Leadership, Community Assets, and Goals
You are among your community’s greatest assets! This session will examine your individual leadership skills to determine both your strengths and areas needing improvement. This tool will also help you to identify the skills of others in your organization. Using asset mapping and a SWOT analysis, you will determine your community’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats so you can more clearly define and address your issues. You will clarify the vision and mission of your organization and consider possible project goals.

Strategic Partnerships
This session will acquaint you with local, state, and national entities who share similar interests to your own. You will determine which entities may fit your needs by analyzing both potential and challenges. Using the media as a resource, selling your issues to external groups, and practicing speaking skills are also included in this class. You will work with your team to develop a three-minute presentation that may, in a mock setting, be delivered before a government panel for critiquing purposes.

Project Management and Resource Development
Resource Development offers strategies to help you recruit volunteers, apply a Value-Proposition approach, and understand fundraising steps. You will also learn of grant resources and gain valuable tools for grant writing. Project management tools will guide you through a step-by-step process to assure your project is defined, resourced, and audited.

Communication Skills for Leaders
In the communication module, you will learn to lead more effectively by enhancing listening and speaking skills. You will gain tools to solve problems and manage conflict. Finally you will acquire ethical persuasion skills to enhance your ability to clarify your topic and effectively present your case in a given setting.

Interacting with your Local Government Leaders
This session seeks to build a collaborative perspective by equipping citizens with information on how to participate in the regulatory process. Topics include the following skills:

• Request “standing” to participate in public meetings/hearings
• Understand code restrictions
• Practice public speaking “dos and don’ts”
• How to determine who to call, what to say to specific departments and government bodies
• View a mock agenda
• Present an issue in a mock presentations before a panel