FORTUNE FAVORS THE BOLD

Hello UVA partners and friends!  Happy Season of Giving 2021!  We love this time of year, and we’ve got tidings of great joy, so read on.

FORTUNE FAVORS THE BOLD FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN  To start, we have a goal to raise $500K by December 31. This will build on the $7.1M of in-kind services and thousands of hours of executive volunteer time that have already been contributed. We are now inviting donors to be part of this community.  All donors who give during this campaign will be part of our Founder’s Circle for life, and will be recognized on our website and in our annual report. We are looking for two anchor donors and supporters at all levels of giving, including matching donors.

“We hope that you will join our growing citizen-led movement to take bold action and turn the tide to rebuild lives and rebuild our cities. It’s up to all of us – Thank you!”  

-Gabriel Baldinucci,  UVA Co-founder & CEO

THE UVA ONLINE PLATFORM

We here at UVA are honored to work alongside you in the effort to end street homelessness. We recently asked ourselves how we could better achieve our mission, serve our partners, and create more opportunities to connect. That question led us to this answer: a web-based collective impact platform.

The UVA platform consists of two main components that allow us to realize our vision.  Locally, the platform will power an online community where nonprofits and corporations are in regular conversation and collaboration about large scale projects to end street homelessness. The platform will also allow us to open local UVA chapters in cities across the country so that they can take what we have already built and have a running start.

CITYWIDE COLLABORATION  There is no one place where people who care about the issue of homelessness can find information about all the programs and the pipeline of housing projects in a city. The UVA platform will connect stakeholders across a city – land owners, real estate firms, corporations, housing and services providers, donors, politicians, and the community – to support new housing projects while also helping homelessness providers to partner and improve services and lower costs.

UVA CHAPTERS NATIONWIDE  We are partnering with Smartsheet so that any city can quickly and easily launch their own local UVA chapter and have access to our resources, tools, partners, information, and 501c3 status so they can accept donations right away. Smartsheet has contributed stellar team members to support UVA in building this platform so that we can scale nationally.

At our next meetup on Thursday, December 9th, we will share our broader vision for the UVA platform in the long-term.  

“This platform is a tangible manifestation of UVA’s mission of promoting collaboration.”  

-Ellie Sweeny, UVA Platform Developer

UVA FEATURED IN NEW DOCUMENTARY FILM BEYOND HOMELESS: FINDING HOPE

Beyond Homeless: Finding Hope is a documentary on the problem plaguing the streets of San Francisco and a transformational solution at work in San Antonio. Independent Institute, a non-profit, non-partisan, public-policy research and educational organization, teamed with documentary filmmakers, Emergent Order, to produce a timely look at the escalating problem of homelessness in San Francisco, the rising costs of addressing it, and an alternative approach that has transformed San Antonio’s homeless problem.

UVA is highlighted as an innovative approach to solving street homelessness, and Gabriel Baldinucci, CEO, and Scott Ackerson, Board Director, of Urban Vision Alliance are among those interviewed in the film.

Subscribe to the Beyond Homeless YouTube channel to check out the trailer and help build a following in preparation for the release. 

The Beyond Homeless trailer and film screening information can also be found on their social media channels, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

NEW PARTNER: Bill Dunn Technologies

Our newest partner, Bill Dunn Technologies, is in the early stages of development and still in stealth mode but we are excited about their vision. The platform they are developing will provide tools, software, reporting, and insights that make it easier for service providers to support their unhoused clients. They envision a future where organizations can easily share client data and make referrals, without replacing their current software or duplicating data entry. Their mission is to build that future; one where shared data can be utilized to improve coordination across service providers and drive better outcomes for our communities. This is a natural partner for UVA as our new technology platform moves homelessness solutions online. While UVA aims to increase facilities and partnerships, Bill Dunn Technologies looks to improve programs with data. Their insights on success rates are a great complement to the information that we will be generating.

PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: DignityMoves

DignityMoves, Tipping Point, and the City of San Francisco have partnered to bring a new interim housing community to the center of San Francisco. While more permanent housing is the ultimate long-term goal, our streets cannot be the waiting room. DignityMoves is building “interim supportive housing” as a stop-over between tents and permanent housing – where clients can be safe and receive the critical support services necessary to rebuild their lives and exit homelessness.

The site, at 33 Gough, will provide 70 private, dignified rooms for individuals experiencing homelessness. Each room will have a bed, a desk and chair, heating, a window, and most importantly a door that locks. Contrary to traditional congregate shelters, residents will have the safety and dignity of a private space to call home while they work towards a more permanent exit from homelessness. The site has been thoughtfully designed by Gensler and PAE Engineers to create a welcoming community and foster a sense of belonging.  

With a referral from UVA, Gensler was eager to work with DignityMoves. Since then, Gensler has worked tirelessly to support DignityMoves on their first two projects in San Francisco and Santa Barbara.  They have built a terrific partnership, and Gensler has been designing a template to streamline all future DignityMoves projects.

According to Elizabeth Funk, Founder and Chairman of Dignity Moves:

“It is incredibly valuable to be connected with a community of organizations who all share a vision for ending homelessness.  The alliance that UVA is putting together is truly powerful—a group of values-aligned organizations all agreeing to collaborate towards a shared goal.  As the alliance develops, I could see it almost taking the shape of a movement….everyone contributing their part to address the most critical issue facing our communities.”

DignityMoves is currently fundraising for this project.  Learn more on their website.  

NEWSWORTHY

The Federal Government Needs YOU:

The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) is in the process of creating a new Federal Strategic Plan, and they want your input. 

The federal strategic plan will help communities leverage the $1.9 Trillion American Rescue Plan.

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to respond to the needs of the pandemic while investing in long-term solutions to homelessness. USICH invites feedback from anyone, particularly people who have experienced homelessness; people who serve the LGBT, BIPOC, or veteran communities; and people whose work involves the justice system.

Your feedback matters. Please answer some, or all, of the five questions on the survey.  Deadline 11/30/2021. 

EVENTS

Bay Area Council Housing Committee: Landscape for 2022 State Housing Policy – November 4, 2021 

In their final Housing Committee meeting of the year, they will bring leaders from the Governor’s Office and State Legislature to discuss their housing priorities for 2022 and insights gleaned from the Assembly Housing Working Group. They will also share plans for Council-sponsored housing bills.

National Homeless Youth Awareness Month – November 2021

Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week – November 13-21, 2021

Annual programs where people come together across the country to draw attention to the problems of homeless youth and hunger and homelessness.

Giving Tuesday – November 23, 2021

Look for UVA’s email for our Fortune Favors the Bold fundraising campaign.  Give generously and spread the word: together we can end street homelessness.

UVA Meetup – December 9, 2021

Save the date.  Invite coming out in November.