Fathers Matter

The principle guiding our approach to responsible fatherhood is building upon what works.

One lesson we have learned is that even the most promising ventures dissipate if not supported for a sufficient amount of time for relationships and commitments to solidify.

Over the last three years, we have seeded activity in more than 60 communities.The importance of fathers to families, and of children to fathers, is now understood much more broadly in these communities and throughout the community foundation field.

Community foundations have:

• developed new programs to connect fathers and families;
  
  
• devised strategies to help programs that currently work with children and mothers to reach out to fathers;
  
  
• held Father’s Day events to celebrate fathers as contributors to child well-being, family strength, and neighborhood stability; and
  
  
• confronted some impediments to father involvement in policy and practice in the nonprofit and public sectors.

Over the last three years, the CCFY has undertaken a wide range of activities designed to create an environment that recognizes the importance of fathers in the lives of their children. With support from the Annie E. Casey, Ford, Danforth, and Charles Stewart Mott Foundations, this work has:

• increased philanthropic investment in responsible fatherhood;
  
  
• contributed to the knowledge base of best practices and policies;
  
  
• increased collaboration among programs serving fathers; and
  
  
• stimulated conversations among a more diverse group of stakeholders about strategies to increase father involvement.
  
  
• connected practitioners to grantees, and grantees to each other