Grants and Grantees / Close-Ups / Alliance for Children and Families, Inc.

In a time of decreased government funding for human services and increased need, nonprofit organizations are seeking new strategies for making systemic change in the communities they serve.  The Alliance for Children and Families, Inc. (the Alliance), a national organization dedicated to strengthening the capacities of North America's nonprofit human service organizations to advocate for children, families, and their communities, has taken a leadership role in these efforts by developing programs to encourage civic engagement and mission-based advocacy among it 375 member organizations.

Two initiatives were born out of a series of focus group meetings convened in 2004: Building Community Voices and New Voices at the Civic Table.  While Building Community Voices focused on providing nonprofit board members, senior executives, and volunteers with the tools and training to participate more actively in policy advocacy, New Voices at the Civic Table concentrated on facilitating informed civic engagement on the part of member organizations' clients and community members.  Through these projects, more than 1,000 community members have been engaged in community forums, meetings with their local representatives, and building social networks with others in similar circumstances.

In 2007, the Alliance combined these exploratory projects into A New Vision for Civic Engagement, an initiative designed to help its member agencies make civic engagement a regular part of their work.  According to Linda Nguyen, director of the Alliance's civic engagement programs, "Civic engagement is something new in the minds of many agencies."  For many Alliance members this means that devoting the necessary staff time and other resources to these programs presents a major challenge.  To help meet these needs, the Alliance offers grants to human service organizations to support their civic engagement efforts.  In September 2008, it will launch an interactive Web site to provide tools, training, and on-demand workshops for agencies' board members, staff, and clients.  In addition, the Alliance for Children and Families Magazine will be reformulated to educate board members about civic engagement efforts, in order to persuade agency decision makers to view civic engagement as an organizational priority.  In this way, the Alliance is creating a comprehensive program-one that incorporates the voices of all stakeholders in the vital work of advocating on behalf of their communities.

Alliance members have responded enthusiastically to the organization's efforts, and many will have the opportunity to showcase their year-round civic engagement projects during the Alliance's annual National Family Week observance in November 2008.   This work "is a ton of commitment," Nguyen explained.  "But once groups do put a little effort behind it, it actually goes a really long way."  With the Alliance's support, these organizations will continue to do the crucial work of creating a healthy society and stronger communities.