Business Commons^™

Community Innovation Network Framework: A Model For Reshaping Community Identity, William P. Moore, Adena M. Klem, Cheryl L. Holmes, June Holley, Carlie Houchen

The Foundation Review

The REACH Healthcare Foundation created its Rural Health Initiative to encourage the development of innovative strategies to improve access to health care and reduce health inequities in three rural counties in Missouri and Kansas. The intent was to develop a systematic, sustainable, and coordinated approach to community change that would increase the odds of breaking through the persistent barriers to health care access for the rural poor and medically underserved in these counties.

This article discusses the foundation’s original approach to the initiative and how it adjusted that approach in response to its rural partners’ experiences. It reflects on the …

The Groundwork For Successful Cohort- Based Fiscal Capacity-Building: An Evaluation Of The Strengthening Financial Management Initiative, Nancy Devine

The Foundation Review

This article is based on the findings of an evaluation of The Wallace Foundation’s Strengthening Financial Management initiative, which show that it is possible, with well-designed training and support, to enhance the ability of nonprofit leaders to strategically manage their resources for long-term sustainability and programmatic quality.

The initiative tested two models of capacity building – a relatively high-intensity approach and a lighter, though still substantive, model. While the two shared a common core of content, the amount of resources provided in each of the two models was dramatically different.

In addition to the two main findings – that building …