Whatcom Family and Community Network Tomiah, Mariah, Erin, Tanya, Dorrell, Rosey

Overview ● Mission Statement: "To build the capacity of our community to support children, youth and families to develop the skills and opportunities they need to lead healthy productive lives" ● History o 1987 – Started as STAR Task force, goal was to reduce substance abuse o Merge in January 2000 of Whatcom County Commission on Children and Youth and Whatcom County Community Network

Programs ● WFCN, by itself, does not offer any direct service programs but instead works to connect people to the resources available. ● However they partner with other organizations to help with three types of programs: o Neighborhood Based Projects  Roosevelt Neighborhood  Ferndale  Building Bridges between the Slavic and Non-Slavic Communities  Birchwood Neighborhood  North Fork

Programs Continued... o County Wide Projects  Merger with STAR  Service Intergration  Pilot Projects  WISH Family Journal  Family Resource Team  Communities in Schools  Welcome Home o Convening Projects  Whatcom Youth Service Day  Community Building Awards  Whatcom Early Learning Systems Network  Town Hall Meeting on Under Age Drinking

Leadership ● Executive Director: Geoff Morgan ● Background ● Main duties involve o Facilitating community involvement o Having WCFN seen in good light by the community o Deal with the finances & allocate resources o Keep employees content and happy o Make sure programs are working effectively ● Focus is to connect all services to community and make them fit

Leadership ● Board of Directors: 9 people from different parts of the community- serve as governing board and executive committee ● Background of President: Kathy Ramsey ● Self Perpetuating board ● Deal with agenda with E.D ● Approve annual budget ● Focus on overall community capacity ● Care obedience and loyalty

Information on WFC ● Three Employees - Executive Director, Program Manager, Prevention Coalition Coordinator ● Decision Making Process o Little Decisions - Everyone makes for themselves o Big Decisions - Made with consultation from community partners ● Process for Accountability o ED has to check in with board and keep board informed o Accountable to community partners and staff] o Accountable for grants - if not accountable, they lose the grants

Finances Revenue ● Public Grants - $73,000 ● Public Contracts - $114,000 ● Private Grants, Donations, Reserve - $25,000 Total = $202,000

BUT Expenses ● Staff & Support To Neighborhoods - $192,000 ● Administration - $15,000 Total Year Expenses = $207,000 Overall: -$5,000

How can we be more efficient?

The Comeback: ● Public grants - $114,000 ● Public contracts - $154,000 ● Private grants/Donations/Reserve - $11,500 Total = $280,000 ( More in public grants and public contracts,but less in private grants)

The Comeback: Staff and support to neighborhoods - $258,000 Administration - $22,000 All in All: Revenue = $280,000 Expenses = $280,000 = +/- $0

Fund Development The Boards Role with Fund Development o Approves budget o Approves where the WFC looks for funding  The board will send grants to Geof to look at for potential funds o The board are not required to fundraise. They look into partnership funds to the organization

Fund Development The Managers of the Finances: o The Executive Director o Bookkeeper o It is collectively managed but Kathy, the program manager is the person that is most involved with finances

Fund Development How the Funds are Divided: o 1/2 of the funds go to staff o contractors of programs o Goes to organizations and programs that already exist and are funded by contractors The Say Yes Policy o If a request for money is made and it relates to the mission it will be funded *The community is in charge of where the money goe s

Fund Development Overall thoughts about Funding at WFC: o "We try to stay lean, so it is easier to stay alive" o As of right now, WFC is doing well financially o Building healthy communities in a bigger and holistic sense leads to intrigued funders

Marketing Getting the word out o Website o Community meetings o Word of mouth o Social media

Marketing Strategies o Asset-based community capacity building o The staff and board are out in the community o Identify appropriate partners o Lets others know when partnering with WFCN could help them achieve their outcomes. o Word of mouth and website

Communication Strategies o o Facebook o Website o Personal Connections o Face-to-face o Phone o Present to large and small community groups o Print media o Flyers o Brochures

Overall Assessment Strengths o Organization is open. It has to be. o Can utilize gifts in individuals that others can't o Enthusiasm & passion of those involved o Don't say no Weaknesses o Don't say no o Can get overextended & drop some attention that is needed in some initiatives o Sometimes fiscal & administrative management gets rushed due to programmatic & administrative duties of staff o Families & meetings can sometimes take precedent over reports, invoicing, & grant applications

Overall Assessment Upcoming Challenges o Need to reflect any strategy shifts to fit current staff interests o Director will be moving on in a few years & succession planning is impending o Organization needs to position itself in emerging work of ACE's & collective impact trends Upcoming Opportunities o Getting recognized across the state for work, so it's a good time to expand capacity & scope to be both a local & state resource for community capacity building work o Offer more training & evaluation services to the community related to asset-based community development, diversity, adverse childhood experiences, & facilitating community dialogues

Overall Assessment Current Thoughts on Effectiveness of WFCN o Effective, based on support & enthusiasm of partners & ongoing funding o Have found important, clear role in community Areas for Growth o Expand web presence, training presence, & identify ways to expand reach of work through expanded partnerships