Partnership Spotlight: 3 Cross-Sector Partnerships from This Week

Flint schools Approve accountability measures, partnerships to improve performance 

flintside

Under a new partnership agreement, Flint Community Schools will work with six community partners to improve the performance of schools within the district. Under the agreement, Flint Community Schools maintains control of the schools, but receives additional assistance in the following five key areas: help in removing barriers to academic achievement from the Michigan Department of Education; technical support and professional development from the Genesee Intermediate School District and Michigan State University; financial support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation; community education coordination by the Crim Fitness Foundation; and, community engagement by Concerned Pastors for Social Action.

WHY IT MATTERS: This development is meant to maintain a certain quality control over the schools, while simultaneously sparking collaboration and bringing in resources to poorly-performing schools, according to Michigan Department of Education spokesperson Willian DiSessa.  

Save the children announces partnerships with leading nonprofits serving children and families at the u.s. – mexico border 

save the children

Save the Children, whose CEO Carolyn Miles is a Concordia Leadership Member, announces a partnership with American Immigration Council, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Immigration Justice Campaign, and Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) in support of children and families at the U.S.-Mexico border. These organizations are leaders in critical support programs and provide legal representation, case management, reunification support, and more for the population in question.

WHY IT MATTERS: In the midst of what is best described as a crisis at the southern U.S. border, the combined efforts of organizations whose mission is to alleviate the suffering of the populations affected by the crisis become crucial to progress and to finding solutions. 

NAACp, Airbnb partner to promote travel, offer new economic opportunities to communities of color

NAACP

Last year, the NAACP joined Airbnb in a partnership with the aim to spread the economic benefits of home sharing to a wider array of communities. Under this partnership, Airbnb and the NAACP are conducting targeted outreach to communities of color to assist people in utilizing their homes to earn extra income. This collaboration plans to spread the economic benefits of tourism by increasing the number of travelers to communities with higher populations of people of color. The agreement also includes a unique revenue sharing model: the NAACP will receive 20 percent of Airbnb’s earnings from this partnership.

WHY IT MATTERS: As Airbnb has gained traction in the past few years, the home sharing company has frequented headlines due to issues with discrimination and racism among its hosts and host communities. This initiative with the NAACP makes a direct effort to fix this issue by reaching out to communities of color and encouraging people to share their homes with travelers. In addition to making an effort to rectify discrimination within the practices of some of its hosts, Airbnb and the NAACP are also providing economic benefits to these communities.