Communities have enormous power when they are connected and inclusive

This blog originally appeared in Alliance magazine. 

Harriet McCallum, Executive Officer, Mannifera

There’s something special about this place. It’s easy to know why people have moved from all over Australia and the world to be here. The ocean, coastline, mountains, and yes, rivers, compete with each other in beauty, and together, make it something special. I am lucky enough to have a connection to this place through members of my family who fell in love with it decades ago. I’ve noticed that every time I am about to travel here, I feel an increasing sense of calm. It is a place that forces you to go slow; to just be. 

When I heard that Community Foundations Australia had chosen the Northern Rivers for the #ShiftThePower Summit and the National Community Foundations Forum, I thought it was a genius choice. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be here? And what could its specialness do for a community of community foundations? We will see over the next few days. 

I wanted to share what I’m sitting with as we wrap the #ShifTthePower Summit and head into the Forum. As I write, I am sitting on my uncle’s balcony, surrounded by rainforest, with the sounds of the waves crashing at Tallows Beach behind me, only broken by the call of kookaburras, magpies and bush turkeys. 

Seeing that power is, and always has been, in community

The community foundation sector, and more broadly community philanthropy, is in many ways a lucky part of the funding world. It comes from the collective effort of people who are connected through place, identity, values and ambition. I say it’s lucky, as its reason for existing is clear and constant: community, something people can belong and contribute to, as well as rely on when they need it. These things are all manifestations of love – a theme raised on day one by John, a patron of Northern Rivers Community Foundation. I would also say that, along with love, these things are manifestations of power.  

Communities have enormous power when they are connected and inclusive. As Narayan Adhikari from Accountability Lab Nepal put it, “People [in communities] have the power and know the change that’s needed. They can drive the solutions.” My provocation on day one of #ShiftThePower was to consider if we can truly “#SeeThePower” existing in community.  

Change can mean bringing back the old

Communities generating solutions is as old as humankind. There are so many reasons why communities aren’t the sources of ideas and solutions as much as they used to be, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be again. Community foundations are critical sites where this work is continuing in Australia, and where we can learn from and proliferate this practice, one that is innate in all of us.  

While I have compiled these thoughts, I’ve had a black and white fairywren hopping around my feet, and the waves have kept crashing and the birds have kept calling. I am looking forward to the Forum kicking off in a couple of hours, but before that, I will head back to the beach to soak in the beauty of this unceded Bundjalung Country. 

By: Harriet McCallum, Executive Officer, Mannifera 

Check out more coverage from Community Foundations Australia Forum Week – including the #ShiftThePower Summit – here: 

• The decisions we make now, will flow through for years to come – John Huigen, Executive Director, Mparntwe Alice Springs Community Foundation
• Language matters when you want to be heard – Stacey Thomas, Board Member, Community Foundations Australia