Foundation Welcomes Funded Partners to Annual Fall Convening
On October 22, the Foundation for a Healthy High Point welcomed funded partners and guests to their annual fall convening. Each year the Foundation, Board and staff bring together grantees for a day of community conversation. Attendees enjoy this as a time to network, celebrate the collaborative impact being made, share best practices, offer feedback and solve challenges among colleagues.
We also hosted two presenters, who each spoke on topics related to nonprofit communications, advocacy and messaging. The first was Leslie Garvin, Executive Director of NC Campus Engagement. NC Campus Engagement is a collaborative network of higher education entities, committed to civic and social responsibility. Garvin and her team offer a number of events, trainings, and consulting for other organizations who seek to create civically health constituencies. Her presentation, “Radical Belonging as a Pathway to a Civically Healthy High Point,” focused on the power of belonging as a means of building civic health.
Civic health is defined by how we engage with one another, our communities, our institutions, and in politics for the purposes of contributing to the greater good. Garvin provided documentation showing how North Carolina currently performs on measures of civic health– and, importantly, where we as a state have the greatest opportunities to improve. Garvin linked civic engagement with health outcomes, highlighting a positive correlation in communities that have higher levels of civic health and improved public health data, stating that, “Civic participation is a cornerstone of democracy, and strong civic health is vital to healthy, functioning systems and thriving communities.”
Attendees next heard from Nick Seaver, Senior VP and Co-Director of Training Programs, at Burness, a global communications firm which supports nonprofit organizations to tell stories which in turn inspire others to connect, engage, and drive social change. Setting the stage with an informative and scientific overview of how our brains receive, process, and absorb information, Seaver led the group through an interactive workshop to examine ways in which nonprofit organizations can create messaging, which can be more memorable, informative and impactful.
At the end, participants were able to create a communications framework that can serve as a concrete tool to create strong messages – messages that speak to audiences on a deeper level, provide a big picture view of the aspirations and challenges, create urgency and momentum, and are easy to repeat. In Seaver’s words, “The right messages open the door to building trust.”
In the afternoon, Seaver moderated a panel conversation that brought both of these topics together in a broader discussion. Participants included Adriana Galdo Adams, Executive Director of Triad Health Project; Brian Cockman, Principal Consultant at One Sector, One Voice Triad; and Michelle McNair, Community Resource Manager with the City of High Point.
The panel members talked about their vision of a civically engaged and healthy High Point and about some of the barriers to achieving that vision. Key observations included the need to create pathways for individuals to, the importance of one-on-one conversations and relationship building, and the ability of affected groups to be co-authors and co-creators of solutions – not just creating services but allowing those affected to participate in the creation of those services. The importance of centering lived experience and of fostering trust were frequent themes.
The meeting wrapped up with comments from Curtis Holloman, Executive Director, and Whitney Davis, Director of Community Engagement and Impact, who each shared the Foundation’s commitment to deeper exploration regarding civic engagement and how we can go “beyond the choir” in bringing more people along on this important journey.
The key throughline of the convening was connectedness, whether we’re connecting through the messages we craft or by creating a sense of radical belonging. And the chance to gather as a nonprofit community – to come together to learn, share, and network – provided a vital opportunity for connection with one another. “This gathering is always one of the highlights of my year,” said Holloman. “It gives us a chance to step back, connect, learn from one another, and renew our shared purpose. We talked about the connection between civic engagement and community wellbeing, and how our messaging can reach beyond ‘the choir’ by tapping into people’s individual aspirations and values. When we invest in space for learning, sharing, and networking — real magic happens. These gatherings aren’t just “nice to have” — they’re foundational.”