The vision of MBK Denver is to create a collaborative, proactive network of support and resources to support young men and boys of color from cradle to college to career in the Denver metro area.
The Sims-Fayola Foundation, as the new backbone organization for My Brother’s Keeper Denver (MBKD), is poised to lead the largest citywide collective impact effort focused on strengthening the city’s youth-serving ecosystem, with an emphasis on young men and boys of color and improving their outcomes at scale using a Collective Impact framework. A Collective Impact approach is a network of community members, organizations, and institutions who advance equity by learning together, aligning, and integrating their actions to achieve population and systems-level change. Ultimately, we aim to affect systems change by centering equity of access and opportunity in all that we do. The Sims-Fayola Foundation will leverage the power of data, our knowledge of the youth-serving ecosystem, and our relationships with grasstops and grassroots stakeholders to identify and support solutions aligned with four key areas and the six overarching My Brother’s Keeper milestones that drive positive community and systems level outcomes for the Denver metro area’s young men and boys of color.
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The four key areas are:
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Nonprofit Organization Development & Support
The My Brother's Keeper Denver chapter is committed to fostering the growth and success of smaller nonprofits by offering comprehensive services and support in development capacity building. Through targeted initiatives, we aim to enhance organizational effectiveness, broaden community impact, and empower these nonprofits to secure increased funding. Our dedicated efforts will create a collaborative environment where smaller organizations can thrive, ensuring a stronger, more resilient community for all.
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Convening for Practice & Policy Impact
The My Brother's Keeper Denver chapter is dedicated to catalyzing positive change for young men of color in the Denver metro area. Through visionary leadership, we will convene local action tables around one or more of the 6 overarching MBK milestones, fostering collaboration among community stakeholders. These gatherings will serve as dynamic platforms for discussions on practice and policy, aiming to drive impactful initiatives that uplift and empower young men of color. By uniting our collective wisdom and resources, we aspire to create lasting change and advocate for policies that enhance the well-being and opportunities of these young individuals within our community.
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Technical Assistance Grant Funding
Current Funding Opportunity: Capacity Building Technical Assistance Funding for BIPOC-Led, Youth-Focused Organizations Supporting Young Men of Color
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The My Brother's Keeper Denver chapter is dedicated to empowering small nonprofits through strategic technical assistance funding. Our support extends to capacity building in crucial areas such as program design, theories of change, program evaluation and monitoring, and grounding frameworks. Additionally, we offer fee-for-service back-office support to provide an extra layer of resources. Our goal is not only to enhance the capabilities of these nonprofits but also to establish a program quality control mechanism. Through technical assistance funding, we aim to create a robust framework for nonprofits aspiring to join the MBK Denver Affiliate Network, ensuring a standard of excellence and effectiveness in our collective efforts to uplift and empower our community.
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Professional Development
The My Brother's Keeper Denver chapter is committed to advancing the professional development of nonprofit leaders and program staff dedicated to serving young men of color. We recognize the crucial role these individuals play in our community's well-being. Therefore, we provide targeted opportunities for role and program capacity-building, equipping them with the skills and knowledge necessary to operate with efficiency and effectiveness. Our professional development initiatives aim to empower these leaders, fostering a network of professionals dedicated to driving positive change and ensuring the success and well-being of young men of color in the Denver metro area.
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The six MBK Milestones are:
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1. Getting a Healthy Start & Entering School Ready to Learn: All children should have a healthy start and enter school ready cognitively, physically, socially, and emotionally.
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2. Reading At Grade Level by Third Grade: All children should be reading at grade level by age 8 – the age at which reading to learn becomes essential.
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3. Graduating From High School Ready for College & Career: All youth should receive a quality high school education and graduate with the skills and tools needed to advance to postsecondary education or training.
4. Completing Postsecondary Education or Training: Every American should have the option to attend postsecondary education and receive the education and training needed for the quality jobs of today and tomorrow.
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5. Successfully Entering the Workforce: Anyone who wants a job should be able to get one that allows them to support themselves and their families.
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6. Keeping Kids on Track and Giving Them Second Chances: All youth and young adults should be safe from violent crime; and individuals who are confined should receive the education, training, and treatment they need for a second chance.
The Driving Values are:
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1. CENTERING THE VOICES OF BOYS AND MEN OF COLOR: We believe in intentionally including the voices, ideas, wants, desires, and needs of the very populations we seek to impact. We believe YMOC and their caring support and partners are brilliant contributors to their success. “Nothing about us without us”.
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2. COLLABORATIVE APPROACH: We believe that the best way to close the equity gap for boys and young men of color is a collaborative approach to address the challenges facing boys and young men. We believe everyone has a role to play in ensuring that all of our nation’s young people have equal access to opportunity. We must bring local governments, school systems, community-based organizations, philanthropy, businesses, and individuals together to help boys and young men of color thrive.
3. EVIDENCED-BASED SOLUTIONS: We believe that evidence-based solutions and data-informed decisions are the best way to ensure that boys and young men of color have the opportunity to succeed.
4. EQUITY-DRIVEN: We believe that race should not predict one’s success. Success is an option for everyone, and institutional and structural inequity must be eliminated.
5. POLICY FOCUS: We believe the driving forces behind many disparities facing YMOC are the institutions that create an environment where institutional and structural racism can thrive. To make progress on complex social conditions for BYMOC, we must not only develop new and creative programs but also address institutional and legislative policies that maintain the status quo.
6. SYSTEMS CHANGE: We believe in addressing inequity through changing core institutions that maintain systems of oppression and opportunity.
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7. GENERATIONAL IMPACT: We believe in developing strategies that have a generational impact on communities to ensure lasting change and a shift in generational outcomes within a community.
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8. OUTCOMES DRIVEN: We believe in an outcomes-driven approach that uses data to inform strategies and decisions continuously and focuses on population-level results.
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The Sims-Fayola Foundation’s work has always been focused on where young men and boys of color live, learn and work. Over the past nine years, we have created student and adult-focused programs, experiences, and processes that have had a demonstrable, measurable, and positive impact on the lives of young men and boys of color, directly and indirectly. Our overarching goal is to help transform not only the young men but also systems so that they work together to ensure greater access, equity, and opportunity.
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MBK MILESTONE VIDEO DISCUSSION WITH MBK COORDINATOR PRESTON LITTLEJOHN
