Well, its been another very busy month! We've been conducting follow-up with the Civil Society Project in Macedonia; working with youth organizations here in the United States; and conducting strategic planning retreats for two great youth-lead European NGOs.

At the beginning of the month, Common Ground was in The Netherlands working with CHOICE whose mission is to promote the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people and their meaningful participation in the field. CHOICE was established by the World Population Foundation in 1997 as the Dutch Council on Youth and Population.

A couple of weeks later, we returned to Europe to work in Sofia, Bulgaria with YouAct, the European Youth Network on Sexual and Reproductive Rights.

Both consultancies focused on infrastructure change, board development, and sustainability planning. My role as facilitator included pushing the leadership and members to be bold with their visions and strategic in their actions.

We've worked with these powerful groups in the past and their commitment to authentic youth leadership keeps us coming back. We'll be looking for ways to bring what we learned back to our work here in the U.S.

I was also invited to provide the opening keynote address for the 18th Annual Conference of the Mid-Atlantic Network for Youth (MANY) this month. I've been working with MANY since their 10th anniversary celebration and it is something I look forward to every year. It was an outstanding conference!

We won't be abroad next month, but working and traveling domestically instead. We have trips planned to San Francisco, Kansas City, New Orleans, and Montpelier, VT. Check the blog for updates!

If you haven't visited our website yet, I hope you'll take a look. When you get to our site, go to the login area under "Members" on the left, and enter the email address where you are receiving this; and create a password.

After that simple step, you'll have access to dozens of fully downloadable resources (more just added) to help you in your work. You'll also be able to view our snapshots gallery; and I'll be able to involve you more directly in our cutting-edge work around the world!

And if you're a U.S. citizen, please remember to vote on November 7th! You have the right and the responsibility to use your voice and vote for change. I was in Bulgaria for their national elections a couple of weeks ago and it reminded me of the awesome power we have as citizens to demand accountability from our leaders.

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In Community, Craig

	Quick Tips Newsletter One of the resources we offer to our friends and colleagues is our Quick Tips Newsletter. In them, we offer simple strategies you can implement to improve your social profit experience. Each month, we focus on a specific area of interest to our social sector community; offering tips, tools, and techniques to make your life just a little easier. This month, we talk all about Finding Inspiration In Our Everyday World. Check it out now...