COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NORTH LOUISIANA

Step forward - cfnla seeks success for every child in north louisiana with the ultimate goal of all children obtaining a sustainable, living-wage job by age 25. Through a shared community vision, step forward and its partners use evidence-based decision making and collaborative action to make positive changes for north louisiana children.

Other program services include support of nonprofits through networking opportunities, public events and workshops. We serve as a philanthropic expert and hub as well as a convener that brings together experts to identify problems and develop common agendas to effect real and lasting change. We work with donors to understand and implement his or her personal vision for a better and brighter community and provide a lasting legacy that transcends generations. An additional program is "community counts". To help drive change in our area, the community foundation has been tracking data and publishing an annual report card, "community counts", since 2008. Data for the shreveport-bossier metropolitan statistical area (msa) is collected and tracked in six categories: population, economic well-being, human capital, education, health, as well as social and physical environment. This data guides the foundation's grant-making and we encourage all to use the report to start community discussions, as a road-map for social capital investment, or as a call to action for philanthropy and volunteerism. Over 50% of children in northwest louisiana are not kindergarten ready when they start kindergarten. Research has shown kindergarten readiness is an indicator of long-term educational success. The foundation has increased fundraising efforts to provide scholarships to expand access and enrollment in quality early children education for children in caddo and bossier parishes. In addition, the foundation is evaluating the impact of this initiative by tracking and measuring the progress of children receiving scholarships relative to their peers that do not attend early childhood education centers.