Conclusion

A great deal of work is underway on community leadership but, like germinating seeds, most of it is subterranean at this time. By the end of 2008, however, some shoots will have emerged. Two theories of change, one for individual community foundations and one for the field, will have been developed. Community Leadership Networks will be up and running. The first short stories and the first case studies will have been published. The newly-constructed field level theory of change will provide an empirical basis to design and test interventions that the philanthropic sector can take to make community leadership a community foundation hallmark. In a larger sense, however, together with the field we are laying the groundwork for new forms of interaction – within communities, within community foundations, and among all foundations concerned with the quality of community and civic life.