The CSF is excited to be launching a number of funding opportunities. In order to guide those funding decisions, the CSF Board and staff worked with community stakeholders to develop a Community Impact Framework that helps ensure funds are being utilized in impactful ways that benefit Jackson County kids.
The foundation of this framework can be summed up in five attributes. The board looks for programs with:
- Equitable Access
- Individualized Approach
- Evidence-based Work
- Representation
- Collaboration
A Focus on Impact
Funding is focused on three key areas of impact: prevention, resilience, and community.
Prevention
Providing or increasing access to robust prevention programs and resources that proactively build and equip resilient children and families.
It’s estimated that for every $1 invested in prevention, an estimated $11 is saved that would have been spent on future treatment, lost wages, and criminal justice system costs.
Prevention services are geared heavily toward preventing abuse and neglect. Prevention in infancy and early childhood is also geared toward helping parents of very young children. They also decrease the risk of substance abuse and the likelihood of developing mental health issues through programs that help kids:
- learn coping skills
- strengthen relationships
- build social-emotional skills
They also address the various determinants of mental health problems with the goal of preventing them from developing.
Resilience
Providing or increasing access to proven and promising interventions to foster stability, support resiliency, and strengthen mental health for children and families.
The American Psychological Association (APA) defines resilience as “the ability to recover and adapt to situations of adversity, trauma, threats, or sources of stress.” Providing constructive supports for resilience helps children learn coping skills that can contribute to lifelong mental health and well-being.
Community
Supporting a focused approach to strengthening community mental health through awareness, education, and support while removing systemic barriers and inequities.
Community provides a sense of belonging, purpose, and support, all of which are necessary for a person to thrive. Community mental health, as defined by the APA, is made up of “activities that promote mental health that are performed in the community instead of institutional settings.” So services and programs that are readily available, provide key supports, and educate, while bringing people together to build connections and relationships will have a greater impact on the mental health and social-emotional well-being of children and youth.
Activities that Impact Jackson County Kids
The CSF is looking for activities that drive the process toward desired outcomes.
Prevention and Resilience activities include:
- Case management, support & coordination
- Community outreach
- Crisis intervention & emergency response
- Personal growth, development, & skill building
- Respite, shelter, or transitional living services
- Screenings, assessment, & evaluations
- Services to individuals, families, & groups
These activities should be directed toward achieving these outcomes:
- Strengthened mental health for children, youth, & young adults, thereby reducing maladaptive symptoms and behaviors
- Strengthened protective factors – thereby reducing incidents of abuse & neglect
- Increased skills & knowledge around personal safety & social-emotional well-being, which leads to safer, healthier, & more fulfilling lives
Community activities are focused on capacity building and collaboration.
Capacity building is whatever is needed to bring a nonprofit to the next level of operational, programmatic, financial, or organizational maturity, so it may more effectively and efficiently advance its mission into the future.
Most nonprofits team up for one of three main reasons: to boost organizational efficiency, increase organizational effectiveness, or drive broader social and systems change.
Capacity building and collaboration are new funding areas for the CSF, and the possibilities this kind of support opens up is exciting. So many nonprofits face challenges in investing for their future, but it’s critical so they can do more than just keep their doors open for now — they need to be able to build toward a future where they can serve even more people.
“A lot of organizations have interest in collaboration,” says the CSF CEO Rob Whitten, “but they’re also in an environment that fosters competition — for referrals, donors, and grant dollars. Our hope is that this funding will make it easier for organizations to increase their impact by working together.”
The desired outcomes for capacity building and collaboration include:
- Increased capacity
- Community growth, development, & awareness
- Expanded partnerships
A Framework for the Future
This robust framework is designed to ensure that the core funding the CSF does continues to be made in strategic ways that have the most impact on Jackson County kids, and that new opportunities to strengthen organizations that provide such important services can grow, expanding their reach and helping more of our kids thrive.
Sources:
- JacksonGov.org
- (National Council of Nonprofits)
- (Philanthropy News Digest)
