SCFCD Editorial, Wednesday, July 26, 2017
CIVIC LEADERSHIP: OUR PATHWAY TO SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION
By Deanna James, SCFCD Executive Director
Over the past 5years, St. Croix Foundation for Community Development has beenworking tirelessly to help chart a new course for our Community- one grounded in a collective vision that is prosperity-centric rather than poverty-centric. With the fundamental belief that by directing focus toward the assets that exist in abundance in our Community we can unleash our untapped potential, we’ve begun by leading with our civic sector.
In demonstration of our commitment, last summer, the Foundation launched a pilot initiative that had long been in the works as we assembled over 40 of our largest and smallest nonprofit partners on the island. Facilitated by a dynamic development consultant,our Nonprofit Consortium brought together staff and board members from local civic organizations around two goals:1)strengthening operational infrastructure and 2)creating a collective vision for the civic sector. Convening around alignedmissions, nonprofits were grouped into 6 sectors: Culture & the Arts, Environmental Preservation, Health & Human Welfare, Public Safety, Workforce Development & Education and Economic Development.
To say that creating a safe space for dialogue has been transformative is an understatement. In actuality, the outcome has been profoundly instructive for the Foundationandfor a growing number of our nonprofit partners, not only because trust is being built but because optimism and visionis being nurtured.With greater awareness of the ingenuity and courageintrinsictoour sector, the consortium has helpedthe Foundation reframe our narrative about this cadreofcommunity warriors who are shepherding social transformation every day. Because here’s the reality: our civic partners are not only filling critical service gaps - they also represent a steadying force in our community by advocating for and advancing social justice.
Of course, as trust continues to grow, questionshave arisen about why this strategy and why now. The answer is quite simple: our best estimates indicate that there are upwards of 300 nonprofit organizations on St. Croix alone- far too many to be effectively sustained. Additionally,as an extension of the Consortium, the Foundation also conducted a comprehensive Donor Study, interviewing over 50 of our closest friends and supporters to assess the capacity and willingness of Corporate and Individual Donors to continue supporting the nonprofit sector. Our findings have been consistent and unanimous: Donors in our community are overwhelmed by the number of solicitations they receive annually and by the gravity of our growing social needs.Moreover, with the closure of HOVENSA, radical policy changes in D.C., and local funding pools continuing to evaporate, the answer to why the Consortium and why now is quite evident.
Having served as a fiscal sponsor for over 200 nonprofits and grassroots organizations throughout the Territory for 26 years, we know that systemic change is the only pathway to sustainable change. Fortunately, unlike most public or private organizations, our nonprofits are flexible and nimble enough to adjust their strategies as they serve to heal and transform society. To support them even further, the Foundation recently hosted a retreat with 7 Female CEOs and senior executives of color, who are leading some of the largest philanthropic organizations on the mainland. The goal of this first-of-its-kind convening was to begin building a network of support for our nonprofits and open up funding opportunities on the mainland for the Territory. Our investments in our civic sectorare already paying offand we can report that we now have personal champions who know St. Croix, who know St. Croix Foundation, who know the passion and potential of our civic leaders, and who are working on our behalf to open doors of opportunitiesfor the often forgotten American territories.
We are also encouraged by the fact that some of our civic partners have begun making courageous decisions around their sustainability and impact as they embrace difficult operational strategies like merging, collaborating, and even sunsetting.For 9 months, consortium partnershavealso been led through an ongoing exercise of articulating their challenges as well as acollectivevision for the future of St. Croix. With each convening that vision becomes clearer.
Moving forward, as a component of the Nonprofit Consortium,the Foundationseeks to provideprofessional development and organizational developmenttraining as well as collaboration skill-building to members of our civic community. In the meantime, we are pleased to note that organizations are already demonstrating real grit and leadershipas they boldlynavigatethroughsome of the most challenging social and economic conditions in our history. For the Foundation, St. Croix’s nonprofits have illuminated this one fact: everything really is connected to everything!When seemingly disparate organizations sit at one table and gain understanding of each other’s work and vision, the intersections where missions and visions meet is unearthed and bridges are built. We seek to begin directing resources at those jointsto support collective impact and sustainability. (Policymakers, are you paying attention?)
In the end, we are affirmed in our belief thatCivic Leadership is indeedalive and well in our Community,in great measure.And, every day, we are privileged and inspired to witness theadvocacy, innovation and impact thatunderpins our dedicated nonprofits.