Getting Started Webinar Series
This virtual series is designed to help communities assess their strengths and readiness to successfully implement the Community Heart & Soul Program and prepare their grant application. Participation in all three sessions of the series is mandatory for all grant applicants. Participants should have reviewed the Getting Started with Community Heart & Soul workbook in advance and have it on hand to reference during the webinars.
The Four Elements of Heart & Soul Readiness
May 16, 2024
12:00 -1:30 p.m. PST.
In this first webinar of the series, we will provide an overview of the grant application process and required elements. Community representatives will learn how to use the Community Readiness Inventory to identify their community’s strengths and opportunities. This will help to determine where they need to focus in preparation for Community Heart & Soul.
Conversations are framed around four elements of readiness: community interest, community leadership, relationships and community culture, and resources. We will also begin exploring the role of the project coordinator and characteristics of successful coordinators so your community can begin thinking about who may fill this role. Note: It is not required that you identify your project coordinator before the submission of your application, but you should have someone in mind by the time you submit your application.
Application Components:
- Narrative
- Community Readiness Inventory
- Local Institution(s) Resolution
Required Reading: Sections 1 and 2 of the Getting Started Community Workbook
Who Lives, Works and Plays in Our Community
June 20, 2024
12:00 -1:30 p.m. PST.
In this second webinar of the series, community representatives will explore who lives, workshop and plays in their community, starting with a conversation about formal and informal groups and the connectors within those groups. This information becomes the foundation of an important Community Heart & Soul tool, the Community Network Analysis. and it will help you complete the required Community Connections Table, We will also discuss building your core leadership team as you will need to begin gathering support letters from partnering organizations. We will continue our conversation on the roles and responsibilities of the Project Coordinator.
Application Components:
- Narrative
- Community Connections Table
- Partnering Organizations’ Support Letters
Required Reading: Sections 3 and 4 of the Getting Started Community Workbook
Community Investment in Heart & Soul
July 18, 2024
12:00 -1:30 p.m. PST.
In this third and final webinar of the series, community representatives will begin thinking about their budget for Community Heart & Soul and consider various types of investment (financial, time, and in-kind resources) that is needed for this work. Project coordination can be a significant budgetary item for a Heart & Soul effort, and this workshop will provide an opportunity to discuss successful project coordination models that have been implemented in other communities.
Application Components:
- Narrative
- Budget
Required Reading: Section 5 of the Getting Started Community Workbook
How to Apply
The application is now open!
Click below to apply using MyInnovia. You may login using existing credentials or register for an account if you are a new user.
Applicants must attend a series of webinars in the spring and summer of 2024. See the timeline below for webinar registration details and key dates.
Community Heart & Soul®
Innovia Foundation launched the Community Heart & Soul® Program to help rural communities throughout its 20-county service area BUILD COMMUNITY through a resident-driven process and TAKE ACTION on what matters most to its residents. Hundreds of communities across the country have implemented the program and experienced outcomes such as:
- Increased participation in local community-decision making
- Increased volunteerism
- Increased investment in community-supported programs and activities
- Increased economic development and downtown revitalization
- Community endowment funds
The Community Heart & Soul model was developed over ten years ago and it has been recognized nationally by the American Planning Association as a successful approach to community planning and development.
FAQs
Community Heart & Soul is designed for rural communities with populations under 30,000. The model is not used in large urban centers or in neighborhoods.
Multi-town, regional and county-wide efforts may be eligible if the total population does not exceed 30,000.
The process can be initiated by residents, community-based organizations or units of local government such as a school, municipality, library or hospital district or port. The official grant applicant must be a nonprofit organization or unit of local government or there must be a fiscal sponsor that meets these qualifications.
Community Heart & Soul does not replace other community development programs or planning processes. It does complement other community initiatives (economic development planning, comprehensive planning, Main Street Programs, etc.). It can also be used to demonstrate a community engagement effort and support for programs and activities. Many Community Heart & Soul communities have used it to leverage grants and other funding for programs and activities.
Can a community focus on a predetermined topic or theme during their Community Heart & Soul process?
Community Heart & Soul is a bottom-up, resident-driven process that determines a community’s future based on what matters most to residents in their communities. The strength of the model lies in the design: there is no agenda being promoted, other than a genuine desire to improve community relationships, planning, and collaborative decision-making through engaging in the process. Community Heart & Soul must not be driven by any political, social, or religious agenda.
Through the process, topics or themes will likely rise to the top of community priorities – and in some cases, this may happen early in the process. For example, workforce development and opportunities for graduating students are common community priorities. Innovia Foundation will work with communities to provide additional resources when this happens through other programs such as LaunchNW.
How It Works
Community Grants
Innovia will award up to ten $30,000 grants to support community-based project coordinators and actions in the selected communities for up to two years.
Community Match
Participating communities will be required to provide a $10,000 match over the two-year program period.
Technical Assistance
Technical assistance, including program training and assigned certified coaches, will also be provided. The coaches will provide capacity-building training and facilitation services for program coordinators and community leadership teams. Through this process, residents will learn how to create a network map, analyze demographic data, implement proven outreach and engagement strategies, build more authentic relationships with fellow residents, conduct community interviews, and develop a unique community plan. This support is free to the community and valued at over $50,000 per year.
Timeline
Are you interesting in applying for the Community Heart & Soul grant? Please review the important timeline dates below, including a series of mandatory applicant webinars.
Community Leadership Summit
Sessions include an introduction to the Community Heart & Soul program. Communities interested in the program must have one or more representatives in attendance.
Grant Application Opens
Mandatory Applicant Webinar 1
Applicants must attend at least one webinar on either April 11 or 25, 2024.
Mandatory Applicant Webinar 2
Applicants must attend at least one webinar on either April 11 or 25, 2024.
Getting Started Webinar Session #1: The Four Elements of Heart Soul Readiness
In this first webinar of the series, we will provide an overview of the grant application process and required elements. Community representatives will learn how to use the Community Readiness Inventory to identify their community’s strengths and opportunities. This will help to determine where they need to focus in preparation for Community Heart & Soul.
Conversations are framed around four elements of readiness: community interest, community leadership, relationships and community culture, and resources. We will also begin exploring the role of the project coordinator and characteristics of successful coordinators so your community can begin thinking about who may fill this role. Note: It is not required that you identify your project coordinator before the submission of your application, but you should have someone in mind by the time you submit your application.
Getting Started Webinar Session #2: Who Lives, Works and Plays in Our Community
In this second webinar of the series, community representatives will explore who lives, works and plays in their community, starting with a conversation about formal and informal groups and the connectors within those groups. This information becomes the foundation of an important Community Heart Soul tool, the Community Network Analysis, and it will help you complete the required Community Connections Table. We will also discuss building your core leadership team as you will need to begin gathering support letters from partnering organizations. We will continue our conversation on the roles and responsibilities of the Project Coordinator.
Getting Started Webinar Session #3: Community Investment in Heart & Soul
In this third and final webinar of the series, community representatives will begin thinking about their budget for Community Heart & Soul and consider various types of investment (financial, time, and in-kind resources) that is needed for this work. Project coordination can be a significant budgetary item for a Heart & Soul effort, and this workshop will provide an opportunity to discuss successful project coordination models that have been implemented in other communities.
Applications Due
Communities Selected and Grants Awarded
Community Leadership Summit
Sessions include an introduction to the Community Heart & Soul program. Communities interested in the program must have one or more representatives in attendance.
Grant Application Opens
Mandatory Applicant Webinar 1
Applicants must attend at least one webinar on either April 11 or 25, 2024.
Mandatory Applicant Webinar 2
Applicants must attend at least one webinar on either April 11 or 25, 2024.
Getting Started Webinar Session #1: The Four Elements of Heart Soul Readiness
In this first webinar of the series, we will provide an overview of the grant application process and required elements. Community representatives will learn how to use the Community Readiness Inventory to identify their community's strengths and opportunities. This will help to determine where they need to focus in preparation for Community Heart Soul.
Conversations are framed around four elements of readiness: community interest, community leadership, relationships and community culture, and resources. We will also begin exploring the role of the project coordinator and characteristics of successful coordinators so your community can begin thinking about who may fill this role. Note: It is not required that you identify your project coordinator before the submission of your application, but you should have someone in mind by the time you submit your application.
Getting Started Webinar Session #2: Who Lives, Works and Plays in Our Community
In this second webinar of the series, community representatives will explore who lives, works and plays in their community, starting with a conversation about formal and informal groups and the connectors within those groups. This information becomes the foundation of an important Community Heart Soul tool, the Community Network Analysis, and it will help you complete the required Community Connections Table. We will also discuss building your core leadership team as you will need to begin gathering support letters from partnering organizations. We will continue our conversation on the roles and responsibilities of the Project Coordinator.
Getting Started Webinar Session #3: Community Investment in Heart & Soul
In this third and final webinar of the series, community representatives will begin thinking about their budget for Community Heart & Soul and consider various types of investment (financial, time, and in-kind resources) that is needed for this work. Project coordination can be a significant budgetary item for a Heart & Soul effort, and this workshop will provide an opportunity to discuss successful project coordination models that have been implemented in other communities.
Applications Due
Communities Selected and Grants Awarded
IN DEPTH
Community Heart & Soul
Innovia Foundation has partnered with Community Heart & Soul to bring its resident-driven planning process to our 20-county service area in Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Our partnership with Community Heart & Soul is built on the shared belief that residents hold the key to meeting their toughest challenges through actively listening to what people value most about the communities in which they live. By inviting residents to take the lead in exploring their community’s past, present and future, Community Heart & Soul builds a community’s capacity to engage residents in planning and determining their future.
Background
Community Heart & Soul is a resident-driven planning method for communities under 30,000 residents. The method helps identify the “heart and soul” of a community to inform planning and development. Field-tested in hundreds of communities over the last decade, Community Heart and Soul reconnects people with what they love most about their community and translates those personal and emotional connections into a blueprint that serves as the foundation for future community decisions and actions. It’s a barn-raising approach to community planning and development and has proven to increase participation in local decision-making and empower residents to shape the future of their communities in a way that upholds the unique character of each place. Communities across the country have used the Community Heart & Soul process to build community relationships, make lasting changes and develop long-term action plans.
Three Principles
Based on three powerful principles—involve everyone, focus on what matters most, and play the long game, Community Heart & Soul is a four-phase, step-by-step process that brings residents together to identify and honor the unique character of their community and the emotional connection of the people who live there. For most communities, completing the four phases takes about two years. But the completion of the Community Heart & Soul model is just the beginning. It launches a new way of doing business that nurtures a more vibrant and sustainable community far into the future.
Program Phases
Phase 1: Imagine
You will gather a core Community Leadership Team of volunteers inspired to involve everyone and create positive change. Your team will work together to build awareness, interest, and commitment in all segments of the community.
You will complete a Community Network Analysis developed for the program. The Community Network Analysis is all about understanding who lives, works and plays in your community and how best to reach them. You will be analyzing community demographics and tapping local knowledge to brainstorm ways to engage different groups and networks – especially those who are usually not at the table.
Phase 2: Connect
In this phase, you will be bringing the table to the community to gather and share personal stories about local experiences and find common ground. The Community Leadership Team will use this information to develop Heart & Soul Statements that reflect the observations and aspirations of the collective community. These statements will guide activities and results in the next phases.
Phase 3: Plan
In this phase, you will prioritize ideas for action generated by the community and develop an action plan informed by the Heart & Soul Statements. You will also revisit the Community Network Analysis to ensure as many people as possible are included in decision-making, aiming for broad and meaningful participation in developing and evaluating options.
Phase 4: Act
In this final phase of the Community Heart & Soul Process, you will create a Stewardship Plan that focuses on the transition from visioning and planning to sustained long-term implementation. Components of this phase include presentations to units of local governments, nonprofit organizations, community organizations and groups to encourage them to adopt the Community Heart & Soul Statements and incorporate them into their plans. Community members, partner agencies and others will work together to find volunteers and resources to see their ideas come to life.
Innovia’s Community Heart & Soul Program is intended to be a foundation-building and complementary program to Innovia Foundation’s other community initiatives, including LaunchNW and the 5% Campaign. It supports our vision of vibrant and sustainable communities where every person thrives.
Questions?
To learn more about this program and our other initiatives and what might be the best fit for your community, please reach out to us at 509-624-2606 or contact Jennifer Stapleton at jenniferpst@gmail.com.