Alliance of Community Assistance Ministries, Inc.
Because Together We Do More
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The ACAM Network fights homelessness, hunger, and hopelessness with a strong commitment to helping clients build independence and resiliency. ACAM's role is to provide services that advance the ability of community assistance organizations to reach as many people as possible with best-practice services that focus on long-term results.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Organizational & Network Development
Using a coaching model, the Organizational and Network Development (OND) program provides organizational assessments, financial resources, and technical support to help network partners strategically increase their capacity to serve their communities with effective and responsive services.
In 2021, ACAM awarded over $106,000 in OND grant funding to six partner agencies that participated in organizational assessments conducted onsite by ACAM consultants. The assessments guided the funding priorities of participants, who were then awarded OND funding for projects including:
• Increasing the hours of staff providing direct services
• Streamlining and optimizing warehouse processes and procedures
• Initiating a capital campaign to build a food pantry
• Strategic planning and goal setting
• Safety inspections and security upgrades
• Technology purchases and upgrades
• Leadership and Board development
• Improvements in financial processes to reduce audit costs
Training & Networking
ACAM’s Training & Networking programming consistently focuses on building skills and relationships for program and managerial staff of partner organizations. Content stems from needs identified by participating agencies, industry best practice standards, and the network’s commitment to the continuous improvement of client-centered programming. In 2021, ACAM hosted 35 total education events attended by 375 unduplicated individuals (792 duplicated attendees total). Training and Networking survey feedback collected from participants indicates:
97% of participants rated sessions as excellent/good
98% found trainings informative and useful
98% found trainings relevant to their work
33% increase in knowledge as a result of the sessions (based on pre- and post-tests)
Collaborative Initiatives
Over the past 18 years, ACAM has led 649 collaborative programs, braiding together over $14.2 in private and federal funding to funnel resources into, and build the capacity of, the regional human service safety net. This comprehensive experience spans designing, implementing, and monitoring integrated programs, culminating in a proven track record of impactful outcomes. As a result, ACAM has a reputation for being a responsive, relevant, and productive organization that equips community-minded nonprofits with the tools and programs they need to face a multitude of issues that affect the quality of life of vulnerable people. ACAM has a strong CEO at the helm, experienced at strategically leveraging private/public funding to bring more resources to the region. Current collaborative initiatives include housing programs for families experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness, basic needs assistance (food, emergency financial assistance), and workforce development programming.
Community Education & Outreach
ACAM represents the Network at sector and cross-sector collaborative planning sessions, conferences, and workshops of external organizations across the region to keep informed of industry trends and best practices, and to champion the issues that are important to our partners. These community education and outreach events are opportunities to make connections and participate in the development of cross sector partnerships and programs, as well as serve as a representative for the ACAM Network in key advocacy areas including:
• Homeless Prevention/Intervention & Affordable Housing
• Poverty Reduction
• Capacity Building & Collaboration
• Other Outreach & Education
• Disaster Relief & Crisis Response
• Public Health, Health Access & Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)
• Disconnected Youth
• Employment Services
• Partner Outreach and VISTA trainings
• Fund Development
ACAM staff participated in 422 community education and outreach meetings in 2021, a 64% increase from 2020.
Management Support Services
ACAM offers fiscal sponsorship, fiduciary policy and procedure development, collaboration management, case management development assistance, resource development, and leadership and staff mentoring/training for in-network and out-of-network partners.
Where we work
Awards
Affiliations & memberships
Alliance of Nonprofit Management
Coalition for the Homeless 2024
Network of Behavioral Health Providers 2024
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of training workshops
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Training & Networking
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
ACAM's Training and Networking educational opportunities provide a forum to promote best practices, foster peer learning and facilitate information exchange.
Total dollar amount of grants awarded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Collaborative Initiatives
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This is the value of total funding that ACAM infuses directly into the community via grants, sub-awards, contracts and sub-contracts.
Total number of grants awarded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Collaborative Initiatives
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Grants to other organizations for Capacity Building, Infrastructure Development, Homeless Prevention, Rapid Re-Housing, Professional Development, Disaster Recovery and more. No unsolicited grants.
Number of attendees present at rallies/events
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Training & Networking
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Unduplicated attendees at Training and Networking events.
Housing Stability Programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Collaborative Initiatives
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
ACAM's Housing Stability Services provide rent assistance, eviction prevention, or homelessness prevention with public and private funding.
Community Education and Outreach
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Community Education & Outreach
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
ACAM takes the understanding of our partners experience and neighborhoods to advocates, conveners, and funders to contribute that perspective to the field for the benefit of families in need.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The ACAM Network advances collaboration to create community-wide solutions for thriving nonprofits, neighborhoods, and families. We are an innovative, connected network of 14 faith-based assistance organizations that ensures families in need have a path to stability, health and wealth. We develop initiatives that foster evaluation and build a learning community; align and garner talent and resources to support the expanding reach of the network; generate technology and data-driven solutions with the network; and strategically support network partners who are premier and expert providers of basic needs and homelessness prevention services.
Priorities
1. Help families gain tools to develop long-term stability as the demand for services continues to rise – building the resiliency of our region through more resilient families
2. Connect, enhance and improve neighborhood-based projects, strengthening them with a common vision, standardized processes, and outcomes for a stronger regional social safety net (from which other organizations and regions may benefit through replication and enhanced research)
3. Strive to honor and enhance the unique relationship partner organizations have with the individual communities they serve, while also fostering leadership and organizational transformation for regional impact
4. Focus on ways that improved capacity serves a larger purpose across multiple organizations
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
In 2017, the Alliance of Community Assistance Ministries, Inc. (ACAM) began its planning process involving all key stakeholders in defining the strategic direction of the organization over the period of four years, 2019-2022. In 2017, the Board developed a list of possible strategic goals and, in 2018, hired Woollard Nichols & Associates to assist with facilitating the strategic planning process. All ACAM Network Executive Leaders were surveyed regarding their history with the organization, thoughts about strengths and challenges and desired goals. ACAM held a two-day planning retreat in June 2018, during which 100% of the Executive Leaders spent 15 hours developing their list of possible strategic goals. The ACAM Board met in July to review the work of the Executive Leaders and to develop draft mission and vision statements. A list of strategic goals combining the work of the Board and the Executive Leadership was developed and reviewed at an Executive Leadership meeting in November. Draft mission and vision statements were reviewed at each meeting, as well. In total, more than 378 person-hours were invested by the Board, Executive Leadership and ACAM staff, in meetings, to develop this plan.
These ACAM stakeholders developed the following plan with five (5) strategic goals, four (4) sub-goals and thirty-one (31) objectives that will guide the programs and development of the Alliance of Community Assistance Ministries, Inc. through 2022. The strategic goals are as follows; (1) Create state-of-the-art programming processes and initiatives to create regional impacts; (2) Build ACAM Network's brand and influence; (3) Strategically support and leverage in-Network leadership and assets; (4) Develop technology and data-driven solutions with our network (to achieve a measurable increase in family stability); (5) Align and garner talent and resources to support the performance and the expanding reach of the Network.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
ACAM is a successful model for organizational development and collaboration providing various resources to assist nonprofits' growth and more effectively respond to the needs of the community. ACAM proactively responds to the growing and changing needs of our nonprofits and funders, including the need to: serve more people with a greater variety of services, ensure an outcome-focus to the impact-minded donor, and become more sustainable as stand-alone organizations and as an integral part of a high-value network. Increased capacity and targeted organizational development lead to increased ability to efficiently serve more people in need and to also more effectively report the service outcomes to funders that expect a measurable return on their investment. The value of ACAM lies in its ability to facilitate processes and projects that strengthen mission-driven efforts from both ends of the service pipeline. ACAM has developed and implemented five core programs that are taking basic needs nonprofit management to a higher level of impact and achievement: Organizational & Network Development; Training& Networking; Collaborative Initiatives; Community Education & Outreach; and Management Support Services. These five programs provide a well-rounded, targeted approach which allows community assistance nonprofits to maximize their potential impact at an individual, organizational, and collaborative level.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
All of our work is supported by 5 volunteer councils comprised of ACAM staff, board members, and network leadership. Their name, description and primary assignment in the 2019-2022 Strategic Plan are as follows:
The Influence Brokers Council (IBC)
This group will be responsible for defining, enhancing and broadening ACAM’s brand and influence in the Greater Houston Community. It promotes both the ACAM brand and the perceived impact of the Network. It provides materials to enhance Board members’ and Network Partners’ engagement in advancing ACAM’s vision, mission and purpose. It employs a common message that drives fund development. IBC will also be responsible for community education and outreach regarding priorities inherent in its mission, such as the faith-based nonprofit sector and nonprofit capacity building and collaboration.
The Development Council (DC)
This group will be responsible for ensuring that ACAM has the resources to accomplish its mission. The DC will increase the diversity and number of funding sources for ACAM, resulting in increased funding. They will also investigate and plan for one or more social enterprise revenue sources.
The Programming Council (PC)
This group will address the current and future programming of the ACAM Network. The PC will use the network’s strength to address the root causes of poverty and local emergencies. They will develop collaborative initiatives to create higher impact outcomes and access diverse resources. They are also charged with overseeing the ongoing development and evaluation of training opportunities. They will ensure that ACAM’s training and networking events remain relevant to community assistance ministries and promote best practices, peer learning and information exchange. An important focus over the next few years will be the development of a collaborative regional disaster response system for the ACAM network.
The System Optimization Council (SOC)
This group will manage current data collection and take the lead in envisioning and creating state of the art data collection systems that help to maximize community impact. They will ensure ACAM’s ability to collect consistent and reliable client service data from the member ministries and clearly communicate the collaborative’s activity to stakeholders. The SOC works toward the standardization of terminology and unit definitions, weighing the cost-benefit of the level of data collected.
The Recruitment, Retention & Compliance Council (RRC)
This group will continue to serve as an advisory and working group that leads in the review and development of current and potential ACAM members. The RRC reviews and writes retention, recruitment and compliance policies; actively assists in the review of member expectations and membership levels, and reviews new member applicants. The RRC also supports the ACAM’s CEO when member compliance issues arise. The RRC furthers the objectives set forth in strategic planning.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Alliance of Community Assistance Ministries, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 01/29/2024
Mr. Fred Robertson
Greg Hambrick
Baxter Trust
Sarah Duckers
Sechrist Duckers LLP
Rev. Andy Noel
Retired Clergy
Fred Robertson
Allegiance Bank Texas and Investment Committee, Greater Houston Community Foundation
Mike McGowan
MFM Consultants LLC
Deysi Crespo
Katy Christian Ministries (KCM)
Cathy Moore
Epiphany Community Health Outreach Services (ECHOS)
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 05/10/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.