Interested in ABCD Institute membership? We'd love you to join! The Asset-Based Community Development Institute (ABCDI) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit membership organization supporting ABCD practitioners worldwide.
Join
Our mission is to catalyze thriving, welcoming, just and resilient community ecosystems by utilizing asset-based framework and tools to help groups understand and utilize their power to shape and organize local change.
ABCDI was founded in 1993 by John McKnight and Jody Kretzmann after the publication of their influential book, “Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community's Assets,” and has served as a global hub for ABCD practitioners for over 30 years. ABCDI is located at DePaul University's Irwin W. Steans Center for Community-Based Service Learning & Community Service Studies in Chicago, Illinois, USA. ABCDI is run by members for members. We offer multiple ways to engage from general membership to board service.
Why join ABCDI? The benefits of membership.
As you'd expect from an organization that believes in community-led development, much of the benefit of joining comes from collaborating with other members in a variety of ways including:
- Access educational events and an extensive, member co-created ABCD knowledge base.
- Connect with peers on robust forums to ask questions and align practices
- Collaborate with individuals and organizations with shared interests and join Communities of Practice
- Share tools and strategies with peers to enhance community work
Below are the basics on ABCD Network's s three membership levels (see our membership structure page for more information).
Membership fees are on a sliding scale and can be easily waived. Fees are also waived for those in the Global South and those who cannot use any of payment options (Visa, MC, AMEX, Google Pay, ACH/direct debit) in their country. You can join and pay online now using a major credit card or Google Pay. Please email admin@abcdinstitute.org to get instructions for joining through payment by check or bank transfer. If you are looking to learn more about the network before joining, contact neal@abcdinstitute.org
Community Practitioner membership is for individuals using ABCD in their community without organizational support. Membership fees are on a sliding scale and can be easily waived. Fees are also waived for those in the Global South and those who cannot use any of payment options (Visa, MC, AMEX, Google Pay, ACH/direct debit) in their country.
Organizational Practitioner is for individuals who are affiliated with organizations and use ABCD in their community. Membership fees are based on the organization's budget and range from USD $50 to USD $150.
Organizational Partners: If you are interested in partnering with the ABCD Institute as a formally organized group that shares ABCDI values and wants to engage with and contribute to the ABCD movement through a partnership, this is the type of member you should be. Organizational partners might have particular areas or issues of focus and use ABCD as an approach, lens, and/or set of tools to do its work within that field of focus. Some ABCDI organizational partners will be relational partners seeking to partner with others who wish to support and advance the ABCD movement. Some will be community-based, and others will be ‘intermediary’ larger organizations who connect to multiple communities. An organization that employs and teaches others about ABCD practice is an example of an entity that might be considered an organizational partner. Organizational partners will be contacted separately to ensure values alignment.are organizations who share the values of the Institute and want to engage in the ABCD movement through a partnership. Please contact us to learn more. Fees are also based on an organization's budget and range from USD $500 to USD $1500.
We invite you to join, get involved in the life of the ABCDI membership network, enhance your ABCD knowledge and practice, help move the ABCD practice forward and further enable resident-led positive change in communities around the world.
Join
Please email network@abcdinstitute.org if you have any questions about membership.