FatherTopics™: Advocating for Fatherhood Programs in Washington, D.C.
This is a guest blog written by NFI Vice President of Development and Communication, Vincent DiCaro. If you would like to blog for us, please send an email.
As we detailed in a recent post here on this blog, program sustainability is a critical factor in determining the overall success of fatherhood programs around the country.
However, there is a general lack of funding available for organizations to obtain the kinds of capacity-building training and services they need to build long-term sustainability.
That is why we have created an initiative to inform Congress that federal fatherhood grantees should be allowed to use a portion of their funds to procure capacity-building services and training, such as leadership development, organizational development, program development, and community engagement.
While service delivery is the most important use of grant funds, those services need to be delivered by effective organizations – and that is where capacity-building comes in. It will help organizations do a better job serving fathers and ultimately lead to better outcomes for children.
We have set up a page on our website where individuals and organizations like yours -- who are doing the work each day to connect fathers to their children -- can make their voices heard. The grant program for fatherhood programs will be reviewed later this year, so now is the time to ensure that future grantees will have the flexibility to use some of their grant funds for capacity-building.
Here is what we would like for you to do:
As an organization – Sign on to become an "endorsing organization" of this effort to allow federal fatherhood grantees to use a portion of their funds for capacity-building services. Your organization's name will be listed alongside National Fatherhood Initiative as a supporter or this important advocacy effort. We will then inform Congress and the White House of all the organizations that are behind this effort.
As an individual – Use our special webpage to send your opinion directly to your members of Congress. The more voices that come on board, the more persuasive we can be!
Thank you so much in advance for helping us in this important effort. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact Vincent DiCaro (vdicaro@fatherhood.org).
For questions about NFI's products or programming, please email programsupport@fatherhood.org.