A Better Bell. Together.

How might we turn all these creative Tumblr's into artists within our city?

Who would have ever guessed there's so many residents of the City of Bell on Tumblr. I just followed almost 200 of you. At first glance, you post some really creative stuff. Wondering how we make something out of all that creativity.

Earlier today, I was reading about Acumen—an organization that raises charitable donations to invest in companies, leaders, and ideas that are changing the way the world tackles poverty. Their work is built on the human-centered design process of getting out into your community to: 

Hear

Create

Build

Acumen's approach is a bold new way of tackling poverty that's about dignity, not dependence.

Their method is at the core how we build "A Better Bell. Together." really, together. You seek input from your community. You allow the community to determine priorities. You design programs that your community wants and will use. Are you starting to see my emphasis on really together?

Our community needs to be provided with choice, not just charity. I want to promote programs that truly have the financial resources to appropriately serve our community and encourage our social and economic prosperity. Too often our community is sold on the idea of social programs that are not sufficiently financially backed, leading to further disengagement and lack of opportunity. I’m not interested in the politics of over-selling and under-delivering. 

I believe in a new type of leader that measures what matters, design programs shaped by and with community-driven priorities, and diverts financial resources away from programs that lack impact and towards programs that work. I believe in "together, really together."