Have you ever stopped to think about what holds your community together?
Social capital is the glue that holds communities together. If you look closely, you might see it at the grocery store or at your church or even in the newspaper.
Social capital is seen in mutually respectful relationships, connectedness and trustworthiness among people. It also can be seen in networks and community involvement. The term social capital was coined by social scientist James Coleman to describe community ties, and Robert Putnam further popularized this research in his book, Bowling Alone.
Social capital takes many different forms. It can be seen in the neighbor down the street who knows all the children and is willing to help out in an emergency. Social capital can be seen in the local police officer who coaches Little League, or volunteers who come together each year to organize a Relay for Life event. This powerful "community glue" exists in the bowling league or the families in a local 4-H club. Wherever you find people coming together, building relationships, or networking to get things done, you see social capital at work creating communities and improving your town.
There are many benefits to strengthening social capital. Research has shown that increased social capital makes lives healthier, safer and richer. It also makes us better able to govern a just and stable democracy. Here are a few examples:
- Communities with higher levels of social capital produce children with higher SAT scores and higher performance on a broad range of testing. These communities also have lower dropout rates, higher retention and less youth violence.
- The more integrated we are in our community, the more likely we are to have reduced incidence of health problems including colds, heart attacks, strokes, cancer, depression, and premature death of all sorts.
- Representative government is more responsive in communities with more social capital. Tax compliance is higher and blood donations more abundant.
Where do you see social capital making a difference in your community? Here are a few examples of Minnesota communities that have bragging rights because they’ve leveraged social capital to make a big difference.
- When Roseau, Minnesota put together its 2020 school referendum, it took the time to connect the needs of the school to the needs of the community. The campaign emphasized the connections the community of Roseau have to each other, to public schools, and to students.
- In Becker, Minnesota, The Foster Closet provides clothing and other support services to foster children and foster families in Sherburne County. The web site creates bridges between foster families and interested community members. Foster families can post something on the “wish list”, and the site celebrates when community members grant these wishes. For example, the site notes that a community member granted a wish for “A laptop for Amy who dreams of becoming a High School English Teacher.”
- In Northeast Minnesota, a group called ReGen recognized that young adults were struggling to find friends and create community in the region. In response, they created casual get togethers, connected people to local businesses and the local arts scene, created mentors to college students to encourage them to stay in the area and more. The group intentionally took a regional approach, attracting people from towns across the Iron Range so that they could create positive connections across the entire region.
Each one of us can build social capital. So offer to mow a neighbor's yard. Volunteer to serve on a committee. Hold lunchtime discussions at your workplace Organize a community garden. Sing in a choir or have a neighborhood barbeque. Social capital is built through hundreds of actions, large and small, that we take every day. We're all part the "glue" that makes communities better places to live.
Reviewed in 2025