You have to have a good idea, based in what you can do for others, what you love to do and without the goal of making lots of money for yourself. Then you have to have the motivation and energy to be able to follow thru! It took me a few years to learn how to write grants.
www.sff.org

Then I volunteered with several community groups that were doing work I was interested in and wanted to learn more about. This was a great way for me to learn how to work with groups of people, develop communication and relationship skills.

I spent hours surfing the web looking for other people that were doing similar work, then I would contact them and start a relationship with them online, that's how I got my current job with Save the Children. Friends connected me to their friends - that's how I got my job in Uganda with In Movement.
www.inmovement.org

I took lots of courses and classes - www.ccsf.edu - to learn more skills. Then I just started doing. Making art with a community of people whom it will benefit can make a huge change in their lives. I call it the Alchemy of Artisty, the UN calls it Social Development. If you want to become an agent of change check out my latest idea, spurred by the Changemakers competition.
www.ashoka.org

Global Art Expeditions
Another great organization I discovered before I went to Hait was the Hub - bayarea.the-hub.net a great place to meet other changemakers and create your own community projects. Kickstarter - www.kickstarter.com - is a great way to raise awareness and get your projects funded and www.miraslist.blogspot.comfor the artist who needs cash!!

For the methodology of starting and sustaining a community art project check out the Village of Arts and Humanities in Philadelphia, Lily Yeh was assisted in documenting her process by Bill Moskin and Jill Jackson. "My work is about the power of acting from the heart and the impact of grassroots action."
Download the PDF of Warrior Angel: The Work of Lily Yeh