Does your organization
find it challenging to support your grantees well, especially grantees that are far removed from
your staff or program officers?
Funders know that it takes more than money for grantees to succeed. Limited staffing, the variety
of organizations and strategies funded and geographic distance make it difficult to provide the
additional supports grantees may require. While a distinct challenge, how a funder supports
the organizations it funds can determine the success of any monetary investment.
The Navajo Area Indian Health Service (NAIHS) department of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
(HPDP) supports communities working to improve a variety of health outcomes including rates of
substance abuse, physical inactivity and poor nutrition. The Navajo Nation is the United
States' largest tribe and is the largest Indian reservation in the United States
(approximately 25,000 square miles - the size of West Virginia). With limited
staff, support infrastructure and dollars, the NAIHS-HPDP is supporting
communities to implement culturally appropriate strategies for
improving community health, preventing costly illness and the
need for emergency care.
CSG worked with NAIHS-HPDP to develop an online system of technical assistance supports to extend
the reach of health promotion staff. NAIHS had developed a substantial bank of training and
technical assistance materials appropriate to Navajo culture and customs, but struggled to
deliver those materials to those who needed support. Additionally, NAIHS staff needed a
way to track the progress of local "chapter house" areas and communities as they began
to implement recommended strategies.
NAIHS staff, working closely with CSG developed a culturally appropriate web format that organized
their own technical assistance materials as well as materials of others so Navajo communities
could access and put in place recommended strategies for improving health. CSG also helped
NAIHS-HPDP staff to develop "online communities" so that Navajo chapter houses and
communities far from each other could learn from each other's successes and
challenges and share best practices. Additionally, staff could better
monitor the work being done in communities to ensure that valuable
"face time" was spent addressing specific technical assistance
needs.
