Draft:StriveTogether

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StriveTogether logo.


StriveTogether
Formation2006 (Strive Partnership)
2017 (StriveTogether)
Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
TypePrivate non-profit
Legal statusActive
PurposeCharitable organization
Headquarters125 East Ninth Street
Second Floor
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Region served
United States
President and CEO
Jennifer Blatz
Websitewww.strivetogether.org

StriveTogether is a national nonprofit based in Cincinnati, Ohio. StriveTogether leads the Cradle to Career Network, a cross-country network of place-based partnerships, or communities dedicated to advancing racial equity and economic mobility.[1] The Network focuses on making shifts to policies, practices, resources and power structures that affect Black, Indigenous, Latine and Asian youth and families and young people experiencing poverty.[2]

History[edit]

Strive Partnership was founded by community leaders in Cincinnati and northern Kentucky in 2006 to improve education outcomes for youth in the region. More than 300 representatives working across sectors joined the partnership, including leaders from education, business, nonprofits and philanthropy.[3]

Funding from Living Cities in 2008 led the expansion of Strive Partnership's framework for action being tested in four additional communities.[4] The Stanford Social Innovation Review published a seminal article describing the work, coining the phrase “collective impact” in 2011.[5]

In 2017, StriveTogether became an independent 501c3 organization to advance this work by supporting the growing Cradle to Career Network.[6]

In 2023, the Ballmer Group pledged $175 million in support of the organization’s Vision 2030, with a goal to put at least four million additional young people on a path to economic mobility.[7] Another philanthropic collaborative, Blue Meridian Partners, additionally granted $50 million each to three communities in the StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network in 2023.[8] In January of 2024, StriveTogether was recognized at the World Economic Forum as one of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship’s Social Innovators of the Year 2024.[9]

StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network[edit]

The StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network consists of approximately 70 place-based partnerships across the country working to improve educational outcomes.[10] These partnerships bring together cross-sector leaders from education, business, government, community organizations, philanthropy, and others to address the barriers preventing youth and families in their communities from achieving economic mobility.[11] [12]

Network members support cross-sector partners by using StriveTogether’s collaborative improvement methodology,[13] as well as by providing data capture and analysis,[14] grantwriting and fundraising,[15] and other capabilities. These supports are used to improve outcomes in seven academic milestones: kindergarten readiness, early grade reading, middle grade math, high school graduation, postsecondary enrollment, postsecondary completion and workforce. Data has shown that equitable outcomes in each of these areas lead to economic mobility and success later in life.[16]

StriveTogether’s approach to collaborative improvement is codified in their Theory of Action™, a roadmap to building civic infrastructure with a focus on racial equity. StriveTogether provides network members with tools and resources — such as coaching, assessments and opportunities to convene — to support their work and track progress.[17]

StriveTogether Theory of Action™[edit]

The StriveTogether Theory of Action™ is a framework for developing "civic infrastructure" — such as relationships, collaboration, goal setting and data sharing — which can help improve outcomes, close gaps in education, and drive economic mobility.[18] This theory of action is built on lessons learned from the Cradle to Career Network, and was validated by Equal Measure in 2017.[19]

Research has shown that investment in education increases intergenerational mobility.[20] To measure progress within the Cradle to Career Network, the StriveTogether Theory of Action™ has five progressive gateways, or sets of milestones that a community moves through while building and strengthening civic infrastructure and making equitable improvements for youth and families across seven outcome areas. Each of the seven StriveTogether cradle-to-career outcome areas has a demonstrable impact on a person’s livelihood. These include kindergarten readiness, early grade reading, middle grade math, high school graduation, postsecondary enrollment, postsecondary completion and employment.

Other organizations such as Feeding America have adapted StriveTogether’s Theory of Action™ to their own models.[21]

Civic infrastructure[edit]

Civic infrastructure connects people, ideas and resources to make communities stronger.[22] Just like roads and bridges provide the infrastructure that supports people in a community, civic infrastructure supports community problem solving and decision making.[23] This concept stresses the interdependence of government, business, individual citizens, nonprofit organizations, and other sectors in meeting the needs and aspirations of communities and their residents.[24]

According to the StriveTogether Theory of Action™, building and strengthening civic infrastructure is what allows every Black, Indigenous, Latine and Asian youth and family and people experiencing poverty to have the opportunity to achieve economic mobility.[25]

Awards[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Edmondson, Jeff; Smith, Eshauna. "The Promise of Place-Based Partnerships". Ballmer Group. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  2. ^ "StriveTogether Theory of Action" (PDF). StriveTogether. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  3. ^ "The Strive Partnership". Partners for Livable Communities. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  4. ^ Edmondson, Jeff and Nancy L. Zimpher (Summer 2012). "The New Civic Infrastructure: The "How To" of Collective Impact and Getting a Better Social Return on Investment" (PDF). Community Investments. 24 (2): 10–13. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  5. ^ Kania, John; Kramer, Mark (Winter 2011). "Collective Impact". Stanford Social Innovation Review. 9 (1). doi:10.48558/5900-kn19. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  6. ^ "StriveTogether: Taking a place-based network to national scale". ENGAGE. Rockefeller Foundation. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Ballmer Group pledges $175 million to StriveTogether". Philanthropy News Digest. Candid. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  8. ^ "What's on the Menu at Blue Meridian? More Place-Based, Multisector Partnerships". InsidePhilanthropy. 8 January 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  9. ^ "Social Innovators of the Year 2024". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Where We Work". StriveTogether. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  11. ^ Chan, Alexandra; Knowlton, Claire; Miller, Elise (26 October 2021). "How to Fund Place-Based Partnerships, if We Want Them to Work". Nonprofit Quarterly. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  12. ^ "How Backbone Organizations Build Civic Infrastructure for Stronger Communities". Medium. 16 August 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  13. ^ "StriveTogether Collaborative Improvement" (PDF). StriveTogether. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Supporting Students from Cradle to Career with StriveTogether". Tableau. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  15. ^ "Brick Education Network Receives $2 Million Grant from Harlem Children's Zone". TAPintoNewark. July 31, 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  16. ^ "Cradle-to-career outcomes: Impacts on economic mobility and equity". StriveTogether. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  17. ^ "Civic Infrastructure Paves the Way to Economic Mobility". Medium. 26 July 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  18. ^ "Civic Infrastructure Paves the Way to Economic Mobility". Medium. 26 July 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  19. ^ "A Roadmap to Results: Lessons for Effective Collective Impact". Equal Measure. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  20. ^ Grawe, Nathan. "Education and economic mobility" (PDF). Urban Institute. The Urban Institute. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  21. ^ "Theory of Action: Community Collective Impact Process". Hunger + Health Feeding America. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  22. ^ Patrick, Stephen; Brady, Sheri (August 7, 2015). "Building an Intentional and Inclusive Civic Infrastructure". Stanford Social Innovation Review. doi:10.48558/4ha4-q507. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  23. ^ Blatz, Jennifer (April 25, 2023). "VOICES: Building 'civic infrastructure' key to creating equitable outcomes". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  24. ^ "Taking up Change: Public Sector Adoption of Civic Infrastructure". Medium. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  25. ^ "Civic Infrastructure Paves the Way to Economic Mobility". Medium. 26 July 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  26. ^ "Social Innovators of the Year 2024". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 23 February 2024.

External links[edit]

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