United Way of Story County brings partners together regularly to collectively share needs and problem-solve solutions in our key areas of Health, Education, and Financial Stability. For example, UWSC convenes the Story County Alliance for Philanthropy, Story County Food Pantry Collaboration, Story County Hunger Collaboration, Story County Immigrant & Refugee Collaboration, Story County Reads Collaboration, and the Story County Transportation Collaboration. We also are participants in other collaborations convened by partners, such as the Story County Criminal Justice and Mental Health Taskforce, the Two Rivers Regional Housing group, and the Blast Back to School (school supply) initiative.

However, this data point counts only PUBLIC (open) convenings, not collaboration meetings per se. As explained by UWW (Global Results Framework):

Technical Definition

This indicator refers to local United Ways’ efforts to bring community residents together to identify, discuss, and work together on issues of shared concern. Convenings can include meetings, summits, community conversations, and any other structured opportunity for community residents to directly engage each other. The convening function is an essential part of United Way’s role in communities and often differentiates us from other organizations. Convenings can vary significantly based on local community context, content, structure, United Way staff capacity, and resources available. They can take place anywhere that is open and accessible to the public (i.e. schools, recreation centers, churches, meeting halls, government buildings, United Way offices). They can be designed to gain a stronger sense of people’s aspirations for their community, to surface new issues, to explore in depth a topic that has previously been identified by community residents as an area of concern, or to brainstorm possible solutions.   

Why Is This Indicator Important?

A key strategy for advancing shared community goals in education, income and health is the ability of United Ways to engage community residents. United Ways are often uniquely able to serve as trusted conveners in their communities. Those who effectively engage community residents have usually gained the trust of key community leaders and other stakeholders, built relationships with individuals and institutions, and are seen as credible on the issues being addressed. Community engagement is essential to ensure that all voices are heard in the process of addressing community challenges, and that solutions ultimately proposed are equitable and inclusive of all residents, especially those that most likely to be affected.

The 2028 goals in the U.S. includes a focus on increasing community cohesion, as a chief mechanism for increasing access to jobs, increasing the number of youth that are prepared for college and careers, and the ability of individuals to live in healthy communities. Progress towards increasing community cohesion will be principally measured by this indicator and the indicator that immediately follows (i.e. # of individuals engaged).

United Ways continue to improve and enhance their convening capacity on issues of shared concern to community residents, business owners, local institutions, and the general public. As in the case of individual and volunteer engagement discussed below, data collected on this indicator, and aggregated across United Ways, will also demonstrate to donors, companies, and other external partners the ability of United Way to engage community residents to identify common issues and develop shared solutions – a fundamental aspect of United Way’s value proposition.