one organization just cant do it alone! airs workshop june 3, 2009 mary cooksey, united way abilene...
TRANSCRIPT
One Organization Just Can’t Do It
Alone!
One Organization Just Can’t Do It
Alone!AIRS Workshop
June 3, 2009
Mary Cooksey, United Way AbileneRita Icenogle, United Way Escambia County
Lois Ann Porter, VisionLink
This SessionIntroductions
Group Exercise
Working Together Overview
Community Story #1
Community Story #2
Scenario for Discussion
Q & A
Group ExerciseSelect a partner that you do not know
Person A: describe content by feel only of each item in bag
Person B: write down words, descriptions, guesses of the bag contents
Time: 10 minutes
Report Back/Group Discussion
Working Together Overview
When the Belt Just Can’t Get Any Tighter!
Core Benchmarks
Clarity of organization’s purpose
Agreement on priorities
Capacity to measure and report on impact
Beware of Mission Creep
Understand what you do well
Measure progress & impact
Stay true to your mission - visit it often
Partner with Others to:
Eliminate duplication of services
Achieve operational efficiencies
Communicate
Maximize impact
Abilene, Texas
Community Overview
West Central Texas
Mostly rural
Abilene population 125,000
Regional population 330,000
Situation
Non-profits were being asked to do more and didn’t have the means to meet the demands nor any way to improve.
What We Did
Invested in computers and 1-year of Internet service for food pantries, medical care mission, etc., to show a new way of doing business
What We Learned
Technology was the way to go!
Pensacola, Florida
Community OverviewWesternmost county in Florida panhandle
Established 1559
Population 300,000
27% children in poverty
Strong tourist area
Military retirement area
SituationSocial service agencies created dependent system - enabling rather than empowering clients
No more safety net
Emerging new working poor client base further reduces available $
What We Did
HUGE shift -
Then: provided referrals
Now: provide eligibility screening
Required:
shared client data system
financial literacy training
6-month impact follow-up
What We LearnedResistance to change
Technology can play pivotal role in:
reducing duplication of service
increasing objective decision-making
What’s Next?
University student research of best practices
VISTA Volunteers
Replication of success
Anytown, USA
Community Overview
State - Facing one of the largest budget deficits in US
State - Huge distance between urban areas
Community is isolated population center surrounded by rural counties
SituationStatewide 2-1-1 system in place (with on-line referral & 2 integrated call centers)
Area extremely impacted by fires, flooding, etc.
One area of state identified as at-risk of terrorist attack
Efforts to include 2-1-1 in statewide emergency & disaster planning had not been successful
What Would You Do?
Given the situation, what plan of action would you take?
Northern Nevada
What We DidLocal 2-1-1 Call Center and United Way began discussions with local Emergency Manager
Plan - bite off one “chunk”
Call Center made logistical arrangements for emergency call center
Emergency Manager’s CERT volunteers were dual-trained for Call Center deployment
System to update on-line database so information remains current during crisis and disaster
What We Learned
Even if the first action isn’t “perfect”, it is important to make small inroads
The POWER of local solutions
What’s Next?Local plan in place in case of emergency
This strategy serves as evidence of local resolve to protect community, even if state discussions fail.
Successful Non-Profits will:
shift from sharing ideas to sharing clients and resources
shift from competition to cooperation with other non-profits
The Essence of Compassion
The Essence of Compassion
"Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the
aged,sympathetic with the striving, and
tolerant with the weak andwrong...because sometime in your life you will have been all of these."
National Breakthrough Network
4PeopleColorado 2-1-1 & HMIS
Odessa LinksSC Lt. Gov. Office - Aging
UWay AbileneUWay Escambia County
UWay Northern NV & Sierra
Contact Information
Mary Cooksey [email protected]
Rita Icenogle [email protected]
Kelsey Piechocki [email protected]
Lois Ann Porter
Thank You!
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