HPFF is very proud to announce our acceptance into Mid-America Arts Alliance’s ENGAGE Houston program!!!

ENGAGE is a new program, informed by the HELP (Hands-on Experiential Learning Project) program, combining the same strong local-needs emphasis with new opportunities for participant collaboration and networking. ENGAGE culminated from:

• 2011 Houston Needs Assessment. This research involved 52 organizations in the Houston Area. The research uncovered local capabilities, needs, and training preferences.
• The goal of this work was emerge from that understanding with the design of a multi-year training program that will empower a targeted group of those institutions to better address issues surrounding capacity building and sustainability.

Learning Topics:

• Good Governance
• Fundraising and/or Finance
• Community Needs and Outcomes

Guiding Principles:

The ENGAGE Houston team has a specific set of principles that guides the program components of on-site coaching, peer meetings, and organization goal formation. Principles are:

• Respect the individuality of each organization.
• Impart project ownership to all participants.
• Commit multi-year assistance to participants.
• Encourage self-sufficiency and innovation.
• Generate supportive peer networks and routine cooperation.
• Celebrate achievement.

Project Methods:

Participating organizations in the project will:

• Take part in three in-depth, consecutive, nine-month cycles of participation
• Determine their own individualized goals for improvement in the project topic areas
• Enhance their professional network in the greater Houston cultural and nonprofit communities
• Make steps to build infrastructure
• Strengthen self-sufficiency

The project will support organizations by:

• Establishing a baseline measurement of the general organizational health of each participating organization and measuring improvements over the life of the project
• Providing consistent, on-site, customized improvement consultations to all participating organizations
• Generating a supportive peer network among participants to accelerate learning, engender routine resource sharing, and spark opportunities for creative peer collaborations
• Delivering all training under the broad heading of “community impact,” but focus individualized coaching and assistance in three specific areas: Good Governance, Fundraising/Finance, and Community Needs and Outcomes.