Service Providers' Recommendations

Service Providers

[ Print Version of All Service Provider Recommendations ]

  1. Develop and implement a community wide strategic planning, funding, implementation, and evaluation process to assure all community members have access to resources and opportunities for success. Read more...
     
  2. All funding and service delivery organizations prioritize their funding (including HED, United Way, foundation support, private charities, government funding, etc.) to implement this strategic plan and service delivery systems will focus their resources to support implementation of this strategic plan. Read more...
     
  3. To organize a Community Foundation in Athens to provide donors with the opportunity to achieve their charitable goals while facilitating strategic community growth. This Community Foundation would initially target the top two priorities as indicated from the Partners For A Prosperous Athens. Read more...
     
  4. To develop a comprehensive communication strategy among service providers, their clients, and the community through shared information, infrastructure, and other resources. Read more...

    Initial Priorities being:
     

    • support creation of comprehensive Volunteer Center,
    • have a "pink" section in the phone book for service providers divided by service type,
    • have a single location for information,
    • create a common intake form,
    • have an easily searchable database whose site could become a common homepage for local service providers,
    • tie this with a Community Foundation to ensure broad participation from service providers.
       
  5. We recommend that service providers develop an organized grassroots and political advocacy agenda in order to help assure community support and adequate funding. Read more...
     
  6. A culture of competitiveness, duplication, inefficiency, donor fatigue and political wrangling has been created by the way service providers have to compete to raise funds locally. One entity needs to be created to build the capacity of all local service providers; help service providers seek funding collectively; coordinate joint planning for CDBG, HOME, and United Way funds; and give service providers a voice in local funding decisions. Read more...

Related recommendations from other working sessions/website:

  1. Develop a comprehensive volunteer program to strategically use volunteers throughout the community. To effectively implement this recommendation the appropriate infrastructure would be developed to help assure quality volunteer support. Read more...
     
  2. Implement a summit for service clubs (i.e. Kiwanis, Rotary, Kiwanis, etc.). Read more...
     
  3. Implement customer friendly, one-stop resource centers to coordinate services for individuals and families, allowing more resources (including staffing) to be used for direct services to the people who need them. Working with Community Connection-211, services to be coordinated and collaborative would include both public (DFCS, Department of Labor, Public Health, Advantage, School District early learning and other programs, Athens Tech, et al.) and private (Healthy Families, Athens Neighborhood Health Center, Catholic Social Services, mentoring, homeless services, et al.). Read more...
     

GOING FORWARD: Advice from PPA to the Steering Committee

[ Print Version of All PPA Advice ]

These recommendations were made during the December 4th PPA closing forum, moderated by Judge Jones.

  1. Co-Conveners, and other community groups and individuals must work together if recommendations will be implemented successfully. Read more...
     
  2. Help to assure that recommendations are developed and pursued in a timely manner and that we pursue 1, 3, and 5 year goals. Read more...
     
  3. Need to make sure there is a process for evaluating the implementation of recommendations. (We need to keep track of what gets done and modify them as we find out what works and what doesn't work.) Read more...
     
  4. We need to make sure that the recommendations check out with the perceptions and actual needs of people in poverty. We need to check to see if it works or meet their needs. (Community Conversations in March) Read more...
     
  5. Make sure we look at comprehensive reform. We want persons in poverty to "graduate" from poverty and then become mentors to others. We cannot simply look at "health" solutions, but comprehensive solutions. Read more...
     
  6. Study the impact of race, gender, ability, class, and sexuality as they relate to poverty and our community. Read more...
     
  7. Look at the HED web-site as a tool to help with strategic planning of recommendations. Read more...
     
  8. Develop a procedure for allowing groups to present their recommendations to the Steering Committee. Read more...