Just a few weeks ago, the Los Angeles chapter of Funders Together to End Homelessness held its quarterly meeting to discuss the role of advocacy in moving the needle toward ending homelessness. The big question at the meeting: What elements of a successful advocacy campaign can philanthropy support to make greater impact?

October 2015

At Funders Together, we make it a goal to share the work of funders across the country so you can learn what's working and adapt these strategies to your own community. One way we do that is through our Featured Members. Some are featured because of their innovative grantmaking. Others are featured because they are making connections and bringing new people into the conversation about ending and preventing homelessness. Still others are featured because they are challenging the very systems that allow homelessness to persist. In each case, our Featured Members are an integral part of the solution to homelessness.

Formed in 2013, Funders Together San Diego is comprised of individual philanthropists and grant makers who invest in effective systems change with the goal of ending homelessness throughout San Diego County. The former Homelessness Working Group transitioned from San Diego Grantmakers to become part of the growing group of public and private partners supporting activities to end homelessness in the region. The group works to coordinate existing community resources – including funds, services, health care and job readiness assistance – and align them more effectively to help break the cycle of homelessness.

Members:

• Alliance Healthcare Foundation
• Parker Foundation
• McCarthy Family Foundation
• Brailean Family Trust
• La Jolla Coin Shop
• San Diego Housing Commission
• United Way of San Diego County

We spoke with Erica Snyder, Community Impact Manager at United Way of San Diego County, who manages and staffs Funders Together San Diego, about the Funders Network.

Q: What has been some of the biggest benefits to being part of a Funders Network and can you also speak to some of the challenges that you have encountered and how the group has addressed those?

Erica Snyder (ES): As with any collaboration, there are major benefits along with some challenges. One of the biggest benefits of being part of a Funders Network is the ability to leverage funds. As individuals, our members are putting dollars in, but then seeing a larger impact because that money is now part of a larger pool. The learning and education opportunities are another critical benefit. They help inform us where our dollars will be best served as we look to invest into various system change efforts in the region. The collaborative also helps increase the ability to be visible throughout the county as members attend different community meetings with stakeholders. These meetings allow us to learn about various community efforts and determine not only individual goals, but how those goals fit into the collaboration’s funding strategy.

As far as challenges, many of our members have known each other for years and work very well together which is great, but we are now at a place where we would like to grow our membership and are determining thoughtful ways to engage new funders and increase membership. Also, philanthropy can sometimes have siloed conversations. Funders external to FTEH-SD may not always see the natural connection between their funding priorities (i.e. child welfare, education, etc.) and homelessness, so we need to encourage people to widen their own lenses and see how their passions intersect with homelessness. 

Q: What has been Funders Together San Diego’s most influential accomplishment?

ES: One of our most exciting accomplishments was being part of one of a major private-public partnerships in San Diego by working with the San Diego Housing Commission in support of their Housing First – San Diego Homelessness Action Plan. Our collaborative had $240,000 of funding available to invest in converting transitional housing into permanent housing options (i.e rapid re-housing or permanent supportive housing). By working with the commission and having discussions with them as a partner at FTEH-SD meetings, we were able to leverage that $240,000 into $10 million of public funding to support the operational expense of to create permanent supportive and convert existing transitional housing. This was huge, not only for our group, but for the county as a whole because it showed the power of private-public partnerships and how impactful it can be. The money we put forth was amplified to help as many as 1,500 San Diegans who are experiencing homelessness. This partnership was a great opportunity to show the community how philanthropy is able and willing to work with public agencies in order to create solutions.

Q: What are some projects that Funders Together San Diego have in progress?

ES: We have three areas of focus for our Funding Priorities: Systems Change, Regional Continuum of Care Council and Coordinated Assessment and Housing Placement System. Right now, our biggest focus is on systems change funding.

Moving forward, we are really focused on examining where there is energy and need within the community so we can focus there. That will help us determine the best area to send funds in order to bring about systems change in San Diego.

Q: Aside from funding systems-change, what other ways has Funders Together San Diego made strides in the county?

ES: The idea of a funding collaborative was really new to the community. The community, specifically public funders, was apprehensive at first because they weren’t used to seeing private funding coming together as group. Prior to Funders Together San Diego, most of the private funding was done at the organizational or individual level. Now they are seeing people coming together all in the name of ending homelessness.

When people refer to Funders Together San Diego now, they think of a strong, cohesive group. We share contractual language with our public funders to reinforce outcomes we are all trying to achieve. In turn, service providers are starting to understand how this process works and share with us what is working and where they are struggling which has really helped us understand where our dollars are needed.

Q: We urge Funders Together members to think about advocacy and how it can fit into their organizational plan. What role does advocacy play in Funders Together San Diego?

ES: Overall, the funding collaborative’s stance is to stay engaged and knowledgeable on what is happening within the homelessness space. In order to do so, we host speakers or educational opportunities and encourage members to advocate based on what they have learned. Since the foundations have different laws to adhere to, we encourage people to advocate on an individual basis. As individuals, advocacy efforts can take many forms, mostly at the local level: social media efforts, meeting with local officials, town hall meetings or sitting on various councils and the Continuum of Care Governance Board. As our members partake in these efforts, it reminds our community stakeholders that there is a group of passionate funders in the area who are dedicated to do whatever they can to end homelessness in the San Diego area and also nationally.

Q: What advice would you have for other who were considering starting or joining a Funders Network?

ES: Funders Together San Diego started as a learning community and grew from there. In that effort, we found a common interest as the place to start and as we learned more, common agreements were developed and trust was built. If you are looking to start a network, step one is to start engaging and talking with people who agree that they want to end homelessness. Step two is to build trust within that group. People want to collaborate with others who share passion and have motivation to do what it takes to produce outcomes, so by building trust and staying engaged, others will be drawn into that energy. If people are already meeting, attend! Take time to learn about the community and where other funders are investing so you can align efforts to make the largest impact. Philanthropy does a great job talking with the community and the more we talk with each other, the more we are able to bring fresh ideas to our peers. 

Interested in started a Funders Network in your area? Check out our Building a Funders Network 101 resource. 

Introduction

Posted by Funders Together to End Homelessness · December 18, 2014 11:35 AM

Element I: Understand That No Funder Can Solve Tough Issues Alone

Posted by Funders Together to End Homelessness · December 18, 2014 11:30 AM

Element II: Build Relationships and Work Together Towards a Common Goal

Posted by Funders Together to End Homelessness · December 18, 2014 11:25 AM

How you can catalyze change in your community?

On March 10, the Los Angeles Homeless Funders Group hosted nearly 50 foundations to talk about the role of funders networks and collaboratives in preventing and ending homelessness.

March 2014

At Funders Together, we make it a goal to share the work of funders across the country so you can learn what's working and adapt these strategies to your own community. One way we do that is through our Featured Members. Some are featured because of their innovative grantmaking. Others are featured because they are making connections and bringing new people into the conversation about ending and preventing homelessness. Still others are featured because they are challenging the very systems that allow homelessness to persist. In each case, our Featured Members are an integral part of the solution to homelessness.

Funders Together Los Angeles, formerly the Los Angeles Homeless Funders Group, has over 30 participating organizations, comprised of individual philanthropists, corporations, foundations, and other private sector grantmakers funding all homeless populations. As a local affiliate of Funders Together to End Homelessness (FTEH), the group aligned its goals with FTEH to support building a regional network of private and philanthropic funders working to prevent and end homelessness who:

• Invest in effective, strategic, and innovative grantmaking
• Mobilize leadership, ideas, and partnerships to communicate what works and why
• Promote more efficient use of local, state, and national resources

About Los Angeles

Los Angeles is the largest urban county in the nation at 4,083 square miles and home to nearly 10 million residents. The political landscape is complex as the county includes 88 separate cities. Many of these cities, including the City of Los Angeles, are further divided into council districts. All cities and unincorporated areas are overlaid by one of five County Supervisorial Districts. To ensure local control and planning, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) uses eight geographic areas designated as Service Planning Areas (SPAs) to distribute a balance of homeless services.

Credit: Skid Row Housing Trust

2013 Total Homeless Count: 58,423

Point-in-Time highlights include:

• 14,942 Chronically Homeless Individuals
• 1,227 Chronically Homeless Persons in Families
• 6,912 Veteran Homelessness
• 5,208 Children Under 18
• 817 Unaccompanied Youth (<18)
• 18,274 Hidden Homeless*

To read more about the Count, check out this summary from HomeForGood.

*By definition, hidden homeless persons have no adequate place to stay due to a lack of money or support, and it is generally assumed that this increase is a direct result of the flagging economy.

History of L.A. Homeless Funders Group Development   

Funders Together Los Angeles Collaborative Action Projects

(developed October 2010)

Developing Standards of Excellence/Measuring Success: To define expectations for outreach, shelter, and PSH systems and drive performance towards those standards.

About the Standards of Excellence

Standards of Excellence Guide

Homelessness Data Coordination: To assess the current homeless data collection and performance-management methodologies throughout the county and provide recommendations for improving them.

Read the LA Homeless Data Needs Assessment Final Report.

Funders Collaborative: Form a network of philanthropic and government agencies to develop and implement strategic, coordinated investments to end chronic and veteran homelessness in Los Angeles County. Below is additional information on the Collaborative’s Year 1 and 2 successes, and its plans for 2014.

Read the Abt Associates, evaluation report: Home For Good Funders Collaborative: Lessons Learned from Implementation and Year One Funding.

"We joined Funders Together because we believe in the power of philanthropy to play a major role in ending homelessness, and we know we have much to learn from funders across the country."

-Christine Marge, Director of Housing and Financial Stability at United Way of Greater Los Angeles

Want to see past featured members?  Check out the archive here.

FTEH members discussed the work, successes, and challenges of our regional funders networks.

We are excited for 2014!  Here's a look at what we're doing and how you can plug in.

Formed in 2013, our newest regional funders network in San Diego is comprised of private foundations and United Ways committed to preventing and ending homelessness.  Specifically, the Homelessness Working Group transitioned from San Diego Grantmakers to become part of the growing group of public and private partners supporting the United Way of San Diego County's activities to end homelessness in the region.  The partnerships will allow United Way to capitalize on the work already done by the Homelessness Working Group since its formation in 2003, while also increasing United Way's efforts to affect system-level change.

Purpose:  To promote an effective and efficient system of housing and services to help end homelessness in San Diego County.

Goal:  To build a San Diego County network of funders who are committed to solving homelessness through leadership, education, and advocacy; strategic collaboration, alignment and focus of resources; and effective promotion and replication of evidence based practices in our community. 

Objective:  Expand philanthropic engagement in the systems change work needed to end homelessness in San Diego County.

This blog post explains in greater detail how member organizations will work together moving forward.

Primary Contact

Amy Denhart

Participating Organizations

• Alliance Healthcare Foundation
• Brailean Family Trust Equity Partners 
• McCarthy Family Foundation
• Michael McConnell
• The Parker Foundation
• San Diego Housing Commission
• United Way of San Diego County

January 2014

At Funders Together, we make it a goal to share the work of funders across the country so you can learn what's working and adapt these strategies to your own community.  One way we do that is through our Featured Members.  Some are featured because of their innovative grantmaking.  Others are featured because they are making connections and bringing new people into the conversation about ending and preventing homelessness.  Still others are featured because they are challenging the very systems that allow homelessness to persist.  In each case, our Featured Members are an integral part of the solution to homelessness.

The Houston affiliate of Funders Together to End Homelessness organized intentionally as a public-private funders collaborative in order to align efforts, build on each other's strengths, leverage resources and work at a systems level.

The mission of Funders Together Houston is both simple and powerful: build a local network of funders who are committed to reducing homelessness through strategic collaboration and grantmaking.  In practice, this means that funders are learning with each other, promoting best-practice models in Greater Houston, and advocating for more effective policies.

Since its launch in September 2011, Funders Together has conducted educational site visits around the Houston area and formed two work groups: Advocacy and the Public-Private Funders Collaborative.  After spending some time pooling resources, Funders Together Houston is beginning to fund pilot projects to build awareness about what works among community stakeholders and provide accessible housing with appropriate wrap-around services.  And Funders Together Houston members are working together to rethink the system that allowed chronic homelessness to exist in the Houston area at all.

Funders Together Houston At-A-Glance:
 

		including private foundations, corporations, faith-based groups, a United Way, and government agencies
		who are committed to working together to end and prevent homelessness

Funders Together Houston Strategic Partners:

• One Voice Texas
• Greater Houston Community Foundation
• Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County
• Corporation for Supportive Housing

In 2013, Funders Together Houston ...

• Formed a steering committee to provide governance to the collaborative;
• Hosted five community events covering topics like how the faith community can help to end chronic homelessness and developing and financing permanent supportive housing to end homelessness;
• Conducted six site visits at area mental health units, transitional housing units for homeless youth and young adults, permanent supportive housing units, and more;
• Launched (through the Greater Houston Community Foundation) the Community Impact Fund to End Homelessness; and
• Funded the Houston Police Department's Homeless Outreach Team Video, highlighting a community policing initiative as an alternative to incarceration.

To learn more about Funders Together Houston, read through their bulletin archive here, read their one-year anniversary blog here, or contact Nancy Frees Fountain.