Innovations in Compassion - The Faith-Based and Community Initiative: A Final Report to the Armies of Compassion

[Excerpt] This Final Report to the Armies of Compassion prepared by the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives offers an account of President Bush’s Faith-Based and Community Initiative (FBCI or Initiative) to the dedicated faith-based and other community organizations (FBCOs) that have joined in the battles against poverty, disease, and other social ills. The report emphasizes what matters most about the FBCI: measurable results achieved for millions in need across America and around the world through vibrant partnerships with the “armies of compassion” – the thousands of FBCOs that have partnered with government to serve their neighbors in need. It also offers a look at key government reforms and innovations that made these results possible. The report finishes with a glimpse toward the future of the FBCI and the foundation upon which the next generation of government and community leaders can build to achieve even greater good in the decades to come. Changing Lives highlights twelve areas of critical human need that have been particularly affected through expanded Federal partnerships with faith-based and other frontline nonprofits. The chapter highlights key results across these wide-ranging areas of need and stories revealing the deeper impact of the FBCI for individual organizations and the people they serve. Transforming Government explains how reforms led by the FBCI have secured a level playing field for faith-based organizations and reduced barriers to help small FBCOs or those new to partnering with government compete for Federal funds. The chapter also highlights some of the innovative funding models advanced by the FBCI that enable more effective partnerships between government and grassroots nonprofits, such as vouchers, mini-grants, and intermediary model grants. Strengthening Partners describes the Initiative’s diverse methods for building the capabilities of nonprofit organizations and the social entrepreneurs who lead them. These efforts range from technology-based instruction and in-person training events to the hundreds of millions of dollars invested in capacity- building and technical assistance grants. Volunteerism and Private Giving highlights President Bush’s efforts to expand volunteer service and private financial support for America’s FBCOs. Taking Root in States and Cities reveals how the principles of the FBCI are being replicated outside of Washington. Governors and mayors across America are embracing the vision championed by the FBCI as a practical way to engage the toughest challenges faced by their communities. These “laboratories of innovation” will play a key role in the future of the FBCI

Grand County Faith Based Coalition

The Grand County Faith Based Coalition began in April, 2017 as an interfaith group of churches. It grew under the leadership of Pastor Dick Pacheco until his death in December, 2021 to include a wide range of groups of believers in God. These included non-profits, government and school officials, health workers and other interested citizens as well as church leaders and members. Past and current participants and partners are listed in Attachment 1.The new coordinator, Pastor Nathan James, plans to continue with the broad outreach

Redwood Roots: Stories of Community Engagement at HSU

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Humboldt State University’s Redwood Roots magazine. When we came up with the idea for this magazine, we wanted to highlight the many wonderful ways that students, faculty and community partners are engaging in community-based learning practices in and around Humboldt County. This project was a huge endeavor and we are grateful to our partners, both ongoing, such as the HSU Library Press team and the shorter term partners that donated their time to submit articles, develop the concept and layout for this magazine, and their many other contributions. We began this project in the fall of 2018 and are extremely proud to have it launch in the spring of 2020. In the last year and a half, we have had numerous discussions about the format, purpose, content, and direction of the magazine. What we could not have en-visioned was that our target timeframe to launch would be amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. We briefly discussed transitioning this edition to relay what was happening during COVID-19. We decided, however, to continue with our original plan for this spring and focus our fall 2020 edition on the many creative ways that community-based learning practices were able to continue in a remote and rapidly changing environment. So, enjoy this original edition and look for our fall edition that will highlight HSU’s amazing students, faculty and community partners and how they came together (virtually) in a time of crisis to positively impact the students’ education and the community we live in and lov

Building a Sustainable Public Health PBRN: Tips for Securing Ongoing Research Funding

Diversify your network’s research funding base. The Public Health PBRN Program funding made available by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation provides start-up resources and initial research support for networks, but networks will require larger and more sustainable sources of funding for public health research as they progress. The most ample sources can be found in federal funding agencies that operate competitive extramural research programs, include CDC, NIH, AHRQ, HRSA, USDA, and NSF. Public health research funding is also available from state and foundation sources, and even corporate sources (e.g. Pfizer’s Public Health Research Fellowship Program). For sustainability, networks should look to diversify their sources of funding for research projects and avoid reliance on a single source for very long. The research and demonstration opportunities created by the federal Affordable Care Act, and the growing emphasis on translational and community-based research at NIH, provide particularly compelling funding opportunities for public health PBRNs

National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems: 2011-2012 Wave

Since 1998, researchers have followed a nationally representative cohort of U.S. communities to examine the types of public health activities performed within the community, the range of organizations contributing to each activity, and the perceived effectiveness of each activity in addressing community needs. This information, obtained through a validated survey of local public health officials, provides an in-depth view of the structure and function of local public health delivery systems and how these systems evolve over time. Originally conducted with support from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems (NLSPHS) was fielded for the first time in 1998, with a follow-up survey conducted in 2006 as part of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded project to develop an evidence-based typology of local public health delivery systems. Each wave of the survey has been linked with data on local health departments collected from the prior year’s National Profile of Local Health Departments survey conducted by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), allowing for an in-depth view of how local health departments relate to the multi-organizational delivery systems in which they operate. These data, linked with still other data sources on community demographic, health, and economic characteristics, have supported a wide array of studies regarding the organization, financing, and delivery of public health services and provided considerable insight into policy and administrative mechanisms for improving the practice of public health