Founded
in 1974, Institute for Contemporary Studies (ICS) is a nonprofit,
nonpartisan policy research institute based in Oakland, California. ICS
believes that we have the capacity to govern our lives. To realize this
possibility, ICS is commited to developing knowledge, practical information,
and leadership--three important components in leading a more productive,
self-governing way of life.
Tell us about your
organization and your CCF involvement.
ICS is comitted to promoting self-governing ways of life. Many inner-city
leaders and organizations have the potential to become self-governing and
transform the lives of citizens in their communities. In 2001, ICS created
the Bay Area Inner City Leadership Alliance (BAICLA) as a leadership and
program development organization to realize this vision. We focus on three
key building blocks of all communities: marriage and family, education, and
reclaiming ex-offenders to productive living.
As a CCF intermediary, ICS works with faith-based and community organizations, helping them build capacity and attain sustainability. ICS focuses on assisting these organizations to create a powerful vision and a clear strategy for realizing that vision. Administrative capacity without leadership and vision is of little value. Both are indispensable to successful community action.
What is your
geographic service area?
ICS focuses its CCF grant activities in a three-county area: Alameda County
(centered on Oakland, CA), San Francisco County, and Contra Costa County.
This densely populated area of more than 3.5 million people includes many
inner-city and low-income residents.
What is your
project's scope?
Under the CCF program, ICS seeks to help build the capacity of faith-based
and community organizations as they work to strengthen marriages and
families. As these organizations grow in their capacity and effectiveness,
ICS envisions them becoming hubs and centers of education for residents in
their vicinities, and developing collaborative relationships with other FBOs
and CBOs in their areas to achieve sustained impact on marriage and family
strengthening.
What have you done
with your CCF support?
In our first year of the CCF grant, we provided funds and technical support
to eight organizations within our three-county target area. In addition to
funding, ICS provided the sub-awardees with a wide range of training
opportunities including seminars on board development, budgeting,
accounting, strategic planning, fundraising, grant writing, volunteer
recruitment and management, and program evaluations. Key staff members of
the subaward organizations were trained in the Simplified Relationship
Enhancement® curricula and are now "authorized presenters" of that content.
What impact have you
made?
There has been significant impact in the work of the recipient organizations
involved in the CCF program. Most of our eight first-year subawardees have
conducted marriage and/or relationship enhancement trainings to their
clients and constituencies and the rest are preparing to do so. Those
individuals and couples who have been or are currently being trained in the
Relationship Enhancement curricula say that the skills they learned are
proving very helpful as well in either preparing them for marriage or in
making their marriages stronger. This offers tremendous hope for the future
of families and communities in the inner-city.
In February, ICS co-founded the California Healthy Marriage Coalition, which received a Demonstration grant from CCF. ICS's sub-awardees will now be able to participate in a statewide coalition dedicated to strengthening marriage and family. ICS will also be able to collaborate on training and capacity building, extending its reach in and beyond the three counties we are currently working in.
Source: Interview with Dr. Robert B. Hawkins, Jr., President & CEO, Institute for Contemporary Studies, Inc.
From the NRC Spotlight Feature