Nancy White's Online Community Toolkit offers a rich set of articles and resources for community builders. This article explores how new, more focused online communities of practice can grow out of existing loose professional networks.

After the initial boom of large-scale communities died down, smaller, more focused and useful communities began to emerge to meet particular needs. Online communities provide the opportunity for non-profits and other mission-driven organization to share knowledge, and work together to acheive a larger impact. Existing networks and informal relationships, both local and global,  can provide a "container" for online communities to emerge. Networks are great for information dissemination, but to accomplish a goal, a more organized, focused, and driven group need to form. This requires a catalyst, and two great catalysts are events, such as conferences, and individuals who take it upon themselves to organize and build the group. The critical factors determining success are having a clear purpose, strategically employing the appropriate tools and processes, and iterating a design cycle of exploration, analysis, design, deployment, and assessment. Two case studies demonstrate successful online community building: Project Harmony Internet Community Development Project, and the South African Online Communications Network. In the first an individual contacted an existing community of community builders, who mentored him in connecting with a few of his key counterparts in other NGO's, who in turn brought in their key counterparts. In this way he formed a group of key players within a large network, and this group began sharing knowledge and ideas which then disseminated outward through existing network channels, which in turn drove membership into the group. The South African Online Communications Network started when people attending a conference arranged for two ancillary meetings  so that people who were only loosely connected through an existing network could form closer relationships. In addition to a well defined purpose and the original catalysts, the following factors foster growth:

Personal connections – initial connections based on shared interest, reputation and identity are important, especially for relationships that are initially computer mediated.

Shared values – in the NGO, shared values can be a "glue" that transcends slightly divergent domains or agendas.

Shared needs – motivation to achieve a goal beyond organizational boundaries.

Community - a sense of belonging and engagement can be missing for practitioners who are the only one "of their kind" in an organization. It can be missing in diffuse networks. The sense of "we’re in this together" provided by a defined group can be a strong initial motivator, helping launch the community’s online efforts.

Skills – Groups and communities who face a lack or low level of skills are motivated to increase their access to expertise and advice to build their own internal capacity. Initial members secured from the wider networks with needed expertise are critical, not only for reputation, but for quick, tangible results from knowledge sharing and building.