Civic Engagement at the Heart of New Fort Worth Initiative

Rainwater Charitable Foundation, long known for its support of community change-makers, is helping launch a new civic engagement program in Fort Worth, designed to convene a devoted group of community leaders around issues affecting our city.  Together, we will help this fledgling nonprofit to engage its first board of directors and first membership base, establish its infrastructure, and develop the inaugural programming. 

Since 1995, Project Partners has been dedicated to helping nonprofit leaders advance community causes, so we jumped at the chance to support this effort, now called the Fort Worth Forum, that is certain to bring positive collective impact to our city for years to come. 

Gourley Foundation Board Plans for Continued Success for Students

Since 1988, the Gourley Foundation has provided direct financial assistance to more than 1,000 local college students for wrap-around services, which has helped empower their success for graduation and beyond.  With that history, the organization is looking ahead to the next priorities to accomplish for the Foundation.  We are thrilled to be teaming with the Foundation to gather data to help inform decisions, lead a board workshop around key considerations, and draft the resulting strategic plan.  

While the Foundation is new to Project Partners, the board chair is not, and it’s always fun for us to work again with key community leaders who serve multiple organizations through the years!

Blackland Prairie Raptor Center Plans For Fundraising Success

Transitions among the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center’s founder, Executive Director, and board members have caused a need to shore up the Center’s fundraising expertise and capacity for sustainable success with a first focus on grants and corporate sponsorships of educational programs, and a secondary focus on the opportunity to better steward and increase funds from individual donors.  A development committee of board members has been established to help guide and support an improved fundraising strategy and implementation, staffed by the newly named Executive Director. 

With that, the Center has teamed with Project Partners to work through our “Infrastructure for Fundraising Success,” an assessment that will help identify opportunities and establish priorities.  We will also conduct funder research, consider educational programming sponsorship levels, and coach the development committee members on the art and science of fundraising.  

Change for any nonprofit can be hard, but it does provide the opportunity for board members to increase their engagement in the fundraising continuum.  How can you best involve your key volunteers during times of transition?  

Sixty & Better Adapting to Change Through Strategic Planning

The pandemic caused a huge shift in Sixty & Better’s program of work, a program of work that had helped define this organization’s mission for more than fifty years.  With that, Sixty & Better’s leadership is adapting through a strategic planning process made possible by a Toolbox grant from the North Texas Community Foundation (NTCF). 

Our work together will redefine the organization’s mission, the programming to achieve that mission, and the ensuing fundraising, communications/community engagement, board leadership, and administrative support necessary for success. 

We are pleased to return to Sixty & Better (formerly Senior Citizens Services of Greater Tarrant County) for this fourth assignment, providing the new leadership team both historical data based on prior work before and after their rebranding, and the opportunity to focus on the plan for continued success in serving specific needs of older adults in our community. 

We are proud to serve quite often as a partner for good through executive staff and board leadership transitions!

Mission United Plans For Inaugural Stronger Together Showcase

United Way of Tarrant County’s Mission United is leading the work of a group of civic and nonprofit organizations in Arlington who are planning a tribute to veterans and first responders in May 2024. Dubbed The Stronger Together Showcase (STS), this multi-faceted event will educate and engage the community, while elevating several issues related to military service and freedom.  

The Veterans Task Force and Stronger Together Showcase Committee Leaders have teamed with Project Partners for consulting and project management to assure the success of this first-time initiative and the documentation of the leadership, procedures, and work required to produce the results.  This playbook will allow for duplication in future years and in other locations, saving valuable resources and increasing the community impact.   

This project reminds us of a larger version of the Veteran’s Stand Down event we helped Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County execute in 2006, and of work we produced with VETCO in 2015.  Producing the playbook reminds us of work for Strategic Pathways to Student Success work in 2015 and 2016 with the Fort Worth Chamber.  And it’s always fun to work with a returning client that knows our work so well, and who introduces us to new opportunities. 

There are many benefits to being Tarrant County’s partner for good since 1995.  We are grateful!