The Center for Human Services Leadership at Delmar Divine (CHSL) will be an organizational capacity builder for our community of nonprofit agencies, doing so through a racial equity lens that is informed by the post-Ferguson environment and that recognizes the challenges and opportunities that exist north of Delmar Blvd. CHSL will leverage the opportunity presented by the location and infrastructure of Delmar Divine to respond to the moment and contribute to the long-term development of this vital sector for our community by addressing some of the most difficult barriers nonprofits experience when trying to be more effective, including organizational governance, data-driven strategic thinking, innovation, talent development, and collaboration. The scope of services includes:
Animation of Space: CHSL will organize a variety of educational programs, social and on-boarding activities to connect tenants, facilitate relationships, stimulate collaboration, enhance employee morale and build a distinctive Delmar Divine community culture that emphasizes diversity, equity and inclusion.
- Conduct onboarding meetings with new employees within tenant organizations
- Meet individually and in group settings periodically with tenant leaders and employees
- Facilitate relaxed informal, social interaction and events among tenant employees (e.g., holiday socials, Food Truck Fridays, inter-organization nonprofit trivia competition)
- Plan & organize programs addressing knowledge and skill in equity, diversity, and inclusion, as well as organizational behavior, leadership, management, governance and trends and issues in the nonprofit world. Examples include: Quarterly Nonprofit Cafe, Lunch & Learn Sessions, Topical art shows and exhibitions, and annual policy convening or topical conference.
- Facilitate programming by tenant and external organizations to increase traffic and build community.
- Manage logistics for formal executive education programs and an electronic bulletin board and contact system for all Delmar DivINe workers.
Concierge Information & Referral Services: The team will research and get answers to day-to-day problems, provide informal consulting, make referrals and introductions, curate & disseminate information to tenants, and in general act as an extension of the tenant’s management. The team will:
- Maintain broad, current knowledge of the St. Louis region nonprofit and related public and for-profit ecosystem, organizations, leaders, developments, trends and issues by meeting and networking with key informants.
- Develop and maintain a library (digital and paper) of reference works, database of capacity building resources, topical guides and data relevant to organizational capacity, leadership, management and nonprofit sectoral issues.
- Proactively monitor and screen news & developments in the nonprofit world (e.g., emerging policies, regulations, funding opportunities, potential collaborators) and disseminate information to relevant tenants.
- Provide informal counsel, research and referral on organizational, leadership, management and sectoral issues in response to tenant requests.
Connect to Brown School and Washington University Resources: As part of the ongoing partnership between Delmar Divine and Washington University, CHSL will serve as a linkage extending access to other services such as the Professional Development Department, Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation Lab, Office of Field Education, faculty-supported student projects, and Community Engagement department. Many of these departments may conduct programs and services at Delmar Divine.
The team will be supervised, trained and supported by the CHSL Director, Barry Rosenberg, who will provide expert content back-up to the team and informal consulting to tenants. The Director will conduct many of the on-site educational programs referenced above and facilitate peer networks such as CEO and CFO round tables. Additional Brown School faculty, staff, and MSW practicum students will also be engaged. The Director will design and lead two extended executive education series (e.g. Building a High Performing Board; Inside the CEO; Building a High Performing Fundraising Organization) each year for the tenants and, by means of anticipated sponsorships, members of the larger nonprofit community These will emphasize extended, active-learning, cohort-based education and may include areas such as financial management, policy practice, organizational re-alignment, talent development, performance management etc.