Collective Impact

Hubie Jones, Higher Ground founder

“In December 2008, I convened a meeting of nonprofit leaders in Roxbury and North Dorchester, elected political representatives, and foundation staff members, to talk about the crisis for many nonprofit organizations struggling with the Great Recession. We concluded that these distressed neighborhoods were resource rich and impact poor… and that this unacceptable condition was due to a fragmented service delivery system created by solo behavior keeping agencies from collaboration with each other.

Therefore, these agencies did not have enough power to achieve desperately needed positive outcomes for their clients. It was posited that one way out of this dilemma was to form an intermediary/backbone organization dedicated to forging collaboration between social agencies through the formation of strong partnerships. It was believed that such action would create greater social cohesion in the community and build a stronger social fabric. Essentially, the community needed to use a new organizational paradigm. Hence, Boston’s Higher Ground, Inc. was incorporated in 2010.”