Building Cooperative Communities  

By RoMa Johnson

I sat down to write an article about giving and gratitude for all of the people who have been such staunch supporters of Citizens Project. Prior to writing, of course, I had to caffeinate.  As I sipped my quadruple latte, I came across an article in the Harvard Business Review of July-August 2011 entitled "The Unselfish Gene," which posits that "people behave far less selfishly than most assume," and that there is "evidence of a human predisposition to cooperate." This runs contrary to what we have been taught to believe for well over a century.  We have built systems and organizations "as though we are selfish creatures [and] by assuming the worst of everyone."  Organizations and systems were "built around incentives, rewards, and punishments to get people to achieve public, corporate and community goals."  Now we know that these old assumptions no longer serve us in our evolving communities-if they ever did.

Citizens Project was created under the new paradigm that assumes that cooperation generated from a common sense of purpose and identity achieves results.  For over twenty years we have worked together without "incentives, rewards or punishments" to build and maintain a more diverse and vibrant community through dialogue, engagement and cooperative action.  

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 March with Us in this Year's Pride Parade

Join us on July 21 to march in solidarity with the PrideFest Parade! This is a great opportunity to connect with other Citizens Project supporters and engage with the community.

The parade will begin at 11 am, and we would like to have everyone meet up at 10:45 beforehand. We'll have Citizens Project banners to carry, but feel free to bring anything else or wear fun flair to show your Pride!

Click here to join the event on Facebook! 

 Citizens Project Welcomes New Summer Intern, Lia Bentley

Lia Bentley is a senior Religion major at Colorado College. After months of travel as a student of social justice movements in Central America, she is thrilled to be working with Citizens Project . Her relationship with several North American indigenous communities has compelled her to engage with projects that heal through reconciliation, collaboration and empowerment. Though raised in New Jersey, she has developed a strong love for Colorado. She looks forward to deepening her connection to the Colorado Springs community throughout her final year as an undergraduate student.

Please join us in welcoming Lia to CP, we are very excited to have her help this summer!