community Partner resources

On our Partner Resources Page, which will continue to evolve, you will find helpful resources, links, announcements, downloads, and forms including resources and information on:

- Storytelling

- Acquiring Investment/Grants

- Evaluation

- Conference Support 

- Upcoming Conferences

- Community Funding Opportunities

- Applications For Funding

- Upcoming Application Deadlines

- Progress Report Templates

Check back on this space often for updates, news, resources, and additional content.

Let us help you tell your community impact story - with gusto!

Many community-based organizations and HCD Partners are rightfully so busy carrying out their mission that they often lack the time and internal resources to effectively tell their community impact story in a consistent and compelling way needed to build awareness and support fundraising and development on an ongoing basis.  

Our technical support brings many years of specialized experience in marketing communications and community impact storytelling with a proven track record of success. Our storytelling strategies grow organizations, change lives, win hearts, impact communities, increase awareness, and deliver meaningful and measurable results.

Our Technical Assistance can include:

• Strategic Planning and Core Value Proposition Development
• Direction of Marketing Communications Storytelling.
• Social Media Content Development, Creation, Posting, and Analytics.
• Marketing Collateral Design and Content Creation.
• Media Relations, Story Pitches, Press Releases and Messaging.
• Event Communications Design and Promotion 
• Blog, Article, and Story Content Creation and Management.
• Public Relations Strategy and Management.
• Media response and preparation for interview and story requests.

Reach out to your HCD Liaison to learn more and to setup an initial consult with Patrick McDevitt, HCD's Communications and Programs Assocate.

Evaluation doesn’t have to be overwhelming.  It’s really just a tool to help you:

- Understand if your project/organization/coalition is achieving its goals.

- Explore what is working/not working in your project to enable quick and continuous improvements.

- Effectively use data to tell your community’s story to investors/stakeholders.

If you need support in any of these areas, contact your HCD Liaison to request a consultation with one of our community evaluation partners:

- Dr. Dorothy Dillard, Delaware State University

- Dr. Laura Lessard, University of Delaware

- Sarah Leng, University of Delaware 

Our experienced team offers great support and expertise in assisting your organization to make evaluations, strategic assessments, and enables your organization to nimbly put in place processes that will continuously optimize your community impact.

• Assist partners in identifying grant opportunities (local, state, national) that address vital conditions
• Provide feedback to partners about grants they identify, to help gauge eligibility for the funding
• Develop and provide vital conditions-oriented grant boilerplate language or templates (e.g. Letters of Support, sample budgets)  
• Provide feedback on partner's drafted proposals to offer additional data sources, evidence-based practices that promote vital conditions, and other needs  
• Facilitate or participate in proposal development and design sessions.

Reach out to your HCD Liaison to learn more and to setup an initial consult to evaluate your needs.

Vital Conditions Primers: 

2-page overviews describing each of the seven vital conditions of communities, including data on current conditions and discussion of major influences in the past and present. 

Thriving Together Through Shared Stewardship:  

In this 20-minute video, Bobby Milstein describes the WIN Network theory of change for how stewards can work together to build the vital conditions that all communities need to thrive.

Seven Vital Conditions for Health and Well-being: 

Community Commons offers a curated set of resources – including descriptions, data, and stories, and other resources – for each of the seven vital conditions.

Vital Conditions for Well-being and Justice: 

Explore web pages that provide historical context for each of the vital conditions, as well as highlight “pivotal moves” to make progress in each area.

To support field-building related to community well-being and equity, and to increase community voice, Healthy Communities Delaware will support our community partners in sharing your stories of place-based community development in Delaware and beyond.  HCD may cover 75% - 100% of the costs associated with presenting at local, regional or national conferences or other communications/dissemination activities that meet the following criteria:

1. Are focused on sharing the story of building healthy, safe and vibrant communities in Delaware

2. Are told with a focus on increasing equity

3. Are told with a vital conditions/social determinants of health lens

Conferences

HCD will consider requests for scholarships covering a portion or all of the associated costs of conference presentations (i.e., registration fees, poster supplies, lodging and travel expenses) for our funded community partners.  The percentage of costs considered for scholarship requests will be based on the following:

- Single organization partner: up to 75% of costs, with a limit of $1000/year

- Single organization partner with community resident as co-developer and co-presenter: up to 100% of costs, with a limit of $2000/year

- Two or more partner organizations collaborating on a place-based effort: up to 75% of costs, with a limit of $2000/year

- Two or more partner organizations collaborating on a place-based effort with a resident as co-developer and co-presenter: up to 100% of costs, with a limit of $2500/year

Where possible, HCD will aim to include costs associated with dissemination into funding awards. If such costs were not included in project proposals, HCD will accept requests for funding on a rolling basis. Requests should be made in writing in the format below, describing the dissemination method and approach, a budget with the proposed total expenses, and the scholarship amount requested. Please send these requests to your HCD liaison.  Please allow 30 days for HCD to review.  The HCD Executive Director has final discretion for issuing scholarship awards.  Payment processes may vary (i.e., expenses paid directly by HCD, applicant reimbursement) as these are guided by UD and DCF policy.

Funding recipients will be requested to support HCD in telling our story about collective efforts to build thriving communities in Delaware, in ways such as:

- Presenting findings at an HCD community partner meeting, HCD Leadership Council or Investment Council meeting

- Permitting HCD to disseminate findings via social media, news outlets, on our website, etc. All promotion would be done with scholarship awardee knowledge and consent.