About Us

HISTORY OF THE ECHO NETWORK

In 1999 The Winston-Salem Foundation created the ECHO Fund—Everyone Can Help Out. The Foundation committed a minimum of $2.5 million over 5 years to be used for grants to organizations that increase our community’s stock of social capital.

Subsequently in 2000, the National Social Capital Benchmark Study was conducted by Dr. Robert D. Putnam of Harvard. Winston-Salem was one of 40 sites to participate in this national study on social capital, considered to be the largest scientific investigation of civic engagement ever conducted in America.

The survey showed that we were strong in a few aspects of social capital, average in some, and low in others. The Foundation concluded that it would need to enlist significant community support to shore up the areas in which we were low. Because no existing organization in Forsyth County was specifically working on increasing social capital, The Winston-Salem Foundation assembled the ECHO Council in 2003 as a means of building social capital on a community-wide basis. The Council officially launched in November 2005.

The final ECHO grant was awarded in June 2005, but the Foundation’s commitment to building social capital remains strong. The ECHO Council was charged by the Foundation to work as a promoter, incubator, facilitator, and advocate for social capital. The Council’s work was focused on creating a culture of the common good where decisions are made to benefit the many rather than the few.

In 2009 the ECHO Network became the formal entity that housed the ECHO Council and other programs. The ECHO Network mission: To build a better community by providing opportunities to foster enriching, trusting, and long-lasting relationships among diverse people. The Network is a 501c3 nonprofit organization.

In 2012 the ECHO Council evolved into multiple ECHO Teams in order to have a greater community impact.