An Organization Built on Collaboration

By: Tim Coleman | Centier Bank Senior Vice President, Director of Centier Financial Partners

How hard would it be to convince you that babies are born every day in Porter County, Indiana? Not very hard I would assume. You know that to be true.

Now, how hard would it be to convince you that these babies deserve an opportunity? Again, not very hard. All babies deserve the opportunity to develop in a nurturing environment. And every day in Porter County, Indiana we have the opportunity to do better. That is why First Things First Porter County is important to all of us.

What makes Porter County different from the rest of Indiana? Do we have more babies born every day than other counties? Do we provide babies with less opportunities? Are these babies inherently behind the rest of the babies being born in Indiana? No, no, no and no.

The difference is us. If you believe, as I do, that these babies deserve the opportunity to develop in a nurturing environment, you are already supporting First Things First Porter County. First Things First Porter County encourages ALL of the organizations involved in this work to collaborate with one another to achieve MORE. Why is collaboration important? Let’s start at the beginning.

The Porter County Community Foundation (PCCF) was offered the opportunity to receive funds from Lilly Endowment Inc. These funds were part of a grant process where PCCF was tasked with addressing an important opportunity in our community. After a deliberative process, it was determined that our youngest citizens offered the best opportunity to impact the community in a positive way. Our long-term success depends on it.

We realize that PCCF is not here to compete with the organizations we serve. We are expected to be capacity builders. Our mission is to help build and strengthen the community. Therefore, the logical first step in this process was convening the organizations in our county who were already doing this work – learn from the experts what it was going to take to build a community where our youngest citizens achieve their highest potential.

Collaborators are by their nature allies. Collaborators are members of the same team, working for the same goal. Collaboration is critical to our collective success—we don’t want precious resources lost to competition. We have found tremendous value in building a team of passionate professionals (and their equally passionate supporters) who are experts in doing this work. First Things First Porter County brought these experts together to share their passion.

Our partners are working hard to offer these young citizens a nurturing environment. From healthcare to government to law enforcement to community organizations, everyone is working hard to provide the best start for Porter County’s youngest residents. We found so much energy and so many experts determined to make these efforts successful. They are already on the path to success.

But these potential collaborators noticed something as well—that their efforts were, in some instances, being duplicated by other organizations. Some in ways that were different, but many in ways that were quite similar. These organizations compete for the same audience, the same supporters, the same dollars. Could collaboration increase their impact?  

First Things First Porter County knew it was worth working WITH organizations to build a foundation of collaboration. We can extend the impact of these groups by making individual efforts collective efforts. We provide passionate, successful organizations the opportunity to partner with like-minded organizations across Porter County while each organization maintains their autonomy. Our goal is to offer that same opportunity to every organization who wants to work collaboratively on this important issue.

Just as babies learn from those around them, we have learned from our partners. We are early in our development and have seen some early signs of success. Our partners are doing great things, and the positive feedback has been energizing. The collaborative efforts of First Things First Porter County will give our youngest citizens the best start possible with your support and collaboration.