Register for the CAI Community Listening Forum
Understand the resources for nonprofits in Monroe County and share your thoughts on how we can create a more collaborative community! |
Community Alignment Initiative
Community Alignment Initiative (CAI) is a project led by IU Service-Learning Program, Bloomington Volunteer Network, and Building a Thriving Compassionate Community to improve the conditions for social service work in Monroe County.
While Bloomington and Monroe County have a lot of different resources to support nonprofits, these resources aren’t always working efficiently with each other. The initiative is an effort to align the work of resourcing agencies to systematically support social services while building new connections between campus, government, and community.
These agencies that support other social services and nonprofits in the community, or nonprofit resource providers will gather to work together on aligning their goals towards identified needs.
- IU Service-Learning Program
- IU Corps
- Bloomington Volunteer Network
- Building a Thriving Compassionate Community
- United Way of South Central Indiana
- Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County
The Community Alignment Initiative is graciously sponsored by IU CITL Service-Learning Program and Community-Engaged Alliance.
Initiative outline
Current state of resource distribution
CAI goals
Community Alignment Initiative has 2 stages: Listening Forum and Alignment Action Plan.
Community Listening Forum (CLF):
- The CLF will be the main source of data gathering for the initiative. The process will bring together large swaths of community nonprofits and social service agencies to discuss their core needs for their operations.
Community Alignment Action Plan (CAAP):
- The CAAP is a year-long follow up process for the nonprofit resource providers to work together and shape their existing resources to best fit the community needs identified in the CLF. Nonprofit resource providers will meet monthly to discuss progress on the alignment of projects. The process will be funded through a stipend that covers the staff and service costs for each agency.
| Input | Activity | Output | Outcomes | |
| IU Service-Learning Program | Space, resources for nonprofits, staff time, funding | Plan listening forum, attend listening forum to share resources and identify gaps, create strategic plan, execute strategic plan | Community listening forum, strategic plan, monthly meetings | Clear direction for how to utilize SLP resource to maximize impact, stronger trust with community partners |
| Nonprofit resource providers | Resources for nonprofits, staff time | Attend listening forum to share resources and identify gaps, create strategic plan, bring current work in alignment with strategic plan | Coalition of nonprofit resource providers, understanding of resource gaps | Informed on critical needs of community, align strategies with other nonprofit resource providers |
| Community stakeholders | Staff time | Attend listening forum to share goals, answer needs assessment survey | Compilation of identified community direction and needs | More effective support from resource providers, collaborative landscape for nonprofits |
Community Listening Forum
Monday, January 27th
Doors Open & Breakfast: 8am
Program: 8:30am-4pm
McCalla School
525 N Indiana Ave
The goal of the Community Listening Forum is to focus specifically on the needs and assets of the community without asking community partners to contextualize it in the existing services offered by nonprofit resource providers. Please come to the forum ready to share the work your agency is doing, and the most important needs your agency has!
Community Listening Forum Agenda
Agenda
8:30 AM: Breakfast and introduction
- Community assessment survey
- Nonprofit resource providers presentations
10 AM: Project-based needs assessment
- Community agencies each brings a project in their work, and discusses the practical resources necessary to complete the project.
12 PM: Lunch and networking
12:30 PM: Strategic needs assessment
- Community agencies each bring a strategic goal that can improve their organization in the long term, and discuss the support resources necessary to achieve the strategic vision.
2 PM: Community asset mapping
- Community agencies find overlap in project or strategic goals and complementary existing assets in the room to fulfill surfaced needs. Additional needs will be used by nonprofit resource providers to shape further action.
3:30 PM: Closing remarks