CORE Archives
  • Archives
    • A CORE History & Timeline
    • The Way we Were (Old "About Us") >
      • CORE's Vision, Values & Promise
      • Our Theory of Change
      • CORE Structure and Governance
    • Newsletters/Blogs >
      • At the Crossroads with you and "U"
      • On the Home Front
      • Year-End Update & Invitation to Contribute
    • Videos/Poems/Multimedia >
      • A 2014 National Presentation about CORE
      • A CORE Limerick
    • People of CORE's History
    • 2016 Exploratory Journey
    • Harvests from Past Programs >
      • Circle of Transformational Practice >
        • Gathering Harvest >
          • 2016 sessions >
            • Your Story is Your Brand
            • Racial Justice in Our Lives and Our Work
            • Open Circle
            • Building Trust in Our Work
            • Social Justice and Mindfulness
            • Courage in our work
            • Eye Opening Models
            • Creating Intelligent Teams
            • Shared Leadership
            • What is the next level you seek in your consulting practice?
          • 2015 sessions >
            • Conversations we are hungering to have
            • Gratitude as transformational practice
            • How do we respond to sudden change?
            • More Eye-opening Models and Frameworks >
              • Intuitive Organizational Diagnostic
              • Using Chalk Talk in consulting
            • What does collaboration feel like in consulting practice?
            • Cross Cultural Insights and Reflections - July 2015
            • The Art of Transformational Consulting - June 2015
            • Conversations around equity and justice - May 2015
            • Exploring Asset-Based Community Development - April 2015
            • Eye-opening models and frameworks - March 2015 >
              • Asset-Based Community Development
              • Center for World-Changing Organizations
              • Global Dexterity
              • Mutual Aid Networks
            • How can we become the change we want to see in the world? - February 2015
            • How do we focus on the most important things? Or, "What conversations are we yearning for?" Part II. - January 2015
          • 2014 sessions >
            • What conversations are we yearning for? - December 2014
            • Toward a deeper consulting community - November 2014
            • More eye-opening frameworks and models - October 2014 >
              • Articulating Purpose
              • Zentangle
              • Participatory Flowcharting
              • The Turtle Approach to Measurement
              • Intuitive Organizational Diagnosis
              • Problem Abatement Model
              • Hot Action Model
            • Power differentials and how they affect our work - September 2014
            • Be the change: personal qualities of effective consultants - August 2014
            • Toward a Deeper Consulting Community/Focused Conversation Techniques - July 2014
            • Testing
            • More Eye-Opening Models and Frameworks - June 2014
            • Engaging in super-sensitive conversations - from theory to practice - May 2014
            • Toward a Consulting Community - April 2014
            • Eye-opening models and frameworks - March 2014
            • Engaging in super-sensitive conversations - Feb. 2014
          • 2013 sessions
          • 2012 sessions
          • 2011 sessions
          • 2010 sessions
      • Art for Change 2014
      • Harvest from 2014 CORE Community Gathering with Playback Milwaukee
      • Funder Confabs >
        • October 21st 2014 Funder Confab Harvest
        • July 24th 2014 Funder Confab Harvest
        • Funder Confab Group Agreements
        • Funder Confab Action Team Charter
      • CORE Action Café >
        • CORE Action Café announcement version
      • Match for Change >
        • MfC Round 3/2014 Participant Matches
        • Match for Change Flow Chart
        • Becoming a CORE Connector >
          • Connector Application
        • Eligibility >
          • For Organizations
        • Matchmaking Definitions >
          • Capacity Building
          • Consultant
          • Project
          • "Matching" grant
          • Organization
          • Ready
        • Organization Application Process >
          • Application Preview - Organizations
        • Consultant Application Process
        • Matchmaking Confidentiality
        • Assisted Contracting
        • Reporting Process
        • Definitions
        • Round 1 Participants
        • Round 1 Discoveries
    • Resources >
      • Tips on Hiring a Consultant
      • The Field of Transformational Change by Becca Krantz
      • Related Efforts
    • Testimonials

Our Vision

Our vision is that organizations of all sizes have the help they need to work sustainably and effectively towards making the world a better place.

Our Mission

Our mission is to bring together organizations, consultants, and funders in the greater Madison area to build capacity for social justice, social change, advocacy, and community building work.
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Our Model

We believe in maximizing the impact of every bit of human and financial capital invested in social justice, social change, advocacy and community building work.  (We call growth toward this goal “capacity building,” and we call the consultants, trainers, coaches, practitioners and others committed to helping individuals and organizations build capacity “capacity-building providers.”)

We believe that connecting the right people with the right resources at the right time can make the right difference.  Specifically, we believe that skilled, respectful, and appropriate support from capacity building providers can strengthen individuals and organizations.

Therefore, we believe in an integrated approach to capacity building in which:
  1. Capacity building seekers understand their strengths and have the knowledge and resources they need to identify and engage the right support to effect the change they seek;
  2. Capacity building providers recognize their strengths and areas for improvement, learn from one another and from capacity building seekers, and are reliably effective in their work with those seeking support; and
  3. Organizational leaders, donors and funders value capacity building as a crucial catalyst and the most high-leverage place to invest for long-term impact.

We believe this unique holistic approach to capacity building is an essential component of a vital, resilient, sustainable and effective network of people and organizations committed to making the world a better place.

Our Method: Organizing

We aspire to change the system by which the people working to make our community better get the help they deserve, to make their work as sustainable and as effective as possible.
 
We believe that changing how a system works happens by changing how its components relate to one another.

Using tried and true methods of community organizing, we are building and deepening relationships among consultants, among organizations, and between consultants and organizations:
  • One-to-one conversations that build knowledge and trust 
  • Small-group gatherings to share information and learn together 
  • Facilitation of referrals, exchanges, and collaboration

How will we know we’re making a difference?

Ultimately we want to know: Can we improve the way people and organizations connect with each other to boost capacity for making the world a better place?  We say we can.

We’ll know we’re on the right track if participants are benefiting from our central tenet — that cultivating relationships and facilitating reflection contribute to increased effectiveness, sustainability and joy in our work. 

We expect that participants will
  • Learn more about each others’ backgrounds, skills and motivations
  • Expand their list of trusted sources of help and collaboration
  • Listen beyond urgency and competition to reflect with curiosity, learn together, and move forward more effectively
  • Experience a view of “effectiveness” that includes true excellence, even elegance
  • Improve the quality, sustainability and joyfulness of work for social transformation

Where are we headed?

CORE is an emerging entity. As with any "work in progress," we can't be sure where we'll end up. That's part of the fun!


One vision of where we'd like to head is depicted at the right. With Round 2 of our match-making program, CORE is already moving towards creating an "enduring portfolio" of consultants. We are also building more relationships with funders who care about capacity building, with the idea that we might help with "match-making" in this arena as well. 


Perhaps one day soon, organizations will be able to apply at any time for assistance with any or all of the following:  
  • Clarifying capacity building goals 
  • Finding the right consultant
  • Finding funding support for their capacity building project
  • Creating a clear contract and work plan with the consultant
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CORE  explores and cultivates core practices for social transformation
to heal ourselves, our communities, and our world
. www.corechange.us  ​