Growing Community Leadership  

Overview

Sage Step Consulting's work for the Community Foundation focused on supporting Our Valley Our Future initiatives, specifically the Game Changers "Diverse Leadership" and "Many Voices, One Region." The project aimed to increase collaboration and long-term success by adding capacity to community planning processes. Key efforts included compiling landscape analyses to understand existing community efforts, researching best practices from other communities, drafting strategic plans to bridge cultural divides and diversify community leadership, and finalizing actionable plans. The project's timeline spanned from identifying current challenges to implementing strategic actions throughout 2022 and 2023, culminating in launching a new Community Leadership Institute Initiative.

Timeline

• Both projects share a similar timeline with phases spanning from Fall 2022 to Fall 2023, emphasizing research, partnership development, and action.

Objectives

• Diverse Leadership: To diversify leadership within organizations and communities.
• Many Voices, One Region: To bridge community divides and foster a sense of unity and understanding.

Approach

• Diverse Leadership: Utilizes a cohort-based model, research, and youth engagement.
• Many Voices, One Region: Hosts events and gatherings utilizing strategies to increase empathy and solve problems collectively.

Outcomes

• The expected outcomes include a strengthened pipeline for diverse leadership, increased community cohesion, and established platforms for dialogue.

Impact

• By 2024, both initiatives aim to have a tangible impact on community leadership diversity and social cohesion, with ongoing activities and partnerships signaling progress towards these goals.

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