The foundation is particularly interested in promoting innovative and sustainable initiatives responsive to unmet needs that will also improve the overall quality and availability of health and human services in our community. To address selected unmet community needs, the foundation occasionally invites nonprofit organizations to work on a foundation-initiated project. There are currently eight strategic initiatives. Each initiative has a strategic partner (grantee). Through a collaborative exchange of ideas the foundation negotiates with its strategic partner organizations the priorities for achieving accomplishments and results, workplans and budgets. The foundation provides negotiated operating support to these strategic partners.
FOUNDATION STRATEGIC INITIATIVE PROGRAMS
Access to Primary, Oral and Behavioral Healthcare
Building from the foundation’s history as a nonprofit hospital, the foundation provides grants to nonprofit organizations providing primary care, oral health, pharmaceutical and behavioral health services to under- and uninsured patients. The patient navigator program is also supported through this initiative.
InfoLINK
InfoLINK is a web-based tool that provides information and referral resources to health and human service programs in Montgomery County. It is a tool appropriate for use by community residents and trained professionals. InfoLINK is a collaboratively funded project administered by the Montgomery County Foundation, Inc. InfoLINK has become part of the larger, regional 211 initiative sponsored by the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania and serves as the primary data source for information provided by trained telephone operators as well as inquires made directly through the world-wide web. www.infolinkpa.org
Montgomery County Housing/Homeless Providers’ Network
The Homeless Prevention Center is a ground-breaking public-nonprofit partnership seeking to change the way that families and individuals who are homeless or at risk for homelessness access social and human services in Montgomery County. By calling a toll-free telephone number, residents are connected to trained professionals who will help them find the services they need quickly and efficiently. The Homeless Prevention Center helps housing providers focus their attention on delivering mission-based programs and services by reducing staff time and resources spent on client intake and referral. The Homeless Prevention Center also helps policymakers, funders, and individual donors to increase their community impact by identifying trends and gaps in the county’s housing system through better data and information.
WISE SNAC®
To address the epidemic of childhood obesity the Health Promotion Council (HPC) developed the Wellness Initiative for the School Environment: Smart Nutrition and Activity Collaborative (WISE SNAC®) which aims to foster collaboration among schools and community partners, reinforce messages and create opportunities for healthy eating and physical activity and provide professional development and capacity building opportunities for school personnel, families and organizations serving the greater North Penn community. This initiative is based upon the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) evidence-based Coordinated School Health Program Model (CSHP).
North Penn Nutrition Coalition
The Community Nutrition Coalition is a partnership among emergency food providers in the North Penn/Indian Valley region. The Coalition is facilitated through a technical assistance grant to The Food Trust that works with the Coalition to increase communication and collaboration between members. The Coalition seeks to increase client access to fresh and high quality foods, to enhance consumer’s access to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and to design a sustainable infrastructure for the collection, storage and transport of food among Coalition members. www.nutritioncoalition.org
Greater North Penn Collaborative for Health & Human Services
The Greater North Penn Collaborative for Health & Human Services fosters information sharing and collaborative problem solving around health and wellness issues in the North Penn area. Its venue serves as a catalyst for relationship building and collaboration. Members assemble at monthly meetings to learn about emerging community needs and to share information about resources and explore strategies. Special interest cabinets are formed to develop short term interventions/solutions appropriate to addressing local community needs and to make recommendations to the Montgomery County Office of Human Services on opportunities to deploy resources cost-effectively. The Collaborative hosts the North Penn Nonprofit Academy that provides formal leadership training and professional development workshops. www.npcollab.org
North Penn Nonprofit Academy
The North Penn Nonprofit Academy is a series of capacity building workshops and events aimed at bolstering the important work of nonprofit leaders in North Penn's health and human services community. Since 2003, the Academy has offered free, high-quality professional development opportunities to build the capacity of executive directors, board members, and management-level staff serving the North Penn region. www.npcollab.org
Performance Improvement Initiative
The competition for grants and community support of health and human services programs has defined the need for nonprofit organizations to demonstrate their value and impact in addressing and resolving community/client needs. This initiative offers grants to organizations striving to become high impact, high performing organizations through the implementation of performance management systems. These systems are designed to help inform decisions about resource allocation, program impact, strategy and cost-effectiveness to achieve meaningful (measureable) outcomes for clients, the nonprofit organization itself and the community as a whole.
