In 2012, the Annie E. Casey Foundation began searching for partners for its seven-year Family-Centered Community Change™(FCCC) initiative. This report reviews the Foundation’s experiences and contributions as an investor and summarizes what the participating communities — Buffalo, New York; Columbus, Ohio; and San Antonio, Texas — learned about using a two-generation approach to working with children and parents.
FCCC is a place-based strategy devoted to improving outcomes for children and parents living in high-poverty neighborhoods. The initiative works to bolster family well-being in three key areas: 1) economic stability; 2) parent engagement and leadership; and 3) early child care and education.
FCCC has required the Casey Foundation to take on a new role — that of a strategic coinvestor — and shift toward more responsive grant-making strategies that reflect each community’s unique challenges and opportunities.
The goal of this work, however, remains the same: To help the parents and children living in these communities succeed — together.
