From place-based initiatives to integrated primary and mental health care to public-private partnerships, we are living in a transitional time period for nonprofit service delivery. This Candid Conversation workshop will explore opportunities for nonprofits to meet the challenge of delivering services through new models for social change. Some of the questions we will explore are:
As “child welfare” organizations have increasingly considered diversifying to include services to older adults, this presentation will describe the opportunities, strategies, challenges, and successes of two organizations that used a New Age of Aging Mentoring Initiative grant to form a partnership to examine how to move into this service area.
The importance of establishing a compelling brand identity, the process for identifying and defining the “One Thing” that distinguishes the organization from others, and the strategies for promoting the brand to internal (board, volunteers and staff) and external (donors, funding sources, referral sources, strategic partners and clients) audiences will be the focus of this workshop.
Serving the special needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth and their families seeking services from the child welfare system will be covered in this workshop. The successful collaboration between Every Child, Inc. and Persad Center, Inc. will provide an example of a model for organizations interested in improving their response to LGBT youth and families.
What strategies are leaders in the nonprofit community using to affect federal, state, and local policies? Come listen to several current and former policy directors for Alliance member agencies share stories, strategies, and tips for addressing children’s issues in the current political environment. Participants in this workshop will have the opportunity to join the Alliance Policy Directors Community of Practice.
Because current research shows that on average an agency loses almost as many donors as it gains in an average year, the role of stewardship, retaining, and upgrading current donors, must become a larger focus. This workshop will provide details on truly effective stewardship and even what others are doing to successfully keep their current donors while also attracting new ones.
Examples from various agencies will be presented during the workshop. In addition, session attendees should come prepared to share their own answers to the following:
This workshop will explore the challenges and successes of implementing Project Based Learning (PBL) in Philadelphia’s Out-of-School Time (OST) programs, and provide participants with an overview of the PBL model.
This workshop, which will feature Plays for Living (PFL), will present attendees with a powerful medium of expression that can be implemented within any organization. PFL uses interactive drama and theater techniques to catalyze positive social change, as well as healthy dialogue on sensitive topics.
This workshop will feature “Where Does it End?,” which was written by William Baldwin Young. The play addresses bullying, prejudice, and discrimination among youth.
The privatization of child welfare, mental health, and/or juvenile justice systems has created chaos both for the states in which it occurs and for individual agencies. Agencies are forced to make decisions on whether to become a lead agency or work with a lead as a preferred provider. Because understanding these models can be very helpful to individual agencies in making crucial decisions about their future, this workshop will review three models for reform: Global Transfer, Case Rates and Performance Based Payment (PBC). It will also cover other variables impacting decisions concerning case management and risk mitigation. In addition to reviewing their own experiences, the presenters will focus on the questions that individual agencies will need to address and answer in order to decide whether to lead or to follow (i.e., provide services) in the reform efforts.
In order to address the growing disparities for black children (especially boys) in the areas of education, health, exposure to violence, and lifetime likelihood of going to prison, human service organizations are increasingly being called upon to create culturally specific programs for black fathers. This workshop will show segments of the film “The Black Fatherhood Project” to draw attention to the historical backdrop of black fatherhood that contextualizes the services that black families are in need of today. The workshop will conclude with a discussion on effective approaches to working with black fathers and opportunities for service providers collaborate with each other to provide culturally specific services that meet the needs of black fathers.
Given the limited resources available to support individual organizations, funders and communities are looking more strategically at how they invest those resources to ensure maximum community impact. This need for efficient service delivery is even more important as the economic downturn drives more families into crisis. Collaborative efforts that can demonstrate a collective impact offer investors more bang for their buck. On the receiving end, families are more likely to be able to readily access the broader range of services necessary to strengthen families who face multiple barriers to success.
This hands-on seminar gives you the perfect setting to refine your fund raising skills and gain expert advice from successful instructors.
You’ll gain confidence that you know how to successfully ask for major gifts. Plus, you will rehearse dealing with resistance so you will be more confident of your skills. Participants should bring 10 copies of an approximately 250-word program summary requiring major gift support. But bring the appropriate paragraph(s) from a recent contract or grant proposal. “Ask” rehearsals based on your “case” will give you skills in soliciting gifts of $1,000 to $1 million and beyond.
This workshop will present the highly successful components of a nationally recognized workforce development program called Training Futures. Training Futures has been a program of Northern Virginia Family Service since 1996. This workshop will not only cover the impact that program has had on low-income families in Northern Virginia, but will also provide an historical perspective of why and how the program began. Attendees will learn about the partnerships and strategies used in daily programming that make the program highly effective.
This workshop, which will feature Plays for Living (PFL), will present attendees with a powerful medium of expression that can be implemented within any organization. PFL uses interactive drama and theater techniques to catalyze positive social change, as well as healthy dialogue on sensitive topics.
This workshop will feature “Where Does it End?,” which was written by William Baldwin Young. The play addresses bullying, prejudice, and discrimination among youth.
Today’s workplace is diverse and fast paced. Every age is represented in the current workforce, from 16 to 86. This age span represents four biological generations, each with different mindsets. The challenge for nonprofit human service leaders is to identify how this new face of the workplace impacts both their organizations and their employees.
The purpose of this workshop is to examine this issue from a leadership perspective. It will describe both the challenges and opportunities that multigenerational workforces present.
This is one of three opportunities to delve deeper into the new national report that will be released during the Alliance and UNCA 2011 National Conference Opening Session. The report identifies several disruptive forces impacting the nonprofit of the future and provides a framework for building foundations to withstand these changes.
The workshop’s presenters will engage participants in a discussion of the report’s key findings.
This roundtable discussion will feature veteran corporate executives and nonprofit board members. It will review several current issues in nonprofit board governance. Specific topics to be covered include CEO succession planning, executive compensation, social purpose ventures, certifications and accreditations, and sustainability in challenging financial times.
Presenter: Donald W. Layden, advisor, Warburg Pincus LLC and partner, Quarles & Brady LLP
This workshop will provide a forum for an open discussion about current philanthropic trends, strategies, tactics, and other issues. Specific topics, level of content, and foci will be determined by the interests of participants.
This workshop will provide concrete information about Strategy Counts!, a major new initiative of the Alliance for Children and Families. The initiative is designed to help organizations align and integrate their key operational functions with a coherent view and plan for the future.
Social media has added another dynamic platform for nonprofit human service organizations to communicate with their stakeholders.
This workshop will provide ideas to help organizations move beyond simply having a social media presence to using that presence purposefully and strategically. It will cover topics such as measuring effectiveness, engaging followers, integrating into larger marketing and communications efforts, and benchmarking.
While innovative program ideas and strategies often grab the spotlight, a well-thought-out approach to garnering revenue is essential to sustaining those programs and their long-term impact on society. However, many social sector leaders have questions about how to build funding models that are tailored to their specific organizations.
As nonprofits struggle to adapt to an ever-changing and resource-limited environment, the adoption of outcome measurements is crucial to their survival. More and more funding opportunities are focused on the impact and success of a service or program in terms of measurable results.
This session will help to demystify the Council on Accreditation (COA) accreditation process. Participants will learn the answers to important questions, including:
How much time and what staff resources does it require?
How much does it cost?
Is an organization too small to pursue COA Accreditation?
Nonprofits are facing extraordinary challenges, given the current, tumultuous economic and political climates. What does effective governance look like in this environment and how are high-performing boards of directors structured to help their organizations survive, thrive, and deliver impactful and transformational services? This Candid Conversation workshop will explore the structures and behaviors of high-performing boards that are strategically focused. Nonprofit CEOs and board members are invited to share and learn about the evolving nature of nonprofit boards.
It is anticipated that 38 percent of the behavioral health and human services executives will be retiring in the next 5 years. Is your organization ready to manage this transition while preparing the leadership of tomorrow? This Candid Conversation workshop will provide participants with an opportunity to explore diverse approaches to succession planning throughout all levels of an organization. Discuss how leaders are building leadership within their current talent pool.
This workshop will share how one nonprofit human service organization was able to achieve its goal of marketing itself nationally, despite having few budgetary resources.
This workshop will focus on understanding how to generate new growth and diversification. Attendees will learn from the case example of Alliance member Hillside Family of Agencies in Rochester, N.Y., which has grown considerably in budget size (from $20 million to $130 million) and service scope (from a child welfare and residential services to a highly diverse community-based portfolio of services in child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health, developmental disabilities, education, medical, safety net, and youth development).
Leaders of social service agencies have critically important roles to play in ending the chronic racial disparities their organizations’ clients regularly face in the areas of employment, education, and health care.
This workshop offers both the theoretical frameworks and the practical tools that agency leaders need to transform their organizations into effective, active agents of race-based social and systems change.
State and city budget cuts have reduced government funding for human service programs and put nonprofit organizations in a precarious situation. While need has increased, fewer services are available to community residents; program quality has been stretched; and staff have been laid off, or are working less because program hours have been reduced.
Opportunities abound for nonprofits to more effectively position themselves for success, tell their story in a more impactful way, and communicate urgency about their community-critical missions.
This workshop, which is ideal for executive management, board members, development directors, and communications staff, will provide an opportunity to learn about:
This dialogue will present two distinct models for plotting a course for the future. The first will focus on transforming individual organizations for the 21st century, and the second will describe collaborative efforts aimed at community-wide transformation.
Collaboration with other area organizations is one of the most effective means for consistently meeting the financial, social, and safety needs of older adults. When utilized to its fullest potential, collaboration positively impacts clients and the organizations involved. It also creates a lasting impact on the surrounding community.
Collaboration has become more than a buzzword in the nonprofit sector. Collaboration is a necessity. Resources are becoming scarce and the needs of at-risk populations are growing. This has made it critical to maximize resources, leverage relationships with external partners, and become more innovative.
When working within a system, there are many barriers to offering services that providers may encounter. Some examples of these barriers include: limited financial funds, risk management concerns, and cohesion of services throughout the system.
The last decade included many important advances toward equality. Additionally, issues and challenges faced by gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) youth and families received increased attention and greater visibility.
However, GLBT youth and families need more, with respect to services and advocacy efforts. GLBT youth and families need safer schools, access to adoption, and family recognition and support. Change will only happen if organizations play their part in elevating the voices of their communities.
What family-based policies are being released and supported by the Barack Obama administration? How do family-based policies fit within a broader, more holistic place-based agenda? This workshop will examine fatherhood initiatives, home visitation, and other family-centered programs. It also will examines how they fit into the administration's neighborhood-based agenda.
While philanthropic giving has fallen in most sectors of the nonprofit industry, indicators suggest that the economy and philanthropic giving are slowly improving. This workshop will discuss how position an organization, so it can fully benefit from this recovery. Participants will learn how to prepare their organizations to be in a position of strength in order to maximize on the opportunities that lie ahead. They also will hear how best to chart a course for philanthropic strength during these unstable times. This workshop will offer specific messages for board members and donor communities for growing and improving philanthropic activities.
Neighborhood centers across the country are working diligently to address issues that are critical to the health and sustainability of our neighborhoods. The importance of eating healthy foods has captured the attention of government officials and policy makers from the local level to the Barack Obama administration. Bringing more fresh food into a community can improve health, strengthen community bonds, generate income and jobs, and even reduce crime.
Most human service organization staff recognize the essential need to communicate the effectiveness and impact of their work to clients, community members, and potential funders. Yet, each organization is unique in its threshold for evaluation capacity. This workshop will focus on how evaluation practices have changed within the industry, as well as present techniques that can be used to improve their evaluation capacity and communicate the difference they are making in the communities they serve based on their own unique approach to evaluation.
How do nonprofit agencies use innovation effectively? How can agencies use innovative programming to their advantage in community-based work? As the sector increasingly embraces the power of innovation to address common challenges, agencies are experimenting and succeeding with new approaches to addressing longstanding social issues. In this session, winners of the ARAMARK Building Community 2011 Innovation Awards will share their strategies for success in innovation at the programmatic and organizational level.
Participants will receive insight on how to incorporate innovation into their leadership styles. They will explore what innovation is, what it looks like, and how can it be implemented within an organization through effective leadership.
The workshop also will focus on specific leadership styles and the impact they can have on an organization. Participants will complete an assessment to determine their specific style of leadership. Then, techniques for improving leadership skills will be shared by the presenter, as well as discussed among participants.
Joint Alliance for Children and Families and United Neighborhood Centers of America member Neighborhood Centers Inc.’s recent work in community building is focused on helping community members identify and leverage existing strengths and resources to make neighborhoods a place of renewed hope and opportunity. This is an asset-based community development approach. The organization is using appreciative Inquiry to uncover neighborhood assets and put them to work on building the future envisioned by neighborhood residents. Staff from Neighborhood Centers will discuss this approach and share best practices.
Community issues necessitate community solutions. A growing number of social service institutions are taking lead roles in assisting clients and community members in solving the broader social and economic issues they face. From advocacy training to client advisory groups, agencies and communities are working hand-in-hand to tackle tough problems. Learn how civic engagement is leading to improved conditions and quality of life for vulnerable children and families. This panel will be facilitated by the Alliance for Children and Families’ director of civic engagement, who will share how our national network has made significant progress in helping change systems. Panelists include senior leaders from Alliance member organizations in Louisiana, Illinois, and Nebraska, who will share specific ideas to strengthen practice in civic engagement.
Conflict in the workplace has historically been managed by the twin pillars of authority and a legally informed discipline process. However, these pillars often have fallen short of what human service professionals need in times of conflict and crisis: the very best thinking and creative collaboration among and between employees. In addition, authoritative approaches often lead to a culture of blame.
This workshop will discuss the current status of health care reform implementation. Participants will learn how this legislation will affect nonprofit child welfare and behavioral health services.
Stories offer incomparable insight into to the human experience to elicit an emotional response, such as empathy, pride, belonging, or happiness. Additionally, stories can be used achieve your strategic intent.
This workshop will discuss how IBM currently is partnering with three United Neighborhood Centers of America members – BronxWorks, St. Nicks Alliance, and Jane Addams Hull House Association. Participants will learn how this program leverages technology and information systems to connect and improve program outcomes tracking, promote strategic planning, and gain operational efficiencies.
Once you have identified who the "right people on the bus" are, how are going to ensure that they accept your invitation to join the board and then enjoy the ride of serving your organization? How do you know when it is time for some of the current passengers to get off? Is your board doing the full range of board-building activities to make sure that you have full board engagement, or are you leaving some steps out?
This is one of three opportunities to delve deeper into the new national report that will be released during the Alliance and UNCA 2011 National Conference Opening Session. The report identifies several disruptive forces impacting the nonprofit of the future and provides a framework for building foundations to withstand these changes.
The workshop’s presenters will engage participants in a discussion of the report’s key findings.
This panel discussion will address key, high-level census data and trends that will impact human service programs and service delivery. The questions that will be addressed include:
