A Path to Build Thriving Communities

Get a plan to engage your whole community and take action toward a brighter future.

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Making Real Community Impact is a Big Task and Can Feel Overwhelming

We hear from town residents, municipal leaders, and community partners that they are often blocked by:

  • Apathy
  • Fragmentation
  • Lack of engagement
  • Inadequate planning
  • Poor investment choices
  • Minimal follow through

The Good News

The good news is that Community Heart & Soul can help you and your community overcome these challenges to build and maintain a thriving community.

Schedule a Call

Your town is not just a place. It’s home.

Every town deserves a future shaped by the people who live there. Watch how Community Heart & Soul helps towns take charge, unite their voices, and create lasting impact.

Postville, Iowa water tower
Community Heart and Soul Logo

About Us

Every community has a unique “Heart & Soul”—the pride residents feel, the places they love to show visitors, the gathering places where people connect, and the ways neighbors come together to work across differences. Community Heart & Soul® is a discovery process that helps small cities and towns identify the priorities, places, and traditions that matter most to the people who live, work, and play there—and turn those elements into actions to build a brighter future for current and future generations.

Led by residents in partnership with local officials, Community Heart & Soul strengthens community engagement, builds trust, sparks economic development, and honors history and culture. It becomes an ongoing practice for years to come—not a plan that sits on a shelf.

Founded by Lyman Orton, proprietor of the Vermont Country Store, Community Heart & Soul has helped over 130 towns across America build a future that reflects what residents love about their community and why they choose to live there.

Lyman Orton

How It Works

At Community Heart & Soul, we have a proven plan to help you bring your community together and make it a place where people love to live—now and for generations to come.

Willingboro New Jersey Heart & Soul

Involve Everyone

Engage people where they already gather—block parties, schools, fairs, and other local events.

Focus on What Matters Most

Turn stories from residents into priorities for the future.

Image of main street in Muscatine Iowa

Play the Long Game

Build lasting change with an actionable framework to guide your community for years to come.

Ready to help shape your community’s future?

Schedule a Call
U.S. map of Community Heart & Soul Towns

More than 130 small cities and towns across the U.S. have achieved lasting transformation with Community Heart & Soul.

What Communities Are Saying

  • We were able to identify what people feel is important to our community which will then help us drive in the direction Community Heart & Soul takes us, and what we can do, and then what support we would need.”

    — Mark Matthews, Town Council Member, Pepperell, MA

  • The Community Heart & Soul process empowered individuals to have a say in decisions affecting their lives. It has a significant impact on various aspects of community engagement.”

    — Mary Joan Dickson, Town Council Member, Cedar Lake, IN
Damariscotta, Maine
Golden, Colorado
City of Williamsport, Pennsylvania
City of Mendota, Illinois
Kershaw, South Carolina

How To Get Started

1.

Complete our brief questionnaire.

2.

Schedule an introductory call.

3.

Make a difference!

GET STARTED TODAY!

Download the Community Heart & Soul Intro Book

Our Intro Book is your go-to-guide—it shows you what the program is, why it works, and how to launch it in your community.

Download Intro Book

Strong Partnerships,
Stronger Communities.

Together, with foundations and nonprofits, Community Heart & Soul is helping transform small cities and towns across America.

Become a Partner

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