Our 2024 So Far!
Written by Megan O’Roark
The temperatures are threatening triple digits, the operatic oratorio of the cicadas has waned, Nashville SC is on an unbeaten streak, and suddenly we find ourselves at the halfway point of 2024. We asked our staff to reflect on the first half of this calendar year; our team shared the following experiences, photos, and words that represent our year thus far.
Travel
We took the Elevate show on the road this year! We were fortunate enough to find ourselves in Chattanooga, Atlanta, and Seattle. Our travels brought us many valuable tips, strategies, and critical questions to consider. As we reconnected with our friends at the Tennessee Nonprofit Network HR Summit, we learned from experts in the nonprofit field of how to best support wellness and team culture, especially whilst doing the hard work. Through a new partnership with La Familia, we flexed our evaluation and research muscles at the SAMSA CCBHC Conference, and our owners, Amy, Hannah, and Jessica had a chance to share and connect with other evaluation firm owners at their annual Evaluation Firm Retreat. With learning as one of our core values, we are grateful for the many opportunities to learn from our clients, peers, and network with fun and exciting changes of scenery.
Strategy
This is the work we love to do: whether we are designing an evaluation framework, tools, facilitating a collaborative Working Group, or guiding a board and staff through a strategic planning process, this is the space where we thrive. The first half of this year brought many opportunities for us to work with larger groups as they co-created their organizational vision for the foreseeable future. The full board and staff of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee came together to identify strategic priorities and objectives for the next three years so that they can continue to make a significant impact in the lives of young people. Raising Readers Nashville celebrated their first anniversary in April with a new name, rebranding, and focus areas. We were humbled to lead the Community Leaders Strategic Planning Meeting to share accomplishments as well as include their input and feedback into the next phase of work within the early education system. Speaking of collaborative systems change efforts, New Skills Ready’s All Project Team Meeting convened secondary and post-secondary educators and community-building organizations to identify priorities for the final year of their collaborative grant as they work toward creating seamless transitions from high school to college or career.
Momentum
This year so far has seen many convenings and gatherings of folks working in and with the nonprofit sector. Our friends at AllianceBernstein host a semi-annual nonprofit series, and we always appreciate the opportunity to not only hear from local leaders, but also hear the latest corporate philanthropy trends. Most recently, we were pleased to attend Vanderbilt University’s Power of Collaboration event showcasing a panel of collective impact practitioners. Elevate partnered with Vanderbilt’s Community Relations team to develop impact and evaluative measurements for their extensive work in the community. As relationships and collaboration are one of Elevate’s core values, we were excited to host a virtual watch party of the annual Collective Impact Action Summit. Together, with clients and friends working in systems change space in Nashville, we were able to listen, learn, and discuss concepts together live in the room. Opportunities like this to have our friends from Tennessee Alliance for Economic Mobility and Raising Readers Nashville join our watch party are always a good reminder for us that sometimes holding the time on your calendar to listen to that webinar or attend that conference will sow many seeds that will reap great rewards for your relationships and your work.
Building
Elevate experienced a significant year of growth and expansion in the last year which culminated in adding two new Consultants to our team: Bailey Via and Gavin Crowell-Williamson. With the addition of Bailey and Gavin, we have deepened our skill sets in data evaluation, facilitation, and strategy. As a woman-owned small business, we were especially excited to attend CNM’s Day of Convening: Women on Top to discuss and share the joys, pain points, and opportunities of women leaders today. In the spirit of gathering, Elevate co-hosted our first Nonprofit Happy Hour for the nonprofit organizations that also share co-working space at Center 615. We had over 40 nonprofit staffers from nine organizations join us for an afternoon of networking and relationship building. It also provided an opportunity to build awareness for the many for-profit organizations in the building to get to know the missions of these great organizations.
It has been a tiring yet fulfilling six months of gathering, convening, facilitating, and partnering with so many clients, friends, colleagues, and organizations all working together to improve and enhance the Nashville community. We are proud to be part of these organizations’ journeys and celebrate their many, many contributions. The Elevate team is poised for the second half of the year, and excited to see where the next six months will take us!
