Photo by Julie Dermansky
City Connects, the 艾可直播 College Lynch School of Education student intervention program, has been acknowledged by Results for America for its noteworthy, evidence-based education reform, as well as by the Center for High Impact Philanthropy (CHIP) for its grant-worthy social impact in education. 聽
Washington, D.C.-based Results for America (RfA) is an independent, non-partisan initiative dedicated to encouraging government and organizations at all levels to make more and better use of evidence for important decisions.聽 By meeting RfA's criteria for efficacy, and committing to its principles for more and better use of evidence, City Connects was named a "Moneyball for Government" designee, signifying that it effectively uses data to identify programs and practices that are proven to produce valued outcomes. 聽
"Moneyball" refers to the movie portrayal of Major League Baseball's Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane, who transformed baseball by ignoring conventional player evaluation measures and instead, used data to build championship contending teams despite a limited budget.聽 RfA contends that by playing "Moneyball," governments and non-profit organizations can cost-efficiently improve outcomes for young people, their families and communities.
City Connects is one of only 134 leaders and organizations -- including City Year, Big Brother Big Sisters of America, and MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership -- so designated by RfA among the 1.5 million U.S. non-profits.
"We are very pleased to join the ranks of the Moneyball for Government roster," said Mary E. Walsh, the Lynch School's Daniel E. Kearns Professor of Urban Education and Innovative Leadership and the executive director of City Connects, a national model for integrating comprehensive in- and out-of-school student support for 30,000 students in high-poverty, urban school districts聽 "This recognition will serve as a spur to deepen our understanding of the mechanisms that drive our evidence-based success."
Additionally, the University of Pennsylvania's Center for High Impact Philanthropy (CHIP) has selected City Connects for inclusion in its 2018 High Impact Giving Guide, a trusted, widely utilized and independent source of information on non-profit organizations, which assists both public and private granters in the identification of worthy grantees.
CHIP, collaboration between Penn's School of Social Policy & Practice and the university's Wharton School, provides unbiased analysis for principals, foundation trustees, foundation executive directors/CEOs and other philanthropic leaders seeking guidance on how to practice high-impact giving.聽 CHIP's criteria include:
鈥⒙犅� 聽Achieving meaningful improvement in its constituents' lives
鈥⒙犅� 聽Evidence-based problem solving
鈥⒙犅� 聽Cost-per-impact analysis
鈥⒙犅� 聽Refinement through continuous learning 聽
"CHIP's endorsement is a critically important designation for a wide range of both public and private funders," adds Walsh. "To be recognized by organizations with rigorous standards for public and private investments is an honor, and will hopefully further the work we do to support students and show what is possible for every child."
鈥擯hil Gloudemans | University Communications