Supporting and Sustaining Grassroots Youth Organizations: The Case of New Detroit

摘要

Grassroots organizations have a central place in service provision within many urban communities, particularly as they work with young people. Enhancing the potential of youth serving organizations is vital as many of these small groups lack infrastructure and resources. One organization has gone beyond grant making to organizations to include providing technical assistance, then moving to a model of capacity building to improve their ability to fulfill their mission. This paper describes the efforts of New Detroit to improve the infrastructure of youth serving grassroots organizations through a multi-faceted model and the outcomes evidenced from the first cohort. In addition we explore the contradictions inherent in working with small groups. How do you improve effectiveness without destroying the “homegrown” character these groups possess? The model presented here shows the value of empowering small grassroots groups to build capacity.