Letter from the Executive Director

Civic capital is the term we use to describe the force motivating people to be actively engaged in community life. CityClub builds civic capital by increasing its four core elements: community knowledge, connectedness, trust and action.

Knowledge: 85% of CityClub participants claim that our programs introduce them to new issues and diverse perspectives, inform their opinions and challenge their thinking.

Connection: 3/4th of CityClub participants agree that we help them make new professional and social contacts while providing a forum for their voices to be heard by leaders (especially for people under 35).

Trust: 98% of CityClub participants agree that our programs present issues fairly with credible speakers and that they make public policy, elections and government processes more visible and understandable.

Action: 83% of CityClub participants claim that we inspire them to communicate with civic leaders. 66% say CityClub influences their voting decisions and motivates them to advocate for a cause or position to family, friends and neighbors. 

Here are the strategies we use to achieve these results:

Program Excellence, Timeliness and Balance: Our integrity rests, first and foremost, on the quality of our programs: Are they fair and well-moderated? Are they pluralistic in the speakers and perspectives represented? Are they vital to the community? Our goal is to present topics, issues, decisions, people and policies that inform citizens and foster public deliberation so that our constituents are better prepared for their roles as voters, volunteers, philanthropists, and advocates. Whether we’re working face-to-face or online, creating single forums or series, debates, dialogues or social networking programs, we work to create diversity of perspectives and balanced content across our programs.

Convening and Connectivity: CityClub is a lively civic network. We foster connections among individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations, government, the media and academic institutions. At CityClub, people meet people they don’t know and their business, social and civic network grows. Complementing our 60 annual programs, we’re daily bloggers, tweeters, Facebook conveners linking people on-line as a 24/7 civic resource.

Nonpartisanship and Civility: Our program offerings are not driven by any specific political agenda, ideology or business interest. We include volunteers, speakers and audiences across the political spectrum. That is a sacred element of CityClub’s ecology. We model civility in public life by creating a safe, respectful place for airing diverse views and controversy and fostering fair and lively debate.

Leader-Citizen Interaction:  We provide direct access for citizens to regional leaders and policy makers. All forums are open to members and non-members alike—and all are encouraged to ask questions and exchange ideas. In 2010, we saw on-site program attendance climb 20% to over 5,000 with a doubling of web usage to 10,000 network participants. Our volunteer pool includes five citizen task forces representing over 100 community volunteers who develop and evaluate our programs. We view staff’s role as facilitating this citizen initiative. Because CityClub programs are also documented, broadcast and podcast on public access sources, they become part of the public record supporting transparency and accountability.

Think of CityClub as a gym – stretching and toning your civic muscle! I encourage you to get involved - as a Network member, volunteer or program participant. Your civic health – and the health of our community – will thrive.

Sincerely,

Diane Douglas,
Executive Director