Innovative Investments

The Center recently developed The Gideon Social Change Compact to respond to the increasing demand for faith-based organizing and community change around the growing negative life outcomes of black men and boys.  With OSI funding, the Gideon Social Change Compact will organize and train two clusters of faith leaders in Camden, NJ, and Philadelphia, PA, to establish partnerships that strengthen family and congregation commitment to developing sustainable strategies to support positive outcomes for black men and boys and enhance resources to address the most pressing needs facing black men and boys in urban cities. There will be a three-part cluster training series and a culminating one-day roundtable summit for cluster participants and city collaborative stakeholders to solidify sustainability.

The trainings will focus on the following areas that will equip faith leaders in the two cities to build and strengthen their capacity to respond to the needs of black men and boys: 1) providing faith leaders with an overview of the youth development framework; 2) strategies needed for effective outreach to men and how to support them as they work to strengthen and build mentoring relationships with boys and new leaders; 3) developing community connections and capacity building through the design of community asset maps and leveraging relationships with both faith and secular partners.

$25,000 |  1 year  |  www.nationalcenterforcivicinnovation.org