Asset-Building Ideas for Organizations

Ideas for Schools

1. Make it a priority to provide caring environments for all students and encourage their commitment to learning.
2. Train support staff, teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators, and other school staff in their role in asset building.
3. Involve youth in leadership roles and meaningful governance activities.
4. Expand, diversify, and strengthen co-curricular activities and service opportunities for all youth.
5. Provide opportunities for staff to share “best practices” for providing support, establishing boundaries, nurturing values, and teaching social skills and competencies.

Ideas for Youth Organizations

1. Involve youth in leadership and program planning.
2. Provide a range of structured activities for youth with diverse interests and needs.
3. Provide opportunities where young people feel supported and safe
4. Coordinate activities and priorities with other youth-serving organizations.
5. Focus on asset building in programming, including building social competencies, engaging youth in service, and strengthening personal identity.

Ideas for Congregations

1. Intentionally foster intergenerational relationships by providing activities for all ages within the congregation.
2. Listen to what youth say they want.
3. Regularly offer parent education as part of the congregation’s educational programs.
4. Make community service a central component of youth programming.
5. Network with other congregations and institutions in the area for mutual learning, support, and coordination.

Ideas for Neighborhood Groups

1. Make asset building a criteria for setting priorities for action in the neighborhood.
2. Sponsor creative activities and events that help people get to know their neighbors.
3. Coordinate residents to provide safe places where young people can go after school if they would be home alone or if they feel unsafe.
4. Organize informal activities (such as an ice cream social or pick-up basketball game) for young people in the neighborhood.
5. Work with children and teenagers to create a neighborhood garden, a neighborhood playground or park.

Ideas for Business

1. Develop family-friendly policies that allow parents to be active in their children’s lives.
2. Provide opportunities for employees to build relationships with youth through mentoring and other volunteer programs, flexible scheduling, and internships for youth.
3. Be intentional about nurturing the 40 developmental assets in the lives of teenagers employed by the company.
4. Become partners in and advocates for initiatives designed to create healthy communities for children and youth.
5. Provide resources (donations, in-kind contributions, and so on) to youth development programs and to community-wide efforts on behalf of youth.

Ideas for Government

1. Become a champion for asset building throughout the city. Convene public and private stake holders to begin efforts to coordinate a neighborhood or citywide vision for asset building.
2. Through policy, training, and resource allocation, Make asset development a top priority in the city.
3. Support and expand neighborhood-building initiatives.
4. Build the capacity of community-based organizations to serve children and families.
5. Initiate community-wide efforts to name shared values and boundaries.

Asset-Building Ideas for Individuals

Ideas for Young People

1. Learn the names of your neighbors (both adults and children) Go out of your way to greet them.
2. Choose one way to build a relationship with a child through baby-sitting, playing catch with a child in the neighborhood, or by volunteering as a coach assistant.
3. Post the 40 developmental assets in your room or in your locker. Choose a different asset each day and focus on building it for your friends.
4. Examine the co-curricular activities you are in. Are you feeling challenged? Do you enjoy the activities? Do you feel you have enough time to do the activities, complete homework, and also have time for yourself, family, and friends? If not, consider making some changes.
5. Write a note to (or call) one of the main asset builders in your life, thanking him or her for making a difference in your life.
6. Talk about the 40 developmental assets with members of your family. Which assets do family members think are the strongest in your family?
7. If you have a part-time job during the school year, limit your work schedule to 15 or fewer hours per week to allow time for school work and other activities that are important to your overall development.
8. Even if your family provides a warm, caring, supportive place to grow, also seek support through adults in schools, community organizations, and congregations.

Ideas for Adults

1. Learn the names of all children and teenagers who live near you or who work in shops or community centers you frequent. Greet them by name.
2. Build at least one sustained, caring relationship with a child or adolescent either informally or through a mentoring program.
3. Take time to play or talk with young people who live near you or work with you.
4. Look at the list of 40 developmental assets at least once a week and commit to at least one act of asset building every day.
5. Support initiatives designed to expand opportunities for young people to participate in teams, clubs, and organizations.
6. Expect young people to behave responsibly. When they do not, tell them what you expect and how you would like them to act.
7. Never allow the quality of schools or youth programs to suffer because of a lack of financial resources.
8. Thank people who work with children and youth (teachers, group leaders, social service providers, clergy, and so on)

Ideas for Families

1. Post the list of 40 developmental assets on your refrigerator door. Each day, purposefully nurture at least one asset in each family member
2. Model-and talk about-the values and priorities you wish to pass on to your children.
3. Nurture your own assets by spending time with supportive people, using your time constructively, and reflecting on your own values.
4. Regularly do things with your child, including projects around the house, recreational activities and service projects. Let your child or teenager choose which activities to do together as a family from time to time.
5. Talk to your children about assets. Ask them for suggestions of ways to strengthen assets.
6. Eat at least one meal together everyday.
7. Become active in your child’s education through school activities, monitoring homework, and having conversations about school and learning.
8. Be a friend and asset builder for the friends of your children; welcome them into your home.