Taking the Guesswork Out of Funding Youth Programs: The Evidence2Success Approach

Since 2012, communities using the Evidence2Success® framework have used strategic financing strategies, including fundmapping, in a community- and systems-driven effort to improve youth and family well-being. The team from the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center at Penn State has evaluated this process all along the way, from the early survey planning stages through data collection and use by leaders and communities.

Based on that data and the experiences of those implementing the survey, we share the following:

• key benefits experienced by communities when collaborating to create a fundmap and engage in strategic finance planning, including the feasibility and usefulness of tools, and the growth in sustainable funding and program participation over time;
• candid lessons learned about how others can approach similar work in their own community; and
• a challenge to think about integrating a collaborative financing approach system-wide.

To learn how your community might benefit from using the strategic financing process, download now the Taking the Guesswork Out of Funding Youth Programs: The Evidence2Success Approach Action Guide, or preview the full guide here.

Pay attention to what benefits emerged for the six Evidence2Success communities who used fundmapping and financing strategies in their communities. Then, think about your community and the youth and families who live there.

As you read, ask yourself:

• How are funds spent for youth and family priorities across our region? Are we reaching youth in a particular distressed neighborhood?
• Do the programs happening now match the actual needs of the youth receiving services?
• How much funding focuses on preventing problems before they begin versus treating them after they start?
• Are we using programs that are proven to work?
• Who in my community is working together to make decisions about the well-being of youth and families? And, who is missing from the discussion?

The action guide’s section “Insider’s View: What to Consider as You Plan Your Strategic Financing Process” will help you navigate these questions, and more.

This is the second of five action guides based on core components of the Evidence2Success framework that has been implemented in the communities of Providence, Rhode Island; Selma City, Alabama; Kearns, Utah; Mobile, Alabama; Memphis, Tennessee; and, Miami, Florida.

Evidence2Success: Involving communities in assessing and improving the well-being of children and young people

Introducing the Evidence2Success Tool Kit: Gathering Data and Aligning Funding for Young People