The Community Investment Triangle Targeting Our Resources Part 2: Targeting Future Investments

1. The Community Investment TriangleTargeting Our ResourcesPart 2: Targeting Future Investments

2. Focus on community impact Improving lives by investing in: Efforts to influence community Breakthrough opportunities attitudes, networks, neighbor-hoods,organizations, systems Prevention & development services Basic human-needs & crisis services The Community Investment Triangle -- Part 2: Targeting Future Investments

3. The Community Investment TriangleTargeting Our Resources Part 1: Mapping Current Investments Part 2: Targeting Future Investments Part 3: Aligning Around Strategies for Impact The Community Investment Triangle -- Part 2: Targeting Future Investments

4. Part 2 – Topics Selecting specific direct-service and community-change strategies in which to invest resources in the future Setting 3- to 5-year targets for resource investments to support the selected strategies The Community Investment Triangle -- Part 2: Targeting Future Investments

5. First choice Focus Area Next choice (e.g., vision statement) Next choice (e.g., target issues) Next choice (e.g., objectives) Next choice Specific direct-service and/or community change strategies for improving lives Selecting Specific Strategies . . . . . .requires a series of choices to focus efforts The Community Investment Triangle -- Part 2: Targeting Future Investments

6. Getting Focused e.g. Focus Area: Healthy Children Vision: Our community’s children are physically and mentally healthy Target issue: Dental health of preschool children • Objectives: • Ensure that children establish good dental health habits early • Promote regular dental check-ups and needed treatment beginning at age 1 Specific Strategies: • ??? The Community Investment Triangle -- Part 2: Targeting Future Investments

7. Considerations in Selecting Specific Strategies Include: • Focus of target issues, objectives, etc. • Underlying causes of priority issues • Sound theory of change for addressing underlying causes • Evidence of strategy’s effectiveness in this community or in parallel situations • Community partners, other resources available to collaborate in implementing strategies • Practical organizational considerations – timing, capacity, relationships, resources, etc. The Community Investment Triangle -- Part 2: Targeting Future Investments

8. Getting Focused e.g. Focus Area: Healthy Children Vision: Our community’s children are physically and mentally healthy Target issue: Dental health of preschool children • Objectives: • Ensure that children establish good dental health habits early • Promote regular dental check-ups and needed treatment beginning at age 1 Specific Strategies: • ??? The Community Investment Triangle -- Part 2: Targeting Future Investments

9. Increase parents’ knowledge of child dental health • Amend state Medicaid guidelines to cover children’s dental care Efforts to influence community changes that: • Incorporate information on children’s dental health care in parenting programs • Promote dental health education activities in child care centers Prevention & development services that: Basic human-needs & crisis services that: • Provide evaluation and referrals for emergency dental care for children in homeless shelters Specific Direct-service and Community- change Strategies e.g. Breakthrough opportunities to advance community change efforts • Influence a media campaign on children’s issues to spotlight child dental health The Community Investment Triangle -- Part 2: Targeting Future Investments

10. Influence media campaign Specific Strategies Mapped on Community Investment Triangle e.g. • Increase parents’ knowledge of child dental health • Amend state Medicaid guidelines to cover children’s dental care • Incorporate child dental health care infor-mation in parenting programs • Promote dental health ed in child care centers • Provide evaluations and referrals for emergency dental care for children in homeless shelters The Community Investment Triangle -- Part 2: Targeting Future Investments

11. Part 2 – Topics Selecting specific direct-service and community-change strategies in which to invest resources in the future Setting 3- to 5-year targets for resource investments to support the selected strategies The Community Investment Triangle -- Part 2: Targeting Future Investments

12. Setting Investment Targets for Selected Strategies • Decide the amount of your organization’s money and staff time that you will invest in each strategy for improving lives • Decide how to deal with current financial investments that are not necessary for your selected strategies • Make explicit decisions about how you will use materials, events, other organizational resources to support your selected strategies The Community Investment Triangle -- Part 2: Targeting Future Investments

13. 1. Decide Amounts of Money and Staff Time to Invest in Each Strategy • Considerations include: • Amounts of money and staff time invested in current efforts that are necessary to the strategy • Additional money and staff time needed to maximize the impact of those current efforts • Amounts of money and staff time required to maximize the impact of new efforts • Money and staff time required for other strategies in this focus area, and for other focus areas • Money and staff time available and projected The Community Investment Triangle -- Part 2: Targeting Future Investments

14. 2005 actual 2008 targeted $XX $XXXX $0 $X $XXX $XXX $XXX $XX Financial Targets for a Focus Area Mapped on Community Investment Triangle e.g. Vital Neighborhoods The Community Investment Triangle -- Part 2: Targeting Future Investments

15. 2. Deal with Current Financial Investments Not Necessary for Selected Strategies • Options include: • If appropriate, explore re-focusing of recipient’s efforts to support a selected strategy • Discontinue investment at end of current commitment • Implement planned phase-out of investment • If appropriate, help locate alternative support • Make an exception, based on explicit criteria established in advance(e.g., it supports a vital organizational priority; ending the investment would irreparably damage a vital relationship) The Community Investment Triangle -- Part 2: Targeting Future Investments

16. 3. Decide How to Use Materials, Events, etc. to Support Selected Strategies The Community Investment Triangle -- Part 2: Targeting Future Investments

17. In Deciding How to Use These Resources, Think About: • What do you want to be known for? • For what specific strategies are you seeking to mobilize resources? What kinds of resources? • What shifts are you making between direct-service and community-change strategies? • What pressing community issue can you show progress in addressing? What population or community conditions have changed? • What breakthrough opportunities have you taken advantage of? • What do your target audiences care most about? The Community Investment Triangle -- Part 2: Targeting Future Investments

18. Current Targeted 20% 65% 80% 35% Targets for Use of Materials Mapped on Community Investment Triangle e.g. Materials for Major Investors Emphasis on community-change strategies Emphasis on direct-service strategies The Community Investment Triangle -- Part 2: Targeting Future Investments

19. Communicating United Way’s New Strategies in Materials, Events, etc. • Do materials and events emphasize: • Raising money, or improving lives? • Donating to United Way, or investing in specific strategies for improving lives? • Success in raising money, or success in changing community conditions? • Only money, or also investments of expertise, leadership, etc? • United Way’s thermometer, or dollars and other resources leveraged for the community? • Which organizations receive dollars, or how lives are improved as a result? • Mostly support for direct services, or also investments in lasting community change? • Only United Way actions, or also roles of diverse partners? The Community Investment Triangle -- Part 2: Targeting Future Investments

20. The Community Investment TriangleTargeting Our Resources Part 2: Targeting Future Investments • Selecting specific direct-service and community-change strategies in which to invest resources in the future • Setting 3- to 5-year targets for resource investments to support those strategies The Community Investment Triangle -- Part 2: Targeting Future Investments

21. Related Resources on United Way Online • Connecting Program Outcome Measurement to Community Impact (keyword: POM-CI) • Getting Focused to Make Tough Choices (keyword: GetFocused) • Hometown Literacy Partnership Experience (keyword: Hometown) • Making the Most of Your Community Impact Initiatives (keyword: UsingInitiatives) • Redefining Agency Relationships for Community Impact(keyword: RedefineAgency) The Community Investment Triangle -- Part 2: Targeting Future Investments

22. The Community Investment Triangle -- Part 2: Targeting Future Investments