FAITH IN PLACE

Who are the people you serve with your mission?

Faith in Place works with people of faith through their house of worship and Green Team, especially from environmental justice communities, i.e., margialized urban and rural communities, typically of low-to-moderate income and often people of color, who are disproportionately vulnerable and impacted by polluted air land, water, and climate change. Our staff currently work statewide in Chicago, the north and west suburbs of Chicago, Lake County, Central Illinois, and Southern Illinois.

How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Paper surveys, Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Community meetings/Town halls, Suggestion box/email,

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,

What significant change resulted from feedback?

In the summer of 2020, Faith in Place launched our Think Tank Resiliency Project. Recognizing that our world is rapidly changing - e.g., COVID-19, a long overdue national reckoning with racial injustice, the urgency of the climate crisis - our think tanks engaged expert volunteers and those with lived experiences to help brainstorm ways to adapt our existing programs and/or create new ones to better serve our communities. More than 40 volunteers participated in our 6 think tanks, resulting in proposals covering a range of topics from empowering youth environmental leaders, digital disparities, and building resiliency with local food. These proposals will be part of long-term upcoming discussions as we formulate our 2023-2028 Strategic Plan.

With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,

How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

Faith in Place's collaboration with our faith partners and Green Teams is a two-way street - both Green Team members and Faith in Place staff practice active listening, resulting in real partnerships of mutual trust and respect. The relationship formed is a shared, collaborative leadership informs what we do and how we do it.

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 look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded,

What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time,