Innovation Fund

SVP Tucson proudly introduced the 2Gen Collaboration Innovation Fund, a $25,000 pool designed to support cross-agency, cross-generational, or multi-family member events, projects, or programs. This fund is available to initiatives presented by two or more of our eight 2Gen Collaboration partner agencies. SVP Partners reviewed the grant applications and awarded funding to eight projects involving multiple agencies. Learn more about the shared programming being established through the Innovation Fund.

Chicas y Mujeres

Collaboration between Boys to Men Tucson & YWCA

The proposed program will support girls’ journey into womanhood using the Talking Circle format. The program is designed to provide space for girls and “mother” figures to connect, comfort, learn, and have fun in a bilingual space designed to be educational, safe, and non judgmental. The girl/femme identified centered program will integrate frameworks offered by Boys to Men Tucson and The YWCA to encourage healthy development, authenticity, accountability, and empowerment.

Connecting Dads and Sons

Collaboration between Parent Aid & Boys to Men Tucson

Boys to Men Tucson (BTMT) and Parent Aid (PA) are co-constructing a pilot series that will engage dads and their teenage sons. The program will utilize best practices learned by BTMT through their Talking Circles and apply them to circles that would engage both dads and their masculine-identified youth. The series will take place at the Parent Aid office with circles running in our classroom and outdoor spaces concurrently. The aim is to educate both circles on the process of coming together, with the eventual goal of unifying the circles in the final weeks of the series. By identifying healthy forms of masculine expression, it is the hope that both groups will feel more bonded to each other and support their foundation of a lifelong relationship. Additionally, this program will introduce ideas of future fatherhood for the youth which is an area severely lacking in our society. This partnership will guide future programming, partnership opportunities, and joint funding.

PARENT CAFÉ

Collaboration between Parent Aid & JobPath

This program is a quarterly event that focuses on providing support, resources, and services, if needed, to families that also have parents attending a higher level of school. This event is designed as an open discussion led by Parent Aid staff with a focus on being present while balancing parenthood and being a student. Jobpath staff would provide childcare to parents who need it while participating in the group. Child care will focus on positive communication and social interactions by providing a safe place for children to interact with staff while engaging in arts and crafts and play. Also, creating time/space for a resource share where a 2gen partner or community partner could come in and speak to the parents present and share a service or resource. The project’s final leg is to provide follow-up contact with each member to gather data on how to improve each Parent Cafe.

RESTORATIVE CIRCLES TRAINING INITIATIVE

Collaboration between ICS & Boys to Men Tucson

This program’s focus is trauma-informed training that is crucial for the clients that we serve and will include information on how to work with individuals in a safe space. This is a critical part of the social capital building that happens within our programs. Boys to Men Tucson and Interfaith Community Services will work together to develop a training curriculum that is beneficial for both parties.

Single Moms 2Gen Academic Support

Collaboration between ICS & YWCA

This program is designed to ensure both agencies have authorization, resources, and non-competitive support to explore collaborations with one of the most vulnerable populations in our community, single mothers and their children. They are making efforts to evaluate ways they can co-collaborate on resources, funding opportunities, and programmatic efforts.

Story Project @ YWCA

Collaboration between Make Way for Books & YWCA

YWCA will infuse its current campuses with a literacy-rich environment for the families we serve through partnering with Make Way for Books (MWFB) to bring their high-quality, bilingual Story School Project to both campuses: Bonita Ave and House of Neighborly Services in South Tucson. MWFB will offer a professional development workshop to YWCA staff, help YWCA build a lending library, and offer 1-2 cohorts of Story School at our campuses for YWCA participants and their neighbors. The goal of the project is to help families develop literacy skills together. Children experience the joy of books, and YWCA moms/aunts/grandmothers learn how fun and easy it is to share stories and do activities with their young children that support their emergent literacy and language development.

Tucson Jewish Free Loan & JobPath Loan Fund

Collaboration between JobPath & Tucson Jewish Free Loan

JobPath and Tucson Jewish Free Loan (TJFL) aim to address the gap between when a client’s (student’s) benefits end through JobPath and when their earnings begin. JobPath will select specific clients to refer to TJFL for loans of up to $2,000 each to cover the time between the completion of their education and when their first paychecks land in their bank accounts. The key is that the client will not have to go through TJFL’s standard application process, therefore lowering the barrier to accessing interest-free financial assistance from TJFL. Once the loan is funded, TJFL collects small ($10-$25) payments until the shared client (borrower) can afford a more appropriate monthly payment amount ($100-$150). Loan payments will be recycled back into the JobPath loan fund, becoming available for future JobPath clients.

Family Appreciation Day

Collaboration between all eight agencies

This project provides an open-air park day to appreciate the folks we serve. This space consists of food vendors and drinks, free of charge to the participants. An area to gather and take pictures at the photo booth, play a yard game such as cornhole, giant Jenga, ring toss, among others (games provided by Jobpath), art and craft areas, face painting and music. It is a day to celebrate our community and build relationships.

2Gen Nonprofit Collaboration