Community Platform

Community Impact Circles

Beta Launch Fall 2011

Community Impact Circles (CICs) are a new way of networking coming to the Connecticut nonprofit sector. A Community Impact Circle is a dedicated, intentional tool and approach used by organizations in a specific and defined geographic area that agree to work together to focus their diverse missions on a common outcome for that geographic area using a concentrated, coordinated approach. Community Impact Circles will be encouraged to operate using the results-based accountability method, as advocated by the Connecticut General Assembly.

The key to a Community Impact Circle is to break down silos of independent action and to provide a workspace, both face-to-face and web-based, that allows for coordinated action for divergent community organizations (nonprofit, public service and commercial) with varying expertise to pool resources in a planned action to obtain a specific community outcome for a specific period of time. All of the organizations have separate missions, but all have a common community goal that can be reached together.

Community Impact Circles could be as simple as all the after-school providers in a neighborhood getting together to track results and share learning for planning and impact... or as comprehensive as community family shelters working with school systems working with arts program working with housing agencies working with workforce investment boards working with prison reentry programs working with career education programs working with health programs working with community action agencies... coming together in a city to provide a support network for cradle to career success for all children.