How Do Non-Profit Support And Promote Civic Engagement?

One of the main problems the Vistas kept mentioning was the aspect of community awareness and engagement. In the article titled “Nonprofits and the Promotion of Civic Engagement: A Conceptual Framework for Understanding the "Civic Footprint" of Nonprofits within Local Communities”, the authors speak about how nonprofit organizations provide civic benefits by promoting engagement within local communities. Their analysis uncovered four primary categories which describe how non-profits support and promote civic engagement within communities, the first being “engaging with volunteers and donors”, as it offers an incentive for each to form an understanding of the organization and its impact, the second category is “bringing community members together
through direct and indirect services and programs” which intern offer a more streamlined connection to other members in the community (Shier""et al., 2014, p.62). The third category presented in the article is about “collaborative engagement activities within and beyond the community”, which offer opportunities for community members to appreciate their community and expand their view on possibilities for various events and city implementations, and lastly, the article speaks about “community education and awareness activities” (Shier""et al., 2014, p.62). All of these categories offer an insight into how non-profit organizations such as NJCDC and the Neighborhood Help Center can bring the community together and effectively impact individuals. Through partnership with the vistas, these categories can be applied to their future projects in order to bring recognition and engagement to their organization.