HIRI PCBR Database - Intermediary Profile Report

PHILANTHROPIC CAPACITY-BUILDING RESOURCES
DATABASE - INTERMEDIARY ORGANIZATIONS

Report Title:	Intermediary Profile Report
Report Date:

Organization:		Program ID Number: I-14
Date Profile Created:	December 1, 2005	Date Profile Last Updated: December 1, 2005

Program Summary:
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.

Contact Name:	Victor Rubin
Title:	Director of Research
Phone:	(510) 663-2333
Fax:	(510) 587-1126
E-mail Address:	victor@policylink.org
URL:	www.policylink.org

Address:

101 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94607

Date Program Began:	1999	Total Funds Awarded for Most Recent Fiscal Year:	$0
Date Program Scheduled to End:	N/A	Total Capacity-Building Operating Expenses for Most Recent Fiscal Year:	$1,000,000

How Program is Operated:

Run internally by the intermediary

Number Staff/Consultants:

20/5

Background Materials Available:

Yes

Geographic Areas Served:

National:

Yes

International:

Selected States:	N/A
Geographic Details:	N/A

Types of Capacity-Building Assistance Offered to Nonprofits:

1. Grants:	2. Direct Service:	3. Direct Financial Support:
	Convening Education/Training for Groups of Nonprofits Infrastructure for Peer Networking Participation in Community Capacity-Building Initiative Website with Capacity-Building Assistance	N/A

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

Areas of Nonprofit Operations Supported:	How Funding/Service Decisions Are Made:
Communication (Internal/External) Evaluation Information/Technology Support Planning Staff Development/Training	Pro-active Identification of Applicants by Intermediary Pro-active Identification of Applicants by Third Party

Collaborating Organizations: N/A

Capacity-Building Work Evaluated:	No	Evaluation Results Available:	N/A
Frequency of Evaluation:	N/A	Type of Evaluation:	N/A

Summary of Evaluation Lessons Learned:
The following lessons learned were among those reported by this program:

A holistic approach is important - focusing on leadership, adaptive thinking, management skills, and an organization's role in the community. This is tougher to do, but provides a solid grounding.
The four capacities being focused upon, as developed by the Marguerite Casey Foundation, resonate well with participants.
Repetition and multiple levels of learning are important.
Capacity-building work is hard and time consuming.
Repetition and multiple levels of learning are important.
The three-year length of this program is important. Participants value the consistency, and the ability to dig deeper into the four capacities.
It is very important that that the initial assessment and selection process be done right to lay a groundwork for success.
After the first year, participants are talking differently about their work, using more strategic thinking.

It is too early to identify specific impacts from the intermediary's activities.