| Report Title: |
Intermediary Profile Report |
| Report Date: |
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Organization Name:
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PolicyLink |
Program ID Number: I-114 |
Date Profile Created:
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December 1, 2005 |
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Program Summary:
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PolicyLink is a national nonprofit research, communications, capacity building, and advocacy organization working to advance policies to achieve economic and social equity. From its inception PolicyLink has received significant foundation funding; major multi-year grants from the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations supported its start-up beginning in 1999. PolicyLink collaborates with a broad range of partners to implement strategies to ensure that everyone—including those from low-income communities of color—can contribute to and benefit from economic growth and prosperity. The organization develops trainings, manuals, reports, and other support for community-based groups based on their needs to address a particular policy issue.
Among PolicyLink’s priorities is equitable development, a comprehensive local, regional, and state framework that connects the quest for full racial inclusion and participation to local, metropolitan, and regional planning and development. It is grounded in four guiding principles: (1) the integration of people and place strategies; (2) reduction of local and regional disparities; (3) promotion of "double bottom line" investments; and (4) inclusion of meaningful community voice, participation, and leadership. Much of the equitable development work concerns three areas: the fair distribution of affordable housing, equitable public investment, and community strategies to reduce health disparities. The PolicyLink Equitable Development Toolkit helps community builders create and sustain diverse, mixed-income/mixed-wealth neighborhoods.
Another program, Community Building in the Digital Age, provides policy and programmatic support for community technology programs. It advances a comprehensive community technology policy agenda on three fronts: policy, capacity building, and research. In order to strengthen low-income communities, it promotes computer access and training, along with creating opportunities for residents and community groups to create and own digital content and applications.
Supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, PolicyLink developed “Leadership for Policy Change,” a report on the role that leaders of color play in development and implementation of policies that impact children, families, and their communities. The report, released in September, 2003, details a strategic option that should increase the participation and impact of people of color in policy development.
PolicyLink also explores the intersection between community factors and health outcomes with a focus on understanding the social, economic, and traditional factors that are connected to health disparities. Its work includes policy development, research including targeted interviews and site visits, and the use of geographic information system mapping to better understand the relationships between community factors and health. Reports on findings, and a program to impact the food and physical activity environments for school age children in six California communities, conducted in partnership with The California Endowment, are examples of the activities PolicyLink carries out to make progress in this area.
While PolicyLink itself does not make grants to nonprofits, local organizations are frequently partners with PolicyLink in foundation grants for joint activities.
Key funders of PolicyLink’s capacity-building work include the California Endowment, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Appleton Foundation. | |
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| Address: |
101 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94607 | | |
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| Date Program Began: |
1999 |
Total Funds Awarded by this Program for Most Recent Fiscal Year: |
$0 |
| Date Program Scheduled to End: |
N/A |
Total Administrative Expenses for this Program for Most Recent
Fiscal Year: |
$1,000,000 | |
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| How Capacity-Building Programs are Operated: |
Run internally by the organization. | |
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| Number Staff/Consultants: |
20/5
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Background Materials Available: |
Yes | |
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| Capacity-Building Work Evaluated: |
No |
Evaluation Results Available: |
N/A |
| Frequency of Evaluation: |
N/A |
Type of Evaluation: |
N/A |
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| Geographic Areas Served: |
National: |
Yes |
International: |
No | |
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| Selected States: |
N/A |
| Geographic Details: |
N/A | |
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| Types of Capacity-Building Assistance Offered to Nonprofits: |
| 1. Grants: |
2. Direct Service: |
3. Direct Financial Support: |
| N/A |
Convening activities
Education/training for groups of nonprofits
Infrastructure for peer networking
Participation in community capacity-building initiative
Website with capacity-building assistance |
N/A | |
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Grants Offered to Capacity-Building Service
Providers and Intermediaries: |
| Support for Services to Nonprofits: |
N/A |
| General Support: |
N/A | | |
| Grants Offered to Support Overall Capacity-Building Infrastructure: |
| N/A | | |
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| Areas of Nonprofit Operations Supported: |
How Funding/Service Decisions Are Made: |
Staff development & training
Information & technology support
Planning
Evaluation
Communication (internal & external) |
Proactive identification of applicants by organization.
Proactive identification of applicants by outside party. | |
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| Copyright © 2005 Human Interaction Research Institute www.humaninteract.org | |