A Journey to Impact

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A Journey to Impact

• United Way Community Development Committee

March 2006
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Community building

• is the practice of building connections among
  residents, and establishing positive patterns of
  individual and community behaviour based on
  mutual responsibility and ownership. (Gardner in
  Leiterman, 1993, p.6 in Mattessich and Roy,
  1997,p. 60).
• concerns strengthening the capacity of
  neighbourhood residents, associations, and
  organizations to work, individually and
  collectively to foster and sustain positive
  neighbourhood change. (Kubisch et al., 1995 in
  Mattessich and Roy, 1997, p.60)
• focuses on both the capacity and empowerment
  of neighbourhood residents to identify and access
  opportunities and effect change, as well as on
  the development of individual leadership.
  (Kubisch et al., 1995 in Mattessich and Roy,
  1997, p.60)

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The Community Impact United Way

• What is community impact?
• What is a community?
• What is an agenda for community impact?
• What is Community Impact Investment Strategy?
• Where has UWFV journeyed through this vision
• What are we doing, and where do we go next?

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Community Impact is

• Improving lives
• by
• mobilizing communities
• to
• create sustained changes
• in community conditions

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Community Can Mean Many Things
Based on shared interests commitment to action
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An Agenda for Community Impact is
A community-designed strategic plan for
addressing a pressing community need
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Changing Paradigms
1 Whose Agenda?

• Not the UNITED WAYS agenda

• The COMMUNITYS agenda

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The Communitys Agenda

• Its not about ownership
• Its not about credit / entitlement
• It is about creating partnerships and motivating
  results

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Changing Paradigms
2 What is United Ways Role?

• Not just fundraiser / fund distributor

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Community Leadership

• United Ways Role in the Impact Agenda
• community-wide perspective and connections
• assessing social assets and gaps
• addressing gaps and redundancies in services
• focused on issues for impact
• coordinating / mobilizing / supporting community
  action
• supporting partnerships and collaborations
• generating new initiatives motivating innovative
  solutions

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United Ways Role Will Vary byIssue and Strategy
May be

• Advocate
• Investor
• Capacity builder
• Issue educator
• Implementation manager
• Behind-the-scenes facilitator

• Leader / Champion
• Convener
• Mobilizer
• Partner/collaborator
• Data provider analyst
• Planning specialist
• Resource developer

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United Ways Role Might Look Like

• Partnering with other major funders to invest in
  action that addresses identified issues
• Knowledge sharing to raise awareness of donors /
  government / partners about urgent community
  issues.
• Securing and distributing 20 new/used computers
  to the charity / voluntary sector
• Partnering with local transportation authorities
  to provide free public transportation tokens to
  increase access to needed services.
• Facilitating opportunities for groups to come
  together to determine targeted action strategies
• Providing education and knowledge-sharing
  opportunities to enhance the capacity of the
  sector.

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Changing Paradigms3 What Strategies Do We
Pursue?

• Not just providing direct services

• Creating sustained positive changes in community
  conditions

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Improving Lives by Investing in
Lasting changes in community conditions
Focus on community change
Prevention development services
Basic human-needs crisis services
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Changing Paradigms4 Who Are Our Partners?

• Not just agencies

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Potential Community Partners

• Government
• Systems
• Faith-based groups
• Academia
• Individuals

• Partner Agencies

• Corporations
• Labor groups
• Formal organizations
• Informal associations
• Neighborhood networks

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Community-owned Agenda for Impact
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Changing Paradigms5 What Resources Will We
Need?

• Not just money

• People
• Relationships
• Knowledge
• Expertise
• Technology
• Financial assets
• Physical assets

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Changing Filters OLDUnited Ways looked at
community impact through the filter of funded
agencies
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Changing Filters NEWUnited Ways look at funded
agencies--and everything else-- through the
filter of community impact
neighborhood associations community
systems public policy resource
development marketing communications donor
relations community research
United Way
agencies
community impact
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Agendas for Community Impact Shifts in the
Paradigm
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Part 2 How does all of this apply to Us?

• Questions / Discussion on Part 1?

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History United Way of the Fraser Valley

• 1985 United Way of the Fraser Valley is born
• 7K for operating funds from Abb. Found.
• Traditional UW fundraiser / fund-distributor
• 1995 Began to talk Community Development
  took on new initiatives
• 1995 Volunteer Centre (ended 2003)
• 1996 Volunteer Leadership Development Program
  (ongoing)
• 1998 Youth Options (ended 2003)
• 1999 Day of Caring (ended 2005), FV Community
  Conference (ongoing)
• 2001 Understanding the Early Years (ongoing)

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History

• 2001 strategic plan with Community Development
  goal
• Community Development and Agency Allocations
  Committee restructured into two separate
  committees
• 2003 began the walk as an Impact United
  Way
• Innovation Grant Fund - new funding stream
  developed to begin shifting funds from
  traditional member program funding.
• First co-funder partnership with Abbotsford
  Foundation
• Implemented Outcome Measurement
• Adopted 5-year Funding Migration Strategy

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History

• Commissioned FV Community Assessment and
  Consultation Project
• 12 Social Priorities identified / 4 chosen by
  community as most critical
• Top 4 Priorities becomes impetus of UW Impact
  Grant Fund and annual Campaign marketing
  strategies.
• Community groups / networks mobilize around
  Priorities, with CDC as UW hub-committee
• FV Housing Group
• FV Poverty Awareness and Action Group
• FV Volunteer Support Network
• Success by Six / Early Childhood Committees

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History

• 2005 Implemented Impact Agenda
• Priorities adopted into UW Strategic Plan
• Co-funding Partnership expanded with 3 community
  foundations
• Outcome measurement systems core criteria for all
  funding allocations
• UW staff / management assess and re-allocate
  internal resources to accommodate UW Impact
  Agenda
• 2006 / 2007 Moving Forward
• Replace member-restricted annual program
  funding with multi-year Impact Fund on 4
  Priorities and new Essential Social Services

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United Way of the Fraser Valley Organizational
Structure
Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Executive Director
Director, Community Investment
Director, Resource Development
Community Development Committee
Cabinet (UW Resource Development)
Impact Committee (resource distribution / agency
relations)
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United Way of the Fraser Valley What we are
Doing Now

• Leader / Champion
• Convener
• Mobilizer
• Partner/collaborator
• Data provider analyst
• Planning specialist
• Resource developer

• Advocate
• Investor
• Capacity builder
• Issue educator
• Implementation manager
• Behind-the-scenes facilitator

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04-05 Expenditures (UWFV)
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's Raised by UW, by FV Community
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Traditional Focus for UW Funding - 2000
100 of Allocation budget distributed annually
between 40 50 Member Agencies for Program
Funding
Program Funding
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Refocusing UW Resource Allocation 2003 - 2006
20 of Allocation Budget to Setting Impact Agenda
FV Community Assessment Project / Innovation
Grants
80 of Allocation budget distributed annually
between 40 50 Member Agencies with 3 year
Program Funding Agreement
Program Funding
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Refocusing UW Resource Allocation 2007 beyond
30 of Allocation Budget to Impact Agenda
(Impact Grants and CDC)
Impact Grant Fund / Priority Group
Capacity Support
UW Community Development Committee
70 of Allocation budget for Essential Social
Services
3-year Agency Partner Funding Agreements
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Integrating UW Community Development to Impact
Vision Council

• Identify Community Impact Agenda Priorities
• Provide Capacity Support for Priority Groups
• Identify Impact Plan Strategic Objectives and
  Community Outcomes on Priorities
• Identify and Measure Impact on Priorities
• Re-Assess Priorities dDevelop new strategic
  Impact Plan

United Way Impact Committee and Vision Council
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• United Way Community Development Committee
• Committee Terms of Reference (excerpt - 2003)
• Mandate In accordance with the Constitution and
  By-Laws of the Society, the committee will strive
  to meet the following objectives
• Assess on a continuing basis the need for human
  service programs
• Seek solutions to human problems
• Assist in the development of new or the expansion
  or modification of existing human service
  programs
• Promote and support preventative and community
  building at a regional level
• Foster cooperation among local, provincial and
  national agencies serving the community.
• Develop and build ongoing relationships with
  communities in our region.

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• United Way Community Development Committee
• Committee Terms of Reference (excerpt - 2003)
  Continued
• Composition The committee includes members of
  the board of directors, United Way staff, member
  agency staff and volunteers, donors, labour
  representatives, and other community stakeholders.

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8 Essential Attributes for Impact Plan

• Leaders / Champions who walk the talk
• Question, learn and improve
• Name and frame impact
• Gather every resource needed
• Create results
• Identify and seize every opportunity
• Create an ideal donor experience
• Partner well with others

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Impact Plan How?

• Vision Council
• Identify Community assets and needs
• Mobilize for action
• Identify what needs are being met
• Identify what needs are unmet
• Develop outcome and impact plans for each
  priority
• Develop fundraising plan for each impact plan.
• Provide leadership, capacity and support for
  comprehensive, systemic, and collective action

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Long Term Directions

• Focus on
• Leadership of the Communitys Agenda
• Comprehensive / Systemic Solutions
• Engagement of leaders and community at every
  opportunity
• Collaborative, multi-partner action
• Long-term outcomes and impact
• Set and articulate clear goals
• Market the message for best donor experience

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Next Steps for UWFV Vision Council

• 2006 Fraser Valley Community Conference June 1
  and 2
• Recommended Reading Joseph (Jay) Connors
  Collaborative Visions, Comprehensive Solutions
• Action For Neighborhood Change Toolkit
• Action Plan on 4 Priorities for United Way of the
  Fraser Valley for 2006 - 2009

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• Local United Ways often emphasize the United Way
  namethe most ownable part of the identity
• And often elevate geographic qualifiers in a
  host of different ways
• The visual components of the United Way symbol
  have become icons for the category and are highly
  diluted
• Overall, inconsistent use of the United Way
  brandmark is fragmenting the identity and
  potentially weakening United Ways impact

Questions?