A Letter From Our Board Chair, Steven Flax
In May 2014, we embarked on a bold project to enable community development organizations to develop innovative methods to fight persistent poverty.
We are now at the midpoint of this four-year endeavor and I am happy to report that our grantees have made remarkable strides implementing pioneering programs. Grantees served more than 9,000 people in the second year, a 64% increase over the first year. They have integrated and enhanced programs that offer educational, employment, and housing services to members of their communities;cemented partner relationships that further their reach and impact; deployed new staff members; and expanded their ability to track and use cross-program data to refine their programs.
As a result, our grantees reported significant successes in job placement, educational achievement, and housing stability:
- Grantees made 790 job placements over two years with an average wage of $11.93 in the second year (an increase of $1.21 over the first year).
- More than 1,000 students enrolled in college through a college access program (with an 81% persistence rate, higher than the national average).
- The number of adults achieving training or education outcomes increased from 117 in the first year to 427 in the second year; 72 adults received their TASC (high school equivalent degrees) over two years.
- Grantees expanded their program integration, as indicated by increasing referrals, from 248 in year one to 673 in year two, and improving the rate of completed referrals from 57% to 69%.
- In addition, CCF dollars have helped grantees raise an additional $9.8 million for their neighborhoods over the first two years.
Over the next two years, CCF will help our grantees to prove out program innovations that are already showing great promise.
Yours truly,
Steven Flax
CCF Board Chair, Vice President of Community Development at M&T Bank
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Addressing Challanges in Community-based Service Coordination: An MDRC Brief
MDRC, a social policy research organization, has written the second in a series of briefs documenting the progress of CCF’s economic mobility initiative. This recent brief discusses issues related to a CCF premise that “community organizations are well positioned to coordinate multiple services to underserved low-income populations,” and that, “an integrated approach to service delivery is an important way to “saturate” areas of persistent poverty with intensive, comprehensive services, cultivating multiple pathways toward neighborhood-level change.” You can read the full brief
here.
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CCF has departed from the traditional practice of supporting a single program or service because people do not fit neatly into one program. CCF’s approach recognizes that, for example, an unstable living situation can have a negative impact on a child’s education. Thus, CCF is encouraging its grantees to coordinate their services to meet the multiple, overlapping needs of low-income families. CCF is taking a two-pronged approach to this goal. First, it is encouraging its grantees to break down internal “silos,” or areas of independent operation, in favor of joint efforts. Second, it is supporting its grantees in their effort to form partnerships with organizations within their service areas so as to offer more comprehensive services to families in these neighborhoods.
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Grantee News
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| Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña (center, in red) visited CHLDC students and staff in April. |
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Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation (CHLDC)’s Middle School Success Center, which engages middle school students to put them on a path to college, is reaching some 350 students on a tight budget of about $200,000 with great success: this year, 56% (up from 14% last year) of participants received offers from high schools with graduation rates above 75%; and 21% (up from 5% last year) received offers from high schools with graduation rates above 90%; the citywide graduation rate is only 67%. CHLDC is the lead partner for two local community schools, both of which have significantly increased academic performance and attendance. Through its workforce programs, including CHAMPION Network, a one-year transportation/logistics sectoral employment program for young adults ages 17 to 24, CHLDC placed 124 people in jobs. Overall, CHLDC served 4,018 people in year two, a 30% increase from the previous year.
Fifth Avenue Committee (FAC) Stronger Together Partnership, a collaboration with Brooklyn Workforce Innovations, Red Hook Initiative, and Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation, is building a pipeline to enable the residents of public housing to access the jobs being created by billions of dollars of investment expected in Red Hook and Gowanus through Superstorm Sandy rebuilding, Gowanus clean-up and other sources. In year two, the Stronger Together partnership served 333 residents, including 183 in adult education and training programs, as a result of expanded outreach efforts. They are working in tandem with the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) staff and residents to increase outreach and have significantly strengthened the coordination among partners. FAC’s Salesforce Hub, the program’s shared database, is now fully operational and available to all partners.
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NSA, with LISC and Groundswell, unveiled a food justice mural.
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New Settlement Apartments (NSA)’s College Access program, which worked with over 1,000 students last year, is achieving a college persistence rate of 84%, beating the national average of 68%. NSA’s Community School Model Development Project includes a special education program for 48 autistic children, and an elementary, middle, and high school, which is about to graduate its first senior class. In addition, NSA’s Young Adult Opportunity Initiative helped 50 participants gain employment. Overall, NSA served 3,107 people in year two, including 2,936 children in its education programs.
St. Nicks Alliance is using transformational coaches to dramatically improve results for students identified as at-risk of failing: they helped 84% of students improve reading levels; 75% improve attendance; 94% of participating students to increase non-cognitive growth; and 88% to maintain or improve their grades. Coaches for housing,employment, and education integrate services for the neediest residents of North Brooklyn. Its Housing Services team has served over 250 residents this past year, helping to keep them in their homes. By hiring additional personnel and developing new program sites, St. Nicks has increased the impact of services, while making them more accessible; it served 1,140 people in year two.
Donor News
LISC NYC, Groundswell, and New Settlement Apartments unveiled a public mural about food justice and the role that food workers play in bringing affordable, healthy food to New York.
Heron Foundation called for a new model of philanthropy to meet the economic challenges of the 21st century.
Citi Foundation Community Progress Makers Fund
awarded $20 million in grants to accelerate economic opportunity in 6 U.S. cities. Grantees include St. Nicks Alliance, LISC NYC and Enterprise.
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MARK YOUR CALANDER:
Philanthropy NY, in collaboration with Deutsche Bank, New York Community Trust and other donors are providing a special screening and discussion:
Stepping UP for NYC’s Youth on Friday, June 17, at Philanthropy NY, 1500 Broadway, 7th floor (at 43rd Street), 9 am – 11 am. The film features a youth leader and staff from Cypress Hills Student Success Center.
Registration is required by June 16th.
