Leadership Howard County Community Impact Projects 2018

Leadership Howard County ~ Community Impact Projects 2018

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

 What is a Community Impact Project (CIP)?

Nonprofit organizations or government entities have access to a team of class participants. These teams will help find solutions to an identified organizational challenge or issue. Project teams will work independently to conduct research, create a plan or propose a creative, sustainable solution to an identified problem. Over 60 organizations in Howard County have benefited from a LHC project team!

 What is the goal/purpose of CIP?

In small teams, the class has the opportunity to partner with various nonprofit/government organizations on real projects that fulfill a need within the organization. Our participants learn the intricacies of Howard County from another perspective, connect with a specific organization and expand their community leadership skills outside of their workplace.

 What are the general requirements for a CIP?

Located in and/or directly benefits Howard County
Lasting benefit to the community
Completed in the designated time frame (Premier: October – May; Essentials: February - May)
Appropriate for a team of leaders.
Does not involve fundraising, is not religious in nature and does not support partisan issues/politics.
Has the support of the organization and its Board to provide the needed resources (e.g. meeting space, access to staff, documents and appropriate funding)
Sustainable by the host organization upon project completion
Allows for creativity and independence on the part of the Leadership team

 What is the difference between Leadership Premier (LP) and Leadership Essentials (LE) projects?

Leadership Premier Projects are designed for experienced leaders in the LP class who typically hold senior positions in their organizations. These teams of 6-8 people need only general guidance and direction. These projects are achievable in eight months.

Leadership Essentials projects are designed for the emerging leaders. LE is sponsored by Loyola University Maryland; LHC works in collaboration with Loyola to support the LE community service component. The LE teams have 4-6 people complete these projects in four months.

Both LE and LP projects are assigned a committee liaison to serve as a resource to both hosts and team.

Below are some general guidelines to help you identify which would be best suited for your project.

Projects for Leadership Premier:

can be completed over an 8-month time frame (October – May)
require a specific deliverable that could be part of multiple phases or part of multi-agency collaboration
require approx. 8-12 hours per month per team
require independent work on the part of the project team

Projects for Leadership Essentials:

can be completed over a 4-month time frame (February – May)
require a specific deliverable (product or outcome), which is typically tactical in nature
require approximately 8-10 hours per month per team
can require strategic thinking skills from the team
class sessions in leadership development skills complement their team work

 Examples of recent Community Impact Projects

Leadership Premier

Board to Promote Self-Sufficiency – formation of a mentoring program to provide ongoing support to Getting Ahead graduates. This included: identifying existing mentoring/life coaching programs, developing implementation strategy to connect graduates with mentors and community resources and a plan for long term program sustainability.

Winter Growth, Inc. – creation of a marketing plan that included identifying more effective ways to communicate both the services and the benefits for both the individual enrolled and for the working son/ daughter or caregiving spouse. In addition, the team provided direction on the most effective marketing venues as well as a cost benefit analysis of the various online sites, publications, and other unique marketing opportunities was provided to help the agency use its limited marketing funds wisely.

The Arc of Howard County – development of a “job shadowing” program for Arc clients to include a framework for sustainability, marketing efforts to brand this opportunity to Howard County Businesses, and identification of a roster of career options and businesses that can be used to support this ongoing effort.

HopeWorks - research the potential for developing a social enterprise with the goals of providing employment and/or training opportunities for low-income women who are domestic or sexual violence survivors and providing an on-going, unrestricted income source for host organization. The deliverable included an in-depth Business Plan outlining: Product/Services to be provided, Market Analysis, Organization and Management Plan and Investment required and Financial Projections.

Leadership Essentials

Bridges to Housing Stability - provide support in researching and identifying the best practices in implementing a Tenant Success strategy that will address three core domains of interests: landlord and tenant relationship, community housing inventory, and community resources. The intended outcome is a structured Tenant Success Program curriculum based on best practices, to be utilized by Bridges’ staff to maximize clients’ ability to find, obtain and retain housing.

Bright Minds - They believe that creating a county-wide Alumni Association in conjunction with the HCPSS is one way to achieve the goals of the Bright Minds Foundation. The Leadership Essentials team would help them determine if their premise is viable in Howard County. The scope of this project includes an investigation into the feasibility and challenges of establishing an alumni association. The result would be either a recommendation to go forward, accompanied by a tactical plan for establishing the alumni association or a recommendation to postpone.

Success in Style - prepare an implementation plan for a proposed Success in Style Mobile Unit which would allow them to take their services directly to clients. The mobile unit will enable them to fulfill and greatly expand the scope and reach of their mission. The Mobile unit will help people be job-ready and reduce unemployment one person at a time

 What are the expectations of the Host Organization?

Provide necessary resources (e.g. meeting space, access to appropriate staff and documents, copying, etc.) needed for the project.

Identify a “project manager” from your organization who is readily available to provide ongoing direction, and provide resources to the team as needed.

Provide a letter of support from the agency’s executive/senior staff or the current president/executive director and Board of Directors to confirm adequate project support.

Attend a Community Impact Project Committee meeting to present the final proposal and clarify expectations for the project. (Dates for each program committee meeting: Premier: August 2017 TBD; Essentials: December 2017 TBD)

Present a 10-15 minute overview of the project for the participants (LP: September 12/Essentials: mid -January 2018); bring handouts for class

Collaborate with the team to schedule a final project presentation/handoff by May 31, 2018. Attendees at this presentation include: CIP team members and Host invitees, CIP Committee member and others to be determined by the host and the team.

Work with a designated representative of the CIP Committee who will serve as the project team liaison to help the organization and the teams keep on track.

How do I get more information?

Attend an Information Session to learn about the application process, meet past hosts and recent graduates and hear about successful projects.

Thursday, June 15 at 8:30-9:30am
Monday, June 19 at 4-5pm

These sessions will be held at Loyola University Maryland - Columbia campus - 8890 McGaw Rd., Columbia, MD 21045. Organizations may still submit project applications regardless of attendance at the information session.

Read information on our website:
Contact LHC Staff: Laurie Remer

What is the application process?
Send an application with supporting documents to: .
If you are unsure whether your project is better suited for Leadership Premier or Leadership Essentials, please submit it. The committee review it and make a recommendation.

Due Dates:

Leadership Premier Project Proposals – July 10, 2017
Leadership Essentials Project Proposals - October 9, 2017