About Us > About Social Capital in Winston-Salem

What is Social Capital?

“Social Capital is the spark of goodwill generated when someone reaches out and engages with another, drawing people in a community closer together.”

Social capital refers to the inter-connectedness of people living within a community, taking into account their trust of one another and their willingness to work together for the common good. Communities with higher levels of social capital have been found to enjoy better health, stronger economies, more widespread access to educational opportunities, and more responsive government institutions.

Social Capital and Forsyth County

The concept of Social Capital was first introduced to Forsyth County by the Winston-Salem Foundation in 2000. During the year, the Foundation initiated the ECHO Fund, an initiative focused on the improvement of Social Capital within our community. The mission of the ECHO Fund is to build a stronger community by providing opportunities to non-profit organizations and community members to build enriching, trusting, and long-lasting relationships among diverse groups of people. Communities with higher levels of social capital enjoy better health and stronger economies along with more widespread access to educational opportunities and more responsive government institutions.

To better understand Forsyth County’s existing social capital, the Foundation sponsored the community’s involvement in the national Social Capital Benchmark Survey, coordinated by Robert Putnam at Harvard University. Putnam’s survey found the following:

  • High levels of involvement in faith-based activities
  • Long history of charitable giving
  • Mistrust among residents, especially those who come from different social circles
  • An over-concentration of leadership among “traditional leaders”
  • A lack of public gathering spaces for informal socializing
  • Relatively low levels of volunteerism, particularly those volunteer activities that involved interacting with those you are helping

In the summer of 2003, the ECHO Listening Sessions showed similar findings with regards to social capital. From these sessions, numerous suggestions were made with regards to social capital:

  • Make decision making more inclusive
  • Increase volunteer opportunities, participants, and training
  • Create more universal gathering spaces