Midland County Health & Human Services March 25, 2015.

PRESENTATION/GROUP TITLE

Midland CountyHealth & Human Services March 25, 2015I will be sharing a lot of data and statistics with you today, but there are also stories that are important for you to hear. Stories about impact.

1NETWORK OVERVIEWMISSION:To strengthen nonprofit organizations in the Great Lakes Bay Region through capacity building services that enhance effectiveness and efficiency.

FOUNDING PARTNERS:

When we launched the Community Advancement Network back in October 2013 our mission was to strengthen nonprofits in the Great Lakes Bay Region by providing capacity building services that enhance effectiveness and efficiency.

Today, that mission continues.

We have had many successes over the past year. As with any start-up, weve had to adjust, change course, and (most importantly) keep our finger on the pulse of local nonprofit organizations to make sure that were meeting their expectations.

Our ability to adapt and adjust is possible because of our founding partners. As a program of United Way, weve received back-office support in the areas of finance, marketing, and more. Weve also received foundational support from The Dow Chemical Company, which helped us during our R&D phase and gave us a safety-net while we began earning revenue through our services.

The community foundations and united ways across the region have lent expertise to our tiger teams and given countless hours of feedback and guidance. The executive directors from each of these organizations continue to serve on an operating committee that provides leadership and active support to the Network.

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NETWORK SERVICE OFFERING

Leadership Academy CoursesProfessional Development CoursesGroup ConsultingConsultingSince our inception, we have been intentional about collaborating with businesses, universities, foundations, nonprofits and consultants to remove barriers and provide customized solutions for local nonprofits.

We recognize that there isnt a one size fits all approach to capacity building. Thats why we developed our service offering with a variety of customization/depth levels and cost points.

We currently offer a range of services that include 2-5 hour professional development courses, 6-8 month Leadership Academies, group and 1:1 consulting. Ive provided a description of each of these programs for you on a one page handout.

Over the last year, weve learned a lot. Weve expanded some of our services, such as the group consulting, and weve evolved away from others. We continue to work with community partners to make sure that our services are of the highest quality at a reasonable cost.

We understand the need for measurement to ensure the integrity of implementation and to determine if outcomes have been reached and sustained. In order to evaluate our own effectiveness and efficiency, we are committed to examining ourservices and ability to build capacity. Our nonprofit clients agree to use a Network-developed measurement tool that assesses progress at six months, one year and two years after completion of the project. This tool, called the ACE (or Assessment of Capacity Enhancement) was developed by a group of local experts and was vetted by national leaders in the capacity building field. Were excited to say that the ACE has received significant interest from other capacity building organizations and we will be evaluating our ability to monetize this tool over the next year or so.

We also know that relationships ensure success and we ensure frequent communication throughout our capacity building engagements. 4CAPACITY BUILDING NEEDS5

Listening is a key aspect in relationship development.

Prior to launching in October 2013, we conducted a nonprofit focus group study that strived to better understand how the Network might be able to assist nonprofits in the Great Lakes Bay Region with achieving mission excellence.

105 nonprofit organizations participated from around the region, and they provided us with insight into their needs and expectations.

I want to take a minute to reflect back on what we heard.. Nonprofits asked us to make the Network user-friendly, individualized, and high quality. They asked that we make it affordable and avoid favoritism/bullying. We learned which capacity building areas where of high need, and which areas they consider to be immediate needs.

5CONSULTANT TEAM

Dick DolinskiKim MorleyBarb MuessigDave NearNancy OhlePam EvansLee RouseCyndy VogtBreaha WallinBob WickJay ZrimekLeanne VanBeekSince then, weve developed a strong team of consultants whose combined expertise cover the major capacity building need areas discovered during our focus groups.These consultants were recruited by a Tiger Team consisting of representatives from across the region (including a United Way, a Community Foundation, and a Family Foundation representative). They started with a consultant database that was developed based on the information gathered during the focus groups. They then sought additional input from local community, family, and business foundation leaders, as well as United Way leaders. After they developed a comprehensive list, they evaluated consultants based on:Needed areas of expertiseSense of communityNonprofit ExperienceInterviewsReference checks with prior clientsToday, we have a group of 12 solid consultants who work with the Network. Each of these consultants has a strong community focus and has completed a considerable amount of volunteer work for us. They all have successful practices of their own, and the Network is just a small part of their work. They have all agreed to work at a discounted rate to ensure both nonprofit affordability and the sustainability of the Network. 6PROJECT FOCUS AREAS7The projects that weve undertaken over the last year have lined up with the high capacity building needs identified through the nonprofit needs assessment focus groups.

So far, we have 27 confirmed projects that are underway or completed and 4 projects that we expect to begin over the next two months.

7NONPROFIT CLIENTS8Of the 31 projects that are confirmed or expected to begin soon, 8 of them are Saginaw county nonprofits, 5 of them are Midland County nonprofits, 6 of them are Bay County nonprofits, and 12 of them are regional nonprofits. 813-14 CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS9Each of the nonprofits that were working with have had skin in the game. Theyve committed dollars from their organization in order to make their project happen. However, each of them has also received a cost-share capacity building grant.

Despite the flexibility in programing, cost can still be a deterrent. To address this, the capacity building cost shared grant program was created to lessen the financial burden facing nonprofits. The average cost share grant percentage in 2014 has been 60.6% for our consulting projects.

So far $116, 750 has been given by 6 organizations to this fund. Over 75% (88,237) of these grant funds have been committed and with the projects that we are currently finalizing, we expect to exhaust the fund by the end of November.

9MOVING FORWARD102015 OPERATIONAL SUPPORT$60,000: The Dow Chemical CompanyBack-Office Support: United Way of Midland County2015 CAPACITY BUILDING GRANT FUNDERS Anticipated:Continued support from Community Foundations and United Ways:Dow Corning Corporation.. $60,000Nexteer Automotive $7,000The Dow Chemical Company $25,000Wickes Foundation 2015/2016 $10,0001st State Bank 2015/2016.$ 2,000Kanzler & Smith Combined 2015/2016. .$ 7,500Tri-Star Trust Bank 2015..$ 1,000

In order for this great work to continue, we recognize the need to continue enhancing the capacity building cost share grant fund.

Weve received operational support commitments for 2015 and we will be working towards securing capacity building grant fund commitments over the next few months.

10NONPROFIT TESTIMONIALThe Community Advancement Network allowed us to take our HR programs to a new level, thus increasing our capacity to more efficiently manage our staff. The capacity building cost share grant that we received allowed us to get this really professional work for an affordable price.

Susan PutnamPresident and CEOBig Brothers Big Sisters Great Lakes Bay Region

In closing, Id like to share what Susan Putnam, President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters had to say about her experience with the Network:

The Community Advancement Network allowed us to take our HR programs to a new level, thus increasing our capacity to more efficiently manage our staff. The capacity building cost share grant that we received allowed us to get this really professional work for an affordable price.

This is just one example of how grant funding is making a difference in the efficiency and effectiveness of local nonprofits. Id encourage you to visit our website to hear more testimonials from our nonprofit clients. We recently started featuring guest blogs from nonprofit executive directors and board presidents, these are a great way to learn about the impact that is taking place through the Network. 11