Welcome to the Community Investment Volunteer Training for Returning Volunteers

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Welcome to the Community Investment Volunteer
Training for Returning Volunteers

• 2008-2009 Community Impact Fund

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Agenda, Training Outcome Abilities

• Participants who complete this refresher training
  will be well prepared to make sound investment
  recommendations.
• This presentation will cover
• Changes to the process
• Strategy guidance letter changes
• Investment Process tools

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Reference materials

• This training presentation refers to additional
  documents that can be found on the United Way
  website. Be prepared to refer to them as you
  work your way through the presentation
• A-Sample Application (strategy specific)
• B-Strategy Guidance Letters (strategy specific)
• C-Team Summary Form
• D-Team Summary site visit discussion questions
• E-Strategy site visit discussion questions
  (strategy specific)
• F- Overview of Data Integrity Reviews
• G- 6 month outcome reporting process report
  template
• H Guidelines for making funding recommendations
• I Matching Worksheet (required program
  components/examples/illustrations strategy
  specific)
• J Community Impact Fund Investment Process
  diagram
• K Conflict of Interest/Confidentiality Form
• L UW Staff Contact List

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Community Impact Fund

• The Community Impact Fund supports community
  programs that make a difference in the lives of
  individuals and families who need help throughout
  metro Atlanta.
• The Fund focuses on 4 populations and 6 outcomes.
  For each outcome various strategies have been
  identified to achieve the stated outcome.

• Population Children
• Outcome Children are ready for school.
• Child Care
• Child Abuse Neglect
• Parenting Skills Supports

• Population Youth
• Outcome Youth are successful in learning.
• After School
• Youth Leadership
• Family Engagement

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Community Impact Fund

• Population Low Income households
• Outcome Low Income households are stable.
• Housing Retention
• Case Management
• Interim Housing
• Population Low Income households
• Outcome Low Income households are economically
  self-sufficient.
• Transitional Employment
• Micro-Enterprise
• Homeownership Education

• Population People at Risk
• Outcome People at risk are successfully coping.
• Substance Abuse Treatment
• Mental Health Support
• Physical Health Support
• Population People at Risk
• Outcome People at risk are living
  independently.
• Home-Based Support
• Life Skills Training

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Community Impact Fund investment process
4.New volunteers attend certification training
returning volunteers attend refresher training.
8.Volunteer CPAs review agency financials to
ensure applicants are financially sound.
Volunteers trained
Financial Review Committee recommendations
Volunteer application review
5.Volunteers review program application, using
training tools.
United Way board of directors approves
Community Investments Committee recommendations
Committee Funding recommendations (Wrap-ups)
Call for applications.
Program application online (ODM)
Staff screening alignment completeness
Program site visit
6.Volunteers visit the agencies evaluate
program applications, assigning a score a grant
amount.
9.Committee, financial and OMAG recommendations
go to the Community Investment Committee for
review.
1. Call for applications sent to current
nonprofit partners and other local nonprofits.
10.United Way Board of Directors reviews and
approves grant recommendations from the Community
Investment Committee.
7.Site visit teams convene. Together, the
committee reviews all applicants recommends
grant amounts.
2.Applicants begin their application in our
Online Database Management System (ODM).
3. United Way staff review applications to ensure
they are complete new applicants are aligned
with their selected strategy.
OMAG (outcome measurements advisory group)
recommendations
8. Volunteer evaluators review data collection
methods from a sample of applicant agencies.
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The role of an investment volunteer is

• To assess programs and develop funding
  recommendations
• If implemented as proposed, is it reasonable to
  expect that the program will effectively operate
  and have the intended impact on the clients to be
  served?
• Is the program actually doing what it says it
  will on paper? Does it have sufficient capacity
  and resources?

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Responsibilities of volunteers

• Be informed
• Represent the UWMA to applicant agency staff and
  volunteers by participating in site team visits.
• Review and assess program applications
• Identify additional information needed to make a
  funding recommendation
• Utilize the tools and criteria to develop sound
  funding recommendations.
• Participate in developing an investment committee
  funding plan.
• Build effective relationships with other
  volunteers on your team and UWMA staff.
• Participate in follow-up processes on unresolved
  issues

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There are 2 types of Investment Volunteers

• Regional Investment Volunteers
• Review regional programs- programs serving 3 or
  more counties in the metro area within a specific
  impact area (children, youth, low income, people
  at risk).
• Submit funding recommendations to the Impact Area
  Advisory Board.
• Local Investment Volunteers
• Review local programs- programs serving their
  particular county (Butts, Cherokee, Clayton,
  Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton,
  Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding, or Rockdale) in the
  metro area.
• Submit funding recommendations to the appropriate
  Local Board.

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• In order to grow familiar with United Way
  grantees, develop relationships, and lead the
  community in setting investment priorities, we
  would like volunteers to
• Make a 3-year commitment to tracking assigned
  programs.
• Review grantee funding applications for 4-6
  programs annually.
• Attend 8 volunteer engagements annually
  (1-training, 4-site visits,1-wrap up meeting, 2-
  events/agency meetings)
• Review and return conflict of interest statement
• Review your contact information on file and
  update if necessary

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Volunteer time commitment
Estimated volunteer time commitment
This includes a potential follow-up throughout
the year
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Now that weve covered general process info...

• We will review the program application which is
  the introduction to the program you will be
  assessing. Applicants submit program
  applications annually for funding based on the
  goals objectives identified in the Strategy
  Guidance Letters. A Strategy Guidance Letter has
  been developed for each strategy.

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Components of Program Application
Areas of the application and any changes from
last year
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Whats Changed?--Details

• Program demographics capacity
• Programs were asked to provide the dollar
  distribution across our 13 county service area
  for the upcoming year
• High Priority Populations
• Programs funded by United Way are expected to
  serve at least one of the following populations
  at a meaningful level. Most programs serve more
  than one and meaningful is somewhat different
  in various communities. As a general rule of
  thumb, 35 or more of those served by UW funded
  programs should be from one or more high priority
  populations.

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Whats Changed?--Details

• Required Preferred Components
• Numbering on required and preferred components
  correspond to the application components
• Examples of required and preferred components are
  in each strategy guidance letter
• Logic Model
• While there were no changes made to the logic
  model section - the next couple of slides will
  review definitions and components of a logic
  model.

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Logic model defined

• An agreed upon path that links inputs,
  activities, outputs, and outcomes in a logical
  fashion.
• A breakdown of the program theory into pieces
  inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes.
• A diagram for explaining why we think our
  programs will have a positive effect on a person
  or group of people.

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Components of a logic model
Inputs
Resources dedicated to or consumed by the
program(s) within an agency and constraints on
the agency

• Financial Resources
• Staff Skills
• Funder Requirements

Activities

• What the agency does with the inputs to fulfill
  its mission the program services

• Feed and shelter homeless families
• Discuss problems and barriers to employment

Outputs
The direct products of agency services the
results of the process

• Number of classes taught
• Number of disabled children in program

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Components of a logic model
Outcomes
Benefits or changes to individuals or populations
during or after participating in agency activities

• Programs often seek to change or improve
• Attitude
• Skills
• Behavior
• Condition

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Whats Changed--Details

• Indicators Measurement Framework
• As a reminder, indicators are the specific pieces
  of information that track a programs success.
  Its how you know something changed, either
  positively or negatively, that you have achieved
  your outcome
• Indicator path
• This year in section D of each strategy guidance
  letter (Handout B) there are indicator paths,
  spelling out requirements for initial,
  intermediate or long term goals.
• The indicator path is a way to further identify a
  set of measures that are related
• Not all strategies have all three stages
  (initial, intermediate, long term).
• The name path corresponds either to the
  population that is being tracked - for instance
  under Child Abuse and Neglect there is a path
  called 'parent focused'. Or the path name might
  correspond to the outcome the program is trying
  to achieve - for instance under Case Management
  there is a path called 'increased benefits.
• Instructions for this section vary, so please pay
  close attention to the Strategy Guidance Letter
  to determine what the applicant was required to
  report on.

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Whats Changed--Details
Program Budget Programs were asked to provide
revenue and expense information for
last/current/upcoming fiscal year Now that we
have completed reviewing components of a program
application and the changes that have occurred,
the next couple of slides will discuss how to
assess the application for the site visit.
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Site Visit Prep Materials
In preparation for site visits you should

• Sign-up up for site visits
• Done on an individual basis by each committee
• Ensure you have the following materials for the
  specific site visit
• Directions
• Application
• Strategy Guidance Letter
• Team Summary Form Site Visit Discussion
  questions
• Strategy Specific Site Visit Questions
• Data integrity review report (if applicable)
• 6 month outcome report (if applicable)
• Contact list who to call if you must cancel/get
  lost/have a question

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Team Summary Form

• The team summary form is the document used to
  capture site visit team score, rationales and
  funding recommendation
• Before the site visit you should complete the
  Team Summary Form to capture your questions
• The form is broken into three sections, A-score,
  B-recommendations, C-contingencies
• In reviewing the form please be aware that
• The changes in the scoring of sections.
• You still need to document evidence for your
  score.
• You will use this same form while individually
  preparing for site visit/reviewing application
  and at site visit.
• United Way staff will use a fresh form to compile
  your team summary recommendation to be forwarded
  to wrap-up meeting.

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Discussion Questions

• You can refer to the Team Summary Discussion
  Questions, Handout D to assist in your review
• In order to help facilitate the discussion at the
  site visit we have compiled some discussion
  questions that correspond to the 15 sections
  listed in the team summary form.
• The next several slides will show the 15 sections
  with some of their corresponding team summary
  discussion questions. While you will be using the
  team summary form to document your score, you
  will notice the score is included in parenthesis
  in the next couple of slides.
• Please note that there are additional questions
  available that are strategy specific for you to
  use as a resource as well - Sample Strategy
  Specific Site Visit Questions, Handout E for more
  details.

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Team Summary Discussion Questions
(Refer to Handout D)
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Team Summary Discussion Questions
(Refer to Handout D)
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Team Summary Discussion Questions
(Refer to Handout D)
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Team Summary Discussion Questions
(Refer to Handout D)
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Team Summary Discussion Questions
(Refer to Handout D)
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Now

• That you have reviewed the Team Summary Form you
  should be prepared for the site visit. A typical
  site visit is 2 hours below is a sample agenda
• United Way team huddle 10 minutes
• Welcome, introductions, purpose 5 minutes
• Program tours 10 minutes
• Program presentation 15 minutes
• Volunteer question answer 30 minutes
• Closing 5 minutes
• United Way team debrief 30 minutes

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Team debrief process

• The last agenda item of the Site Visit is the
  team debrief which is a team discussion
  facilitated and documented by a UWMA staff
  person. During this discussion you will
• Share your individual scores you gave the
  organization and why
• Decide as a group what the program score
  funding recommendation should be
• Assign contingencies if feasible
• Articulate and help staff document your rationale
  for your group recommendations

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After all site visits have been completed

• You will participate in a Wrap-up meeting and
  develop a committee investment plan (funding
  recommendations rationales)
• Using a committee investment plan and United
  Ways guidelines for decision-making (Handout H),
  the entire committee comes to consensus about the
  following
• Which programs should be funded
• At what level they should be funded
• What is the rationale for funding the program
• The committee investment plan has a starting
  balance and as recommendations are made you will
  see that balance change, with the final outcome
  being a zero balance

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Elements of a Wrap Up Meeting

• The following are the various elements of a
  Wrap-up Meeting
• Conflicts of interest
• You will need to declare any conflicts of
  interest you have that may impact your
  participation in funding recommendations (see
  Handout K). Please complete and return to the
  appropriate staff person.
• Summary of program requests-Available at the
  wrap-up to assist you in your committee
  discussion are the following summary reports
• Summary
• Funding recommendation reporttotal package of
  recommendations for each program
• Current year Team contingency report---total
  summary of site visit assigned contingencies
• Previous year Team contingency report ---status
  report of contingencies assigned fulfilled from
  previous year
• Summary of individual site visit team scores
  funding recommendations
• Deliberation criteriaDuring the wrap up while
  score is a major driver for decision-making other
  criteria will be provided to take into
  consideration during the deliberation period such
  as
• Data Integrity Reviews(Refer to Handout F).
  Outcome Measurement Group (OMAG) conducts data
  integrity reviews on agency data to ensure the
  collection methods and data is good data. Any
  agencies that were reviewed and received a data
  integrity review Outcome Measurement Advisory
  Group, the results of their findings and ultimate
  recommendation will be shared

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Practical Experience

• We have provided instructions on getting some
  hands on experience with some of the information
  covered in this presentation, specifically
  re-orienting you with
• Required Preferred Components example element
  now found on the strategy guidance letter
• Use of the team summary form, discussion
  questions and strategy site visit discussion
  questions in assessing an application

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Practice understanding the StrategyGuidance
Letters

• Using Handout I (Matching Worksheet), and Handout
  B (Strategy Guidance Letters contains required
  components) to re-engage your understanding of
  the strategy
• There are worksheets for each strategy answer
  keys are available on the worksheet

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Practice Preparing for a site visit
This is an activity to assist in preparing for
the site visit

• Read the sample application.
• Review the application and complete Section A of
  the Team Summary Form for the following 4 areas
  (Handout C).
• Program Operations, Budget, Program Demographics
  Capacity and High Priority Populations
• For areas where you want to know more from the
  site visit, identify at least 3 questions from
  the team summary or service strategy discussion
  questions or questions of your own.

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Still have questions????

• Send an email to INVolunteers_at_unitedwayatlanta.org
  or contact your United Way staff person (Handout
  L Staff Directory)

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Next Steps
To complete recertification, please proceed to
the link below to complete the training
evaluation assessment survey http//www.survey
monkey.com/s.aspx?smfoYONnKpjTLHo_2fyuoZB_2b9Q_3d
_3d
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• Thank You