Imagine Chicago’s Key Organizing Principles

• We work in partnership with local individuals and organizations, encouraging participants to find ways to connect their particular gifts to the community where they live. When projects build the capacity of both individual and institutional participants, an innovation can begin to change the whole system.

• We build where life and energy are already at work, involving people who want to make a difference. We use positive questions to help them identify the foundations in their own experience upon which even greater possibilities can be built.

• We create opportunity for constructive interactions across boundaries. This expands the community to which people belong and are accountable. Not only can more be accomplished, new ideas can arise out of uncommon partnerships.

• We identify individuals who are committed to being change agents in their organizations and communities, and help them make a difference by connecting them to opportunities and effective tools. These resources emerge from socially constructive processes and questions that enable people to share and leverage their commitment and experience.

• We keep the whole in view, intentionally building an intergenerational and intercultural network of individuals and organizations committed to developing a vital citywide community and a positive future for Chicago’s children.

• We expect the best from everyone and hold them accountable. When dreams are shared, and ownership of action steps claimed, the likelihood increases that the imagined dream will come to birth.