Four Coalitions receiving $300,000 in funding to tackle local challenges
Thanks to contributions from local donors, four coalitions now have substantial funding to tackle systemic challenges in Lane County, from housing and violence prevention to childcare and food security.
Be Your Best, Hope and Safety Alliance, FOOD for Lane County, and Lane Community Health Council, each acting as the backbone for their respective coalitions, will each receive a $75,000 grant from United Way next week, a total of $300,000 of community donations going back to Lane County communities.
The funding comes from United Way of Lane County’s new “Community Change Coalition” grants, aimed at bolstering collaborative efforts that formed in response to recent challenges like COVID-19.
“Over the last two years, we’ve seen many local organizations really step to meet changing needs, forming new and diverse partnerships to better tackle community challenges holistically. Coalition work is challenging, and often underfunded in the philanthropic sector. United Way wants to ensure these partnerships have the resources they need to be successful, so we’ve committed to investing in their work over the next year with these grants.”
FOOD for Lane County, acting as the backbone organization for one of the new coalitions, will be working with the ARC of Lane County, the 15th Night Coalition, One Hope, and Oregon Research Institute Community & Evaluation Services to increase families’ access to food in schools.
One such project is the South Lane Child Care Coalition. To address the lack of child care in South Lane, local organizations want to better understand the challenges unique to their community. Funding will allow this coalition—comprised of Be Your Best, South Lane School District Family Resource Center, Family Relief Nursery, Lane Quality Connections, Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce, local libraries, schools, nonprofits and more—to assess high-priority needs and opportunities to bolster the availability and accessibility of child care in this rural region of Lane County. This assessment will lay the foundation for pursuing future projects and strategies.
“We are thrilled to be able to address the severe need for child care and youth activities in our community through this coalition building grant,” said Jackie Lester, Volunteer Project Consultant with Be Your Best. “Our need includes a spectrum of services from in-home providers to center-based and after school opportunities. We will look to results from an upcoming community-wide needs assessment to lead our coalition in addressing possibilities including the creation of new child care providers, professional development and materials for existing providers, a network of provider locations, and a pathway for upcoming early education professionals.”
In addition to providing funding, United Way will regularly convene the coalitions and offer technical assistance to support the projects over the next year.
FOOD for Lane County distributing food to families in collaboration with Head Start of Lane County.
“We are so excited about this opportunity. FOOD for Lane County, The Arc of Lane County, the 15th Night Coalition, One Hope, and Oregon Research Institute Community & Evaluation Services are excited to combine our efforts to help schools identify ways to connect families with food resources to help ensure that everyone has food on their tables. The United Way funding will help us plan our approach and develop streamlined pathways to this end. We are excited to get going!”
Community Change Coalition Grantees
Starting July 1, 2022, the following four coalitions will each receive $75,000 grants for the 2022-23 year:
South Lane Child Care Coalition: funding will facilitate a community needs assessment about how the lack of safe, high-quality child care impacts the health of families and the South Lane economy. Data collected will inform highest priorities (e.g. space, facilities, staffing, training, etc.), for the community to address. Coalition partners include Be Your Best, 90by30, Friends of Cottage Grove Public Library, South Lane School District Family Resource Center, Family Relief Nursery, Head Start of South Lane, Cottage Grove Public Library, Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce, Lane Quality Connections, PeaceHealth, Oregon Social Learning Center (OSLC)
Addressing Gaps in Food Access for School Communities: by conducting a school needs assessment and creating GIS heat map of gaps in access to food assistance, this coalition hopes to identify solutions for increasing families’ access to food in schools, one of the best places to serve families. Led by FOOD for Lane County, partners include 15th Night, One Hope, The ARC of Lane County, Oregon Research Institute Community & Evaluation Services
Lane Learning Collaborative (Housing): funding will help establish a formal coalition of thought-leaders and individuals with lived experiences tasked with creating a system-wide network promoting housing stability. Priority areas include standardizing education for employees in housing services industries; advocating for policy in both local and regional governments to address housing insecurity; and more. Coalition partners include Lane Community Health Council, Laurel Hill Center, Sponsors, Homes for Good, ShelterCare, St. Vincent de Paul, Siuslaw Outreach Services, DevNW, Cornerstone Community Housing, Square One Villages
Lane County Violence Prevention Coalition: funding will help integrate community efforts around domestic violence, child abuse prevention and sexual assault response to create a county-wide system to prevent abuse and violence; respond effectively when trauma and injustice have occurred; and work at the intersection of multiple forms of trauma. Partners are Hope & Safety Alliance, 90by30 Initiative, Kids FIRST, Sexual Assault Support Services, Siuslaw Outreach Services
Contributions from individual, business, and corporate donors make these grants possible. Learn how you can support United Way’s broader efforts to ensure kids’ success through donations, volunteerism, and sponsorship. Together, we can continue to build communities where every child succeeds in school and life.
media coverage of united way’s community investments:
7/7/2022: Cottage Grove Sentinel: Four coalitions receive funding to tackle local challenges - Part 1
7/3/2022: KLCC: United Way funds coalitions to tackle some of Lane County's toughest problems