FSI Memorandum

Fresno Stewardship Initiative
Community Investment Memorandum
The Four Spheres of Community Transformation

Spring 2012

Fresno Stewardship Initiative
Statement of Purpose

The purpose of the Fresno Stewardship Initiative is to provide steward leadership to achieve a healthy, educated and prosperous community.

Thinking and Acting Together Building Relationships Developing People Organizing For Effective Action Achieving Results

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Table of Contents
SECTION I: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................. 3 SECTION II: CHALLENGE ..................................................................................................................... 6 SECTION III: PREPARATION .............................................................................................................. 8 SECTION IV: GOVERNANCE .............................................................................................................. 11 SECTION V: MANAGEMENT.............................................................................................................. 17 SECTION VI: THE FOURTH SPHERE .............................................................................................. 20 SECTION VII: SAMPLE INITIATIVES .............................................................................................. 22 SECTION VIII: OUTCOMES ................................................................................................................ 29 SECTION IX: RISK FACTORS ............................................................................................................ 30 SECTION X: FINANCIALS ................................................................................................................... 31 SECTION XI: APPENDIX ..................................................................................................................... 33

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SECTION I:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Concept and Benefit
In response to growing complexity, rapid change and the interdependence of critical issues, community leaders launched the Fresno Stewardship Initiative (FSI) in 2012 to foster quality thought, provide a leadership and coordination function for community transformation. The FSI has the accountability of a strong governing body, the competence of skilled management, the spirit of entrepreneurship, the clarity of well-designed initiatives led by committed champions, and the security of sufficient resources for launch and a financial strategy for permanence. The FSI will lead transformational change through the strength of its ideas and the effectiveness of its initiatives. It will provide Fresno with a dedicated watchdog, cheerleader, strategist, teacher and scorekeeper ever focused on producing meaningful results. The FSI will offer all residents a way to stay informed and engage where they can contribute to building a great community. The FSI is based upon a Four Sphere Framework of a healthy community. The framework illustrates the interdependence of three key elements of the community—the economy, infrastructure/environment and human development. The FSI will develop and advance comprehensive strategies to address root causes of community dysfunction, then secure and allocate resources to pursue them. It will identify opportunities and align resources to capitalize on them. It will deliver, measure, and share outcomes in the form of an annual Community Scorecard and create a Communications Hub to keep the community informed. It will recruit and train a Stewardship Pipeline of future leaders. Using the FSI platform, the governance team of institutional and business leaders, will guide multiple, inter-related initiatives in order to use limited resources effectively. Institutional leaders will authorize their staff to work on cross-sector teams and participate in shared training sessions. They will use a shared set of indicators and scorecard to measure progress. Speaking together as a team, they will channel local and outside resources where they can achieve the greatest impact. The core management team is responsible for developing initiatives, finding executive staff and community champions for initiatives, communications and training, and securing funding. In many instances, important issues have been researched and their interdependence is understood. A set of shared behavioral values has been widely embraced. Ideas and new processes have been tested and proven. New assets have been added. The time has come to move beyond a largely volunteer effort to one with a handful of high-level staff and a lead executive for each initiative. Fresno is ready for the significant investment, scale and acceleration of Phase II.

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Meeting the Challenge
“It is a matter of self-interest for every society to remove obstacles to human growth and performance. The battles we wage against physical and mental illness, prejudice, ignorance and poverty are not just exercises in compassion. They are battles for the release of human talent and energy.” John W. Gardner--Founder of Common Cause, Adviser to many American Presidents. “Based upon my experience in Cambodia, I believe that crime, injustice and social unrest exists where there is little regard for human lives. Life is cheap. People live in fear. There is no peace, safety or justice.” Seyla Lim,--Cambodian Refugee, American Business Owner. As Americans, we are entrusted with an innovative way to conduct a community’s business—a democracy based upon core values, inalienable rights and a visionary goal—liberty and justice for all. We are responsible for creating the community we want. The FSI framework builds upon vital lessons learned and new processes to meet challenges and capitalize on opportunities. Our future is our shared responsibility. The City of Fresno in California has areas of the most concentrated urban poverty in the nation and the San Joaquin Valley is one of the poorest regions. Fragmented, symptom-relief efforts that are underfunded or short-lived have led to a maze of programs and nonprofits that cannot achieve the desired outcomes. Given the depth and duration of the challenge, we had to come up with a new approach. FSI is designed to fill this gap. It will empower our key leaders, institutions, organizations and residents to work together as stewards behind shared strategies and one scorecard.

Operations and Governance
The FSI staff will consist of contracted professionals and loaned employees. The operations group will include an overall coordinator, a communications director, and a fund developer. Other functions will be outsourced. Initiatives Leaders will be engaged as contractors or loaned employees and work as a team with the operations group. They will train together to optimize cross-sector alignment, productivity and results. The functions of the Fourth Sphere include coordination, communications, training, fund development and a development of the scorecard, a top priority. Policies and priorities for the FSI will be set at the outset by a governance team made up of the leaders of major institutions and the FBC executive committee. The governance team is responsible for allocating and monitoring the resources of the FSI and the results produced.

Initiatives
The first initiatives were selected based upon importance and readiness. In economic development, the FSI will evaluate ways to enhance the regional food system, inspire those with limited prospects to develop additional skills, and engage the private sector through the faith-based community to offer employment and coaching. In the area of infrastructure/environment, the FSI will support the
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renewal of the Growth Alternatives Alliance, a collaborative created in 1998 to advance Smart Growth Principles. In human development, the FSI will advance initiatives to address mental health, support school readiness, and build an educational pipeline from birth to employment. Central to human development is Neighbor Connecting Neighbor, a neighbor led communications network that will provide vital information from the neighborhood level to help make connections to resources and inform decision makers about what works and what does not have impact.

Financial Projections
The FSI will be financially supported by the FBC, institutions, community investors and foundations. Most of the funds will support core staff and initiative leadership. Other funds will be used to provide the training, communications, data and scorecard functions needed to support all of the initiatives and engage the public. The core premise of the FSI budget is that we have enough resources to obtain real, sustainable solutions to key problems that plague our community. What has been missing is steward leadership of the whole. The FSI is an antidote to fragmented, siloed thinking and behaving. The FSI will measure and report on indicators and outcomes using a community scorecard.
Figure 1.1- FSI Three Year Pro Forma

Funding Sources Fresno Business Council Institutional Leaders Community Investors Foundations Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total 200,000 250,000 250,000 700,000 100,000 100,000 100,000 300,000 250,000 300,000 300,000 850,000 260,000 735,000 745,000 1,740,000 810,000 1,385,000 1,395,000 3,590,000 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total 470,000 610,000 625,000 1,705,000 125,000 425,000 475,000 1,025,000 100,000 100,000 20,000 220,000 75,000 175,000 175,000 425,000 30,000 60,000 70,000 160,000 10,000 15,000 30,000 55,000 810,000 1,385,000 1,395,000 3,590,000

Expenses Staff- Core Staff- Initiatives Start Up Costs Variable Fixed Contingencies

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SECTION II:

CHALLENGE Solutions in the face of growing complexity, ongoing change, and many variables require new approaches. This is true whether seeking to resolve a specific issue or transform a culture. The scatter diagram below provides an illustration of this challenge when applied to conditions necessary for neighborhood or personal vitality.
Figure 2.1 Scatter Diagram Depicting the Complexity of Community Issues

As no one person or organization has the authority, resources or responsibility to impact all of the factors necessary to create a healthy, prosperous community, conditions and symptoms have become chronic. Institutions created to address pieces of the challenge have been stymied by silo thinking, planning and execution with limited ability or incentive to coordinate efforts to address major, systemic challenges.
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Our challenges tend to fall within three broad spheres: - Economic Development - Infrastructure Development - Human Development The leaders in each of these spheres eventually run up against barriers created by the others or are unable to align resources necessary to achieve their mission. Since the spheres are separated by structural barriers such as legal jurisdictions, limitations of power, and funding restrictions, aligning efforts with other spheres from inside any of the three spheres has proven to be extremely difficult.
Figure 2.3 Four Sphere Framework Figure 2.2 Three Spheres

However, when the impact of a fourth sphere is understood, one that encompasses the three and retains a focus on community outcomes, a platform for action can be created to rationalize and align efforts, identify leveraging opportunities and achieve outcomes that would be impossible in isolation. The Fresno Stewardship Initiative is designed to operationalize The Fourth Sphere as new way to conduct the community business.

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SECTION III:

PREPARATION In the early 90’s, Fresno was marked by high crime, low per capita income, high unemployment and many companies competed on low cost, not innovation and excellence. The community was highly fragmented and lacked overall leadership. Residents were unprepared for the global economy and many suffered from chronic, preventable health conditions. Air quality was poor and the landscape was not designed to preserve prime agricultural lands and create quality neighborhoods. The dominant culture consisted of low expectations, a pervasive sense of low esteem and behaviors common to a fear-based, scarcity mindset. In response, community leaders in business, academia, faith-based, and civic groups began to question common practices and beliefs and decided to find new ways to work together. New organizations were created including the Fresno Business Council and No Name Fellowship. They took responsibility for learning about the community, drilling deeply into conditions and issues that had been accepted as inevitable like deep levels of poverty and an economy dominated by a single industry. Both began with the same mindset—stewardship of the whole. They understood that most issues are interdependent and that our fate rested upon our ability to change the way we worked together. From these organizations and others, a series of major collaboratives emerged. Along with other regions of California, Fresno participated in a network created by the James Irvine Foundation to experiment with a new kind of community leadership based upon the reality of interdependence of three spheres the Foundation dubbed “’the three E’s”—economy, environment and equity. In order to broaden the concepts, leaders in Fresno renamed them economic development, infrastructure development and human development. The Morgan Family Foundation in Palo Alto has sustained the state network as the California Stewardship Network, recognizing the enormous value of learning from one another and developing a unified, value based voice to offer a new approach at the state level. Informed by two seminal reports from the Great Valley Center, The Economic Future of the San Joaquin Valley and Survey of Current Area Needs, the Fresno Business Council recruited a team to analyze the reports and chart a new course for the
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community. The economic report challenged the community to diversify and compete based upon excellence and innovation. The social report challenged the community to learn how to collaborate and raise standards for performance. The Fresno Area Collaborative Initiative (CRI), the project that emerged, aimed at executing the recommendations from the reports. The design team included Dr. John Welty, Mayor Ashley Swearengin, Ken Newby, Dr. Alan Pierrot, Dr. Tim Stearns, Keith Moyer, Ghassan Abulganum, Dan Whitehurst, Pat Wright, Paul Quiring and Deborah Nankivell. Most of these leaders are still actively engaged in transformation efforts. The CRI consisted of five major initiatives, “the dominoes,” that the team believed if tipped would result in a cascade of beneficial impacts on the community. The goals included ubiquitous broadband access, development of more knowledge workers, the creation of an innovation culture, Smart Growth principles applied to land use decisions, and increased effectiveness in the human development sector. An earlier collaborative, the Growth Alternatives Alliance provided the conceptual framework for the land use work team in A Landscape of Choice: Strategies for Improving Patterns of Community Growth. Some work teams started from Community Values scratch and others built upon work already underway. The success of the CRI is visible in the assets inspired by the work including two business incubators, the Lyles Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the Center for Advanced Research and Technology, industry clusters, New Valley Times, the Regional Jobs Initiative and efforts to improve our major school district through the Choosing Our Future report. Perhaps even more important over the long term is the shift in culture. Central to the work of the CRI was a set of behavioral values based upon a new mindset, a commitment to stewardship. Inspired by qualities demonstrated by existing leaders, the values were written down as a voluntary contract for behavior in the civic sector. The values include: stewardship, boundary crossing and collaboration, commitment to outcomes, art of the possible thinking, fact-based decision making, truth telling, power parity, commitment to resolving conflict, asset-based approach and disclosure of conflicts of interest. Over time, those who have committed to abiding by them have helped to establish a new culture based upon trust and shared responsibility for outcomes. Ethical Behavior  Stewardship  Truth Telling  Disclosure of Conflict of Interest Sound Business Practices:  Commitment to Outcomes  “Art of the Possible Thinking”  Fact-Based Decision Making  Asset-Based Approach Best Teaming Principles:  Boundary Crossing & Collaboration  Power Parity  Commitment to Resolving Conflict

Midway through the work of the CRI, the leaders recognized the importance of clearly defining and illustrating the importance of The Fourth Sphere. They added to the three sphere graphic, a fourth sphere that holds them together and offers a perspective for decision making that recognizes the
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positive or negative impacts actions in one sphere can have upon the others. In addition, from this perspective, resources invisible when working inside one sphere become apparent and offer leveraging opportunities. It is only from The Fourth Sphere that leaders can understand paradox, that winning and losing are the same when the element of time is considered. When the private sector externalizes costs to the environment or communities for short-term gain, it bears the burden of excessive regulation, higher taxes and lawsuits when the other spheres respond. The same is true when environmental or equity advocates believe they won when they tame or shackle the private sector without regard to the impact on profit and “History Never Looks Like History When You Are Living Through It.” – John W. productivity. Only when the resources needed for services Gardner and infrastructure dwindle and jobs leave their community do they realize the consequences of single sphere thinking. While those leading as stewards from The Fourth Sphere have no formal authority, the value of aligned decision making and an impartial focus on critical outcomes is compelling enough to inspire a level of collaboration that transcends immediate selfinterest. A high priority for the FSI is developing more leaders in all sectors at all levels who understand the importance of stewardship of the whole. The Fresno community is prepared for the next step. Community leaders understand the complexity of the challenge they face, they have built relationships built upon trust, and they have a track record of results demonstrating that collaborative models work. The community is ready to scale and accelerate. The Fresno Stewardship Initiative includes a strong governance team to ensure accountability; skilled management to ensure outcomes; the spirit of entrepreneurship; well-designed initiatives led by committed champions and competent executive staff; and sufficient resources for launch with a pragmatic plan for sustainability. Fresno has evolved from a place built upon low expectations into a community prepared for abundance, the hallmark of a great community.

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SECTION IV:

GOVERNANCE The initial governance team for the Fresno Stewardship Initiative consists of key institutional leaders and the executive committee of the Fresno Business Council. Working in tandem and overlapping with some individuals serving in both groups, the governance team will provide strategic guidance, positional authority and operational savvy to adaptively steer the FSI apparatus.
Figure 4.1 FSI Governance Model

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Institutional Leaders
The initial institutional leaders include top executives from the political, academic, nonprofit and media sectors. They have been meeting regularly to figure out how to serve together as managing partners of the community as a whole. ASHLEY SWEARENGIN Mayor, City Of Fresno Since 2009, Mayor Swearengin has served as mayor of the City of Fresno, the fifth-largest city in California. Mayor Swearengin also serves as chair of the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, a public-private partnership that focuses on implementing solutions to improve the quality of life in an eight-county region in central California. Before being elected mayor, she served as Director of Community and Economic Development at Fresno State and also co-founded the Regional Jobs Initiative, a comprehensive, industry-focused effort aimed at attacking chronic unemployment in the Fresno region. She earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees, both from Fresno State, and graduated with honors from both programs.

DR. JOHN D. WELTY President, California State University, Fresno Dr. Welty has served as president of Fresno State since 1991. He is also a professor in the Kremen School of Education and Human Development. He has served on both of the California State University’s major strategic planning efforts, served on several advisory groups for the U.S. Departments of Education and Agriculture along with numerous other advisory groups, boards and committees. He is a national leader in education, community service and the engaged university movement. Dr. Welty has received a vast array of awards from various organizations. He earned a BA in Social Science from Western Illinois University, a master’s in College Student Personnel Services from Michigan State University and a doctorate in Administration of Higher Education from Indiana University.

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MICHAEL E. HANSON Superintendent, Fresno Unified School District Michael Hanson has been serving the Fresno Unified School District as superintendent since 2005. He is responsible for leading California’s fourth largest school district and overseeing the academic performance of 73,000 students at 106 schools, as well as managing a $1 billion budget. Prior to joining Fresno Unified, Hanson served as associate superintendent for Elk Grove Unified School in Sacramento County. He is a Valley native who grew up in Dos Palos. He is proud to call Fresno his home where he resides with his wife and three young children – two of whom are of school age and attend Fresno schools.

BRIAN ANGUS Chief Executive Officer, Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission Brian Angus came to Fresno in August, 2010 to take the position of CEO with the Fresno EOC, which today is the largest of 1,000+ Community Action Agencies (CAA) in the country. The hallmark of his career has been community transformation. On four occasions he has built coalitions addressing issues as diverse as energy, gangs, health and poverty. He considers the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 preamble “It is therefore the policy of the United States to eliminate the paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty by opening to everyone, the opportunity for education, the opportunity to work and the opportunity to live in decency and dignity” a personal mission.

WILLIAM H. FLEET Publisher, The Fresno Bee William H. (Will) Fleet joined The Fresno Bee in October 2008 from Florida, where he was publisher for the Bradenton Herald, a McClatchy-owned daily newspaper on the Gulf Coast. Before joining the McClatchy Company, Fleet was group publisher of five community daily and weekly newspapers owned by the Los Angeles Times in Southern California. Fleet was publisher of The Signal in Santa Clarita, CA through most of the 1990s, and the Santa Barbara News-Press from 2001-2003. Fleet has a long history of community involvement. His projects include a non-profit organization he founded in 1996 called the Santa Clarita Valley Press Club, which raised close to $250,000 in First Amendment scholarships.
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FBC Executive Committee
The private sector brings an essential dimension to community stewardship. In a democracy, the economic sphere is where individuals are offered the opportunity to pursue their own happiness. Capitalism is based upon the notion that individuals have a choice about the quality of their life. Self-determination is the essence of freedom. While the other sectors are essential to equip those who see private enterprise as their calling and to create conditions where success is possible, the entrepreneurial spirit and problem solving skills tend to be much stronger in this sector. Thus, enlisting the attitude and talents from this sector through a stewardship lens is critical for collective success. Dr. John Welty, Ken Newby and Deborah Nankivell serve on both governance circles to ensure ongoing communication and alignment of purpose. The Fresno Business Council’s executive committee includes an additional five members. KEN NEWBY Certified Public Accountant, Retired Deloitte Managing Partner Chair, Fresno Business Council Ken is a Certified Public Accountant and retired Managing Partner of the Fresno Office of Deloitte. He is a tax specialist and has served global, public, and private clients of all sizes in many industries. He is the current Board Chair of the Fresno Business Council, comprised of Fresno Area business and institutional leaders dedicated to a stewardship approach to addressing significant community and regional issues, and has led or co-led several large community initiatives. He is a Board Governor of the Fresno State Foundation and has chaired many Fresno State auxiliary groups. He is a Valley native and is a graduate of Fresno State.

DR. ALAN PIERROT Orthopedic Surgeon, Founder of the Fresno Surgical Hospital and Somerford Inc. Dr. Pierrot came to Fresno in 1973 and practiced orthopedic surgery for nineteen years, closing his practice in 1992 to pursue a variety of business interests. He is the founder of the Fresno Surgical Hospital and Somerford Inc., a company that constructed 52-bed Alzheimer care facilities. He was named Northern California’s 1991 Entrepreneur of the Year for healthcare and was the founder and first president of the American Surgical Hospital Association. He has served on a number of for profit and not for profit boards and is a past president of the Fresno Business Council. After retiring in 2006, he launched Pre K Scholars, a company that manufactures kindergarten readiness products for home and school use.
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CURTIS WONG Certified Public Accountant, Janzen, Tamberi, & Wong Treasurer, Fresno Business Council As a founding partner of Janzen, Tamberi & Wong in 1990, Curtis Wong is a certified public accountant with a B.S. in Accounting from California State University, Fresno and a M.A. from San Joaquin College of Law. Curtis is responsible for managing a variety of clients including closely held businesses in a wide variety of Valley industries. Prior to founding his firm, he was a partner with Chaltraw and Wong and also served as a Tax Supervisor in the Fresno Office of Deloitee & Touche, from 1980-1985.

RICHARD JOHANSON Retired Business Owner Richard “Dick” Johanson is a native Fresnan and is Chair Emeritus of the Fresno Business Council. He is a Marine Corps veteran of WWII having served in the Pacific and China. He is graduate (Distinguished Alumnus) of Reedley College, a graduate (Distinguished Alumnus of the decade 1940-1950) of Armstrong University and holds an Honorary Doctorate Degree from California State University, Fresno. He is the founder and retired Chair of the Board of Johanson Transportation Service, a major freight brokerage firm, with offices through the United States. He has served on numerous communitybased boards including Fresno Pacific University, CSUF Foundation, Marjorie Mason Center, Community Hospitals of Central California Foundation and Corporate Affairs, United Way, Greater Fresno Area Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club of Fresno (President and District Governor), Fresno Unified School Board (Chair) and several others. He is the author of A Passion for Stewardship: The Legacy of A Generation and Just A Thought: Reflections on Civic Transformation.

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SCOTT RHODES Senior Vice President, Region Head, Wells Fargo Regional Commercial Banking Office Scott Rhodes currently oversees a commercial banking region that serves companies with annual revenues between $20 million and $500 million for Fresno, Central Coast and the Mid-Valley. Prior positions with Wells Fargo include managing director with Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, Inc. and a loan team manager in Bellevue, WA. In 2006, he relocated to Kansas City to develop a Regional Commercial Banking Office. Previously, he held senior management and risk management positions at Signet Banking Corporation and Fleet Financial Group. Mr. Rhodes earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Colorado State University.

MIKE WILHELM Attorney at Law, Walter and Wilhelm Law Group Since 1981, Mike, a UCLA graduate, has been practicing law in Fresno, California. He began his career with McCormick Barstow where he was the managing partner for 10 years. In 2008 he joined with Riley Walter to form the Walter & Wilhelm Law Group. He has been involved with the Fresno Business Council since 1998. His focus over the years has been in the area of public education. He has served on the Fresno Education Compact since 1999 and was chairperson for two terms. He also has chaired the Joint Task Force for School Business Partnerships since 2001.

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SECTION V:

MANAGEMENT

Fourth Sphere Staff
The FSI is a virtual, highly adaptive, holistic enterprise. The challenge of management in an environment where participation at all levels is at will; new attitudes and skills are required by all; and, the outcomes can only be credited to the whole is both staggering and humbling. Only a handful of people will be paid to manage, as a shared culture is the primary management tool. New models have emerged in business and even the military based upon the premise that everyone must be empowered to make the best choice in the moment to accommodate rapidly changing conditions. Thus, rather than a roadmap with signs at decision points, participants must rely on an inner compass, remembering the underlying purpose and ultimate outcomes as they execute tactics. This ability can be learned and trainings and support are an essential aspect of the FSI. The paid staff serving The Fourth Sphere, Deborah Nankivell and Jen Paul Schroer, have years of experience in leading and working in ambiguous, iterative environments and are deeply committed to acting in accordance with the community values.

DEBORAH NANKIVELL CEO, Fresno Business Council Loaned Executive—Fresno Stewardship Initiative Inspired by the work of John W. Gardner, Deborah Nankivell has focused her career on serving the community from the civic sector. During her many years as the executive director of Common Cause/Minnesota, the organization was highly successful in passing good government reforms and building a culture of ethical leadership in the legislature. During her tenure, the organization successfully intervened in a gubernatorial election when the political parties, not the interests of the citizens were being advanced. As Minnesota has a part-time legislature, she also worked as a consultant for Community Intervention, a business that offers workshops designed to equip community leaders with the knowledge and tools needed to address addiction issues working through schools. In 1993, when she moved to California, she shifted her focus from policy to applying the skills and tools she had learned to the work of community transformation. As the lone staff of the FBC for most of the past 18 years, Deborah learned to engage the talents, influence and leadership skills of leaders in all sectors to advance community goals. Central to her thinking is the belief that citizens, not paid staff or government acting alone, must work together to build a great community. Essential components of the citizen network are those who have been successful in their chosen careers in

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business, academia and the professions. These leaders must serve as stewards to balance the influence of vested interests and retain a focus on long term goals. Prior to working in the civic sector, Deborah practiced law in the areas of criminal defense, personal injury and workers’ compensation. She earned a BA in philosophy from the University of Minnesota and a JD from William Mitchell College of Law.

JEN PAUL SCHROER Communications and Training Consultant, Fresno Business Council Consultant —Fresno Stewardship Initiative A Fresno native, Jennifer has over 15 years of work experience ranging from entrepreneurship, community benefit organizations to corporate communications. She serves as board chair of Valley Cultural Coalition and is working closely with the FBC on community transformation and communications strategies. Jennifer is an adjunct professor at Fresno State and Fresno Pacific University teaching business courses in entrepreneurship, business strategy, business ethics and organizational behavior. Previously, Jennifer was part of the Office of Community and Economic Development at Fresno State leadership team, and was instrumental in program development, while creating and managing the marketing and public relations strategies. She was also responsible for collaborative initiatives and working with external community partners at the local, region and state level. She led strategic planning sessions with community leaders and private industry, which specifically focus on sustainability models, industry wide barriers/solutions, and cultural change. Jennifer graduated from Fresno Pacific University with a double major (Organizational Leadership and Theater Arts) and earned Latin Honors, Summa Cum Laude, as well as other academic achievements. After returning to Fresno, she acquired her master’s in Business Administration at Fresno State while pursuing a marketing career at Fresno Madera Farm Credit and later, Maverick Marketing.

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Initiative Staff
In addition to Deborah and Jen, two of the initiative leaders, Douglas E. Noll and Doug Davidian, are engaged in building the apparatus and developing the functions of The Fourth Sphere— communications, training and a scorecard. DOUGLAS E. NOLL Mediator Douglas E. Noll, Esq. is a full time business consultant, peacemaker, and mediator. He has worked with hundreds of corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies as well as local, national, and international nonprofits. He has taught and coached leadership and negotiation skills to business leaders, CEO’s, and business owners from small to very large enterprises. He has led and facilitated major strategic planning initiatives locally, nationally, and internationally. Mr. Noll is a graduate of Dartmouth College, received his law degree from University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law and his master’s degree in Peacemaking and Conflict Studies from Fresno Pacific University. Mr. Noll is AVrated by Martindale Hubbell and has been voted as one of the Best Lawyers in America in 2005, by U.S. News and World Report. He is also a Northern California Super Lawyer in dispute resolution. He is an author of the books Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflicts (Prometheus, 2011), Sex, Politics & Religion at the Office: The New Competitive Advantage (Auberry Press 2006), with John Boogaert, and Peacemaking: Practicing at the Intersection of Law and Human Conflict (Cascadia 2002) and contributed Chapter 3, THE NEUROPSYCHOLOGY OF CONFLICT in The Psychology of Resolving Global Conflicts: From War to Peace, (M. Fitzduff & C.E. Stout, eds.) vol.1, Praeger Security International (Westport CN 2006).

DOUG DAVIDIAN Entrepreneur Doug Davidian is a business professional and community activist with a depth and breadth of skills and experience to build business and accomplish strategic planning. He unites work teams to achieve common goals with meaningful recognition. He has over three decades of experience in sales, marketing, financial expertise, technology and visionary thinking. Doug founded an office furniture business in1985 and served as CEO and co-owner from 1985-2009, growing the company from two to 120 employees in three states. He and his company have received numerous awards for business performance, leadership, and corporate citizenship.

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SECTION VI:

THE FOURTH SPHERE The Fourth Sphere will provide a coordinating function for participating institutions, agencies, organizations and individuals. It will ensure high level strategic, top down approaches informed by direct interaction with those impacted by decisions to secure bottom up thinking and feedback. The only commitment for participation is agreeing to act in accordance with the community values and align as many decisions as possible at the policy and practice levels to support shared outcomes. To assist participants in aligning decisions, the FSI will offer standardized planning and decision making tools available through workshops. The tools will include techniques to link, align and leverage internal assets and partner effectively with organizations with similar missions and those working primarily in other spheres. Training will include best practices for improving productivity, team building and using a shared scorecard. The tools and templates will be developed so that data provided by the participants can be collated, analyzed and reported in a systematic and uniform way. The tools will be designed Figure 6.1 FSI Fourth Sphere Leadership Initiatives to help participants perform better in achieving their mission whether or not they are participating in an initiative.

The Fourth Sphere will include a communications hub for collecting, analyzing, and distributing information to the community. Through the hub individuals and organizations will be able to find out what is happening in regard to an issue of interest and learn how to have the greatest impact through financial investments or direct action. Products of the communications hub include the next iteration of a community newspaper, a community transformation pilot developed through PBS, and various bulletins and interactive blogs. A community scorecard will also be developed. In order to build a stewardship pipeline and broad understanding of community transformation, workshops will be offered and presentation opportunities sought to explain the underlying philosophy and purpose of the four sphere approach. The importance of having shared expectations for behavior and performance in the community will be emphasized. Through learning and acting
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together, institutional missions can be achieved and cross cutting challenges met as a new way to conduct the community’s business is embraced as common practice. In order to support the leaders of selected initiatives, discover synergies and focus efforts behind a shared report card, The Fourth Sphere staff, members of the governance team, initiative leaders and strategic partners will train together to ensure a shared understanding of The Fourth Sphere, the goals and tactics of the various initiatives, and to develop a common language and trust. As these individuals will represent a mixture of disciplines, sectors and organizations, the opportunities to discover synergies and new resources are unlimited. Fund development will be an ongoing function of The Fourth Sphere. Resources to support central leadership and support functions will be sought locally in order ensure mission focus and community empowerment. Funds for the various initiatives will be sought from individual and corporate philanthropy and foundation and government grants. In addition, new methods of fund development including crowdsourcing and using the tools of social media will be tapped.

COMMUNITY SCORECARD Champion: Scott Rhodes Staff: Jen Paul Schroer Community Partners: Multiple Funding Source: Local STEWARDSHIP PIPELINE Champion: Douglas E. Noll Staff: Jen Paul Schroer, Deborah Nankivell Community Partner: Fresno Pacific University Funding Source: Local, Foundations

COMMUNICATION HUB Champion: Kristine Walter Staff: Jen Paul Schroer Community Partners: Multiple Funding source: Local

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SECTION VII:

SAMPLE INITIATIVES

Economic Development Sphere
Economic initiatives focus on enhancing assets and opportunities, developing the skills of underemployed and unemployed, and connecting individuals with opportunities for employment and mentorship to support their success.
Figure 7.1 Economic Development Initiatives

ENHANCING THE REGIONAL FOOD SYSTEM Champion: Ken Newby Staff: Doug Davidian Community Partners: Multiple, National Food Commons Team Funding Source: Foundations, Local Fresno is uniquely suited to consider ways to enhance the regional food system; further develop the value chain of a wide range of industries related to food, agriculture and health; and expand local, national and international markets. With a globally unique confluence of beneficial climate, land, proximity, infrastructure, and legacy, our community has all of the ingredients needed to create
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widely shared prosperity. By aligning efforts to grow and buy local with initiatives aimed at improving health, we can accelerate achievement of both goals. There is increasing attention being paid to the agricultural value chain ranging from large producers and exporters to small farmers, community gardens and artisan specialty products. The federal government through SC2 and the USDA has focused on aligning efforts of multiple agencies and supporting local wealth and business development. The City of Fresno’s Food Expo has proven to be very successful. Thus, the climate is ripe to link, align and leverage these efforts behind shared strategies and goals wherever possible to achieve the greatest impact on our local community and neighborhoods.

The entrepreneurial opportunities inherent in an integrated strategy are significant and can impact all levels and many industries. The FSI’s training, outreach, and communications functions will support all facets of the overall effort focusing on a set of shared objectives, including:

         

Leverage legacy assets and systems Encourage increase consumption of locally grown products Increase localization of valued added components of the value chain Increase incubation of new products, technologies, and processes for both local and export markets Diversify, strengthen and grow the workforce Ensure access to healthy foods in all neighborhoods Support farm to institution and organization networks Provide better opportunities in rural communities Align local and outside resources behind shared strategies and tactics Fill key gaps in understanding, idea generation, business development and financial mechanisms

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LEARN2EARN Champion: Mayor Ashley Swearengin Staff: Linda Davidson Community Partners: Multiple Funding Source: Local
“Learning Is Not A Product Of Schooling But The Learn2Earn is a collaborative approach to Lifelong Attempt To Acquire It.” ensuring that individuals who want to return to Albert Einstein school to complete high school or advance their training find an open door and pathway to success. United Way offered its 211 call center as the first contact. Its operators collect preliminary information and volunteer advisors connect people to academic specialists who can guide them to the most appropriate institution. Volunteers from the private sector serve as mentors. Other elements include a shared database and a communications strategy to ensure awareness and the motivation inspired by role models of success.

THE WORK OF OUR HANDS Champion: Randy White Staff: Corey Seibel and Artie Padilla Community Partners: No Name Fellowship Funding Source: Local In a response to Mayor Swearengin’s challenge, No Name Fellowship’s Jobs Initiative created The Work of Our Hands, a resource highlighting local and national faith-rooted models of job creation, training and placement. The effort is aimed at mobilizing the faith community’s participation in meeting unemployment challenges by aligning with the Learn2Earn Initiative and other efforts.

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Infrastructure Development Sphere
The infrastructure sphere includes a wide range of elements that impact the environment of a community. The elements include the major projects of government—roads, recreational and industrial parks, and transportation—plus the important cultural and natural amenities that ensure a high quality of life.
Figure 7.2 Infrastructure Development Initiatives

Growth Alternatives Alliance Champion: Fresno Business Council (Interim) Staff: Deborah Nankivell Community Partners: Interested founding members Funding: Local, foundations Sparked by the recent commitment to Smart Growth principles by the Fresno City Council, the FBC decided to reconvene the Growth Alternatives Alliance (Alliance) to support execution. The founding organizations will first explore their separate commitment to renewal and determine as a group how to proceed. The outcome of the initial effort was a seminal report in 1998 entitled A Landscape of Choice: Strategies for Improving Patterns of Community Growth some follow on activities. As the community has deepened its understanding of the importance and implications of growth patterns to economic development and quality of life, the time is ripe for taking execution to a new level and adding additional members to the Alliance.
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Human Development Sphere
In 2007, the FBC released the Human Investment Initiative (HII), a comprehensive, strategic plan aimed at developing the community’s greatest asset—human talent and energy. To address the myriad symptoms of chronic poverty and other issues, a complex and fragmented array of programs and services had devolved into a quagmire requiring more and more resources to sustain while significant impact remained elusive. The HII championed a new mindset and approach to human development customized by individual and families, building upon existing skills and readiness, and grounded in neighborhoods. The primary objectives included:  Increase the self-reliance and contribution to the community of individuals and families.  Increase safety and prosperity in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty.  Create a highly integrated customer and prevention focused process for the delivery of human development services including health, education, workforce development and citizen engagement.  Create a path to self-sustainable funding for the system capturing the efficiencies of collaboration and re-directing funding from cure and maintenance to prevention.  Help align the key supportive initiatives and services behind a common vision and plan.
Figure 7.3 Human Development Initiatives

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The indicators selected to measure success were quantitative and qualitative. They were based upon Brookings Institution reports on the correlates of, and solutions associated with, poverty. The four indicators identified in the plan were:  Young people successfully graduating from high school with a viable education and career plan building on their interests and talents.  Resident’s perception of safety in their neighborhoods.  Households earning a sustainable, living wage.  Children born healthy into stable, nurturing and supportive environments. Since 2007, there has been significant process toward some of the goals and a deeper understanding of the challenges. The vestiges of the industrial age are significant barriers as systems became hierarchical, bureaucratic, rule bound and focused more on control than empowerment. Systems with industrial age cultures are not equipped to adapt quickly or creatively to the unique challenges of individuals and families. The CRI, designed to shift the culture to one that is innovative and empowering, has prepared the community to accelerate through the training and outreach activities of the FSI. NEIGHBOR CONNECTING NEIGHBOR Champion: Neighborhood Associations Staff: Doug Davidian Community Partner: FBC Funding: Multiple Years of largely failed efforts to address concentrated poverty reveal two gaps—aligned leadership at the top and an organized, self-directed voice at the bottom. Short of these two components, the bureaucracies and nonprofits intended to meet the needs of residents often end up at cross purposes and can paradoxically serve to sustain unfortunate conditions rather than remediate them. Neighbor Connecting Neighbor (NCN) was designed by residents in the Lowell neighborhood to overcome the bottom up challenge. Using a traditional block captain approach to build a personal communications network, NCN is designed to identify assets, share information, connect people to resources and keep score. Neighborhood coaches, block captains and interested residents will train together to develop a shared language and protocols to collect and protect data, stay connected to transient residents, and teach those seeking to assist what works, what does not and what they are prepared to do. NCN will have direct access to the governance team of the FSI thereby closing the longstanding communication gap between the leaders of institutions and the residents they are responsible to serve.

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KINDERGARTEN READINESS INITIATIVE Champion: Dr. Alan Pierrot Staff: Suzanne Moreno Community Partner: Encourage Tomorrow Funding: Fresno Regional Foundation, Local Philanthropy Half of all children entering kindergarten are unprepared for success and those who start behind tend to stay behind. The Kindergarten Readiness Initiative is an experiment to determine if kindergarten readiness scores can be improved by jointly teaching parents and their four-year olds how to use a comprehensive, affordable pre-k curriculum. An assumption of the initiative is that parents are willing but simply do not know what or how to teach their children. Parents will be coached by experts from Encourage Tomorrow in a “train the trainer” format. The goal will be to share the experience and skills neighbor to neighbor to build capacity and a sense of shared purpose. The experiment is designed to lead to an effective, affordable model to prepare children for school. Results will be available in September 2012. MENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVE Champion: Lynne Ashbeck Staff: Douglas E. Noll Community Partners: Hospital Council of Northern California and Fresno Business Council Funding: California HealthCare Foundation, Local Philanthropy The Mental Health Initiative is intended to address mental health as a complete ecosystem. The acute end of the spectrum is in crisis. Focused efforts have begun to identify, develop, and connect the assets needed to stabilize frequent users and build partnerships across institutions based upon shared learning, tools and commitments. Best practices from other communities will be adapted to meet local conditions. As the work on the acute end continues, additional emphasis will be paid to recovery, management of chronic conditions and prevention. FRESNO AREA STRIVE Champion: Dr. John Welty Staff: Dr. Thomas Crow Community Partners: The Fresno Compact Funding: Local Philanthropy

The Fresno Area Strive Initiative is designed as a community-wide effort to strengthen educational and support systems for children from “cradle to career.” Inspired by the Strive Initiative developed in Cincinnati and spreading across the nation, the partners will customize best practices to improve the academic and life success of the children in our community.

“I Am Entirely Certain That Twenty Years From Now We Will Look Back At Education As It Is Practiced In Most Schools Today And Wonder That We Could Have Tolerated Anything So Primitive” John W. Gardner, 1984

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SECTION VIII:

OUTCOMES As measurement is vital to adjust strategies, maintain motivation and demonstrate value, a community scorecard is an essential component of the FSI. In a data rich, knowledge poor environment, there is a tendency to capture information that is easy to measure but provides limited value to informed decision making. In addition, the experience of living in a community may not be easily measured by common indicators. A high grade can reflect hard work or a willingness to cheat. A healthy body weight may be the result of mindful eating and an active lifestyle or obsession, an indicator of an eating disorder. High employment and large businesses can signal a vibrant economy or externalized costs to the environment and a dependent community where many residents earn low wages with few benefits. Thus, the community scorecard in development will balance important quantitative measures with the qualitative measures that reflect lived experience. Community pride and inclusiveness are easily seen and measured by its absence,--graffiti, litter, concentrated poverty and crime. The indicators will be initially selected by the initiative leaders and the governance team.

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SECTION IX:

RISK FACTORS All ventures, especially those as entrepreneurial as the FSI have inherent risk of failure. Four are readily identifiable:

Insufficient Funds for Staff
Full time experts can accomplish much more than part time volunteers. They have much more time to pursue initiatives, more focused experience and effective networks and other resources vital to success. FSI believes that a core team of at least four fulltime senior executives and highly skilled initiative staff leaders are key to the simultaneous pursuit of the multiple efforts necessary to move a community to a better place. If these funds cannot be raised, the likelihood of a successful FSI is diminished.

Insufficient Funds for Initiatives
A skilled team can launch many community-changing initiatives if there are sufficient funds to meet each budget. FSI plans to seek the funding for each initiative from grants, donors and foundations. If funding is inadequate, the scope of the FSI will be narrower and community transformation less likely

Opposition from Government, Business and/or Community Benefit Organizations
Changing the status quo is always disturbing to entities that have adapted to the status quo or who depend upon it for continued success. In time the FSI will inevitably rock the community boat and if the reaction is organized and strong, community transformation could suffer.

Apathy
Fresno has many years of high unemployment, underperforming schools, and low per capita income. The easy way out for the population is to see the driving forces of these and other conditions as overwhelming, to choose adaptation rather than reform, to sit on the sidelines rather than engage, to succumb rather than try. If Fresno does not accept the challenge of continuous improvement, the FSI will fail.

Diversity as a Barrier to Trust
In a region where trust has been badly undermined by competition, exploitation and self-interest, residents have had a tendency to distrust ideas and intentions offered by anyone who has not had their life experience. Whether by race, culture, socio-economics, religion, gender, or educational level, Fresno has a history of fragmentation. As the criteria for leadership in the FSI is based upon position and hands on experience, most of the original stewards are white and male. However, built into the strategies are the insights of a wide range of people locally, nationally and from the lessons learned by communities across the country. The stewardship pipeline is designed to ensure that future leadership does not reflect the past. Furthermore, the principles and values underlying the effort are based upon the aspirational American principles of unity, equal treatment and justice. Advancing them is the ongoing work of each generation.
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SECTION X:

FINANCIALS The importance of overall leadership from a steward’s perspective cannot be overstated. A complex enterprise can easily break into self-serving factions competing with one another for attention, resources and credit. Whether a school district, business, or community, a shared mission supported by all involved is critical for success. In some cases, leadership is enough. The mission is simple--production of widgets--so a top down, highly regimented organizational structure built for efficiency, speed and uniformity works. However, in a community “When You Have Community, You Can Solve Any Problem. When You Don’t, You where trust is indispensable, participation is at will and Won’t But You Will Spend A Lot To Time outcomes can take decades, sustained stewardship And Money Trying.” leadership is essential. While many have a stewardship Archibald Cox, Special Watergate mindset in all sectors and leaders come in all stripes, the Prosecutor, Chair Emeritus Of integrated blend of high-level thinking ability, a servant’s Common Cause. heart and a passion for community outcomes is rare and must be consciously developed. Fresno is investment worthy because it has developed steward leaders in institutions and the private sector and has enlisted staff members that have the capacity to hold the vision and execute. The financial implications of the FSI for the community are significant. For years, we have attempted to solve problems in sectors and siloes. When that didn’t work, we tried harder and invested even more money. Today, we recognize that most of the critical issues we face exist in an ecosystem. Attempting to fix a problem on one side simply shifts the burden to someone else or to future generations. By investing a relatively small amount in the coordinating, leadership core, we can explore the entire ecosystem and advance strategies that transform underlying conditions and engage many more people in the work of community. Our economic potential is unlimited if we lift the “giant sea anchor” of concentrated poverty that has held us back for decades. Short of doing this, our government institutions, health systems and nonprofits will continue to focus on symptoms, building fragmented and competing bureaucracies as they grow. The resources we could be investing in education, infrastructure and quality of life will continue to diminish. The FSI offers another path, a path to deploying the abundance we already have where the return will benefit everyone. The FSI governance team will be available to local and outside philanthropists and foundations who are interested in guidance in terms of most impactful investments and most capable organizations. Historically, those with financial resources either bypassed Fresno because we seemed incapable of effective collaboration or investments were made in siloes and without regard for existing efforts. This has led to more fragmentation and frustrated efforts. The FBC will provide $200,000 in year one and $250,000 in years two to three to support the central leadership function. The FSI will raise the additional operating capital from local and regional sources and secure grants and philanthropic donations to advance the initiatives. Most of
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the resources will be used to compensate Fourth Sphere staff and the communications, training and scorecard functions. The governing body will serve without compensation. FSI will devote much of Year I to fundraising and staff building although concurrently it will advance specific initiatives as resources permit.

In addition to the financial investment of the members, the fair market value of talent in the form of consulting, analysis, writing, strategy and leadership is immeasurable. Community transformation is a learn by doing enterprise. A wide array of organizations and individuals has donated their skills as consultants, strategists and volunteer leaders. CEO’s, presidents and executive directors have invested countless hours in developing and executing initiatives. It is this resource that makes the Fresno Stewardship Initiative highly unusual. In a healthy democracy, residents cannot pay people to lead them. They must learn how to govern themselves. This requires those with leadership ability to learn community business and work together as stewards. John Gardner implored the best and the brightest from the professions, corporations and academia to step up and lead as stewards. In Fresno, that is exactly what they have done.
Figure 10.1- FSI Three Year Pro Forma

Funding Sources Fresno Business Council Institutional Leaders Community Investors Foundations Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total 200,000 250,000 250,000 700,000 100,000 100,000 100,000 300,000 250,000 300,000 300,000 850,000 260,000 735,000 745,000 1,740,000 810,000 1,385,000 1,395,000 3,590,000 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total 470,000 610,000 625,000 1,705,000 125,000 425,000 475,000 1,025,000 100,000 100,000 20,000 220,000 75,000 175,000 175,000 425,000 30,000 60,000 70,000 160,000 10,000 15,000 30,000 55,000 810,000 1,385,000 1,395,000 3,590,000

Expenses Staff- Core Staff- Initiatives Start Up Costs Variable Fixed Contingencies

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SECTION XI:

APPENDIX

Community Values
Stewardship- We will lead and follow as stewards of our region, caring responsibly for our community assets. We will work together to achieve the greatest, long-term benefit for the community as a whole. Boundary Crossing and Collaboration- We are willing to cross political, social ethnic and economic boundaries and partner with others to achieve community outcomes. We will lead beyond the walls to create an inclusive, cohesive community through partnership and collaboration. Commitment to Outcomes- We are willing to take responsibility for tasks and achieving specified outcomes. We are committed to staying involved until the tasks are completed. "Art of the Possible" Thinking- We believe that anything is possible in the Fresno Region. We will envision success without limitations and then backward map a specific, attainable strategy for achieving that vision. Fact-Based Decision Making- To the greatest extent possible, we will base decisions and action plans on objective data, thereby avoiding distortion of issues by personal feelings or agendas. At the same time, we seek to get to the heart of the matter and recognize that facts without context can be misleading. Truth Telling- We value the empowerment of everyone involved, along with all community stakeholders, to honestly and forthrightly share all knowledge, experiences and insights relative to the work at hand. We take responsibility for ensuring our truth is current, not historical. We all share the responsibility for maintaining the truth telling standard. Power Parity- We respect all persons and recognize that there are diverse viewpoints. Positional power will not determine a strategy or preferred outcome, merit will. Viewpoints from diverse constituencies will be proactively sought to ensure the best possible outcomes for the community. Commitment to Resolving Conflict- Conflict is inevitable and is sometimes required in order to achieve the best outcomes possible. Healthy conflict involves valuing every individual regardless of his or her stance on a specific issue and an unwavering commitment to working through the conflict in a positive manner despite its severity. Asset-Based Approach- We are focused on using a strengths-based, asset-oriented approach to people and issues. We believe that positive change occurs when we appreciate value and invest in what is best in our people and community. Conflict of Interest- We agree to disclose any personal or professional conflict of interest that may affect our objectivity before engaging in work that will impact the community. We seek to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.
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Community Transformation Process Outline

DILEMMA:  Intractable issues: o Are complex o Cross many boundaries and jurisdictions o Are deeply entrenched Large economic opportunities: o Are complex o Cross many boundaries and jurisdictions o Can be co-opted by others who move faster and more decisively Simple or narrow solutions: o Can’t address the entirety of the problem, or the opportunity o Can’t produce the hoped-for results because too many counter-forces are in play

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WHAT TO DO?  Think and plan comprehensively: o Innovative first bus o Scatter chart lens o Four-sphere perspective o Expand the tent o Deploy resource strategically o Communicate, listen, and learn  Act collectively: o Must have a committed champion o Coalition of the willing o Skin in the game o Align the bones o Play to strengths - - support others who playing to theirs o Citizenship responsibilities  Adapt as necessary: o Expect messiness and changing conditions o Navigate the maze  Persevere: o Intractable issues and large opportunities will only respond to sustained and comprehensive effort o Process must survive change in key individuals All Predicated on Values-Based Participation

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