Program Overview
The Northwest Minnesota Foundation’s (NMF) Children and Families Program continues to work within three (3) regional communities with high poverty rates and disparity gaps. Our goal is to strengthen the children and families in those communities through improvement of family structure through community-led, community-driven shared vision and actions. During this latest of grant round from this program, we looked to develop parent supports and parent-led community projects in White Earth and Red Lake Nations to support stronger children and families. NWF is leading and supporting collaborative efforts in these communities to find innovative, sustainable solutions to help promote parent engagement, support and leadership.
Children benefit by parent community leaders as role models who can make positive changes in their community. Parent engagement efforts should help parents create their own solutions within their community, enhance and build on their leadership skills, and bring knowledge and understanding to others of challenging parenting issues.
We are therefore excited to announce the following awards for 2020-2021:
White Earth Tribal and Community College: Parents as Leaders (PAL) $30,000
Red Lake Nation: Waasabiik Ojibwemotaadiwin Immersion Program $30,000
The Children & Families program uses a closed application process. Proposals for funding are accepted only from communities and organizations that are invited to apply.
Collective Impact Framework: The Five Conditions of Collective Impact
Common Agenda
All participants have a shared vision for change including a common understanding of the problem and a joint approach to solving it through agreed upon actions.
Shared Measurement
Collecting data and measuring results consistently across all participants ensures efforts remain aligned and participants hold each other accountable.
Mutually Reinforcing Activites
Participant activities must be differentiated while still being coordinated through a mutually reinforcing plan of action.
Continuous Communication
Consistent and open communications is needed across the many players to build trust, assure mutual objectives, and create common motivation.
Backbone Support
Creating and managing collective impact requires a separate organization(s) with staff and a specific set of skills to serve as the backbone for the entire initiative and coordinate participating organizations and agencies.
Consistent and open communications is needed across the many players to build trust, assure mutual objectives, and create common motivation.
Where needed, we will provide the backbone support that the partners need to be successful and to carry out the shared vision.
Possible areas for action in each community include (the following is not an exhaustive or final list; the priorities must be community-led, community-driven):
- Pre-natal supports for families
- Quality early child care and education
- Kindergarten readiness
- Housing situations stabilized and chronic school absenteeism reduced
- Food stability
- Supports for mental health, substance abuse, and/or social-emotional behavior
- Family and parenting support including entrepreneur & small business development
- Grade 3 reading proficiency
- Families at risk for foster placement remain intact
- High school graduation rates
We are looking for challenges and communities that fit the following criteria.
- A critical issue is defined related to children and families (program goals), backed up by data and evidence of the issue.
- A community collaborative is ready to go, relationships are established.
- Delivery systems are established, in service of the target population.
- Ability to capitalize on an opportunity, timing, local momentum, external funding.
- There is a role for NMF to play, where we can make a real difference.
