Connecting communities
Connect Network brings together nonprofits, government and citizens
BY ALEXANDRA SCHEXNAYDER
Nancy Stutts is a visionary. Although she considers herself just another person working to build a stronger community, Stutts admits Connect Network-her Web-based, leadership capacity-building brainchild designed for nonprofit, government and citizen leaders-has transformed the region's independent sector in ways even she never imagined.
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Nancy Stutts helps launch Connect Rappahannock, modeled after Connect Richmond. |
"Connect Network began as Connect Richmond in 2001," Stutts explains. It evolved from a University program aimed at involving Richmond students in experiential education projects in the surrounding community. Stutts came to the Jepson School of Leadership Studies in 1998 to lead the program. What she ended up doing was partnering with students, faculty, staff, librarians and local community and media sources to build leadership capacity in people who are busy building their communities.
Connect Network does that by giving leaders the tools they need-information, resources and one another-to put their ideas, energy and knowledge into action and elicit social change.
"When we asked the community, 'What do you really need?' the response was clear. They needed an information broker," remembers Stutts. "There is too much information on the Web, and nonprofits simply do not have the time, expertise or resources to vet all the data that is out there. Connect Network allows leaders to look at the information in an efficient manner, so they can focus their energies on their missions and programs."
Stutts has significant firsthand experience with the strapped-for-time infrastructure of the social service sector. Since 1985, her work with Children's Hospital, Sacred Heart Center, Christian Children's Fund and Theatre IV, combined with volunteer leadership work at Memorial Child Guidance Clinic, Youth Matters and Richmond Race for the Cure, just to name a few, gave Stutts real-world knowledge of the opportunities and challenges facing nonprofit leaders.
Stutts combined that knowledge with scholarly insights when she earned a Ph.D. in public policy from VCU in 2002. Nonprofit leaders around the nation call her for advice about the independent sector, and she presents frequently at conferences. She also teaches courses on service and philanthropy in the Jepson School. She's a walking, talking "best practice" for connecting practice with theory.
"I can't take credit for what Connect Richmond has become," Stutts is quick to point out. "A Connect site is the agent of transformation, and it requires the leaders to take the information and instant communications we offer and make the transformation of the community come full circle. What we do is build leadership capacity so leaders can build a stronger community."
Stutts also is quick to point out that Connect Network is a collaboration of her staff, Richmond students and community members. "Since 2001, we've developed internships for some 50 students, who have worked with us as researchers, writers and community outreach assistants, and our membership has grown to include some 2,600 individuals, representing some 750 organizations. These people connect daily electronically."
Beyond the core membership, Connect brings together some 2,500 people on specialized e-mail lists representing diverse interests-historic preservationists, early childhood educators, a group that provides services to the Spanish-speaking community, an Asian-American economic development alliance and people providing dental resources to the uninsured.
List members read like a Who's Who of Richmond nonprofit, philanthropic and business leaders. Citizens from a variety of backgrounds depend upon Connect Richmond for the free-and priceless-resources it provides.
"We recently launched a retooled and improved Richmond Web site, and we expect our numbers to grow considerably in 2006 because we intentionally held back on outreach until we put up the new site," says Sue Robinson, operations manager for the network.
This year, the network grew to serve the Rappahannock River region, an expansion supported by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund. The fund is only one of a dozen funding streams that have embraced the concept. Stutts has productive long-term relationships with philanthropists, including the Associated Colleges of the South, Bonner Foundation, Capital One, Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia, First Market Bank, Jackson Foundation, Jenkins Foundation, Jessie Ball duPont Fund, John G., William H. & Emma Scott Foundation, Junior League of Richmond, Markel Corporation, Mary Morton Parsons Foundation, Richmond Memorial Health Foundation, Ukrop Foundation and Virginia Commonwealth University.
"The brilliance behind the Connect Network is that each site provides one-stop shopping. Nonprofits, government and private industry can all use this tool to understand what's going on in their own backyards, as well as with each other," says Dr. Sharon Greene, senior program officer of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund.
The way communities value the network is clear. When Connect Rappahannock launched officially in mid-March, attendees included members of the General Assembly, the community college president, business leaders, the head of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, a former member of the governor's cabinet and a host of local luminaries from school superintendents to nonprofit CEO's and bank presidents. The project representatives have been invited to make presentations to each of the six area boards of supervisors. The impact in Richmond is similar. Connect Richmond events are standing-room-only workshops, discussions and seminars.
"The University reaches out to the community in so many ways, through faculty projects, student research and service, through the work of the Center for Civic Engagement and the Bonner Scholars," observes operations manager Robinson, who emphasizes the value of Stutts' vision on the University.
"But, if you ask people in leadership roles among metro area nonprofits, they will tell you that Connect Richmond is a significant and heartfelt point of engagement. Nonprofit sector leaders have a real relationship with Connect Richmond. It has built and continues to build social capital among people who work in these mission-driven organizations. It is a trusted, neutral source of information and research, and it brokers ideas and knowledge about best practices that people embrace. They are constantly expressing their appreciation and gratitude to the Jepson School, the University and Nancy Stutts for creating this tool."
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