Through training and support, EVOLVE boosts the impact of Wake County nonprofits

Across Wake County, EVOLVE Mentoring Inc. acts as a quarterback organization fostering community partners and offshoot initiatives in order to provide resources and support for Black, Latinx and Native American boys and young men.

With the help of a grant awarded to EVOLVE by John Rex Endowment in June 2019, the organization has partnered with a number of organizations to help increase the reach of its mission. Much of EVOLVE's important work is being done through the My Brother's Keeper initiative — now known as My Brother's and Sister's Keeper Wake County, which launched in 2018.

"My Brother's Keeper Wake County has been a tremendous blessing in relation to collaboration, financial support and strategic planning for next steps in terms of mentorship, along with helping us reevaluate and structure our organization," said Marcel Anderson, founder and executive director of Accelerating Men, a nonprofit, faith-based organization that educates, trains and equips young men to be leaders in their communities.

"One of our community service projects is the Golden Man Community Service project. EVOLVE has sponsored that project over the last two years in conjunction with the My Brother's Keeper initiative. The support has enabled us to continue our work to address and decrease homelessness within Wake County. Families we work with who have African American males in their households have often needed additional assistance, especially during the pandemic. We've been able to continue to support these families and collect donations for them."

In addition to providing financial support for families, Accelerating Men also works directly with young men in the area, conducting workshops, seminars and social events. While the pandemic made it more difficult to bring people together, the organization was still able to serve over 20 families in the area during the COVID-19 crisis.

Through Accelerating Men's partnership with EVOLVE and the MBSK Wake County, the organization was able to receive support and training on how best to develop their infrastructure, values and future funding. The continued support has been invaluable for the organization in learning how to best pivot their offerings.

"We provide virtual workshops, social interventions and parenting classes, along with cooking classes, painting classes and concerts. We've even done social distance community service projects and community outreach," said Anderson. "During the pandemic, we still met with our youth at least three times a month, and we were able to see an increase in the academic performance in 85% of our young men."

At another Wake County non-profit, SOAR Outreach, founder and executive director Utica Cason and the rest of her team faced a similar need to pivot. SOAR's mission is to provide resources for homeless and low-income students that reside in the Wake County area.

Partnering with the MBSK Wake County, made possible by EVOLVE, the organization has been able to increase its capacity.

"We're geared toward trying to help minority populations, primarily Black and Brown communities, in the county. Through the partnership with EVOLVE and the MBSK, we've been able to attend different trainings on nonprofit management and learn how to form community collaborations, in addition to learning how to target and provide relevant data — all of those things have helped us build capacity," said Cason.

Since one of SOAR's main avenues is working through schools, the closure of schools during COVID threw a curveball into their operations. Still, through community partnerships, they were able to successfully pivot.

"During the pandemic, every month we've passed out anywhere between 400 to 500 hygiene kits. When schools closed, we had to start depending on community organizations that were on the front line, passing out food, providing hand sanitizers, and those kinds of things," said Cason. "We did our healthy hygiene program through our partners, and they also helped us with getting to the youth in the community."

The pandemic has given SOAR time to think about how they want to intentionally restructure their operations. Moving forward, SOAR would like to expand their partnerships and increase volunteer participation.

"You make a bigger impact when there are more people involved. What I love about the partnership with EVOLVE and being part of MBSK Wake County is that it's teaching us to grow our capacity and our nonprofit. It's also showing us how we can make community collaboration and partnerships a big part in carrying out our mission," said Cason.

Anderson echoed the same sentiments, emphasizing the role that a consistent partner plays in the growth of an organization.

"EVOLVE has been very supportive and consistent. Whether the need is there or not, they're still there, whether that's physically, mentally, spiritually, socially, whatever it may be. In the non-profit space, it's not just about obtaining financial support — it's also about communications and all of the above," said Anderson. "They provide us with collaborations, and they provide us with consistency. Thanks to EVOLVE and MBSK Wake County, we have been able to grow tremendously, allowing us to further our mission to impact the lives of not only young men, but also make a positive impact on families as a whole."