All helping agencies, from across a community, can now connect, learn from each other, and co-create collaborative solutions that make a lasting difference in people's lives. A cross-sector care collaborative sets the stage for a more networked, coordinated, and comprehensive approach to transforming people's lives.
Care Collaboratives build capacity for a "better together" culture, which in turns, maximizes the collective caring power of communities. As a result, people are better served, helping agencies are better informed, and communities are better engage.
In today’s community benefit landscape, collaborating with other organizations is not optional, it’s essential. It’s essential for having a maximum impact AND to securing your future funding. Simon Solutions President, Mike Simon, along with Trident United Way's Cathy Easley, look at the changing funding landscape and how tracking and measuring success and sustainability are key factors for the future of funding in the community benefit organizational future.
Taking a Community-Wide Approach to Ending Poverty
One of the most essential tools in the human services sector is a valid, reliable, and consistent tool that allows for a definitive assessment of the needs of clients. Without a proper assessment of clients, chances are very good that resources will be allocated inefficiently – perhaps through a first come, first served system or serving the squeakiest wheel first. OrgCode has developed the SPDAT (Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool). Now in its fourth year, the SPDAT is available in multiple versions and is even integrated with many HMIS programs including CharityTracker.
Bring more partners into your network to collaborate! In this webinar, we explore how United Way Director from Ada United Way and United Way of Central Arkansas developed and grew their powerful networks. We talk with Maret and James about their on-boarding and training process with agencies and churches, as well as what their role as a network administrator entails. We also look at how leaders develop in their roles as community conveners for the benefit of their city.
In this webinar hear principles and practices for effective collaboration from Dr. Tom Wolff. Tom is a nationally recognized consultant on coalition building and community development, with over 30 years’ experience training and consulting with individuals, organizations and communities across North America. He has published numerous resources to help communities solve their own problems. His most recent book is "The Power of Collaborative Solutions – Six Principles and Effective Tools for Building Health Communities" published by Jossey Bass-John Wiley in early 2010.
Hospitals and healthcare systems are moving into the community to collaborate with other organizations and churches for the benefit of their patients and overall community health, as well as their bottom line. CHI St. Joseph Health in Bryan, Texas is one such health system doing that and they are utilizing CharityTracker technology to meet their goals. Learn from Mary Clare Carden, Hospital Chaplain and Director of Spiritual Care, how to better serve people living in poverty; improve communication and move beyond just helping people cope with poverty but to move toward genuine opportunities for them to achieve and be valued. Learn how this Charity Tracker network shares resources and information in order to reduce re-admissions and expand the allocation of resources to those who need it the most in a timely manner. Mary Clare Carden has worked in healthcare for almost 30 years, starting as a Decision Analyst in 1990 with a Masters in Public Health/Hospital Administration and an MBA. She found her true calling in ministry as a hospital chaplain in 1998, and received Masters in Theology and Biblical Studies, completing her Residency at UCLA Medical Center and Neuropsychiatric Hospital. She is currently Director of Spiritual Care for CHI St. Joseph Health in Bryan, Texas. In Part 2 of the webinar on September 25, learn about the Brazos Health Resource Center, the hub for this CharityTracker network.
What would it look like to launch 2,000 people on the path to self-sufficiency in 2,000 days in your community? United Way of the Piedmont realized that through the Community Investment Process nearly 75% of the resources earmarked for Financial Stability were allocated to the Safety Net services, leaving only 25% to invest in programs that help families acquire and manage resources at the self-sufficient level. Understanding the importance of equally investing in programs on both ends of the spectrum, the Board of the United Way decided to launch the Financial Stability Initiative.
In this webinar, meet Pat Schoenemann and the Brazos Health Resources Center, a hub for meeting needs of patients of CHI St. Joseph Health and the community in Bryan, Texas. Hear about the major demographic factors of health uncovered in the Brazos Valley community health assessment (2016) and how this community is prioritizing their collaborative work. Also learn how they are working toward improving community health using CharityTracker and improving the resource networking capability of their community. Pat Schoenemann is the Director of the Brazos Health Resources Center, a program of CHI St. Joseph Health. She has served on staff at Texas A & M University with the Ocean Drilling Program as well as served several years with Society of St. Vincent De Paul, holding a number of positions including: Vice President, President, Treasurer, District President. She presently serves as Council Secretary, Austin Diocesan Council.
Let's talk about Collective Impact, Poverty Education for the Community & Service Directories! In this webinar, learn about the East Texas Human Needs Network (ETHNN) from director, Christina Fulsom. ETHNN brings human service agencies and organizations together for solutions where client voices are heard and the community at-large is educated through poverty simulations and workshops. ETHNN also administrates a comprehensive online community service directory, called 903Help, placing assistance information at people's fingertips. 903Help, developed in partnership with CharityTracker, includes a self-help form used by individuals in need of services, helping them make a comprehensive assessment and connect to services. Christina Fulsom is the Founder and CEO of the East Texas Human Needs Network (ETHNN). Christina has over 20 years of nonprofit leadership experience. She is devoted to creating community solutions to poverty by building cross-sector networks that listen to those in need, apply best practices, and build capacity through relationships. Under her leadership, ETHNN brought together a network of over 80 non-profit and government organizations under a collective impact model to reduce poverty. She implemented a curriculum for Understanding Poverty and published the online social services directory www.903help.org. Christina earned a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Literature from Stephen F. Austin State University and a Nonprofit Leadership Certificate from Southern Methodist University.
Public policy attempts to break the stranglehold of multigenerational poverty have largely failed. Partisan efforts to build personal, family, and community resources and a strong middle class haven’t worked either. One successful approach, based on the Bridges Out of Poverty methodology, focuses on bringing people from all classes, races, and sectors together to reduce poverty and build a sense of community. Authors Philip DeVol and Eugene Krebs will join us to discuss their new book, Bridges Across Every Divide, which offers up both a common language and an accurate understanding of poverty, and the process for policy solutions in a harsh political environment. They will also give insights on why politics is so divisive. Philip DeVol, author of Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin-By' World and Bridges to Sustainable Communities, has been addressing poverty issues since 1997. Programs derived from his published works are in use in the U.S. and around the world. Eugene Krebs served eight years in the Ohio House of Representatives. Since leaving public office, he has focused on practical, nonpartisan solutions to major issues confronting our nation.
Learn how helping agencies, from across the country, are becoming more innovative and effective in overcoming complex challenges, including COVID-19. See how charities, churches, healthcare providers, funders, and more are working together to advance a more resourceful, coordinated, and comprehensive approach to transforming people’s lives.
Helping agencies, across a community, are learning how to work together more efficiently and effectively to transform the lives of individuals and families. New and exciting breakthroughs in networking and capacity-building technology are happening in over 2,000 cities in 49 states.
Charities, churches, schools, hospitals, food banks, funders, and more are learning how to align their unique strengths and collectively tackle tough community challenges with greater impact and success. Every community, across the country, now has a big opportunity to create an unprecedented model for comprehensive coordinated care that makes a real and lasting difference.
Since 2006, we have worked with many experts and practitioners, who are passionately engaged in combating poverty, hunger, homelessness, and more. Their knowledge and experience have proven to be a "best practice" for collective community impact. Each column is a clickable link to their websites.
Getting Ahead provides people in poverty with the same information found in Bridges Out of Poverty, which was developed for professionals and others in the community working to end poverty. Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By World is a book and a 45-hour workshop that helps individuals in poverty build their resources for a more prosperous life for themselves, their families, and their communities.
True charity stems from compassion and cannot be legislated. Government is an institution and cannot be charitable in truth. True charity is voluntarily sourced. If charity doesn’t empower the poor, it misses the mark.Empowerment is impossible without some aspect of challenge to help a personbecome self-sufficient. Real charity is “made actual” – it makes a realdifference. Some good or service is rendered to the poor, and outcomes aremeasured to ensure that efforts are actually making a difference in theindividual and community.
We believe our leaders and organizations must be equipped with the resources, tools, and talent necessary to tackle deeply rooted problems that exist in our communities. Too many times, those entrusted to make a difference are expected to do so with extremely limited resources and insufficient support. On a mission to change the odds. Spark Consulting Group works alongside courageous organizations that dare to combat social epidemics plaguing our community – providing expertise, technical support, and strategic leadership.
Tom Wolff and Associates bring forty years of experience in coalition building, community development, collaborative solutions and collective impact. We can advance and support your community and agency initiatives. We have the tools and resources necessary to mobilize the power of collaborative processes in your communities. Through collaborations and coalitions, individuals, organizations and communities become empowered to impact the world around them. Our work is dedicated to bringing greater joy and a deeper sense of spirit and purpose to those seeking to create healthy communities.
Since 2005, Significant Matters has worked with individuals, businesses, city government, non-profits and especially the faith-based community both domestically and internationally to explore and develop more sustainable waysof doing good. Though we still have a long way to go, we believe it’s possibleto accelerate the learning curve in this arena through an initiative we haveentitled SATtalks, which stands for Sustainability and Transformation Talks.
GoodCities specializes in coaching those who are facilitating the development of a city transformation movement. Our coaches understand the dynamics of leading citywide kingdom coalitions which seek to serve God and their city. Each coach understands the stages of transformation and the skills needed to move from one stage to the next. Our coaches are capable of teaching these skills or can bring in trainers who can. Coaching is a dynamic partnership between the coach and one being coached, helping that person/team move from where they are toward the person/team’s desired destinations. Those destinations are defined and shaped by the person/team being coached with the help of the coach to unlock the vision, build confidence, focus on goals, take practical steps and celebrate progress.
The following is a list of books that you will find informative and encouraging. These resources will help individual organizations and communities to build capacity for collective community impact.