Four Attributes That Motivate People to Create Change in their Neighbourhood

So, how do we motivate people to create that change in their neighbourhoods? How do we motivate ourselves?

Through the Neighbourhood Small Grants (NSG) program, we saw leadership patterns that contributed to success. Through interviews with project leaders, we identified four attributes to look for and nurture when seeking change-making leaders.

Leverage Existing Skills

Many leaders in the NSG program leveraged the skills they had already acquired elsewhere to organize their NSG projects. The grants acted as the catalyst to initiate the projects by reducing financial barriers and helping to motivate leaders to put their skills into action.

Encouraged to Try

Seeing challenges as opportunities was an important attribute that project leaders shared. Some leaders challenged themselves to take risks while others were encouraged by their peers and mentors. What propelled their projects forward was the leaders’ willingness to try and potentially fail. 

Pursue Issue with Vision

Project leaders were inspired to create change for issues they cared about. Some had lived experience with a particular issue and some saw an issue in their neighbourhood they wanted to improve. What they held in common was a passion for change and the ability to identify solutions. 

Create Joy

One way that project leaders found success was through connecting their issues to activities that brought them joy. This could be by centering their actions around an activity they enjoy or finding joy within the process of building community and making a difference for their neighbours.