In 2008, The Community Clinics Initiative (CCI) launched their Networking for Community Health (NCH) grantmaking program. The program was designed to support California community clinics in strengthening their working relationships with both traditional and non-traditional partners. Over the past three years, CCI has supported clinics’ projects that work on a wide variety of issues, including improving access to nutritious food, engaging youth and coordinating health services, among others. This report examines the ways in which the NCH program has enhanced… Learn more

Social websites have rapidly grown into large, sophisticated networks that can span the globe.This brief provides a snapshot of one nonprofit online community—the Community Clinic Voice. The Community Clinics Initiative (CCI) supports the Voice to aid health care safety net professionals in building stronger, healthier communities. The brief explores the Voice model, including its structure, evolution, members and the benefits that they gain from utilizing the Voice. It also summarizes CCI’s approach to online community management and considerations for those… Learn more

Community health workers, public health aides, promotores and peer educators are all terms used to describe the role of community health promoters. These workers are recruited from communities to apply their knowledge of the area and their personal connections with residents to promote the public’s health. The Community Clinics Initiative requested that Informing Change examine the role of community health promoters in their Networking for Community Health grantmaking program. This brief documents the role and effectiveness of community health promoters in… Learn more

The Low Income Investment Fund’s ABCD Initiative supports the development of quality child care facilities in California. In this report, Informing Change took an in-depth look at one of the initiative’s strategies—Constructing Connections. Through this strategy, LIIF supported local collaborative teams consisting of child care operators, developers, civic leaders, small business leaders and other stakeholders in 11 California counties. These collaborative teams worked together to identify and eliminate local and regional barriers to child care facilities development, streamline the development… Learn more

What does it take to become an effective coach in the nonprofit sector? How can coaches assess leaders’ readiness for coaching? How can coaches ensure a successful engagement? These are just a few of the questions that Coaching and Philanthropy: An Action Guide for Coaches addresses in this guide that that highlights the findings from the Coaching and Philanthropy Project’s unprecedented deep dive into learning about the use of coaching in the nonprofit sector. The project was formed by Grantmakers… Learn more

How does coaching differ from other types of nonprofit supports? Why should grantmakers support coaching? When and how should coaching be used? These are just a few of the questions that Coaching and Philanthropy: An Action Guide for Grantmakers addresses in this guide that highlights the findings from the Coaching and Philanthropy Project’s unprecedented deep dive into learning about the use of coaching in the nonprofit sector. The project was formed by Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, Leadership… Learn more

The Center for Leadership Innovation (TCLI), formerly known as the Development Training Institute, embarked on a pilot project to offer two types of coaching to emerging leaders of color who had completed a leadership training. TCLI alumni were given the opportunity to participate in one-on-one coaching, peer group coaching, or a combination of both. Informing Change conducted an exploratory evaluation of this pilot project to identify the benefits of these different coaching models in and of themselves and as a… Learn more

What is coaching? How can coaching contribute to my development as a nonprofit leader? What kind of coaching is right for me and my organization? How much is coaching? These are just a few of the questions that Coaching and Philanthropy: An Action Guide for Nonprofits addresses in this guide that highlights the findings from the Coaching and Philanthropy Project’s unprecedented deep dive into learning about the use of coaching in the nonprofit sector. The project was formed by Grantmakers… Learn more

Evaluation done well should be so much more than documenting the activities and outputs of a grant. To the extent possible, it should leave an organization with a fuller understanding of the process and impacts of its work. Good evaluation should expand an organization’s ability to reflect on its work and consider thoughtfully how to meet objectives and increase impact over time. This is especially important for organizations engaged in policy and advocacy or systems change work because of how… Learn more

In 2008, The Community Clinics Initiative (CCI)’s launched their new Networking for Community Health grantmaking program. The program provides California community clinics with two-year grants to strengthen networking efforts with other organizations to promote the health of the communities they serve. Grantees’ networks have addressed a variety of community health priorities, from exposure to toxins to access to healthy food and regular exercise to disaster planning. At a mid-point during the inaugural cohort, Informing Change created a “visual summary” that… Learn more

LeaderSpring’s Executive Coaching Project (ECP) complements their existing two-year leadership program for nonprofit executives who are predominantly leaders of color and/or work in communities of color. Informing Change conducted an evaluation of the ECP and found that, overall, the Executive Coaching Project is a unique and effective model for supporting nonprofit leaders as they engage in the LeaderSpring fellowship program. The report describes LeaderSpring’s ECP model and coaching process, explores key findings and offers program reflections and implications for those… Learn more

This report offers lessons learned from the James Irvine Foundation’s Fund for Leadership Advancement Initiative. This summary is based on the full evaluation report, “Strengthening Nonprofit Leaders to Enhance Organizational Capacity.” Learn more

This report describes the findings and implications from a study of emerging leaders within the community clinics field in California. It looks at the degree to which their group of clinic staff are interested in and poised to become future CEOs, medical directors or other senior leaders in community clinics and consortia and what types of support they need to do so. It is part of a larger compendium of studies that provide a snapshot of clinic leadership within the… Learn more

This report describes the findings and implications from a study of Medical Directors within California’s community clinics field. It looks at Medical director’s career pathways and their current job satisfaction, the most significant rewards and challenges of their leadership position, the extent to which they share leadership with others and important sources of support and training. It is part of a larger compendium of studies that provide a snapshot of clinic leadership within the state and important implications for consideration… Learn more

This report describes the findings and implications from an assessment of CEOs within California’s community clinics field. It looks at CEO’s perspectives on their current position, career path and aspirations, job challenges and rewards and the types of support that are most important for them to be successful in their work. The report is part of a larger compendium of studies that provide a snapshot of clinic leadership within the state and key implications to stimulate discussion and action among… Learn more

What kinds of actions taken now would ensure that community clinics have the leaders they need to meet the impending challenges of coming years? In 2008, two leading health care funders in California—the Blue Shield of California Foundation and the Community Clinics Initiative, a joint project of Tides and The California Endowment—engaged a team of consultants from Informing Change informing change and CompassPoint Nonprofit Services to assess the state of leadership in the community clinics field and answer this question. Three separate… Learn more

The ABCD Story outlines the purpose, components and intended impacts of the ABCD Initiative. Learn more

In 2008, Informing Change examined the ways in which the Community Clinics Initiative (CCI), a joint project of Tides and The California Endowment, has sought to develop and strengthen leadership in community clinics in California. Throughout the life of the Initiative, CCI has aimed to enhance the capacities of its grantees and strengthen the broader community clinics field in California. In this brief, we use CCI’s leadership cultivation efforts to show the variety of ways in which leadership can be… Learn more

Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson was an extraordinary political leader and public servant. With help from Informing Change, the Henry M. Jackson Foundation conceptualized and produced a new publication to document Senator Jackson’s legacy of leadership in public service. In The Nature of Leadership: Lessons from an Exemplary Statesman (July 2008), interviews with 15 of Jackson’s colleagues and staffers shed light on the qualities of leadership embodied by Senator Jackson. Learn more

The Jewish Resource Specialist Program (JRS) is a flagship professional development initiative of the Early Childhood Education Initiative (ECEI) of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties. JRS was designed to deepen the overall Jewish experience in early childhood Jewish educational institutions and support parents in making Jewish choices for their families. This report presents evaluation findings from the initial implementation of JRS in the 2011–2012 school year, including key achievements and challenges. This… Learn more