“So, what do you do?”
We’ve all heard this question. Sometimes, our answers are met with nods of recognition; other times, helping someone understand our role requires more explanation. People working to develop their community’s civic infrastructure might need to share a lot of extra explanation.
Civic infrastructure isn’t something we can see or touch. It’s the structures that connect people, ideas and resources to make communities stronger — relationships, collaboration, goal setting, data sharing and more. But even though civic infrastructure is often intangible, organizations in communities across the country are taking tangible steps to build and deepen it.
These organizations are sometimes called backbone organizations. The members of the StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network serve as backbone organizations for their communities, across 30 states and Washington, D.C. — meaning that they’re the backbone of their communities’ efforts to create and maintain a strong civic infrastructure.
So, what does a backbone organization do — and what impact does it make? Read the full post on Medium for a breakdown of the key roles of backbone organizations supporting their communities’ civic infrastructure, and see what it looks like in communities nationwide.
