community. A mounting body of evidence shows communities with high levels of social capital have above average economic growth, less crime, better government and higher education levels, factors that usually work in tandem to raise family income.

The 59-page “social capital community benchmark survey” for the Duluth/Superior area revealed above average levels of voter participation, trust of neighbors, work colleagues and solid levels of participation in social clubs. But residents here have far fewer connections with people unlike themselves, both racially and economically.

“One view is that the level of social capital here is so high because people are so comfortable with people just like them. We’re not reaching across community boundaries the way other communities do,” said Holly Sampson, president of the Community Foundation.

That below average level of “bridging social capital,” confirmed what the Community Foundation had observed anecdotally and many newcomers complain about: the difficulty that outsiders experience in joining the community, particularly if there are racial or class differences.

It’s an issue virtually certain to surface at the foundation’s annual meeting on May 23. The Community Foundation has invited invited Richard Florida, author of another best seller, The Creative Class as the keynote speaker. Tolerance of differences is one of his themes about communities that thrive.

Meanwhile, the No. 3 foundation in the region with $43 million in assets, has made bridging social capital a priority in its grant making, Sampson said. A nonprofit seeking funding for an initiative has a greater chance if it is collaborating with logical partners.

Duluth LISC

The Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC) in Washington, D.C. and its Duluth affiliate also have jumped on the bridging social capital bandwagon.

Duluth is one of 11 communities selected to pilot the national LISC Sustainable Communities Demonstration Project. Until now, Duluth LISC has used capital investment in affordable housing as its principal tool in helping to stabilize the city’s poorest neighborhoods. But it takes more than raising the quality of the housing stock to make a community stable, said Pamela Kramer, Duluth LISC senior program director.

“Housing is going to remain a key component of what we do,” she said. “But we’re going to go deeper with a more comprehensive approach to community development,” she said.

More collaboration among program providers and building a stronger connection into the neighborhoods will be a challenge for Duluth.

“It’s one of the biggest holes as a community, but also an opportunity to knit excellent initiatives together,” she said.

Washington, D.C.-based LISC arranged for consultant James Capraro, who led Chicago LISC through a similar community outreach, to help Duluth LISC in starting up its Sustainable Communities demonstration. Capraro engineered a collaborative multi-agency program that took on neighborhood issues ranging from housing to daycare and industrial attraction. He spent March 14-16 in Duluth assessing the landscape for the pilot project.

He came away particularly impressed with the level of connectedness within the target neighborhoods of Central and East Hillside, West Duluth, Lincoln and Morgan Park. Working with Duluth LISC, those neighborhoods are developing their own plans.

“Key will be to get what’s happening in the neighborhoods out and leading as collateral investment, to leverage philanthropic and government resources,” he said. “I don’t see competition among the forces there. It shouldn’t be that hard to get everybody to work together.”

Recognizing the importance of resident involvement, Duluth LISC has named a lead organization in each of those neighborhoods that know them best, Kramer said. Neighborhood Housing Services of Duluth is designated as the lead agency in Central and East Hillside, and in Lincoln Park; the Spirit Valley Citizens and Neighborhood Development Association in West Duluth and Morgan Park (SVCNDA) .

Community Action Duluth

Furthest along in using the principals of bridging social capital for public good is Community Action Duluth. It was created in 1998 from the ashes of the old Duluth Community Action Program with a new mission to address the root causes of poverty.

Its “Circles of Support” program identifies a low-income person with a goal for improvement — for example, obtaining a drivers license, a GED to go to college, or buying a house — and creates of circle of three “allies” with expertise to help the individual meet his or her goal. Presently, there are about a dozen circles in operation with the two-year-old program, said Stan Kaitfors, the nonprofit’s founding executive director.

“It lets people reach out in their area of expertise with their precious gift of time across race, class and socio-economic barriers, and people’s lives have changed,” he said. Community Action also seeks volunteers to assist low-income people prepare their income tax returns. The tax program has proved to be a fertile recruiting ground for “circle” allies, he said.

The circle program also complements an “asset development account” program the nonprofit created four years ago. Poor people agree to save $30 to $35 monthly toward a goal, for instance, buying a house, starting a business or going to college. If they reach that goal, their savings are matched three-to-one: every dollar saved generates three more to meet related expenses.

The saver also must attend a related series of classes. Neighborhood Housing Services trains potential homebuyers; the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund provides business start up advice; and participating colleges provide a school counselor, Kaitfors said.

Bremer Banks takes the deposits and manages the program.

The matching funds come from a Minnesota law authored by then-House Speaker, Tim Pawlenty, now the governor.“The asset development account offers a hand up, not a hand out,” Kaitfors said.

“Bridging social capital destroys myths about poverty.”

Useful Link:

Duluth Superior Community Foundation