“So, what do you do?” We’ve all heard this question. Sometimes, our answers are met with nods of recognition; other times, helping someone understand our role requires more explanation. People working to develop their community’s civic infrastructure might need to share a lot of extra explanation. Civic infrastructure isn’t something we can see or touch.…
For more than a decade, communities across the country have been building something more than roads and bridges. They’ve been building a different type of infrastructure: civic infrastructure, which connects people, ideas and resources to make communities stronger. Through civic infrastructure, organizations collaborate with community members, schools, governments, nonprofits, businesses, health care organizations and more. Together,…
Meditation is old and honorable, so why should I not sit, every morning of my life, on the hillside, looking into the shining world? Because, properly attended to, delight, as well as havoc, is suggestion. Can one be passionate about the just, the ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet commit to no labor…
Collaboration happens every day. From playgrounds and classrooms to workplaces and boardrooms, collaboration enables people to achieve shared goals. But collaboration alone won’t transform the systems that are failing youth and families of color and youth and families experiencing poverty. To create lasting change so that communities can thrive, we need to move beyond collaboration…
Communities across the country are grappling with the widening educational equity gap exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Black students, Latine students and students experiencing poverty have been most impacted by inequities in access to the internet and devices needed to continue learning. Research shows that middle and high school students with high-speed internet access at…
Policy is a powerful lever of change. We know that systems were not designed to support the success of Black, Indigenous, Latine and Asian youth and families or youth and families experiencing poverty. When we change policies, we change systems. When we change systems, we open pathways for communities to thrive. Having the right civic…
Partners for Rural Impact earned the Systems Change designation this month for advancing equitable outcomes. Serving the Appalachian counties of Eastern Kentucky where 127,650 children and young people experience poverty, this cradle-to-career network member shows what systems change looks like in a community. Systems Change communities are shifting policies, practices, resources and power structures that…
We are at a pivotal moment in our country and in our work. Thanks to funding available through the American Rescue Plan and more, we have access to resources and the will to not just meet the present moment, but to make significant progress toward addressing racial equity and economic mobility for children and families.…
Infrastructure holds communities together: roads, bridges, an electricity grid. But what about the connections that we can’t see? Relationships, collaboration, goal setting and data sharing are part of a community’s infrastructure, too. These pieces are called civic infrastructure. Civic infrastructure joins leaders from across a community — from education, business, health care, housing, philanthropy and…
The city of Chicago is home to over 1 million youth ages five to 24 — 69.3% of them identify as Black or Latine. Of those, more than 20% live at or below the poverty line. When politicians, advocates and other adult experts develop programs, they fall flat and fail to achieve the long-term social…
Join us in conversation with Colin Groth, StriveTogether’s executive vice president of strategy and development, as he shares how the StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network got to where it is today and why he’s passionate about the work. What drew you to this work, and what motivates you to stay in it? In my…
How can the collaborative improvement approach change the way communities work together to get to better results for every child? Heidi Black, StriveTogether’s senior director of innovation, collaborative improvement, shares what it means to change systems, how to get started in this work and her hopes for the future, including insights she presented at the…
