5/26/2017
Ann Houston, Executive Director and Nancy Turner, Director of Resource Development, The Neighborhood Developers
Challenge: To partner with other expert agencies to create a “one-stop-shop” to assist low-income clients with education, financial services, and benefits.
Prior to the launch of CONNECT in 2012, The Neighborhood Developers offered financial education and benefits enrollment programming that, while valuable, was insufficient to move many families out of poverty. Our clients -- primarily low-wage, low-skilled immigrants -- needed a greater range of services than we could provide independently. While critical services were delivered locally, clients struggled to stitch different services together. Many reported feeling overwhelmed as they juggled the demands of work and family life.
In response, TND led the formation of CONNECT, located at our headquarters, which offers the services of five agencies working to improve the financial mobility of low-income families. The partnership includes two nonprofits, a credit union, a community college and a career center.
We developed our program of bundled services by learning from national “one-stop financial opportunity centers” led by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and the United Way. Once we decided on our services, TND set out to recruit partners whose services complement our own and who agreed to integrate services and work together at one site.
Our organization plays two roles at CONNECT. In addition to delivering financial capability services, we provide the “glue” that binds the partners together. Initially, this meant establishing a governance and accountability system that held each partner to shared goals and commitments. We initiated monthly meetings with executive level managers in order to foster the buy-in from leadership that would be critical to our success.
We soon discovered that each organization had its own funding requirements, data-collection requirements and organizational culture. So, to avoid a culture clash, our first task was to make sure the partners understood each other’s priorities, particularly regarding performance standards. Discussion - sometimes difficult - fostered better understanding and trust among stakeholders, leading to better outcomes for our clients.
While CONNECT began its early stage programming, TND invested in a facility expansion to add 2,800 square feet of classroom and programming space. We wanted to create a welcome environment that would keep client coming back.
We also helped develop an adaptable database that allowed each partner to maintain their own data systems and avoid duplicating data entry. Eighteen months after launch, CONNECT was fully functioning with assistance and funding from the U.S. Department of Labor, NeighborWorks America, Boston LISC and the United Way.
When CONNECT’s data went live, managers were initially surprised to see that in our first year of operation, only 12 percent of clients bundled services. We formed a task force to identify opportunities to overlay services. For example, we identified and spoke to clients engaged in semester-long adult education coursework about public benefits screening and financial education.
We held focus groups to better understand the client experience and developed new client brochures and messaging to reinforce that there was opportunity to move from one service to another. Frontline staff began weekly meetings to facilitate training, client flow and referrals.
Early data on the effectiveness of bundling helped overcome staff resistance and incentivized change. The percentage of clients who receive bundled services at our location continues to increase, almost doubling from 12 percent in 2013 to 23 percent in 2015. The bundling goal for 2016 is 28 percent.
Through CONNECT’s coaching and peer support programs, clients engage in financial goal setting delivered one-on-one or in a group setting. Coached clients tap into the greatest density of CONNECT’s service offerings and are demonstrating impressive gains. In 2015, coached clients saw a median increase to net income of $716.50 per month. A coached client said of her experience, “I felt like I had a whole team there to support me.”
In mid-2015, after three full years of operation, CONNECT identified some areas for improvements. We are calling this effort CONNECT 2.0.
Clients now enter intake information directly into a computer that uses a series of questions to assess a client’s needs and automatically maps the appropriate services. For example, families that have high debt, are unbanked or routinely pay late bill fees, will map into financial education or credit repair services.
For each client, the computer generates a “service map” that categorizes short-, medium- and long-term activities and considers service availability and the level of client interest. It notifies the CONNECT partner most appropriate to the service suggested and sends the client clear information about how to follow up. It even prescreens all clients for public benefits eligibility such as food stamps.
For The Neighborhood Developers, the launch of CONNECT has had a profound impact. The added staff, budget and facility have increased our reach and visibility and deepened our partnerships. We hope to take the lessons to other endeavors as we continue our mission to nurture those communities most in need.