Description

The ability for local leaders from diverse sectors to work together to address their shared challenges and to realize a shared community vision is a defining characteristic of successful, resilient communities.  Place matters, and ensuring that cross-sector leaders have the skills, capabilities and a shared approach for translating their shared vision into a set of high-impact strategies is often overlooked as an essential investment, yet it is foundational to the long-term success of any community change effort. 

For the past six years, The Rider-Pool Foundation, a locally-based philanthropic organization in Allentown, has been investing in a deliberate effort to build capacity amongst a diverse cross-section of their community’s leaders.  This presentation will profile the early results of Rider- Pool’s Collective Impact Fellowship. 

Ron Dendas, Program Officer for The Rider-Pool Foundation, will share the thinking behind this innovative and intentional investment and how it has been a catalyst for initiatives that are impacting the health and well-being of our community.  Hear about the lessons being learned from the CI Fellowship and some early thoughts of what’s next as this investment in innovation and learning continues to evolve.