1. Asset Based Community Development ABCD A methodology for the sustainable development of communities based on their strengths and potentials. It involves assessing the resources, skills, and experience available in a community; organizing the community around issues that move its members into action; and then determining and taking appropriate action. This method uses the community's own assets and resources as the bases for development; it empowers the people of the community by encouraging them to utilize what they already possess.

2. 5 Key Assets in ABCD Individuals Associations Institutions
Physical Assets
Community Connections

3. Involving Individual Capacities
Youth
Seniors
People with Disabilities
People Living in Poverty
Artists
At the center of ABCD are residents of the community that have gifts and skills. Everyone has assets and gifts. Individual gifts and assets need to be recognized and identified.

4. Leveraging Local Associations
Religious Institutions
Cultural Organizations
Community Committees
Small informal groups of people, such as clubs, working with a common interest as volunteers are called associations in ABCD and are critical to community mobilization. They come together around a common interest by their individual choice.

5. Incorporating Local Institutions
Libraries
Schools
Community Colleges
Police
Hospitals
Paid groups of people who generally are professionals who are structurally organized are called institutions. They include government agencies and private business, as well as schools, etc. They can all be valuable resources. The assets of these institutions help the community capture valuable resources and establish a sense of civic responsibility.

6. Highlighting Physical Assets
Parks
Architecture
Waterways
Historic landmarks
Physical assets such as land, buildings, space, and are other assets can be used to build community pride, attract investors, and create spaces for the community to gather.

7. Creating Community Connections
Capacities of Individuals
Associations of Citizens
Neighborhood Leaders
Elected Officials
There must be an exchange between people sharing their assets by bartering, etc. These connections are made by people who are connectors. It takes time to find out about individuals; this is normally done through building relationships with individuals by individuals.

10. Power/Knowledge/Action

11. ABCD Resources Alinsky (1989). Rules for Radicals
Flora and Flora (2008). Rural Communities: Legacy and Change
Green and Haines (2008). Asset Building and Community Development
Kotter (1996). Leading Change
Kretzman and McNight (1993). Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community's Assets
Krile (2008). The Community Leadership Handbook: Framing Ideas, Building Relationship, and Mobilizing Resources
Marshak (2006). Covert Processes at Work: Managing the Five Hidden Dimensions of Organizational Change
McKnight (2010). The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods
Rappaport (1977). Community Psychology: Values, Research, and Action
Stoecker (2005). Research Methods for Community Change: A Project Based Approach