Advancing Responsible Fatherhood Through Community Foundation Involvement

The Coalition is working to advance responsible fatherhood through community foundation involvement by:

• Creating common ground around responsible fatherhood among diverse segments of the community.
  
  
• Connecting the best of what is being done nationally to work being done on the ground -- while at the same time fueling work at the national level by creating links to innovative community-based efforts.
  
  
• Shifting attitudes -- and some practices -- by promoting a deeper understanding of what fathers contribute to community cohesion, family strength, and child well-being.
  
  
• Our three years of experience in making small grants on responsible fatherhood has demonstrated the efficacy of this change strategy: 1) grants typically leverage many times the grant amount, and 2) they do not displace, but rather strengthen, indigenous leadership.
  
  
• Over 60 communities are currently engaged in broad-based efforts to advance responsible fatherhood. These efforts have produced results ranging from increased awareness to changes in policies and practices, and have leveraged new public and private resources.
  
  
• Since 1996, 105 Father's Day event grants have been awarded at $1,000 each to 59 community foundations.
  
  
• 17 community foundations which held Father's Day events have received $5,000 "next step" grants to plan and initiate more substantive work.
  
  
• 20 community foundations have received grants of $10,000, matched locally on a 1:1 basis, to begin to anchor some dimension of responsible fatherhood in their communities to support best practices and policy innovation and school, family, community partnerships.
  
  
• The Coalition has held four and is planning three more regional meetings of funders (including corporate, family and private foundations) to encourage common understandings and messages to grantees among philanthropies serving the same area and funding the same entities.
  
  
• We developed a resource guide, "Fathers Matter: What Community Foundations Can Do," with assistance by James Levine and Edward Pitt of the Fatherhood Project. This publication is based on the work and experiences of community foundations and serves as a quick reference on sound ideas, best practices, and lessons learned. Bulk copies are available at no charge.
  
  
• CCFY members have been exposed to some of the leading researchers and practitioners in the country on responsible fatherhood, and the policies and practices that inhibit fathers, particularly low-income noncustodial fathers, from full participation in the lives of their families.
  
  
• Community foundations learned how father involvement could help them connect to new constituencies through our 1998 summer edition of "Community Building Chronicles". Sandra McMullen, president of the Hutchinson Community Foundation in Hutchinson, Kansas says, "The Fatherhood Partnership is building an exciting alliance between the foundation and our faith community, especially African-American churches."