Demonstration Project: Leadership Foundations of America

Project Overview
Leadership Foundations of America (LFA)--a national network of faith-based community development intermediaries--is partnering with Fieldstone Alliance to quickly strengthen LFA's leadership and management structure. Fieldstone Alliance and LFA have strategically focused its collaborative initiatives in three areas: Leadership; Capacity-building; Faith-based Community Economic Development.

Roles and Responsibilities
Fieldstone Alliance staff created and currently manage LFA's National Member Services Office which focuses on building affiliate capacity and coordinating communication and resources between affiliates. Bryan Barry, with Fieldstone Alliance, has been the acting Chief Operating Officer for LFA since 2001.

Number of Sites the Work Covers
Our primary work with LFA is in 29 U.S. cities or regions plus Pretoria, South Africa. In addition, we are helping LFA start new leadership foundations in about 40 more U.S. cities and six other cities/countries beyond the U.S.

Over What Period of Time
Fieldstone Alliance also provided planning assistance to the LFA network in 1993 and 1994, as they were deciding whether to form a more structured national network/organization. Our more current work with LFA, creating and managing the National Member services Office as well as continuing program development, has been from 2001 through the present - approximately four years.

Total LFA and Network Budget
Leadership Foundations of America's 2005 budget is now approximately $3 million (increase to be approved by their Finance Committee in late March).  The combined budget of the LFA network is currently about $50 million.  If the two new initiatives noted below proceed, this network budget will increase more than $20 million in 2006.

Amount regranted
LFA is involved in several projects where there is regranting:

• A Four-City Compassion Capital Fund Demonstration Project in which $1.1. million is being regranted to about 100 faith- and community-based groups over a three-year period.

• A new project that is a joint venture between LFA and a foundation that will initially grant $.5 million in 2005, with a much larger amount than that to be regranted in 2006. The first three projects in 2005 will focus on: 1)engaging local networks across multiple cities who assist ex-prisoners to successfully reenter their communities, 2) mobilizing leaders from multiple congregations in a city to address their communities' biggest challenges, and 3) mobilizing and equipping younger community leaders who receive full-scholarships to college in a way that changes the colleges involved and the surrounding community. In 2006, the project will likely be broadened to replicate other social innovations across multiple communities.

• A new project, initiated by the federal government, in which about $9 million will be regranted, as the project proceeds. The project focuses on improving the prospects of high-risk youth across multiple U.S. cities, using the strength of small community-based groups.

(See also www.leadershipfoundations.org.)