Since the start of the recent economic recession, the demand for social sector (nonprofit sector) services has expanded while funding sources have contracted. The sector consists of many small providers which each have their own mission, governance and overhead structure. Prominent Hartford area leaders publicly state that there are too many nonprofits and call for consolidation in the industry. Funders increasingly look to support established programs with proven impact and have less interest in funding new programs unless proposed by existing agencies. At the same time, agencies are squeezed to minimize spending on administration and often lack the capacity to improve processes or conceive of new service innovation. In this environment, quality administration, service delivery and transformative innovation are nearly impossible to foster and support.
While this situation is ubiquitous across the country, Hartford presents unique opportunities and challenges. As the center of a region recognized among the wealthiest and best educated in the country, Hartford has a population capable of conceiving of and implementing new approaches to solve social sector problems. Also, the city of Hartford itself ranks as one of the nation’s poorest cities, and, thus, there is no shortage of need.
CountMeIn!Hartford was founded as an all-volunteer group in 2012 to capitalize on this opportunity by creating a social sector innovation think tank for the Greater Hartford region. We envision a vibrant Capital City where great ideas that advance the region and its residents are developed, vetted and implemented.
The CountMeIn!Hartford mission is to inspire, assist and light the entrepreneurial spirit in passionate people so that they successfully discover and ultimately realize their civic vision. We do this by hosting conversations where opportunities and solutions are raised – inspiring passion in participants. Once that fire is lit, we are a forum that acts as a sounding board and incubator to flesh out plans and next steps.
CountMeIn!Hartford was founded as an all-volunteer group in 2012 to capitalize on this opportunity by creating a social sector innovation think tank for the Greater Hartford region. We envision a vibrant Capital City where great ideas that advance the region and its residents are developed, vetted and implemented.
The CountMeIn!Hartford mission is to inspire, assist and light the entrepreneurial spirit in passionate people so that they successfully discover and ultimately realize their civic vision. We do this by hosting conversations where opportunities and solutions are raised – inspiring passion in participants. Once that fire is lit, we are a forum that acts as a sounding board and incubator to flesh out plans and next steps.
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