 New and noteworthy
Community Wealth Ventures (CWV) has partnered with the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) to initiate a cohesive, groundbreaking strategy aimed at making measurable improvements in the well-being of children, families, and communities. These improvements will be achieved by developing a deep, sustainable, and diverse pipeline of talent for both AECF and the human services field. The project will incorporate the Foundation’s consultative session methodology to engage various key stakeholders in the initiative. In collaboration with the Foundation and its constituents, CWV will develop a programmatic, financial, and operational roadmap for leveraging networks and relationships and for attracting talent to Casey and to the human services sector. Recently, Community Wealth Ventures completed a growth assessment for AVANCE, an organization focused on parent education that serves primarily Hispanic families in low-income communities. Now, AVANCE is prepared to unlock its own potential through an entrepreneurial—yet realistic—strategic growth planning process. CWV’s growth strategy for AVANCE will rely upon the framework for scale developed by Greg Dees, professor at the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. This framework includes exploring different ways of defining the innovations that AVANCE can offer, then determining how to proceed while still achieving a widespread positive effect. Ultimately, the growth plan will enable AVANCE to build upon its past success and to positively impact more children, parents, and families in a strategic, systematic, and practical manner. YouthBuild USA is a community development program providing low-income youth with programs that address core issues facing their communities. Through YouthBuild USA’s national programs, these youth have the opportunity to work toward their high school diploma or GED while simultaneously gaining job skills and training in several industries. The organization has always helped program graduates launch businesses within the construction industry. Recently, YouthBuild engaged Community Wealth Ventures to strengthen this aspect of its program, helping graduates launch businesses and tailor existing enterprises to offer green remodeling services. Specifically, CWV is creating a detailed business plan with one graduate, as well as working with YouthBuild National to create a business plan template that will aid graduates across the nation in evaluating opportunities in the green remodeling sector. Playing off the federal government’s “Cash for Caulkers” program (the Home Star Energy Efficiency Bill), which provides homeowners with tax credits for energy efficient remodeling, YouthBuild recognized an opportunity to help its graduates gain expertise in an expanding field. As the green remodeling field continues to grow, CWV is working with YouthBuild to ensure that its business owners are at the forefront of this sector change, equipped with the skills and resources needed to capitalize on these new opportunities. Coaching for Kids Count and Partners of Color Grantees Through the Annie E. Casey Foundation Community Wealth Ventures will provide organizational assessments and coaching for two important initiatives of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, KIDS COUNT and Partners of Color. KIDS COUNT is a national and state-by-state project to track the status of children in the United States through a network of children’s advocacy organizations in each state. Partners of Color is a network of organizations of color supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Selected organizations from both networks will fill out organizational assessments. These assessments will include three components, each evaluating a different organizational aspect:
After the assessments are returned to CWV, organizations will be matched with CWV consultants who will act as coaches. Each organization will receive seven to ten hours of phone-based coaching to be delivered within the calendar year. These coaching calls will focus on organizational sustainability. The precise customized topics for coaching, however, will be based on the assessment and an action plan to be jointly developed between the CWV consultant and the grantee during the first coaching call. The action plan will include goals for the coaching engagement. The ultimate goal for this intervention is to help each grantee build its internal capacity and increase organizational sustainability.
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YouthBuild recognized an opportunity to help its graduates gain expertise in an expanding field.
The ultimate goal for this intervention is to help each grantee build its internal capacity and increase organizational sustainability.
