EASTHAM – Three Lower and Outer Cape non-profits have created a strategic alliance in an effort to enhance the services and support provided to low- and moderate-income individuals and families.
Cape Cod Children’s Place, the Community Development Partnership and the Homeless Prevention Council formalized the alliance through a Memorandum of Understanding last week allowing for the organizations to more efficiently provide services, make it easier for clients to receive support and create new programs.
“We were often referring back and forth throughout each other and realized, as the times are changing, we recognized that from a non-profit perspective being aligned with each other is much stronger than being separate when it comes to funding sources and things like that,” said Cindy Horgan, the executive director of Cape Cod Children’s Place.
Community Development Partnership Executive Director Jay Coburn said the organizations were brought together for a formal alliance because of the recognition for the need to collaborate on the design and implementation of programs. Coburn said the alliance will help meet clients’ needs without having to go to several agencies.
“We can do internal referrals, and coordinate and collaborate on the different programs that we offer and work towards creating a one-stop shopping experience, if you will, for families who are in need.”
The organizations have identified several programs with the potential for collaboration, including homelessness prevention, family support services, First Time Home Buyer education, early education and care, and job training.
A key component driving the alliance is the unique needs of the Lower and Outer Cape, which is a more rural region of Cape Cod.
“We really decided that having a formal mechanism for us to work together more closely would really benefit our agencies and the people who we serve,” Coburn said.
The organizations have already collaborated informally.
CDP has contracted with the Homeless Prevention Council to provide support services for residents who live in the organizations 72 affordable rental units on the Lower Cape.
The Memorandum of Understanding signed by all three organizations requires the boards to meet annually with executives to meet quarterly.
“It also calls for our staff to come together annually to share strategies and do program updates,” Coburn said. “We are going to create a more formal structure for the informal communication that already exists.”
Potential collaborative projects will be vetted by the groups moving forward.
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