Our Educational Mission is simple: Help Communities Thrive

---

The Community Matters Institute is dedicated to helping groups of people build and maintain attractive and resilient communities that are economically, socially, and ecologically sustainable. One of the main premises of the Institute is to fulfill a need: the people involved in developing their community need tools and techniques that are easily accessible and ready to use by staff, elected officials, and citizens. The Institute is founded on the principle that by recognizing and celebrating the unique characteristics of place, citizens can work with their government to manage community transformations and create more robust, inclusive, and enjoyable communities.

Community Matters Institute takes a holistic view of communities, recognizing they are comprised of complex, nested systems—systems within systems that include hard infrastructure, such as transportation and utility systems; soft infrastructure, such as community institutions (e.g.local and regional government,  schools, and area colleges, and local businesses ); and those that wish to maintain the cherished characteristics of the community that make the place home. 

For communities wishing to 'save place' or foster resiliency, the most difficult questions are “Where do we start?” and “Where are we today?” 

The Institute provides tools and guidance for identifying paths that allow your community to answer these questions and to engage those that have a stake in the community to fully participate in key community decisions to achieve success in creating livable, resilient communities, whether in the United States or abroad.