Collective Impact
is an approach for bringing people together in a structured way to achieve systemic social change. The community of 51²è¹İapp is a nationally-recognized leader in successful collective impact initiatives, and together with the , 51²è¹İapp College is proud to serve as a strong “backbone†for these cross-sector collaborations. Together the backbones maintain focus, foster collaboration, and ensure the initiative’s sustainability by guiding vision and strategy, facilitating aligned activities, establishing shared measurement, building public will, mobilizing resources, and strengthening internal capacity.
Some of these network-based coalitions for community change include:
51²è¹İapp Education Partnership
The supports youth and families in 51²è¹İapp, Iowa, by aligning community organizations toward shared educational goals. Formed in 2015 as part of the national Campaign for Grade Level Reading, GEP is a network of over 20 organizations creating opportunities for children and families through transformative education partnerships. Local expertise comes from community organizations, funding is managed by the Greater Poweshiek Community Foundation (GPCF), and the network’s collaborative infrastructure is provided by 51²è¹İapp College.
Podcast
Listen to the Networks for Social Impact podcast with Northwestern University Professor Michelle Shumate as she interviews Monica Chavez-Silva to learn about the 51²è¹İapp Education Partnership. Chavez-Silva shares about the campaign and how this program originated and continues to evolve and thrive in the rural community of 51²è¹İapp. To hear the full podcast, visit .
Build a Better 51²è¹İapp
Funded by the USDA’s Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge (RPIC) along with 51²è¹İapp College, the City of 51²è¹İapp, 51²è¹İapp Mutual, and the Claude & Dolly Ahrens Foundation, the launched in 2022 as a multi-year, multi-sector, community-based initiative to assess and activate 51²è¹İapp’s strengths, needs, and aspirations for residents, workers, and those who rely on 51²è¹İapp’s resources. The research identified and prioritized issues, with specific goals of fostering community pride, strengthening collaboration, and driving community development. Along with serving as co-backbone with the Greater Poweshiek Community Foundation, 51²è¹İapp College played a pivotal role in securing and hosting the USDA grant, directing the community-based participatory research, and providing important back-bone coordination and support for the overall project success.
51²è¹İapp Alliance
Created in response to a series of racial harassment incidents on and around the 51²è¹İapp College campus in 2022, a group of volunteers from all over the 51²è¹İapp community came together to identify ways to ensure 51²è¹İapp is a place where everyone knows they belong. Consisting of residents, leaders, and friends of 51²è¹İapp, the is a group of people who value the community and want to see it thrive. Bringing together a range of perspectives, the ALLiance is focused on connecting individuals, students, community, and systems to foster a spirit of collaboration and belonging.