A Shift and an Update

Park Hill Collective Impact is now…

Denver Metro Community Impact

Park Hill Collective Impact is making a name transition to Denver Metro Community Impact (DMCI). As the organization shifts, it will maintain its neighborhood roots even while it scales for greater, city-wide impact. It keeps Park Hill’s original mission intact as a project for the neighborhood while allowing other neighborhoods to benefit from this important model. Moving forward, each project will have its own mission that aligns with the overarching mission statement of DMCI. In connecting neighborhood projects around the metro area, we will be able to leverage more community power for greater opportunities to change policy and create systemic change.

As a convener and facilitator of community and an organizational network, DMCI represents a medium to an understanding between neighborhood interests, the world of philanthropy, government, and any other entity seeking to work for and with the community. PHCI was already been doing this for the last two years, creating an impactful position in mobilizing the funding of philanthropy directly to the needs of the community, by fortifying the voice with data, while making a business case for investment.

Updated Mission

We advance equity and the success of children and their families by elevating the voices of the systemically oppressed through the facilitation of organizational collective action, led and constructed by the community.

Updated Vision

Equitable Denver Communities Where Children are Thriving, Not Just Surviving

Denver Metro Community Impact (DMCI) is being built in real time by and for the community. DMCI serves as the facilitator and connector for a growing network of partners to meet the needs of families in Denver. The network is bound together by passionate work on the Social Determinants of Health, recognizing that systemic change will come from efforts in improving life in our homes, schools, workplaces, neighborhood, and communities. The success of the DMCI Network is dependent upon organizations and individuals working together differently.

The Community Impact Workflow

DMCI puts community voice first. Our workflow has been developed from the best practices of the Collective Impact Framework, but also the best practices of community organizing. Starting with the community voice in mind, we seek leaders from within that have a knack for building relationships, listening to stories, and advocating for their neighbors. Through these leaders, we discover shared interests, identify issues impacting equity, and leverage the desire for action and change. After identifying this, we start the Collective Impact work by fortifying the community’s voice with data, continuing communication with the leaders, and inviting appropriate organizational partners to brainstorm collaborative action, while seeking continuous community feedback along the way. As a result, advocacy, solutions, and change are delivered to the community, by the community and our partners.

Building Upon Collective Partnerships and Long Term Impact

In order to be immediately effective, DMCI will focus on aligning and recruiting community-based collective initiatives and has already found interest through our existing partnerships. Denver is rich with social equity action leaders and fortunately, over the past three years, we have worked closely with the groups identified below to leverage success in pursuing systemic change. As DMCI scales, the network will find strength in continuous communication with other neighborhood collectives and reinforcement during the pursuit of policy change with greater power and backing for the movement of transformative change.

Alignment with The Civic Canopy

The Civic Canopy has been a partner from the very beginning and has provided Park Hill Collective Impact guidance and organizational mentorship. Recently, The Civic Canopy has made a shift in their Strategic Framework that complements the shift of PHCI to DMCI very well. The Canopy’s mission is to ‘create the conditions where the many work as one for the good of all’ by serving as a leader in strategy around building relationships, developing capacity, and catalyzing collective action. DMCI represents the outcome of their work in developing strong coalitions that are achieving shared results through inclusion, dialogue, action, and learning. To align further with The Civic Canopy, DMCI will continue to lean on their Community Learning Model and leadership around creating conditions for collaboration to thrive. The Canopy and DMCI are differentiated by their stance and mission, with DMCI serving as ‘boots on the ground’ to The Canopy’s leadership.