we make
a difference

StriveTogether team members are leaders committed to building an equitable future.

Who we are

Our history

In 2006, a group of local leaders in Cincinnati came together to discuss a new college readiness program for students experiencing poverty.

After much discussion, one of the participants, a county coroner, stood up and said, “As long as we remain program rich and systems poor, we will not get more kids into college. And what’s more, I’m going to keep seeing dead kids on my table. 

This stark truth resonated with the leaders and created a sense of urgency to find a new way of achieving better outcomes. They realized systemic change is needed to transform children’s lives. From this town hall and the meetings that followed, a partnership was forged with a new approach to social change. 

These leaders partnered with three school districts in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky to improve educational outcomes in the urban core. Rather than start new initiatives, they expanded local practices that were already getting better results for youth. They started to build a new civic infrastructure to organize how they worked and shared accountability for a vision that improved results for every child, cradle to career.

StriveTogether opened its headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, after it became an independent 501(3)c organization on April 1, 2017.

Across the country, other communities began to notice results from this partnership and reached out to learn how to replicate the approach. StriveTogether was founded in 2011 to support a network of communities that all want the best for every child. Through the Cradle to Career Network, these communities challenge each other, share their expertise and show what’s possible when we work together.

We work together to eliminate disparities and change the outcome.

Timeline

The evolution
of a movement

2006

StrivePartnership launched in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky to improve educational outcomes

2006

StrivePartnership launched in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky to improve educational outcomes

2007

StrivePartnership starts using data to apply continuous improvement principles with support from industry leaders

2007

StrivePartnership starts using data to apply continuous improvement principles with support from industry leaders

2008

Initial success leads to Living Cities investment to codify learning as well as build and test a framework for action in four communities

2008

Initial success leads to Living Cities investment to codify learning as well as build and test a framework for action in four communities

2011

Stanford Social Innovation Review publishes seminal article on collective impact highlighting

StrivePartnership StriveTogether launches the Cradle to Career Network with convenings of communities across the country

2011

Stanford Social Innovation Review publishes seminal article on collective impact highlighting

StrivePartnership StriveTogether launches the Cradle to Career Network with convenings of communities across the country

2013

StriveTogether works with a network of communities to develop theory of action to focus on quality collective impact

2013

StriveTogether works with a network of communities to develop theory of action to focus on quality collective impact

2016

First network community designated a Proof Point with evidence of shifts in systems and improvement across most cradle-to- career outcomes

2016

First network community designated a Proof Point with evidence of shifts in systems and improvement across most cradle-to- career outcomes

2017

StriveTogether becomes an independent 501c(3) organization

2017

StriveTogether becomes an independent 501c(3) organization

2018

StriveTogether develops a strategic plan focusing on cross-sector systems change and economic mobility to eliminate racial, ethnic, and economic disparities in communities

2018

StriveTogether develops a strategic plan focusing on cross-sector systems change and economic mobility to eliminate racial, ethnic, and economic disparities in communities

2019

A third-party evaluation of the theory of action validates StriveTogether’s approach

2019

A third-party evaluation of the theory of action validates StriveTogether’s approach

2020

StriveTogether formalizes its position on racial and ethnic equity Sixteen communities designated as Proof Points

2020

StriveTogether formalizes its position on racial and ethnic equity Sixteen communities designated as Proof Points