Faith-Based and Community Organizations: Partnering for Impact

March 26th, 2009 - Posted by OneStar Foundation - No Comments

Fortunately, faith-based and community organizations (FBCOs) abound in Texas. The Lone Star state is a big one, and sometimes a local FBCO is the only location within reach offering assistance to people in need. Despite often being smaller than many other nonprofits, these organizations are on the front line of providing assistance—especially when it comes to a disaster, when they are usually the first to offer food, shelter and supplies to those who have lost everything.

We believe FBCOs are an essential part of the nonprofit sector, and should be welcomed as strategic partners with government and other key stakeholders in reducing and eventually eliminating social problems. These organizations possess unique strengths that government cannot duplicate, and when it comes to meeting needs in our communities, we need all hands on deck.

Unfortunately, it hasn’t always been easy for FBCOs to team up with government and other key partners. As Texas’ Faith-Based and Community Initiative (FBCI) office, OneStar is focused on building cross-sector collaborations and ensuring that faith-based and community groups have the capacity to succeed in these partnerships—ultimately increasing our ability to impact Texas communities.

Just as OneStar works with organizations in Texas to facilitate partnerships, we also are part of a larger nationwide network of faith-based and community efforts. OneStar is one of 30 states and close to 100 cities that have offices focused on working with FBCOs. On March 24, we convened our national partners in a conference call to discuss best practices and collaboration opportunities, including our newest federal partners in President Obama’s White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

OneStar’s approach to working with Texas’ FBCOs was also recently highlighted in a federal report “The Role of State Faith Community Liaisons in Charitable Choice Implementation.” A summary of our role within the report is available on our Web site, while the full report is located here and the report’s section specifically on Texas is located here.

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The Importance of Capacity Building

March 12th, 2009 - Posted by OneStar Foundation - No Comments

Here at OneStar, we believe that one of the most important things a nonprofit or faith- or community-based organization can do to ensure their long-term sustainability and effectiveness at solving social challenges is to build their capacity.

That said, OneStar recognizes that the definition of “capacity building” is continuously evolving. Different organizations define it in various ways. The following Web sites are just a few of the resources on the Internet that offer material on capacity building and its importance, as well as many other topics related to the nonprofit sector:

However,  we want to hear from you about capacity building. How do you define it? Why do you think it’s important for the sector?  Share your thoughts with us!

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OneStar’s Unique Approach

March 5th, 2009 - Posted by OneStar Foundation - No Comments

Since we opened our doors in 2004, OneStar Foundation has diligently worked within a number of areas in the nonprofit sector.  We operate under the philosophy of strengthening the operations, innovation and impact of the nonprofit sector in Texas.

What exactly does that mean?

Well, some organizations address social challenges from one or two angles.  OneStar, however, takes a cross-functional approach. OneStar engages the nonprofit sector in several strategies and actions to achieve the highest levels of social impact.  We work with the nonprofit sector in a unique way: supporting nonprofits in building their own capacity (we’ll write more about capacity building in future posts) and encouraging socially innovative and effective ideas to solve social challenges. We believe that our approach will positively impact the sector as a whole, will help organizations achieve their respective goals and will ultimately support Texas communities.

The nonprofit sector in Texas is a strong, vibrant community full of diverse stakeholders who come together to improve the lives of all Texans.  OneStar is proud to be a part of this sector, and looks forward to engaging in thought-provoking dialogues as this blog progresses.

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