Alliance for Children and Families
Encyclopedia
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
. Its nearly 400 members from almost every U.S. state are private, nonprofit child- and family-serving organizations
Child and family services
Child and family services is a government and/or non-profit organisation designed to better the well being of individuals who come from unfortunate situations, environmental or biological. People who seek or are sought after to participate in these services, usually do not have stable homes and no...
, as well as economic empowerment organizations.
Mission and Vision
The mission statementMission statement
A mission statement is a statement of the purpose of a company or organization. The mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making...
and vision of the Alliance for Children and Families is:
- Our MISSION is to fuse intellectual capital with superior membership services in order to strengthen the capacities of North America’s nonprofit child and family serving organizations to serve and to advocate for children, families and communities so that together we may pursue our VISION of a healthy society and strong communities for all children and families.
The Alliance's guiding commitment to members is “members first,” which is reflected in its strategic goals and objectives.
Members' Impact
Members range is size from as few as a couple dozen to thousands of employees. Collectively they employ more than 55,000 staff and utilize the services of more than 10,000 volunteers who serve on their boards and offer up their time and services in other support roles, ranging from driving older adults to medical treatment to reading to pre-school kids. Member economic impact is considerable with more than $10 billion in annual spending power.Members include Neighbor To Family, Inc.
Neighbor To Family, Inc.
Neighbor To Family, Inc. is a private, not-for-profit foster care organization focused on keeping siblings together. Neighbor To Family is based in Daytona Beach, Florida and was founded in 1998 by Gordon Johnson, M.Ed., LLD who serves as its President and CEO....
and Rawhide Boys Ranch
Rawhide Boys Ranch
Rawhide Boy's Ranch is a faith-based non-profit organization located just south of New London, Wisconsin, established in 1965. It provides residential programs for delinquent and emotionally disturbed adolescent boys.-1965 - 1983:...
.
Location
The Alliance for Children and Families has offices in Milwaukee, Wis., and Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Most of its operations are conducted out of the Milwaukee office, with the exception of its public policy and civic engagement efforts, which are directed out of the office in Washington.
History
The Alliance for Children and Families formed in October 1998 when Family Service America (established 1911) and the National Association of Homes and Services for Children (established 1973) merged.Services and Activities
In carrying out its mission, the Alliance for Children and Families provides its members with connections, knowledge, networking, and solutions.Teleconferences and Webinars
Through teleconferenceTeleconference
A teleconference or teleseminar is the live exchange and mass articulation of information among several persons and machines remote from one another but linked by a telecommunications system...
s and webinars
Web conferencing
Web conferencing refers to a service that allows conferencing events to be shared with remote locations. Most vendors also provide either a recorded copy of an event, or a means for a subscriber to record an event. The service allows information to be shared simultaneously, across geographically...
, the Alliance for Children and Families facilitates networking and learning opportunities among its hundreds of members. A wide array of issues and topics relevant to the field of nonprofit human services are discussed, including strategic planning
Strategic planning
Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. In order to determine the direction of the organization, it is necessary to understand its current position and the possible avenues...
, mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling, dividing and combining of different companies and similar entities that can help an enterprise grow rapidly in its sector or location of origin, or a new field or...
, fundraising
Fundraising
Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies...
, board
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
governance, and much more.
Conferences
The Alliance also hosts several conferencesMeeting
In a meeting, two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal setting.- Definitions :An act or process of coming together as an assembly for a common purpose....
throughout the year, many of which are annual events. The Alliance National Conference is the Alliance’s premier event and takes place annually in or around October. Other regular conferences include the National Leadership Conference on Child Welfare Issues, the Fund Development Conference, and the Senior Leadership and Executive Leadership Conferences.
Severson National Information Center
As a service to its members, the Alliance for Children and Families operates the Severson National Information Center, or Severson Center. The Severson Center functions as a national clearinghouse for information about the services, administration, and management of nonprofit human service agencies.Designed, first and foremost, to meet the informational needs of Alliance members, the Severson Center also provides material to the media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
, business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
, government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
, and other social service organizations concerned with family issues. With a library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
collection that includes book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s, a document database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
, journals
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
, and member program information, the Severson Center provides in-depth reference and library loan services to Alliance members and other individuals from the above-mentioned sectors.
The Severson Center also coordinates the creation and updating of the Scanning the Horizons Trends website. The Scanning the Horizons Trends website was created to house all of the trends, issues, drivers, and uncertainties that affect human service nonprofits in the areas of business, economy, demographics, nonprofit issues, social service issues, technology, education, health, and work. The website is open to the public and chronicles many trends that will affect everyone.
The website is a supplement to the Scanning the Horizons: Top Five Trends report, the Alliance’s print publication on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
. It brings an in-depth look at current factors affecting nonprofit human service organizations. The Top Five Trends report helps Alliance members prepare for approaching challenges or opportunities and spot new business concepts or entirely new ventures. It is available to Alliance members free-of-charge as a download from the trends website. Nonmembers may purchase copies of the trend report on CD through the trends website.
New Age of Aging Initiative
The New Age of Aging initiativeInitiative
In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote...
is one of two broad initiatives of the Alliance for Children and Families.
The New Age of Aging initiative is funded by a five-year grant from Atlantic Philanthropies
Atlantic Philanthropies
The Atlantic Philanthropies is a private foundation created in 1982 by US businessman Charles F. "Chuck" Feeney. The Atlantic Philanthropies grant-making supports health and social projects in Australia, Bermuda, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United States and Viet Nam...
and is helping Alliance members respond to the needs of the rapidly expanding population of older adults
Old age
Old age consists of ages nearing or surpassing the average life span of human beings, and thus the end of the human life cycle...
by improving the readiness of the nation’s nonprofit human service workforce.
The New Age of Aging initiative provides a variety of pass-through funding
Funding
Funding is the act of providing resources, usually in form of money , or other values such as effort or time , for a project, a person, a business or any other private or public institutions...
opportunities to support Alliance members.
Civic Engagement Initiative
The second broad initiative of the Alliance is the civic engagementCivic engagement
Civic engagement or civic participation has been defined as "Individual and collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concern."-Forms:...
initiative, which is focused on activating and strengthening the civic engagement efforts of Alliance member agencies, their staff, their clients, and their community. It is funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Rockefeller Brothers Fund
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund , , is an international philanthropic organisation created and run by members of the Rockefeller family. It was set up in New York City in 1940 as the primary philanthropic vehicle of the five famous Rockefeller brothers: John D...
, W. K. Kellogg Foundation
W. K. Kellogg Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was founded in June 1930 as the W.K. Kellogg Child Welfare Foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer Will Keith Kellogg. In 1934, Kellogg donated more than $66 million in Kellogg Company stock and other investments to the W.K. Kellogg Trust...
, Skillman Foundation, and Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York, which was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 "to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding," is one of the oldest, largest and most influential of American foundations...
.
A component of the Civic Engagement initiative is the Alliance’s long-standing annual National Family Week program. The program is supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Publications
As part of its commitment to providing intellectual capital, the Alliance produces two print publications: Families in Society and the Alliance for Children & Families Magazine.Families in Society, founded in 1920, is one of the oldest and most respected journals
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
on social work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
and related social and human services. Written primarily for practitioners, researchers, and students, the double-blind peer-reviewed
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
quarterly publication is available in both print and online form.
The Alliance for Children & Families Magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
, also published quarterly, includes features about emerging trends and best practice
Best practice
A best practice is a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark...
s, regular informational and “how-to
How-to
A how-to or a how to is an informal, often short, description of how to accomplish some specific task. A how-to is usually meant to help non-experts, may leave out details that are only important to experts, and may also be greatly simplified from an overall discussion of the topic...
” columns
Column (newspaper)
A column is a recurring piece or article in a newspaper, magazine or other publication. Columns are written by columnists.What differentiates a column from other forms of journalism is that it meets each of the following criteria:...
, and news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
articles
Article (publishing)
An article is a written work published in a print or electronic medium. It may be for the purpose of propagating the news, research results, academic analysis or debate.-News articles:...
that provide information and knowledge development resources for members of the Alliance and the entire nonprofit human services sector.
Board of Directors
The Alliance for Children and Families is governed by the Alliance Board of DirectorsBoard of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
, which is made up of both representatives from member agencies (typically the President or CEO) and volunteers. The current chair is B. Scott Finnell, president and CEO of Pressley Ridge, an Alliance member in Pittsburgh.
CEO
Peter GoldbergPeter Goldberg
Peter Goldberg was president and CEO of the Alliance for Children and Families. He was also president and CEO of Families International, the parent holding company to the Alliance for Children and Families, Ways to Work, FEI Behavioral Health, and United Neighborhood Centers of America...
serves as president and CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of the Alliance for Children and Families.
Prior to joining the association in 1994, Goldberg held a variety of corporate, philanthropic, and public sector positions. He is a former chair of the board for the Independent Sector, and the current chair of the board for Leadership 18, an organization of executives from the country’s leading national nonprofits. Since 2009 he has been selected seven times by The NonProfit Times as one of the 50 most influential people in the nonprofit sector.
Additionally, Goldberg serves as president and chief executive officer of Families International
Families International
Families International is the holding company for the Alliance for Children and Families, Ways to Work, FEI Behavioral Health, and the United Neighborhood Centers of America. Each organization is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin....
, which is wholly owned by the members of the Alliance for Children and Families. Families International is governed by a board of directors, on which a majority of seats are held by members of the Alliance Board of Directors.