Washington Service Corps: Impact Evaluations
The Mission360 team has designed and implemented two separate randomized controlled-trial studies for this statewide Service Corps agency:
An impact evaluation examining the effect of full-time Washington Reading Corps (WRC) literacy tutors placed in Kindergarten through 4th-grade classrooms in public schools across Washington State. The study was designed to provide statistical evidence of the impact of WRC tutoring on reading growth compared to what would have happened in the absence of the program. The study focused on students not making expected progress with standard literacy and reading instruction, assessed as needing targeted intervention to meet benchmarks. The study also measured the impact that WRC tutors have on the culture of reading in the schools and communities they serve.
An impact evaluation of WRC’s Training and Technical Assistance program. This study measured variables related to site staff knowledge about the specific concepts, strategies, and practices presented in the training program; their attitude about the importance of the strategies and practices in their day-to-day work; and their intent to implement the specific strategies covered in the training. The study compared outcomes for a group of sites that received the training and technical assistance with a group of similar sites that did not receive it. Based on the results of the evaluation study, Mission360 developed a series of recommendations for improving WSC's training program as well as for next steps in evaluation.
Washington Service Corps: Grant Applications for Washington Reading Corps and Statewide AmeriCorps
Mission360 has developed multiple successful funding applications for the Washington Service Corps to the federal Corporation for National and Community Service for the statewide AmeriCorps program and for the Washington Reading Corps. These applications have resulted several significant, multi-year grant awards, totaling more than $50 million in funding.
For each application, Mission360 engaged with a leadership team from Washington Service Corps to develop approaches to program implementation, including identifying community needs, determining the organization’s strengths to address needs, and prioritizing goals, objectives, strategies, and outcome measures for the proposed work, which some of which focused on education and literacy, and some of which focused on environmental stewardship, health care, and economic development. As part of this project, Mission360 conducted research into and synthesized disaggregated data on community needs across Washington State, conducted research into evidence-based strategies for addressing community needs, and engaged in planning around programming based on best practices.
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (Century College): Grant Applications
Mission360 has developed multiple successful funding applications from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities systems to federal and state public and private funders to support a wide range of education and workforce development programs. These applications have resulted a number of significant, multi-year grant awards totaling over $30 million in funding for programs including TRIO (Student Support Services, Upward Bound, and Education Talent Search), the federal Minority Serving Institutions program, and Minnesota Job Skill Partnership programs, among many others.
For each application, Mission360 engaged with different leadership teams to develop approaches to program implementation, including identifying community needs, determining the organization’s strengths to address needs, and prioritizing goals, objectives, strategies, and outcome measures for the proposed work.
For each of these applications, Mission360 conducted research into and synthesized disaggregated data on student needs in the Twin Cities, conducted research into evidence-based strategies for addressing student needs, and engaged in strategic planning around programming based on best practices. Research methods included literature reviews of studies examining disparities in educational outcomes and of ways in which those disparities are being addressed; primary research into and analysis of data collected by relevant institutions, including the Minnesota Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, and similar sources; and reviews of evaluation studies of intervention and program strategies relevant to the programs being proposed.
Non-Profit Startups
Mission360 has been working with several local organizations over the past few years on their efforts to become self-sustaining non-profit organizations.
The Association for Black Economic Power (ABEP). ABEP is a community-led organization located in North Minneapolis, a community that experiences extreme disparities in economic outcomes for residents because it has been subjected to systemic and long-standing underinvestment. Mission360 is providing support for planning, implementation, and fundraising for the launch of three inter-related ABEP initiatives the opening of Arise Community Credit Union, a Black-led credit union with a field of membership that spans two Twin Cities counties); the Northside Financial Empowerment Center, a program focused on wealth literacy; a cooperative housing program to foster home ownership. This work has involved supporting program planning, conducting funder research, supporting the executive director in building relationships with local and national funders, and crafting and submitting funding proposals. Funding secured in 2020 includes a Gates Foundation grant of $350,000 and a McKnight Foundation grant of $100,000.
Oyate Hotanin (Voice of the People). Founded by American Indians, Oyate Hotanin fosters the potential that exists at the nexus of advocacy, activism, community stories, and art to mobilize the community for healing and to spur social change through collaboration and partnership. Oyate Hotanin focuses on bringing Indigenous thought, voices, and perspectives to key social issues, including criminal justice reform, climate rescue, and cultural appropriation.
Mission360 is providing ongoing support for strategic planning and resource development, which has helped to move the organization from its all-volunteer roots in 2014 to stable, staffed organization that supports local artists and activists in collaborative work. This support has included program planning, support for relationship building with local funders, and crafting and submission of funding proposals to private and public institutional funders, including the Bush Foundation and the Minnesota Humanities Commission. With Mission360 Consulting’s help, Oyate Hotanin has secured stable funding that has increased annually to support the organization’s infrastructure and programs, including more than $500K in grants over 3-year period.
Denden Eritrean Youth Development Association of Minnesota. Denden is a youth development organization led by members of the local Eritrean community. From its initial focus on youth sports (primarily soccer), Denden is expanding to focus more broadly on youth development and academic success for East African youth in the Twin Cities.
Mission360 has been supporting Denden in its efforts to move from an all-volunteer organization to one that is fully staffed, with the capacity to deliver the broader youth- development activities the community needs. This work includes board development, program planning, support for relationship building with local funders, and crafting and submitting funding proposals. With Mission360 Consulting’s help, Denden had secured about $100K to support the organization’s infrastructure and programs in 2019. The pandemic interrupted those efforts and Denden is just getting back on track with its board and program development efforts. Mission360 helped Denden reach back out to funders and was invited to submit new, multi-year funding requests to the Saint Paul, Bigelow, and Mardag Foundations to support the hiring of an executive director and program staff.