Reframing newsletter

A 2018 Reframing Wrap Up

December 13, 2018

2018 has been an exciting year for the National Reframing Initiative, and we’re gearing up to make sure 2019 is too! Here’s a recap of just some of our 2018 highlights that you and other national, state, and local human service organizations across the country made happen.

Implementation Highlights

The National Human Services Assembly developed resources and messages for advocates to use in high priority public policy debates, including immigration, federal and state budgets, and proposed changes to federal human service programs. We also welcomed new partners and celebrated others’ achievements:

• The National Reframing Initiative formed new national partnerships with Youth Advocate Programs and Center Link, a community of LGBT centers. Together, we’re working to bring reframing into their organizational communications and to their broader programs and networks.
• Our longtime national partners at the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, along with American Public Human Services Association, released a thoughtfully-framed report, National Imperative: Joining Forces to Strengthen Human Services in America. The report offers solutions for significant challenges facing the sector, including recommendations to change the narrative so that the public and policymakers have a better understanding of the value of community-based human services.
• Human Services Council’s Strong Nonprofits for a Better New York reframed campaign achieved big results in the state’s fiscal year 2019 budget for human services, including significant investments in nonprofit workforce and infrastructure.
• One Voice Central Texas brought reframing learning opportunities to the Austin human service community, including workshops and an ongoing learning lab. One Voice members, including Caritas and HealthStart in Austin, continue to serve as reframing leaders and exemplars for the Reframing Network.
• Illinois Partners for Human Service led reframing presentations in nearly 40 communities as part of its ambitious statewide mobilization plan. The organization continued to model good reframing by further embedding it into its website, reports, and campaigns.

Network Mobilization

The National Reframing Initiative Team had a great year engaging with our growing network through outreach and mobilization efforts around the country:

• NHSA’s Reframing Team led a total of 35 workshops, webinars, and presentations in communities across the country, attracting over 2,100 participants during the year. We conducted workshops and presentations at conferences and summits for a number of national networks, including CenterLink, Goodwill Industries, the National Child Support Enforcement Association, and Nonprofit Leadership Alliance. We also partnered with state and local organizations to conduct trainings targeted to the needs of specific communities, including in California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, New York, and Ohio.
• The Reframing Network newsletter list continues to grow, with over 2,100 human service professionals receiving biweekly tips and resources on reframing human services.

In the Media

The National Reframing Initiative was highlighted in, and contributed to, prominent nonprofit and philanthropic platforms, including:

• “A Call to Action for Human Service Advocates: If You Want a Different Result, Tell a Different Story,” by Lee Sherman, President and CEO of the National Human Services Assembly, and Bridget Gavaghan, Director, National Reframing Initiative, appeared in Philanthropy Journal.
• Lee Sherman’s “Lawmakers, Ask Human-Service Experts About New Approaches on Federal Programs,” was featured in The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
• Governing published an article that focused on the work NHSA is doing with the National Reframing Human Services Initiative, “Is It Time to Stop Saying ‘the Safety Net’?”
• Bridget Gavaghan wrote a guest blog post for Give Lively, “Communicating Your Organization’s Value in 3 Easy Steps.”

Together, we made real progress in 2018 shifting the public’s understanding of human services. We look forward to even more reframing successes next year. Stay tuned for exciting developments in 2019 and in the meantime we wish you the most joyous of holiday seasons!

SPOTLIGHT

Generations United (GU) recently released a brief, “Frames that Inform Intergenerational Work,” by GU Senior Fellow and former NHSA CEO, Irv Katz, and GU Associate, Danica Derriennic. The brief’s objective is to assist intergenerational thinkers and practitioner s in applying to their field common, relevant elements of FrameWorks Institute research on early childhood development, child and youth development, human services, and aging. The brief points out that the human services building well-being metaphor is appropriate for intergenerational approaches and populations that, along with other reframing elements, can be used “to increase understanding of intergenerational strategies.”