Transcript Slide 1

Rural America is vast! It
covers 3,444,930 square
miles, more than 97% of
the total U.S. land mass
and has 21% of the total
U.S. population.
 Our tri-county area is
3,680 square miles with a
population around
99,000.

 A community-wide partnership
 A collaboration of service providers
and community stakeholders
 A united and visible voice of the
community
 A backbone or umbrella organization
County
Colorado
Wharton
Matagorda
Families
below
poverty
level
Children
Below
poverty
level
Children
receiving
Food
Stamps
Children
Participating in
WIC
Children on
Medicaid
Free &
Reduced
Lunch
16%
27.6%
21.4%
37.2%
32.9%
64.8%
18.9%
26.6%
24.3%
43.8%
32.8%
66.8%
21.2%
28.4%
31.8%
42.9%
40.6%
71.7%
• Children from homes below poverty level start school behind and stay behind
• Disadvantaged children have lower levels of soft skills
• Skills beget skills. Early success fosters later success.
2007-2011 American Community Survey
5-Year Estimates of Population Below Poverty Level
0.0 – 0.1
6.7 – 7.3
9.5 --12.7
14.4 -16.2
16.2 – 18.2
23.3 -29.8
35.8 – 36.8
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT - Less than 9th grade
1.9-1.9
2.8 – 3.7
4.0 – 4.5
5.1 – 5.6
5.9 – 6.0
8.4 – 9.2
23.2 – 29.2
Percent of Free/Reduced Price Lunch Recipients, 2006-2011
72.0
70.7
Free/Reduced Price Lunch Recipients (%)
70.0
68.3
68.0
66.5
66.0
Texas
64.0
63.2
63.2
63.1
62.4
62.0
60.0
60.0
59.0
59.0
2006-2007
2007-2008
58.0
56.0
2008-2009
Academic School Year
2009-2010
2010-2011
Tri-County
Area
Percent of Children Ages 0-4 Years Enrolled in WIC, 2006-2010
50.0
48.1
48.0
Percent of Children 0-4 Years Enrolled in WIC
46.0
44.0
43.6
42.1
41.4
Texas
41.6
42.0
Tri County Area
40.5
41.2
40.0
40.0
38.0
38.9
38.6
36.0
34.0
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
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All kids Kindergarten ready
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All 3rd graders reading at grade level
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All kids graduate from high school
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All adults have access to literacy and
workforce development success
Fund Development
The Gulf Coast Medical Foundation has
provided a generous grant to hire a fund
development manager to secure funding
necessary to build capacity and increase
literacy services.
Development Training
To support the growth of fund development
in partner organizations our grant writer will
be available twice a month by appointment
to partners to work one on one to increase
their grant writing skills. Phone and email
consultation is also available.
Partner Support Fund
This fund is designed to enable partners to
apply for support for specific key short term
projects that are needs-based and
demonstrate effective return on investment.
Recipients will submit a brief project
evaluation that includes data to qualify for
additional support.
Backbone Support
The Gulf Coast Foundation Collaborative
members have invested in the coalition by
providing a salary for an executive director
to manage the work of the coalition. A
strong backbone organization is a powerful
investment to secure sustained progress
over time.
Community Engagement!
Backbone Organization
Common Agenda
Shared
Measurement
Mutually Reinforcing
Activities
Continuous
Communication
Backbone Organizations

Understanding the concept of catalytic
philanthropy

Using four basic strategies to develop
funding partnerships
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Working with a funders collaborative
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Aligning community and funding goals for
success

2010 - Awarded OneStar Foundation Grant to
build partnership
 Initial 20 partner organizations grew to nearly 100

Monthly partner meetings every month since
 Information sharing, networking, collaborative
planning, training
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2011 - Awarded USDA/RCDI grant
 503 individuals participated in training during
course of grant
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2012 - All American Cities GLR Finalist/CSAP
Helped develop County Community Plans for
HGAC submittal
2012 - Gulf Coast Foundations Collaborative
provided administrative/staffing funds to hire
executive director
2012 - First Rural Coalition accepted into
national STRIVE (Collective Impact) network
2013 – World Book Night partner – 500 books
distributed

2013 - Selected for the Results Based Scorecard
national data pilot project
 Collecting data across 12 school districts in 3 counties
to set baseline for action
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2013 - Chosen to receive Mobile Learning Lab by
the Corporation for Public Broadcasting –
thousands of apps distributed and mobile transmedia lab program kicked off
2013 - Awarded grant from Gulf Coast Medical
Foundation for grant writing, media and web
support
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What are the challenges related to the
development of a funders collaborative and
the implementation of catalytic
philanthropy in your community?
What challenges or successes have
occurred?
What have you experienced and what
would you like to see…?