Demonstrating Our Values, Impact and Effectiveness: Final Report of the NeighborWorks Community Organizing Pilot Program

A Publication of NeighborWorks America and the NeighborWorks Community Building and Organizing Initiative. The NeighborWorks Community Organizing Pilot Program (COPP) was created by organizations within the NeighborWorks network to:- Place organizing in a central position as a strategy for community development and neighborhood revitalization;- Report to the broader community development field the significant value-added quality of community organizing to communities; and- Systematize ways of reporting improvements beyond housing development and investment that are important to the life of the communities in which community development organizations operate.The Community Organizing Pilot Program was both a program with specific objectives, and also an applied research project that explored the effects of organizing activities on the work of selected NeighborWorks organizations.This report presents the work and accomplishments of COPP both as a program, and also as a project in applied research

Montefiore Medical Center: Integrated Care Delivery for Vulnerable Populations

Describes a system of hospitals and community- and school-based clinics tailored to low-income patients through systemwide strategies, high-quality specialty and hospital care, and integrated care delivery via care management and information technology

Breakthroughs in Shared Measurement and Social Impact

A surprising new breakthrough is emerging in the social sector: A handful of innovative organizations have developed web-based systems for reporting the performance, measuring the outcomes, and coordinating the efforts of hundreds or even thousands of social enterprises within a field. These nascent efforts carry implications well beyond performance measurement, foreshadowing the possibility of profound changes in the vision and effectiveness of the entire nonprofit sector. This paper, based on six months of interviews and research by FSG Social Impact Advisors, examines twenty efforts to develop shared approaches to performance, outcome, or impact measurement across multiple organizations. The accompanying appendices include a short description of each system and four more in-depth case studies

Moving Forward on Racial Justice Philanthropy

This is the fifth volume of the Critical Issues Forum series, which aims to deepen the discourse around important progressive racial justice issues within philanthropy. As PRE celebrated our 10th anniversary last year and engaged allies within the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors to mark the occasion with us, we heard "Have you seen any progress?" repeatedly and knew it was important to take stock of what many of us have been collectively aiming to move for decades. Through focus groups, webinars and direct interviews, our team has sought to get a strong sense of both funders' and activists' perspectives on progress particularly over the past two decades. We have heard real frustration, especially as the needs are so critical and the level of urgency among activists and communities is so high. However, in spite of these very real concerns, we have also seen clear commitment and depth of understanding in other quarters. We are pleased that through funder case studies and activist essays about structural racism analysis, intersectionality and media justice, we're able to share real progress, even as each piece recognizes there is still much more to be done

Collaboration and Connection: How Foundations Partner Effectively to Address Their Community's Information Needs

Offers examples and tips for partnering with the public, private, and nonprofit sectors on community news and information projects, including finding the right partner by assessing organizational capacity, community assets, compatibility, and structure

People in the E-Business: New Challenges, New Solutions

[Excerpt] Human Resource Planning Society’s (HRPS) annual State of the Art/Practice (SOTA/P) study has become an integral contributor to HRPS’s mission of providing leading edge thinking to its members. Past efforts conducted in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999 have focused on identifying the issues on the horizon that will have a significant impact on the field of Human Resources (HR). This year, in a divergence from past practice, the SOTA/P effort aimed at developing a deeper understanding of one critical issue having a profound impact on organizations and HR, the rise of e-business. The rise of e-business has been both rapid and dramatic. One estimate puts the rate of adoption of the internet at 4,000 new users each hour (eMarketer, 1999) resulting in the expectation of 250 million people on line by the end of 2000, and 350 million by 2005 (Nua, 1999). E-commerce is expected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2003, and of that, 87 percent will go to the business to business (B2B) and 13 percent to the business to consumer (B2C) segments, respectively (Plumely, 2000)

What's Going on in Community Media

What's Going On in Community Media shines a spotlight on media practices that increase citizen participation in media production, governance, and policy. The report summarizes the findings of a nationwide scan of effective and emerging community media practices conducted by the Benton Foundation in collaboration with the Community Media and Technology Program of the University of Massachusetts, Boston. The scan includes an analysis of trends and emerging practices; comparative research; an online survey of community media practitioners; one-on-one interviews with practitioners, funders and policy makers; and the information gleaned from a series of roundtable discussions with community media practitioners in Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Portland, Oregon

Assessing Creative Media's Social Impact

Examines case studies of documentary film as a means of outreach and community engagement in the age of social media. Offers a model for assessing impact based on quality and ability to enhance awareness, engagement, and social movement and effect change

Cracking the Code on Stem: A People Strategy for Nevada\u27s Economy

Nevada has in place a plausible economic diversification strategy—and it’s beginning to work. Now, the state and its regions need to craft a people strategy. Specifically, the state needs to boost the number of Nevadans who possess at least some postsecondary training in the fields of science, technology, engineering, or math—the so-called “STEM” disciplines (to which some leaders add arts and design to make it “STEAM”). The moment is urgent—and only heightened by the projected worker needs of Tesla Motors’ planned “gigafactory” for lithium-ion batteries in Storey County. Even before the recent Tesla commitment, a number of the more high-tech industry sectors targeted by the state’s new economic diversification strategy had begun to deliver significant growth. Most notable in fast-growing sectors like Business IT Ecosystems (as defined by the Governor’s Office for Economic Development) and large sectors like Health and Medical Services, this growth has begun to increase the demand in Nevada for workers with at least a modicum of postsecondary training in one or more STE M discipline. However, there is a problem. Even though many available opportunities require no more than the right community college certificate, insufficient numbers of Nevadans have pursued even a little STEM training. As a result, too few Nevadans are ready to participate in the state’s emerging STEM economy. The upshot: Without concerted action to prepare more Nevadans for jobs in STEM-intensive fields, skills shortages could limit growth in the state’s most promising target industries and Nevadans could miss out on employment that offers superior paths to opportunity and advancement. Which is the challenge this report addresses: Aimed at focusing the state at a critical moment, this analysis speaks to Nevada’s STEM challenge by providing a new assessment of Nevada’s STEM economy and labor market as well as a review of actions that leaders throughout the state—whether in the public, private, civic, or philanthropic sectors—can take to develop a workforce capable of supporting continued growth through economic diversification

Unlocking Latino Civic Potential 2016 and Beyond

In August 2015, the Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program and the Aspen Institute Citizenship and American Identity Program convened a diverse group of distinguished scholars, organizers, and other experts and leaders to discuss the challenges and causes of low Latino civic participation and to develop recommendations for unlocking Latino civic potential in the United States.This is a vital topic, as the U.S. Latino population is growing rapidly, is overwhelmingly young, and thus will see growing power and influence in American society and politics, if Latinos are able to more fully realize their civic potential. Increasing Latino civic and political participation rates today will pay dividends for generations to come; likewise, missing the opportunity to do so will have consequences to the health of our democracy for generations to come.This report identifies four priority areas and tactics for unleashing the civic potential of Latinos in the United States. Focusing on immigrant integration and naturalization, voter engagement, civic education, and leadership development; the report offers a comprehensive vision for how to engage the nation's fastest growing demographic, beyond election cycles, to participate more fully in our democracy