Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC) Clearinghouse

Our future success and the quality of life in our city depends upon our collective ability to build strong and resilient neighbourhoods. Because when we believe we can make a difference, we often do. Working together, we will build stronger and more resilient neighbourhoods, making Toronto a great city.

Our Building Strong Neighbourhoods strategy is targeting funding, building local residents' engagement with their neighbourhood, establishing Community Hubs, and building the capacity of local agencies, community leaders and residents. Torontonians are willing to put their money where their hearts are: by providing millions of dollars to respond to the human needs of neighbourhoods. At the very heart of this work—and the starting point for all of United Way Toronto's neighbourhood work—is the experiences and hopes of local residents.

Organizations

Local

  • 211 Toronto: A United Way Toronto-funded member agency offering information and referrals about services in the city.
  • The Strong Neighbourhood Task Force: A joint project of United Way Toronto and the City of Toronto, with the support of the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario, which emphasized the importance of neighbourhood infrastructure. There are neighbourhoods in Toronto where the population has grown and changed, but local services have not responded. As a result of the Task Force, 13 priority neighbourhood areas have been identified in our city that, based on need and available services, will benefit residents from community investments. (Read the report: Strong Neighbourhoods: A Call to Action), (PDF - 2.6 MB)
  • Toronto City Summit Alliance: A multi-sector coalition working to meet Toronto's challenges.
  • Greater Toronto Urban Observatory: Monitors and evaluates regional urban conditions and trends. It seeks to disseminate an improved policy-relevant knowledge base about the Toronto urban region by providing reliable, accurate, and timely information to policy-makers, businesses, researchers, and citizen groups.

Canada

  • The Caledon Institute: A non-profit think tank focused on poverty, social policy and community capacity building.
  • Tamarack Institute: An institute for community engagement, with an excellent learning centre, as well as information on Vibrant Communities, a community-driven effort to reduce poverty in Canada.

International

  • The Annie E. Casey Foundation (U.S.A.): One of the most prominent American leaders in the area of community change and renewal. The Making Connections program, which focuses on children, family and social networks. Includes a large library of resource material.
  • Roundtable on Community Change, Aspen Institute (U.S.A.): Focusing on community change through policy and applied research work, includes a large library of resource material.
  • The Young Foundation (U.K.): The Young Foundation's work on neighbourhoods and local innovation provides insight into discussions happening in the United Kingdom.

Skills Building

Anti-Racism

One of the central principles of United Way Toronto's work in neighbourhoods and through agencies is to build inclusiveness. It takes courage to look at how race and racism can change lives, but equality has to exist in such a diverse place as Toronto. The following resources provide key starting points.

Conflict-Resolution

General

Leadership

Partnering

  • Community Building Resource Exchange (U.S.A.): This website provides a broad array of resources and information about innovative community building efforts to revitalize poor neighborhoods and improve the life circumstances of residents and their families.

Research Methodologies

Knowledge Building/Addressing The Issues

Built Environment

Children, Youth and Families

Community Economic Development

Crime

Demographics

General

Health

Newcomers and Marginalized Population

Poverty

Social Inclusion and Social Capital

United Way Toronto Resources

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