Demonstration Projects
Our ongoing organization "lab" yields innovative new practices
Fieldstone Alliance conducts research and hosts demonstration projects that have promise for improving performance and results in the nonprofit sector. Through this work we mine best practices, package the findings into practical, easy-to-apply tools, and disseminate them throughout the sector.
Recent Projects
The Nexus Project
A two-year project, funded by W.K. Kellogg Foundation, designed to research best practices in capacity building with immigrant- and refugee- led organizations, and strengthen the work of ten to fifteen leading capacity-building organizations nationally that work in this area.Habitat Urban Strategies Initiative
A thirty-month partnership with Habitat for Humanity International, which increased the capacity and performance of their urban affiliates in thirty metropolitan areas across the U.S. This project resulted in the creation of the "Seven Factors for Urban Success Framework." It also yielded twenty models of success, highly practical case studies illustrating best practices in each of the seven factors. These and other tools were incorporated in to Habitat's Urban Programs, created to sustain and support high performance among Habitat affiliates.Payne-Lake Community Partners
A demonstration project that connected the energy and vitality of communities of color, particularly immigrant communities, to the revitalization of two aging commercial corridors in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, and their surrounding neighborhoods. This was part of the Living Cities Project and a partnership with the McKnight, Knight, Rockefeller, and Casey Foundations. It has now spun-off to become part of Local Initiatives Support Corporation. To learn more about Payne-Lake Partners, visit www.plcp.org.Leadership Foundations of America
We served as the operating arm for Leadership Foundations of America (LFA), with the goal of significantly expanding the network and building the capacity of leadership and faith-based foundations across the U.S. to more effectively address needs and build assets in low-income communities. LFA has since spun off to become an independent entity. To learn more about LFA, visit www.leadershipfoundations.org.
For more information, please contact Sandy Jacobsen at 651.556.4510 or email her at sjacobsen@FieldstoneAlliance.org.
