On January 31st - February 2nd, 2017, ALSO hosted the New Grantee Orientation (NGO) for the Grants for Outreach and Services to Underserved Populations in partnership with the Office on Violence Against Women. During this two and a half day meeting in Saint Paul, agencies from 14 cities around the country met to discuss various topics related to implementing and revamping anti-violence programs in their jurisdictions. As Program Coordinator for this grant, my main goals were to ensure that grantees had the resources and self-confidence to move forward on their proposed programs, articulate program aims and goals, and identify next steps in their work with underserved populations. It was important to me that participants left with a sense of connection and hope for continuing their work with the underserved communities they serve.

The orientation touched upon various topics, including storytelling and the responsibility of organizations when they share survivors’ stories, using evaluations to improve programs, methods of outreach to invisible, unserved and underserved populations, and nonprofit sustainability. Each session was designed for participants to openly share their thoughts and provided them with an engaging, peer-to-peer learning experience.

Based on feedback from the evaluations, grantees had a lot of positive reactions about the organizational aspects and content of the meeting. Here are some of those voices:

• “Overall the entire conference was great. The material presented was appropriate for all of us. We are a diverse group but at the same time we are the same. You did a great job in finding the material we all have in common. I learned so much. It’s nice to have a workshop like this that is well-organized and interactive where there is much to be learned.” (NGO Participant)

• “We are in this together and there is much to learn and share about our work.” (NGO Participant)

With the tools and resources gathered during this meeting, I am confident that grantees have a good starter kit to accomplish the goals as outlined in their program narratives. They have identified support systems  and feel renewed in their role to address the issues surrounding gender-based violence in their communities. Next steps for these grantees include carrying out their proposed programs using their identified support systems and newfound energy. Based on the evaluation results, attendees overwhelmingly stated they will integrate the lessons they learned during this meeting into their programs.

Written by Zarena Leblanc
Program Coordinator

Learn more about ALSO's Underserved Technical Assistance Project.