Vital Signs  Orientation Community foundations taking the pulse of Canadian communities January 12 th 2009 Sara Lyons, Program Manager, CFC

Introductions Name Foundation Role with the Foundation One thing you’d like from today

Agenda The Vital Signs Initiative Producing Vital Signs National Coordination & Support The Benefits Next Steps

The Vital Signs Initiative

The Starting Point Toronto’s Vital Signs - mid-1990’s National program foundations published Expansion : 11 reports 2008: 15 reports 2009: Anticipate approx 17

Vital Signs Goals To measure the health of community To provide accessible information To engage community To encourage action on issues To inform the community foundation’s ongoing work To build the profile of the foundation

Vital Signs Issue Areas Arts & culture Belonging & leadership Environment Gap between rich & poor Getting started in our community Health & wellness Housing Learning Safety Work

Headlines Region under microscope The Cambridge Times Homeless, crime, cost of living dominate concerns in report on city Red Deer Advocate Hat’s OK, but there’s room for improvement Medicine Hat News Sudbury booming, but poor get poorer: report The Sudbury Star Much work to do: Report NB Telegraph Journal (Saint John)

2008 Reports

Producing Vital Signs

What it Includes Community consultation & engagement Data collection & interpretation Indicator selection & grading Publication of the report Promotion of the report’s release Evaluation & integration into rest of foundation’s work

The Cost Human Resources –Planning –Coordination –Production Financial –Research –Publication –Events

Funding Options Grants Donors Discretionary funds Sponsorships Operational funds

National Coordination & Support

CFC’s Role To help members do Vital Signs, & do it well To administer, promote & monitor the program To build the national profile of the program and of the CF movement

CFC Support Vital Signs manual Training & coaching Web site/collaboration space Promotion tools (e.g. FAQs, news releases) Evaluation tools (in development) National report Centralized research

Common Elements Annual release date Ten issue areas Ten core indicators Description of what Vital Signs is Report title Registered trademark Wordmark CFC attribution

The Benefits

Why do Vital Signs Links Foundation’s work to the community Provides community leadership Increases Foundation’s understanding of the community Supports donors need for information Informs Foundation’s work Increases profile of Foundation

Success Stories Community needs addressed Awareness/profile New funding, new donors Partnerships Community involvement

Organizational Impact Strategic planning Increased awareness Increased donations New donors Grantmaking Community participation Resources

Next Steps

Environmental Scanning Questions to ask about Vital Signs for your community: –What exists in your community? –Is there room for another? –Is there a unique role Vital Signs can play? –Can it add value? –Can it extend the reach or build on existing capacity? –Is there an opportunity to work with another community foundation and provide a regional report?

Getting Started CFC Application –Agreement to terms of participation –Implementation plan overview –Community engagement description –Resourcing methods (human & financial) –Applying Vital Signs to your work intentions

Tele-Seminars Getting Started Indicators Marketing & Communications Integrating VS into your work and Evaluation (planned)

Wrap-up Questions/comments Discussion items

Thank you! Community foundations taking the pulse of Canadian communities