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Service Organizations

• Insight Dialogue -- "Insight Dialogue is an interpersonal meditation practice. It brings the mindfulness and tranquility of silent meditation directly into our experience with other people. As humans, we are relational beings; as we begin to wake up, clarity and freedom can illuminate our relationships with others."
• Community Court -- "In November of 1998, the San Francisco District Attorney's Office initiated a U.S. Justice Department pilot project called Community Court, a neighborhood-based mini-court staffed by volunteers and designed to handle misdemeanor offenses. In the last five years, the San Francisco model has become an outstanding example of how a Restorative Justice program can reduce crime in inner-urban areas."
• The Listening Center -- "We create a place to explore this spiritual approach to the art of listening. We find that access to listening as a sacred art is available through a fundamental context that is exemplified by three qualities: Silence, Reflection and Presence. They work together in an organic process. Each call for practices to develop the skill of deep listening."
• Placecheck - "a method of assessing the qualities of a place, showing what improvements are needed, and focusing people on working together to achieve them. At the centre of the method is a list of questions, the Placechecklist, which you can tailor to your particular needs. Placecheck can be used by professionals or by private individuals."
• Peace on Facebook - "promoting peace by building technology that helps people better understand each other. By enabling people from diverse backgrounds to easily connect and share their ideas, we can decrease world conflict in the short and long term."
• The Extraordinaries -- "delivers micro-volunteer opportunities to mobile phones that can be done on-demand and on-the-spot."
• GreatNonprofits -- "a place to find, review, and talk about great -- and perhaps not so great -- nonprofits. If you have direct experience with a nonprofit, share your knowledge and help other people discover trustworthy nonprofits that are making a difference."
• Chardon Press Books -- "Fundamental social change happens when people come together to organize, advocate and create solutions to injustice. Chardon Press recognizes that communities working for social justice need tools to create and sustain healthy organizations. In an effort to support these organizations, Chardon Press produces materials on fundraising, community organizing, and organizational development. These resources are specifically designed to meet the needs of grassroots nonprofits—organizations that face the unique challenge of promoting change with limited staff, funding, and other resources. We at Chardon Press have adapted traditional techniques to the circumstances of grassroots nonprofits. Chardon Press and Jossey-Bass hope these works help people committed to social justice to build mission-driven organizations that are strong, financially secure, and effective."
• AntiRacismNet -- "a network of anti-racism organizations and practitioners.... provides both an online resource for the activist community and a portal offering information about anti-racism activities to the general public.... hosting the following: an international online directory of social justice organizations.\; both issue-specific and news digest listservs; a calendar for posting regional, national, international events; a news portal for publishing efforts and backgrounders on issues. Affiliated with Project Change, the Institute for Democratic Renewal, and the National Network of Training Institutes.
• Center for Nonviolent Communication -- "A global organization helping people connect compassionately with themselves and one another through Nonviolent Communication, a process created by Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D. Find CNVC-certified trainers and local NVC supporters in North America by clicking here.
• Class Action -- "focuses on the personal, interpersonal, and organizational levels of classism. We hope to be a national resource center on class, providing individuals and organizations with the tools and resources to work on eliminating classism."
• Intentional Communities -- "Intentional Community is an inclusive term for ecovillages, cohousing, residential land trusts, communes, student co-ops, urban housing cooperatives and other related projects and dreams... This Web site serves the growing communities movement. We provide important information and access to crucial resources for seekers of community, existing and forming communities, and other friends of community."
• Leader to Leader Institute -- "Established in 1990 as the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management, the Leader to Leader Institute furthers its mission--to strengthen the leadership of the social sector--by providing social sector leaders with essential leadership wisdom, inspiration and resources to lead for innovation and to build vibrant social sector organizations. It is this essential social sector, in collaboration with its partners in the private and public sectors, that changes lives and builds a society of healthy children, strong families, decent housing, good schools and work that dignifies, all embraced by the diverse, inclusive, cohesive community that cares about all of its people."
• Meetup.com -- "helps people find others who share their interest or cause, and form lasting, influential, local community groups that regularly meet face-to-face."
• National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation -- "brings together people and groups who actively practice, promote and study inclusive, high quality conversations. Collectively, we seek to nurture justice, respect, and democracy throughout society using dialogue, deliberation and other forms of collaborative, transformational communication."
• Neighborhoods Online -- "created in 1995 by the Institute for the Study of Civic Values and as an online resource center for America's neighborhood builders--people who work through grassroots organizations, as volunteers, and in government to build strong neighborhoods and communities throughout the country.
• PolicyGovernance.com -- "Policy Governance® is an integrated set of concepts and principles that describes the job of any governing board. It outlines the manner in which boards can be successful in their servant-leadership role, as well as in their all-important relationship with management. Unlike most solutions to the challenge of board leadership, its approach to the design of the governance role is neither structural nor piecemeal, but is comprehensively theory based. The model covers all legitimate intentions of corporate governance codes (including Sarbanes-Oxley), but in a far more comprehensive, theory-based manner."
• Project for Public Spaces -- "dedicated to creating and sustaining public places that build communities."
• Study Circles Resource Center -- "We help communities develop their own ability to solve problems by bringing lots of people together in dialogue across divides of race, income, age, and political viewpoints. We work with neighborhoods, cities and towns, states, school districts, schools, and college campuses, paying particular attention to the racial and ethnic dimensions of the problems they address."
• Vera Institute of Justice -- "works closely with leaders in government and civil society to improve the services people rely on for safety and justice. Vera develops innovative, affordable programs that often grow into self-sustaining organizations, studies social problems and current responses, and provides practical advice and assistance to government officials in New York and around the world."
• Women's eNews -- "the definitive source of substantive news--unavailable anywhere else--covering issues of particular concern to women and providing women's perspectives on public policy. It enhances women's ability to define their own lives and to participate fully in every sector of human endeavor."
• WorldChanging: Cities -- "Living Green by Living Urban -- Urban Design / Transportation / Megacities / Leapfrogging." Also see [[WorldChanging: Community -> "Working Together for the Common Good -- Health / Education / Empowering Women / Philanthropy / Social Entrepreneurship / Arts and Culture."
• YMCA -- "working to meet the health and social service needs of 18.9 million men, women and children in 10,000 communities in the United States. Ys are for people of all faiths, races, abilities, ages and incomes. No one is turned away for inability to pay."
• YWCA -- "to eliminate racism and empower women. We provide safe places for women and girls, build strong women leaders, and advocate for women's rights and civil rights in Congress."

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