COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SOCIETY of SASKATCHEWAN Inc.

History of the Community Development Society

This is a brief history of the Community Development Society, of which the CDSS is a Chapter. From it we can learn something of both ourselves and the larger (now international) organization of which we are an important part. There is a joke that CDS was conceived on January 13, 1969 and born 9 months later on October 19, as outlined below:

On Jan. 13-14, 1969, the University of Missouri-Columbia hosted a 3-day Mid-Continent Conference on "The Role of the University in Community Development". Following the Monday, Jan. 13 meeting, conference participants were invited to an informal evening meeting to consider the creation of an association of community development professionals and others with similar interests and concerns. Seventeen people attended the meeting (later to be called the Founding Committee).

The meeting set up a 5-member committee (later to be known as the Organizational Committee) to proceed with the organization of an association, to explore sources of funds, and to take other action as required. The committee met the next morning over breakfast. The chairperson of the group was Lee Cary, who later authored the well-known text "Community Development as a Process". At that breakfast meeting a number of proposals were developed that would shape the future of the organization as we know it to-day.

1. First year members were to be known as "Founding Members".
2. Three purposes of the organization were identified:
   1) to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas among those involved in CD;
   2) to provide a medium for the publication of professional, scholarly work; and
   3) to provide opportunity for the development of common interests among members of the profession.
3. It would be established as a not-for-profit" corporation in the State of Missouri.
4. A short name for the organization was preferred, so it was called the Community Development Society. The name was later changed to The Community Development Society of America to satisfy legal incorporation requirements under the State of Missouri legislation.
5. It would be an organization of individuals. There was to be no membership distinction between working professionals and volunteer workers - anyone interested in CD could become a member. Membership would be open making it an "interest" association.
6. Dues were set at $10 a calendar year.

The context of the period is relevant to the organization's beginning. The 1960s was a period of rapid growth in CD interests at the local, regional and state/provincial levels in North America. The UN declared the 1960s " The Development Decade". In March, 1961 John F. Kennedy created the "Peace Corps". Lyndon Johnson created the War on Poverty legislation in January, 1964; later to become the Model Cities program. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) was giving increasing attention to CD, and started to appoint CD specialists for support to rural community development . Similar advances could be sited in Canada; the Company of Young Canadians, the Antigonish movement in Atlantic Canada, the Centre for Community Studies in Saskatchewan, and so on. In 1962 both the University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of Southern Illinois-Carbondale established MS programs in CD. These were followed by many such academic programs, including an M.S. in Community Development at the University of Alberta. Under these circumstances CDS was and organization 'waiting to happen!'.

The first CDS annual meeting was planned for Oct. 19-21, 1969, "primarily for the exchange of ideas". Some 220 members registered from 32 states. Roland Warren and Howard McCluskey, well known CD researchers, teachers and authors, were keynote presenters. A constitution and bylaws, previously developed by a small committee of 4 (including George Nicklaus of Missouri -- still the organization's legal counsel) were adopted. A board was elected, with Dr. Lee Cary as the first president. Four standing committees were established - Journal and Editorial Committee; Nominating Committee; Audit Committee and Professional Improvement Committee. A bi-annual journal had been initiated to meet its second purpose and at the annual meeting it was the most mentioned accomplishment of the organization. By the end of 1969 there were 442 members.

In 1972 an expanded newsletter was named "Vanguard" and a first membership directory listed 574 members. By its 5th year, there were 784 members. It was soon appreciated that a more local structure was needed to help meet the national organization's objectives. In 1973 the first state chapter was formed in Nebraska (1973); then Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri and Michigan (1974); Washington (1976); Minnesota, Ohio and New York (1977).

In 1974 a CDS archives was established at the University of Missouri; CDS published its first of several books on community development. and sponsored its first professional development workshop. In that year there were 899 members and a special membership for libraries (to receive the Journal and Vanguard) resulted in 130 library memberships. In 1976 CDS published a Directory of Community Development Education and Training Programs throughout the World. At the time the organization tended to have many members with rural interests. Its first two interest groups "International" and "urban" committees (since 1984 called "Sections") were formed to broaden the interest base: In 1978 membership exceeded 1,000. Approval was received through Missouri legislation to go back to the original name "Community Development Society". By this year there were 13 state chapters. In 1979, the CDS Board explored sponsoring an annual meeting outside the U.S. - in the Caribbean or Canada. In 1985 the annual meeting was held at the University of Guelph.

At the Guelph meeting the community development "Principles of Good Practice" (derived in part from a previous code of ethics) were adopted. In 1988 the "CDS Scholarship Charitable Trust" was established to help community development students attend the CDS Annual Meetings. Members were invited to contribute a charitable donation with their annual meeting fees.

The foregoing is an outline of some of the early developments of CDS, leading up to the opportunity for Saskatchewan to form its own chapter following the hosting of the 1991 international CDS conference in Saskatoon. A comprehensive and interesting story of CDS may be found in the following publication: "The First Twenty Years: A History of the Community Development Society, 1969-1989" available from the Community Development Society, 1123 N. Water Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202, USA . Tel: (414) 276-7106; Fax: (414) 276-7704; e-mail: Jane@svinicki.com. 66 pp.

- Synopsis by Harold Baker, Past President, CDS