The Foundation understands better how to support a community to develop its own vision. It is still unclear whether the partners and the Foundation understand how to forge a working partnership that doesn't elevate some partners above others. Still, enough goodwill was generated through the initiative that the Foundation and the partners continue to strengthen the relationship. From the Foundation's perspective, what may be most important is what we learn from this experience to use in our current and future work. The Foundation staff learned a great deal about ourselves, as well as about community building.
Communication is a critical ingredient.
The political environment has profound impact on neighborhoods and institutions. It is naive to expect full participation from all residents. There is pain with progress. Sustaining momentum is a significant challenge. There were more than a few instances during the history of Mount Cleveland where significant parties almost drew a line in the sand and walked away.