An interesting paradox exists whereas those most impoverished tend to be the most generous with their donations of hard capital.

Why is that?

This phenomenon is so persistent, it’s almost as if the “poor” are eager to convert hard capital (cash) into alternative expressions of wealth (soft capital) that are more highly valued within their hyper-local community.

Counter to intuition, when the economy gets worse, those who are typically dismissed as poor become more generous, creating soft capital "pockets" that boast immense potential to effect change.

"Experts" scold us for this behavior, but what if there is a perfectly rational reason for this?

What if "the poor" recognize something that the middle class has been taught to ignore?

When hard capital is exchanged into forms of soft capital through acts of service and generosity, it becomes more valuable when times get hard.

Maybe "the poor" know something that we don’t?

And more to the point: are there ways to identify and activate these "pockets" of soft capital to accelerate community redevelopment, leveraging locally-sourced leadership? 

And money doesn't always solve problems; if you've failed to invest in a foundation of soft capital, more money brings more problems, and chaos ensues.

In this episode, Ruth Glendinning and Kent Dahlgren discuss how activation of these pockets of soft capital unlocks your potential to generate hard capital as well as creates a foundation that mitigates risk and chaos as your redevelopment effort grows.