We are supporting an effort led by Austin-Travis County Integral Care to coordinate community mental health services for children and create a community plan to improve the mental health of youth throughout the county. As part of this, we participated in planning and facilitating the Austin Community Conversation on Teen and Young Adult Mental Health […]
Read MoreEstablishing and maintaining effective coalitions is no easy feat. Through our experience working with coalitions of various sizes, structures, and purposes, we have found that there are some common ingredients that are necessary in order for coalitions to thrive. Like a cake, coalitions will sink (or even collapse!) if essential ingredients are missing from the […]
Read MoreMy close friends all know that I love to organize games. Some of my favorite memories involve playing Mafia, Balderdash, Cranium, Celebrity and Apples to Apples with friends over the years. So, it’s probably not a huge surprise to them that I’m now incorporating games into my career. Games and other simulated exercises allow people […]
Read MoreWe love communications and PR folks. They are amazingly creative professionals who can offer value-added services to promote your mission by helping you craft your message to the media, by designing impactful collateral that supports strategic fundraising, by creating infographics that demonstrate complex concepts at a glance, and more. But – and I think my […]
Read MoreAustin Gives is a great community program that recognizes and encourages local business philanthropy, and we are very proud to support the initiative. Last month, Sam co-facilitated the Austin Gives “Faster, Better Biz Philanthropy” workshop designed to help businesses navigate the nitty gritty details of developing effective philanthropy plans. With 25 businesses in attendance, the […]
Read MoreWe often hear that nonprofits should operate more like businesses. This statement makes a lot of negative assumptions about how nonprofits actually work. My experience is that most nonprofits have a lot to teach businesses about how to be successful. As I entered the for profit consulting world, I used many of the skills I […]
Read MoreWe’re currently working with a collaboration of local entities on planning for substance abuse services, so when I saw this article last week, it piqued my interest. It’s not a long read, but if you’re pressed for time I’ll boil it down: People lie when asked about hard drug use. To get a real picture […]
Read MoreRecently, a friend asked me to describe WNA’s business model. I told her that we are interested in focusing on collaborative work between more than one agency or organization. “You know,” I said, “the messy kind of work.” She laughed and let me know she would be sure to think of me when she had […]
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