1. The National Public Housing Museum
Youth Advisory Council
Action Plan
Fall 2014
Alanna Heyer
Avra Mouzakis
Enkhmend Gereltogtokh
Jordan Porto
2. YAC Action Plan
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary………………………………………………………………………1
Background……………………………………………………………………………….2
National Public Housing Museum
Youth Advisory Council
Problem Definition……………………………………………………………………….3
Problem & Hypothesis
Scope
Youth Engagement……………………………………………………………………….5
Best Practices of Youth Programs
Implementation Recommendations
Community Engagement……………………………………………………………...….8
Strengthening Community Engagement
University Partnerships – Best Practices & Justification
Current University Partnerships & Joint Programming
Future Partnership Opportunities
When to Engage with Universities
Benefits to Strengthening University Partnerships
Timeline of Implementation……………………………………………………………16
Grants……………………………………………………………………………………18
Concluding Remarks…………………………………………………………………....21
Works Cited…………………………………………………………………….……….22
4. YAC Action Plan
2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
From its inception in the 1990s as an idea generated by Chicago Housing Authority
community leaders, to its incorporation as a 501(c)(3) in 2007, to undergoing its current
preparations to move into a physical site, the NPHM has never been a conventional social
history museum. Achieving the highest ideals of the museum would involve providing
valuable contributions to public dialogues surrounding public housing, integrating museum
programming into communities of public housing residents, and providing quality exhibits
that successfully communicate the American experience in public housing.
In the service of a strategic pursuit of these ideals, we have crafted an Action Plan for the
NPHM’s Youth Advisory Council. The Action Plan draws extensively on best practices
research, and features feasible recommendations given the NPHM’s resource and capacity
constraints.
The Action Plan will feature a two-pronged approach, emphasizing engagement with public
housing youth, and engagement with the broader public housing community. Both areas of
focus will contain a set of specific recommendations, some of which are guided by analysis
carried out by our team, some of which will be contingent upon future actions carried out by
the NPHM.
Throughout the process of crafting an Action Plan, our team has sought to strike the right
balance between specific, feasible recommendations in the short term and broader,
conceptual goals that the NPHM can integrate into its long term mission. The ultimate goal is
to present a Plan that can act as a strategic backdrop for the NPHM as it moves forward. This
plan will prioritize the role of the YAC within the NPHM, allowing the museum team to
make better decisions about which resources to pursue and how to allocate them, all while
articulating a clearer vision of what success looks like the YAC.
5. YAC Action Plan
3
BACKGROUND
National Public Housing Museum
The National Public Housing Museum (NPHM) is the nation's first cultural institution
devoted to interpreting the American experience in public housing. The culmination of
nearly a decade of planning and discussion by Chicago Housing Authority resident leaders,
civic leaders, historians, and other stakeholders, the institution was incorporated in
December 2007 as a 501(c)3, aiming to preserve and transform the only remaining building
of the historic Jane Addams Homes on the Near West Side. Located at 1322-24 West Taylor
Street, the three-story brick building opened in 1938 as the first federal government housing
project in Chicago. During its more than six decades of operation, it housed hundreds of
families of diverse backgrounds, providing pioneering social services and security that were
unprecedented in the American urban experience.
The institution expects to reopen the doors of the Jane Addams building in the summer of
2015. This initial phase will consist of a series of restored apartments corresponding to
different periods in the history of the building, providing a compelling, authentic context
within which the lives of public housing residents and the effect of public policies can be
understood. The second and final phase is projected to open in 2016, providing more than
5000 square feet in space for exhibitions, youth programming, community gatherings,
research facilities, and administrative offices.
Youth Advisory Council
The Youth Advisory Council (YAC) is a hallmark NPHM program founded with the museum
in 2007. At the time of its founding, it had 60 members recruited through connections to the
NPHM board. Presently, it has 10 members between 15-21 years old recruited through an
application process. The existing program structure for the YAC differs slightly depending on
the season. During the summer the council meets twice a month and focuses around a large,
youth-led project. Namely, this has culminated in an ongoing documentary on violence
crafted through student-gathered testimonials and footage. During the school year, YAC
members meet once a month on Saturdays and are receive mentorship on job, college, and
scholarship applications. There are yearly trips to sites of professional, historical, or cultural
significance to help further the YAC members’ education and expose them to potential
opportunities. This year, YAC and staff members visited Detroit, Michigan. Previous
excursions have brought the YAC members to Kentucky, Indiana, the South and the East
Coast. Due to the potential for board involvement, the NPHM’s Programs and Development
Associate’s expertise, and expressed interest from the current YAC members, youth
programming in 2015 and beyond will be focusing on exposing members to further arts and
culture opportunities.
6. YAC Action Plan
4
PROBLEM DEFINITION
Problem & Hypothesis
With a new Executive Director arriving in January 2015, NPHM finds itself in the midst of a
transition. Established under the first Executive Director, Keith L. Magee, the YAC remains a
vital part of the institution, but its significance and future within the institution are
increasingly unclear.
Problem How can the Youth Advisory Council be reframed to better reflect the
overall vision of NPHM?
Hypothesis By creating an Action Plan for the Youth Advisory Council, it can better
reflect the vision of NPHM.
In delineating an Action Plan for the YAC centered on youth and community engagement,
we aim to ensure the longevity and essentiality of the program within the organization.
Figure 1: YAC Action Plan Framework
Scope
Our scope has steadily evolved since the beginning of the quarter. When we began
examining our work plan we found four broad areas of interest: developing a marketing and
communications plan, impact metrics and performance measurement, creating a
development plan for funders, and youth engagement.
After carefully analyzing these four subjects groups, we determined that youth engagement
would be the most effective way to target the interest areas as a whole. Youth programming
is attractive to funders; it can be used as a platform from which to derive impact metrics, and
7. YAC Action Plan
5
ultimately can be shared on social media and on the NPHM’s website to help generate
interest in the museum’s work.
Throughout our work with the NPHM, we saw the YAC repeatedly come up as an avenue
with a great deal of potential to engage youth and the community in the dialogue of public
housing. Through the following areas of our scope, we created an action plan that prioritizes
the YAC within the NPHM and provided a suggested timeline for the implementation of
new programming:
• Review of 2013-2014 grants
• Examination of best practices for youth programming
• Research on potential partnerships
• Examine community engagement potential
• Strategic clarification of YAC goals
We feel leveraging this research to develop the YAC further as a keystone museum program
will address the NPHM’s primary goals of storytelling, improved funding, and youth
programming as a whole.
8. YAC Action Plan
6
YOUTH ENGAGEMENT
The second aspect of the Action Plan is Community Engagement. This portion of the plan
entails synthesizing the YAC’s goal of providing quality youth programming with the
museum’s founding commitment to engage with public housing communities. Throughout,
we will present cost-effective strategies that recognize the importance of engaging with
stakeholder communities, and prioritize the communication of stories of public housing
residents. By forming strategic partnerships, the YAC will be able to expand the capacity and
quality of programming for its participants, and strengthen its connection with youth, their
families, and broader public-housing communities.
Best Practices of Youth Programs
There are three primary aspects that effective youth programs have in common. The first is
that they have participants work on specific actionable goals and products, concrete and
tangible results that the youth can be proud of. Secondly, the effective youth programs have
a system of rewarding and celebrating their participants’ hard work. This often comes in the
form of an end-of-program graduation ceremony, an art exhibition, a poetry reading or
another type of ceremony showcasing their work. Lastly, retaining the interest and loyalty of
the youth in the programs is tied to how valued they see their opinion is in the growth of the
program. At the end of a program cycle, effective youth programs bring their participants to
the table in discussions of evaluating their experience in the program, areas of improvement,
and new directions the program could take (Downs, 2008).
Tangible products and goals are extremely important to a youth program, and are closely tied
with the youth having a sense of commitment to the project. The primary drivers of
commitment and development of responsible participants are that the youth ownership of
their commitment to the organization, the programs follow an “a priori structure” where
deadlines and role demands are very clearly defined, and meeting said demands is the norm,
and not meeting them has direct consequences (Wood, 2009). Furthermore, program leaders
play a very important role in facilitating youth development. In addition to setting the
expectation of the program and making sure they are met, they also serve as a source of
balance within the program. (Larson 2006) They regularly keep in touch with participants to
hear their concerns and frustrations, usually resulting from inflated expectations at the
beginning of the program, and help them get accustomed to more adult levels of
responsibility.
The terms under which youth accept to adhere to the demands of a project, whether that is
attendance, deadlines, etc. follow three themes. Youth feel dedicated to programs where they
feel they are carrying out a commitment, they anticipate there will be consequences for
others, or anticipate there will be consequences for themselves. (Wood 2009) In most cases,
9. YAC Action Plan
7
youth felt they were carrying out a commitment when they saw the program as a job. Often
these youth came into the programs with an intention to follow through on their
commitment, but upon being given more challenging roles and obligations saw a deepened
commitment to the project. It is important to note that the intention to follow through on a
project came with the understanding a goal and timeline for that project. Motivation to
adhere to demands based on anticipating repercussions for others is dependent on feeling a
sense of community with the other participants (Wood 2009). That in turn is associated with
a focus on group endeavors, namely productions, plays, murals, etc. where each participant
had ownership of a vital piece of the project.
Implementation Recommendations
For the arts workshops in 2015, we know there is a playwright board member who has
expressed interest in conducting a workshop for youth. Beginning the workshop cycle with
her would allow for time to search for other workshop leader for the summer and fall cycles.
We believe the ongoing documentary project would also be an excellent project for a
summer workshop.
Based on best practices research, we recommend that the third workshop be on mural
painting. Mural painting serves the three main aspects of a successful youth program. It is a
showcase piece with a concrete result for the youth to feel ownership over, and is a launch
point for evaluation by the participants for future programs. Most importantly it is a great
way to enter the dialogue on public housing and ties very closely to the story-telling aspect
of the NPHM’s mission. The group project aspect of the mural painting could also inspire
increased investment in participation by the youth because their would see their role as vital
to the success of their peers as well.
The arts workshops of 2016 should be informed by the feedback and evaluations and given
by the youth who participated in the 2015 cycle.
We have crafted a chart comparing docent programs from several museums. Based on those
we would recommend a six-month docent program whose training completion would
coincide with the opening of the museum in the summer of 2015 and continue on an annual
cycle. Ideally graduates of the docent program would return to help train future cohorts.
11. YAC Action Plan
9
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The second aspect of the Action Plan is Community Engagement. This portion of the plan
entails synthesizing the YAC’s goal of providing quality youth programming with the
museum’s founding commitment to engage with public housing communities. Throughout,
we will present cost-effective strategies that recognize the importance of engaging with
stakeholder communities, and prioritize the communication of stories of public housing
residents. By forming strategic partnerships, the YAC will be able to expand the capacity and
quality of programming for its participants, and strengthen its connection with youth, their
families, and broader public-housing communities.
Strengthening Community Engagement & Best Practices
The NPHM’s mission to tell the stories of the American public housing experience
necessitates strong community engagement and interaction. The NPHM already puts
significant effort into collecting and telling the stories of public housing residents. We
believe that these efforts would be greatly supplemented by expanding opportunities for
community engagement via YAC
.
Focusing on engaging communities through the YAC would allow the NPHM to enhance the
quality and diversity of stories of the American public housing experience. This can be
accomplished in particular by involving families more directly with the YAC, and creating
bridges between the youth and the greater community. Museums can function as important
community institutions when they connect youth, families, and other community members
in meaningful ways (IMLS). The youth represent the next generation of stories to tell, and as
a part of our families, communities, and our future, we recommend that the NPHM focus on
initiating direct family programming within the YAC in order to strengthen connections
between youth and the greater community.
We recommend that these initiatives take the form of Family Night with the YAC or
Parent Orientation meetings in which the parents of the youth feel especially engaged
with the YAC.
We recommend that these programs be held three times a year to reflect seasonal
changes in YAC programming: once at the start of the school year, after the students
return from winter break, and at the start of the summer.
We believe this would supplement the existing dialogue surrounding the YAC and
would ultimately further the NPHM’s mission of telling the story of the American
public housing experience.
12. YAC Action Plan
10
In addition to furthering the dialogue surrounding the story of public housing, focusing on
broader family engagement by way of the YAC has the potential to increase awareness of
YAC initiatives, leading to higher visibility for the NPHM as a whole, and potentially to
funding opportunities for youth programming sustainability. According to a best practices
report released by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, “Youth programs are most
likely to be sustainable if they build community awareness of the project’s impact on the
participants and community.” Furthermore, by engaging with the youths’ families, the
NPHM has the potential to inspire in the youth an increased sense of ownership and
belonging regarding the YAC and the NPHM overall. This strategy of engagement not only
points to increased program growth and sustainability, but additionally furthers the NPHM’s
mission to emphasize the importance of place and belonging. On a personal level, engaging
families to a greater degree has the potential beneficial effect of increasing the sense of
belonging that the youth feel towards YAC programming.
Additional benefits to increasing engagement with families include a diversification and
expansion of the quality of the youth experience as well as increased program attractiveness
to funders. According to a best practices program released by SEARCH the “Involvement of
family and community members provides reform efforts with the moral authority and
personal relationships that powerfully motivate students to thrive and succeed.” Focusing on
family engagement will not only further spread awareness of the NPHM and YAC initiatives,
but will also strengthen the quality of the programming that both the NPHM and YAC
currently provide. A fundamental aspect of the YAC’s programming includes preparing
youth for college as well as the workforce, and by strengthening family engagement,
especially as a means to strengthen overall community engagement, the NPHM will be able
to improve upon their commitment teaching youth valuable skills and to preparing youth for
success beyond the YAC. Further engaging families will not only enhance community buy-in
to the organization, but will strengthen funder buy-in (SEARCH Institute). Hence, by
involving multiple layers of the community in its programming the NPHM will be able to
reach a larger and more diverse array of community members, while also making the
organization as a whole more attractive to funders.
University Partnerships: Best Practices & Justification
At this stage in the NPHM’s growth as an institution, there is much to be gained in working
with other organizations towards a common goal. The Compassion Capital Fund National
Resource Center’s report “Strengthening Nonprofits: A Capacity Builder’s Resource Library”
defines such a partnership as “A collaborative relationship between entities to work toward
shared objectives through a mutually agreed division of labor”, emphasizing that this type of
relationship benefits both parties when a common goal is clearly defined and resources are
efficiently allocated. Keeping these factors in mind, we recommend that the NPHM engage
in cross-sector partnerships with local Universities including, but not limited to, Loyola
13. YAC Action Plan
11
University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago, Northwestern University, and the
University of Chicago. We see this type of partnerships as strategic alliances in which both
parties are able to find a common ground or purpose that they are strongly committed to. In
the following discussion of best practices for such a partnership between the NPHM and
local universities, we plan to emphasize the importance of sharing decision-making power,
pursuing joint-programming while simultaneously allowing each entity in the partnership to
operate independently, and ultimately establishing programming that is of mutual relevance
to the participating organizations’ missions (Capacity Builder’s Resource Library)
In order to establish a strong foundation for a strategic alliance between the NPHM
and local universities, it is absolutely paramount that parameters of the partnership are
defined early on in the process. We recommend the creation of a memorandum of
understanding that clearly and concisely defines the goals, expectations, and duties involved
in the collaboration. This will not only cement the commitment of each group to a common
goal, but will serve to cultivate a more sustainable partnership. Entering the partnership with
this framework should lead to an “improved coordination of policies, programs, service
delivery, and, ultimately, better outcomes” by ensuring that both parties are on the same
page and additionally, can be held accountable to the expectations set from the very
beginning of the partnership. Additionally, it is essential that both the NPHM and the
universities that they may choose to engage with understand their collaboration very much
as a balance of power. Such a partnership acknowledges and affirms the autonomy of and
distinct roles for each partner. This initial framework of clearly laying out goals,
expectations, and duties for both organizations will ultimately allow for a clear roadmap
moving forward that ensures both parties will pursue jointly agreed upon aims and
objectives. (Hanover, 2012)
Once a jointly-defined and clearly laid out memorandum of understanding is set, the
following three steps we recommend that the NPHM take in conjunction with the
Universities that they may choose to partner with are as follows: divide resources, build a
long-term decision-making process, and establish a regular means of evaluating the
partnership. The first aspect of this process, dividing resources, involves assessing and
cultivating an awareness of the resources each organization brings to the table, establishing
an appropriate balance of power and participation based upon what each organization has to
offer, and focusing primarily upon the process and outcomes as opposed to the structure and
inputs. Once the two parties divide resources in such a manner that strikes the most
beneficial balance of power, the organizations turn to the decision-making process. One of
the most fundamental aspects of this process involve building trust between partners,
encouraging an ongoing spirit of cooperation, and ultimately pursuing an “Ongoing priority
to listen to each need, develop a common language, and validate and clarify the mean of
terms.” In order for the two organizations to make effective and beneficial long-term
decisions, cooperating throughout the decision-making process is fundamental. Lastly, it is
paramount that the organizations in the partnership evaluate their relationship at regularly
scheduled intervals as well as clarify each partner’s role in monitoring performance
14. YAC Action Plan
12
(Hanover, 2012). In order to better connect and solidify relationships between universities
and nonprofits, the organizations need to connect through commonalities, encourage
reciprocal assessment, and seek to blur boundaries between campus and community to truly
take advantage of their strategic partnerships (Carpenter). Hanover’s report summarizes the
possibilities behind nonprofit-university partnerships by explaining, “Bringing together the
wisdom and lived expertise of community members with the theoretical and research
oriented expertise of academics, community-higher education partnerships have great
potential as agents of social change.” (Hanover, 2012)
15. YAC Action Plan
13
Current University Partnerships & Joint Programming
Up to this point in time the NPHM has run a number of successful programs with local
universities. These diverse programs have featured a wide range of topics, university
partners, and have allowed the NPHM to get their foot in the door, so to speak, by furthering
the dialogue surrounding the importance of preserving and telling the story of public
housing in Chicago. The programs that have been run in the past several years in
conjunction with local Chicago Universities include the “Architecture for Change Summit”
which was held at multiple sites including the University of Illinois in 2010; the UIC forum
“CHA Operation Warm: Impact Beyond Warmth Dialogue” which was held in 2010; the
2012 “So Rich, So Poor” Lecture run in conjunction with Chicago State University and
Northwestern University School of Law; and most recently, a talk held at the University of
Chicago by Ta-Nehisi Coates: “The Case for Reparations.” It is evident that the NPHM is
committed to engaging the larger Chicago community in the story of public housing,
particularly through University partnerships. This type of burgeoning relationship between
Universities and nonprofits can be further strengthened by cultivating a partnership with
universities at the youth programming and engagement level. This type of relationship is an
incredibly beneficial means of strengthening community engagement, and constitutes a low
costs means of diversifying and growing non-profit youth program.
Future Partnership Opportunities
There are a multitude of diverse programming opportunities presently available at various
local Universities in which those organizations partner with nonprofits to engage in service
learning programs, research initiatives, and intensive capstone projects. The NPHM has
already begun to tap into this goldmine of resources by partnering with local universities to
host lecture series as well as summits. We recommend that the NPHM take on the exciting
and enormously beneficial opportunity to strengthen their present relationships with these
local universities by specifically targeting programs that can be used to diversify and grow
their youth programming initiatives, with a particular focus on the YAC and the workshops
that the museum plans to offer and expand upon in the upcoming years.
The first of these programs that we recommend that the NPHM strengthen its current
relationship with is the Engaged Learning Requirement of Loyola University’s Core
Curriculum. Currently, the NPHM is engaged with this department at Loyola University via
an internship program in the department of history. Students can earn three course credit
hours while gaining valuable professional experience as an intern in public and private
institutions engaged in history-related projects. In this capacity, interns have worked with
staff at the NPHM on research related to the museum’s focus in documenting the history of
public housing in Chicago and understanding the impact of public housing on residents and
communities from the past through the present. We believe that, due to this partnership that
currently exists between Loyola University and NPHM, it is feasible and would be
16. YAC Action Plan
14
enormously beneficial for the NPHM to diversify and grow its partnership with Loyola
University to include internships in which University students work directly with the YAC
as well as with youth programming workshops. The criteria that must be fulfilled as part of
the engaged learning requirement at Loyola, which includes 20+ hours of service, a clearly
articulated connection between the learning objectives of the course and the service
experiences, and activities and assignments which encourage students to reflect on larger
community issues and social structures, would be easily met by an internship offered through
the engaged learning program that allowed students to work with the YAC and other youth
programs at the NPHM. This would constitute an incredibly low-cost means by which the
NPHM could strengthen community engagement while simultaneously diversifying and
growing its youth programming (Service Learning).
Another program that has potential to help the NPHM strengthen its community
engagement and to further its mission of telling the story of public housing is the Great Cities
Program at the University of Chicago at Illinois (UIC). This initiative began in 1933 and
involves hundreds of committed faculty, students, and staff from every UIC college. These
individuals partner with government organizations, corporations, and the community to
focus on common urban concerns - such as healthcare, education, affordable housing,
economic development and transportation. The goal of the Great Cities Program is to support
commitment in urban research, so as to improve the quality of life in Chicago and various
other cities around the world (Great Cities Institute). This program would not necessarily be
as directly targeted towards youth programming as the Engaged Learning Requirement at
Loyola has the potential to be, but engaging with this program in a partnership has the
potential to provide the NPHM with a research based opportunity to expand the
proliferation of the stories of public housing.
The third university that we recommend the NPHM partner with is Northwestern
University. The Center for Civic Engagement at Northwestern offers two programs that we
believe would provide fantastic resources and volunteers to the YAC and general youth
programming at the NPHM. The first of these programs is Engage Chicago, which is an eight
week-long summer program in which students work full-time at a nonprofit organization
(Engage Chicago). The second program is the Civic Engagement Certificate Program, a two
year program that provides students with five credits of coursework, and requires that
students engage in one hundred hours of direct service. Furthermore, this certificate program
culminates in a capstone project in which students work directly with a local community
organization (Civic Engagement Certificate). Both of these programs have the potential to
provide the NPHM with a low-cost means to strengthening and growing the diversity of
youth programming.
The fourth and final university program that we believe will offer another opportunity for
the NPHM to grow the resources available to the YAC and youth programming is the
17. YAC Action Plan
15
Summer Links program at the University of Chicago. NPHM has engaged with the Chicago
Studies Program of the University of Chicago Community Service Center in the past
alongside the Chicago Housing Authority in a project centered on the Vivian Carter
Apartments. In this project students interviewed residents from the Vivian Carter
Apartments and transcribed their stories. These stories were incorporated into an exhibit “Up
from the Roots” to debut in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation
Proclamation. We believe that the NPHM can build upon this existing relationship with the
University of Chicago by engaging in Summer Links. This program was launched in 1997 and
is an intensive ten-week program for returning undergraduate students at the University of
Chicago committed to public service, community-building, and social change. Furthermore,
past internships through Summer Links have been conducted with CHA, which has often
partnered with the NPHM (Summer Links). This program is similar to Engage Chicago at
Northwestern University, and similarly would provide an incredible, low-cost resource for
diversifying and strengthening the YAC as well as the overall experience of the youth
involved with the NPHM.
When to Engage with Universities
We recommend that the NPHM reach out to, connect, and strengthen relationships with
these universities as soon as is feasible in order to implement low-cost and effective ways of
diversifying, growing, and strengthening the YAC. The students, instructors, and programs
that these universities feature would constitute fantastic resources for supplementing the
current youth programs, and for supporting the projected goal of offering an increased
number of workshops, particularly in the next two years.
To offer a more specific timeframe, we recommend that the NPHM begin cultivating
relationships with these University programs as soon as is feasible with the goal of engaging
with the programs that are available during the academic year beginning during the 2015-
2016 academic year and with the summer programs beginning during summer 2016
Benefits to Strengthening University Partnerships
There are a multitude of benefits to engaging with local University programs. If the NPHM
engaged with each one of the programs detailed previously, they would receive an annual
800+ hours of service work, youth programming, research, etc. Not only do these programs
constitute a goldmine of low-cost resources, providing instructors, field experts, research,
and youth programming, but partnering with these organizations also allows the NPHM to
gain access to more substantive partnerships in the future. As the NPHM grows, it is crucial
to lay the foundations for strategic partnerships down the road, which could lead to greater
access to sponsorship for the YAC field trips, funding for other youth programming, or
18. YAC Action Plan
16
funding for other aspects of the museum. Furthermore, these programs would ultimately
constitute more than temporary partnerships and engagement. Both the prospect of long-
term capstone projects and utilizing these partnerships to get a foot in the door regarding the
NPHM’s relationship with local universities would serve to establish long-term, sustainable
relationships that would solidify the YAC.
21. YAC Action Plan
19
GRANTS
Institutional grants are extremely important to the NPHM. During the 2014 fiscal year,
grants comprised 64.3% of the institution’s revenue, or $364,000 out of a total budget of
$474,900, as noted in an income statement dated August 21st
, 2014. This amount was sourced
from 8 foundations, with the Ford Foundation providing nearly a third.
In pursuing the outlined Action Plan, NPHM can increase its eligibility and strengthen its
case for an immensely large pool of funding. According to the Foundation Center 2014
report “Key Factors on US Foundations”, about 20% of grants or $4.4 billion were focused on
children and youth, and about 31% or $6.8 billion were focused on the economically
disadvantaged. Locally, in Illinois, of the grant dollars awarded in the state, about 30%
benefit children and youth and about 35% benefit the economically disadvantaged, as noted
in the Foundation Center 2014 report “Giving in Illinois”. The work of the YAC fits into
both of these broad categories, which together represent a considerable amount of funding to
be accessed.
Figure 4.1: Breakdown of Foundation Giving in the US by Population Group
Source: Key Facts on US Foundations, 2014
Figure 4.2: Breakdown of Foundation Giving in Illinois by Population Group
Source: Giving in Illinois, 2014
22. YAC Action Plan
20
As of 2014, NPHM has yet to focus its funding appeals on youth-centric grants. An
examination of fourteen of NPHM’s funding proposals from the last two years reveals that
seven outlined the youth outreach work of the institution, and only three focused on YAC
activities. In other words, only a fifth of the proposals were youth-focused. This proportion is
far too low, given the considerable amount of money allocated not only for YAC activities,
but also to pay staff for overseeing these activities. Interestingly, of the three youth-focused
grants, two were funded. Although this success rate would likely decrease with greater
sample size, this suggests that the NPHM provides at least a slightly compelling case via the
YAC.
Figure 5: Youth in the NPHM’s Grant Proposals from 2013-2014
By following the recommendations outlined in this paper and strengthening its standing for
youth-related grants, the NPHM has the opportunity to cultivate connections among
institutional donors. The organization should ultimately view youth-focused grants as a
means of introducing its mission and its work to a broad range of donors. The grant proposals
do not need to be successful; they have sufficient value as tools to spread the name of the
NPHM. This may seem dubious, but receiving grants is dubious by nature, as it requires one
to actively cultivate relationships with foundation staff. Proposals to the Ford Foundation
and the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, for example, were funded in part due to the
personal connections of NPHM staff and board members. By introducing itself and
cultivating connections with the staff of donors, the NPHM instantly becomes a prospective
candidate for various other types of funding, including credit lines and unrestricted operating
grants. Moreover, these personal connections replace the ones NPHM will certainly lose.
Personal connections are extremely ephemeral, dependent on the continued presence of the
same employees in both the donor and the NPHM, an unlikely scenario in this day and age.
The NPHM knows well the perils of a reliance on a static group of connections after the
7/14
mention
youth
3/7 are
youth-
focused
23. YAC Action Plan
21
recent departure of its contacts at the Ford Foundation and the Driehaus Foundation, which
results in reduced insight and guidance from the donors, thereby reducing its likelihood of
receiving future grants. To this end, backing up connections with a reputation for quality
youth programming and a diversity of funding sources can increase the NPHM’s resilience to
changes in funder relationships.
Moving forward, potential sources of youth-focused grants include The Annie E. Casey
Foundation, the Polk Bros Foundation, and the City of Chicago. The two former
organizations focus primarily on youth development, and the NPHM does have an existing
relationship with the Polk Bros Foundation, having received a grant in 2008 for $10,000 on
an oral history project. The City of Chicago has also recently revamped its DCASE CityArts
program, and one of its funding categories is centered on providing underserved youth
exposure to Chicago’s arts. The application deadline is January 14, 2015 at 5pm CST.
24. YAC Action Plan
22
CONCLUDING REMARKS
In the immediate future, the NPHM will be integrating a new executive director into their
team, navigating the process of finding new sources of funding, and overseeing a physical
move into its new site at the historic Jane Addams Homes. In the midst of these substantial
changes within the organization, we see the Youth Advisory Council as one of the museum’s
greatest potential assets in its mission to tell the stories of America’s public housing residents
and to better engage with communities of public housing residents.
We strongly believe that the strategic clarification of various aspects of YAC structure and
initiatives will help the NPHM provide the best youth programming possible. While many of
the recommendations addressed in the Action Plan are formulated around resources and
capacity that the NPHM already has in place, we recognize that carrying out the Plan
comprehensively is no small feat for a growing organization. However, centralizing the role
of the YAC within the NPHM, as laid out by the Action Plan, is an excellent way to address
not only issues of youth and community engagement, but of the museum’s long-term mission
and foundational ideals.
Ultimately, we as consultants don’t have all the answers to the challenges NPHM is facing,
and will continue to face in the coming years. But what we do have is a strategic framework
for building upon and evaluating the quality work that has already been carried out with the
YAC, which represents the museum’s central programming component and outreach
apparatus. As they move forward, an Action Plan for the council that involves taking steps to
strengthen its capacity, quality, and scope will ensure continued success for both the YAC
and the NPHM.
25. YAC Action Plan
23
WORKS CITED
1. Best Practices in University - Nonprofit Partnerships. (2012). Hanover Research.
2. Carpenter, H. (n.d.). How We Could Measure Community Impact of Nonprofit
Graduate Students’ Service-Learning Projects: Lessons from the Literature. Journal of
Public Affairs Education.
3. Civic Engagement Certificate. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.sesp.northwestern.edu/ugrad/civic-engagement-program/
4. Engage Chicago. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.engage.northwestern.edu/ec/
5. Getting the Questions Rights. (n.d.). Exploring the Role of Community Engagement
in Preparing All Young People for Post-Secondary Success.
6. Great Cities Institute. (2014, January 1). Retrieved from https://greatcities.uic.edu/
7. Partnerships: Frameworks for Working Together. (n.d.). Strengthening Nonprofits: A
Capacity Builder's Resource Library.
8. Service-Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.luc.edu/engagedlearning/approvedclasses/service-learning/
9. Summer Links. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://ucsc.uchicago.edu/page/summer-links
10. Youth in Museums & Libraries: A Practitioner's Guide. (n.d.). Nine to Nineteen.
11. Key Facts on US Foundations. Retrieved from
http://foundationcenter.org/gainknowledge/research/keyfacts2014/grant-focus-
priorities.html
12. Giving in Illinois 2014. Retrieved from
http://foundationcenter.org/gainknowledge/research/pdf/giving_in_illinois_2014.pdf
13. City Arts Program. Retrieved from
http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/dca/Grants/CityArtsGuidelines
Packet15.pdf
14. District 6 Museum Young Curators. Retrieved from
http://www.districtsix.co.za/Content/Education/Learners/YoungCurators/index.php
15. District 6 Museum Young Curator Profiles. Retrieved from
http://www.districtsix.co.za/Content/Education/Learners/YoungCurators/download%
20profile.pdf
16. Culture and Heritage Museums Junior Docents. Retrieved from
http://chmuseums.org/junior-docents/
17. Biggs Museum of American Art Junior Docents. Retrieved from
http://www.biggsmuseum.org/programs/education.html#docent
18. Freedom Center Young Docent Program. Retrieved from
http://freedomcenter.org/content/fresh-faces-youth-docent-program-nurfc
19. Philadelphia Museum of Art Docent Program. Retrieved from
http://www.philamuseum.org/communityengagement
20. Sonora Desert Museum Junior Docents. Retrieved from
