Archive for the ‘strengthening Cleveland’ Category

Over the past few months, the community responsive team has held another series of dialogues with nonprofit agencies in branches of the Cleveland library system. 

We have had the privilege of meeting with over 130 individuals representing the many sectors of the nonprofit community.   During these sessions, we gave an overview of grantmaking at the foundation; shared what we learned in our first round of community conversations as well as the Center for Effective Philanthropy survey; and what we have done, to date, with these suggestions.  And then we asked our partners to think about and respond to the following questions:

• What are the challenges and opportunities facing your organization in the next 18 months?
• What is working well with the Cleveland Foundation?  What could be improved?
• How do we build better relationships with our grantees?

This blog will focus on the first question – the challenges and opportunities of the coming year for nonprofits.  Our nonprofit colleagues broke into groups of 4-6 members to share and discuss the opportunities that the agency they worked for was facing as well as what they had heard from other groups.  Here is some of what we heard:

As you can imagine, there were many challenges particularly as the fall-out from the economic downturn continues.  Grantees talked about the increased need for services, the increased complexity of those needs and the changing face of that client as individuals struggle to find employment.  The issue of long term unemployment and its impact on the families and the community was on the minds of many.  Grantees were working hard to meet those needs but fundraising was a concern particularly in light of the state and county budgets. Some noted the strain on staff due to the increased need in this community.  There were questions about the impact of the current county scandal and how the new county government would affect organizations. 

Grantees noted the passion of their staff and the increased workload.  One agency leader noted that during tough times, professional development and/or training is sometimes the first item to be slashed from the budget.  Yet, professional development is a critical tool to ensure that staff is ready to meet the increased demand, avoid burn-out and help retain quality staff.

We heard that committed donors were decreasing support, it was hard to engage new donors, and competition was stiff for tight resources.  Grantees wondered about what happens after the stimulus dollars are spent while others noted that government funding opportunities were targeted and time-limited.  Finally, some of our grantees spoke about the concern around putting basic needs first in terms of funding.

Yet the participants shared many opportunities to explore in the coming months.  Attendees talked about the openness to change, sharing resources and information and the prospect of building on the strengths of the nonprofits.  Others spoke about how to engage volunteers more fully in the work while others talked about how technology could support new ways of providing services.  Many talked about the opportunity of connecting organizations for deeper collaboration and enhanced efficiencies.  Others noted that with the shortage of capital that this might provide the opportunities to reinvest in existing assets.

Several members of the community strongly believe that now is the time to focus on the benefits of nonprofits as an industry.  Nonprofits contribute to the economic development of the region through its employment base and resulting payroll taxes, its ability to attract people to the region, its safety-net features and more.  How do we make sure this message is heard in our community?

In the coming year, nonprofits will be taking advantage of many of these opportunities to tell its own individual story better to ensure that its mission is implemented effectively and clients or patrons are served.  Are there other critical opportunities or challenges that we missed? 

Let us know….. and next week I will focus on sharing the other feedback that we heard from our partners.

A discussion of hashtags needs to start with a discussion of Twitter. I first blogged about Twitter in early 2009 (see post here).

Since that time more and more nonprofits and foundations have started using it (including @CleveFoundation). On the other hand, many folks are still shunning this technology. One of the benefits I’ve discovered is the ability to quickly share and access information. While I have come to love Google Reader (and will post a blog about that soon), as a way to sift through a lot of information, I still find Twitter ideal for speed.

Folks who aren’t using Twitter in the nonprofit/philanthropy arena often mention two barriers: 1) a lack of time – especially lacking time to “read about what people ate for breakfast” or other trivial items, and 2) not being able to locate quality information. A lot of the barriers can be removed by limiting the people you follow to only those who share quality information and by organizing your time online. Hashtags are another answer to those concerns.

Similar in concept to tagging photos, the hashtag (indicated by the “#” prior to the other characters) is simply a way to categorize information. By including it as part of a tweet, it is possible to easily pull up tweets that include specific information. Hashtags are used to categorize all tweets (including those coming from multiple people) from a particular conference, for example, or to categorize tweets in other ways.

As part of the foundation’s ongoing efforts to share what we learn from our research (which I share through my general Twitter posts at @paultofu) and from grant reports, I have been using the Twitter hashtag #advicefromgrantees. In an effort to protect grantee anonymity while sharing some key insights, I send out occasional, quick, bite-sized morsels of information or advice from area nonprofits.

The tweeted information is pulled anonymously from the “What advice would you give to other organizations planning a similar program? What would you do differently if you had the chance?” section of the grant reports we receive.

We’re hopeful that some of the tweets will provide reminders or new information to help other nonprofits. Other foundations can also use the hashtag to share information. If you are not using Twitter you can also use a Google Search to find those specific #advicefromgrantees tweets.

We’ve all heard the sobering statistics about the shortage of nurses: 40 percent of Ohio’s practicing nurses expect to leave the field in the next 10 years – a shortfall of nearly 32,000 registered nurses by 2020. At the same time, an educational bottleneck has resulted from an insufficient and diminishing pool of faculty to teach additional students. Educational facility space limitations also place serious constraints on expansion.

Susan Taft, Ph.D., associate professor in Kent State University’s College of Nursing, has piloted an innovative solution to the bottleneck that has occurred as a result of limited numbers of full-time nursing faculty. Nurses with master’s degrees working outside of academia will be given the flexibility to teach online courses rather than traveling to traditional classes, with the goal of increasing the number of non-traditional nurse educators available to teach non-clinical aspects of nursing courses. By increasing the number of available faculty, more nursing students will receive the training they need to enter the workforce.

The Cleveland Foundation has been chosen as one of nine foundations nationwide to receive funding from Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future (PIN), a national initiative to find innovative ways to create an appropriately sized nursing workforce with the skills necessary to meet the changing demands of the 21st-century patient population.

The foundation has been awarded a two-year grant of $200,000 to address Ohio’s nursing shortage by expanding the number of nurse educators. The grant will be matched by $210,000 in local funding. We are part of a local partnership with The Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation and the nursing schools at Kent State University, Cleveland State University, the University of Akron, and Ursuline College created to implement solutions for tackling nursing workforce issues specific to Northeast Ohio through this project.

We will be updating the community on this project throughout the next two years. Additional information and updates will be shared via Twitter (follow @CleveFoundation and @paultofu) utilizing the hashtag #PIN10.

Think about the YMCA, Salvation Army, and Habitat for Humanity. What do they all have in common? (Besides, of course, the fact that each organization has made significant contributions to society.)

Each of them was founded as a faith-based organization. In other words, these organizations can trace their origins to a particular religious institution; and their missions are closely tied to a deep seeded desire to benefit others based upon these faith traditions. In addition to the organizations mentioned, many hospitals, and a large percentage of our nation’s colleges and universities were founded as extensions of a particular faith tradition. Their founders saw the work of the institutions as an extension of their religious beliefs. They viewed caring for the sick or providing education to young people, as faith in action. 

Our Project Access program connects these local faith-based groups with experienced trainers and coaches to strengthen their overall effectiveness. The program hopes to strengthen these organizations by focusing on five core areas:

• leadership development
• organizational development
• program/services development
• resource development
• community engagement

Information is provided to participants through individualized coaching, seminars/workshops, and peer to peer networking sessions. Training is conducted over a period of nine months.

We recognize that each faith-based group is unique and has varying levels of growth potential and we don’t assume that each participating program will become a large nonprofit organization with multiple programs and a large staff. That’s not realistic. The program simply affords each of these organizations the opportunity to increase their effectiveness at serving their constituents.

Joyful Noise Music School is an example of a program that has benefited from the training provided through Project Access. Joyful Noise, located in the Cudell neighborhood on Cleveland’s West Side, provides youth ages 3-13 an opportunity to learn how to create music, through free music lessons. Through the donation of time and used instruments from local musicians, Joyful Noise has become a wonderful vehicle for families who could not otherwise afford to provide this experience to their youth.

Check out Joyful Noise at the end of this video (around the 3:45 mark):

  

As I reported last month, the foundation is pleased to join with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Center for Creative Leadership to support 30 community and public health fellows in the Ladder to Leadership program.  The initiative is geared to support Cleveland’s next generation of community health leaders.

 The 16-month program kicked off last week, with a 2-day session at the foundation.  While a majority of the training sessions were “top secret” (for the ears and eyes of fellows only), there’s still plenty to share.  After all, there are only 30 Ladder to Leadership fellows–but we can all stand to improve our leadership and team building skills.

As a part of the program launch, fellows heard from four experts in community and public health: 

• Terry Allan, health commission – Cuyahoga County Board of Health;
• Steve Bullock, Bullock Group, LLC;
• Jean Therrien, executive director – Neighborhood Family Practice;
• Danny Williams, executive director – Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland. 

These seasoned pros will provide guidance to the fellows throughout their 16-month journey. 

At the Ladder to Leadership session, they offered advice to the newly chosen fellows, including:

• Understand your community.  Get to know who you are serving and why. 
• Disparities (both health and education) shape who has access to healthcare.  How can our organizations tackle these issues? 
• Think outside of public health.  Read news sources and talk with folks outside your profession. Together, we can broaden our knowledge and create new solutions to Cleveland’s community health issues.
• Budget and policy matter, as does the way we frame issues.
• Challenge authority and push people to imagine new ways of doing business.
• It’s (often) all about systems change. 

For their part, the 30 fellows were an energetic and inspirational bunch.  In addition to spending time on personal leadership growth, the fellows will work in groups of 5 to 7 to tackle key community health issues.  While their projects will evolve over time, the 30 emerging leaders definitely have a sense of the issues facing Clevelanders.  For them, our top health challenges include:

• Recruiting and maintaining a skilled public health workforce.
• Managing amidst the realities of stagnant/dwindling funding.
• Developing effective community health education programs to deal with chronic conditions and serve our most vulnerable.
• Making the most of cross-agency collaborations.
• Improving culturally and linguistically appropriate services. 

While these challenges are daunting, I left the 2-day kick-off truly inspired and excited for the 30 Ladder to Leadership fellows.  They’re in for a busy year and half, as they stretch their already tight work/life schedules to meet the high expectations of this fellowship.  But considering what I saw last week, this group will have no problems tackling Ladder to Leadership, and more importantly, taking on the health challenges facing our community.

•  What advice would you give our fellows, either about leadership or community health, as they start the Ladder to Leadership program?
• Do you agree with the health challenges posed by our fellows?  What issues are missing? How would you prioritize what we, as a community, should tackle first?

Lately I have been reflecting on the following points related to the topic of the locally grown foods:

• As a region we spend $7,000,000,000 a year on food.  Yes! 7 BILLION dollars  yet less than 1% of that goes to local farmers and producers
• Local food purchases re-circulate money back into the regional economy
• Food is typically moved 1,500-1,800 miles from place of growth to place of consumption
• There are 200 community gardens in the Cleveland area
• In many disadvantaged neighborhoods, the nearest grocery store can be twice as far from the customer as the nearest fast-food restaurant  

The great thing is that we are approaching this topic from a position of strength.  Cleveland was recently ranked #2 in the nation in terms of local food production.  Organizations such as the Ohio State University Extension, New Agrarian Center, Eco-City Cleveland, Cuyahoga County Countryside Conservancy and the Cleveland Botanical Gardens (among others) should be credited for building the current network of community gardens, food co-ops, Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA), farmers’ markets, advocates and supporters.  They operate at the tactical level - testing soil, conducting workshops, engaging youth and operating distribution points called Fresh stops.  As a group, they are also thinking at the strategic and policy level through the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Food Policy Coalition.  In addition, Mayor Frank Jackson and City Council support community gardens.  The seeds are being sown.

Be sure to check out the movie on small scale farming in Northeast Ohio called PolyCultures: Food Where We Live .  It will be screened at the Cleveland International Film Festival on March 25 and March 26.

by Jill Paulsen, program officer

Cleveland is a town where you can make a real difference. Where you can lead.

Just ask our 30 newly minted Ladder to Leadership fellows, participants in a joint initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Center for Creative Leadership.  The 16-month program is designed to develop the next generation of community health leaders. Cleveland is one of only eight regions across the nation to be selected for the program. The Cleveland Foundation is pleased to serve as the local sponsor.

Like its project partners, the Cleveland Foundation is committed to leadership development and improving the health of all our most vulnerable communities - where people are often economically disadvantaged and have inadequate access to health services. Through the Ladder to Leadership program, an impressive cohort of Cleveland health professionals will use face-to-face training sessions, individualized executive coaching and mentoring, and team project work to grow their leadership potential.

At a time when many folks often decry a dearth of Next Gen leaders, it’s up to us—and now our cohort of Ladder to Leadership fellows—to demonstrate that Cleveland’s got great “bench strength.” 

As I’m sure the Ladder to Leadership program will show, there are new leaders throughout the sector, and in this case, specifically at our community health organizations, who are open to change, willing to improve their skills, ready to take on new responsibilities, and excited to learn from their peers/elders. Indeed, we all must be if we want to improve our community.  

We’re pleased and fortunate to partner with the Center for Creative Leadership and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to offer the Ladder to Leadership program in Cleveland.  Be sure to check back soon for updates on the program and the progress of its 30 fellows.

Congratulations to Cleveland’s Ladder to Leadership fellows:

Chip Bonsutto, Catholic Charities

Keith Brown, Benjamin Rose Institute

Michael Byun, Asian Services in Action

Darilynn Cardona-Beiler, AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland

Therese Conner, Linking Employment, Abilities and Potential

Jenice Contreras, Care Alliance Health Center

Laurel Domanski-Diaz, Neighborhood Family Practice

Natalie Friedl, Community Assessment and Treatment Services

Jeanine Gergel, North Coast Health Ministry

Lena Grafton, St. Vincent Charity Hospital

Habeebah Grimes, Positive Education Program

Martha Halko, Cuyahoga County Board of Health

Yvonka Hall, Cleveland Office of Minority Public Health

Eileen Koch, Center for Families & Children

Carol Levanoff, Achievement Centers for Children

Kirsti Mouncey, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center

Kate Nagel, Cleveland Clinic

Sean Shacklet, Alzheimer’s Association–Cleveland Chapter

Marlene Shivak, Lutheran Home at Concord Reserve

Sharon Shumaker, PLAN of Northeast Ohio

Diane Solov, MetroHealth System

Susan Tager, New Directions

Jassen Tawil, Cleveland Sight Center

Tara Taylor, YMCA of Greater Cleveland

Teleange Thomas, City of Cleveland Public Health Department

Heather Torok, Recovery Resources

Lita Marie Townsend, Cleveland Metropolitan School District

Fatima Warren, Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland

Mark Weiss, Montefiore

Judith Wright, Planned Parenthood of Northeast Ohio

I just finished reading a book called Relevance - Making Stuff  That Matters by Tim Manners.  The book explored the topic of relevance and provided case studies of how brands achieve and maintain relevance.  

It talked about how brands communicate using focus groups, surveys, and other research techniques.  The author called this controlled communication, defined as communication that is initiated by the organization and ends once a goal is achieved.   The book then explained how relevance is a byproduct of listening.  When you listen, you find out what truly matters. 

Dell and American Idol were highlighted as two examples of organizations that make it a habit to actually listen.  Dell allows you to custom design computers to your specific needs.  American Idol, of course, allows you to vote for America’s next singing idol.

I know that comparing nonprofits to for-profit organizations (or a TV show) is not necessarily an apples to apples comparison but there are some similarities.  As a program officer the greatest similarity I see is the constant need to make your product/service/mission relevant to customers/clients/the community.

Let’s keep listening.  When we listen, we make stuff (programs and services) that matters.

As part of my training as a new Cleveland Foundation employee I watched a video of former CEO Steve Minter sharing his perspectives and highlights of the history of the foundation.

I knew that Cleveland had the oldest community foundation (95 years old this year), and one of the nation’s largest.  Aside from those foundation facts, I did not have a good grasp of its history.  As I learned more, I became more interested. My history teacher grandfather would be so proud.

I’ve lived in Cleveland since 1997 and had only learned bits and pieces about its history. Minter helped add to the big picture with insights into, for example, the Playhouse Square collaborative rescue in the 1980’s or Cleveland’s place as the eighth largest city back in 1969. Fascinating stuff. Check out Diana Tittle’s great book Rebuilding Cleveland for more history. I will be investigating some other documents (he mentioned the Cleveland Papers and surveys from 1923 as compelling reads) and may blog on those at a later date.

During his presentation, Steve Minter shared four adjectives to describe the Cleveland Foundation: permanent, evolving, hopeful, and fallible.

• Permanent – in that the funds have generally been established and will generate dollars for giving in perpetuity;
• Evolving – the foundation has changed over time, and will continue to change;
• Hopeful – without being blind to challenges, but knowing that times have been bad in the past, and Cleveland made it though;
• Fallible – we try our best but don’t always get everything right. Although I’ve paraphrased his words – the sentiments behind them resonated with me.

I’ve heard a number of other adjectives used to describe both the Cleveland Foundation and Cleveland itself. Personally, I remain tremendously hopeful – there’s just too much great stuff happening in and around Cleveland not to be in my opinion. My contributions to this group blog and the foundation will certainly be evolving, hopeful, and fallible – we’ll see what other adjectives emerge over time.