National Urban League

The Challenge

The National Urban League is a human service organization dedicated to economic empowerment in order to elevate the standard of living in underserved urban communities. It supports the efforts of its 92 local Affiliates in 36 states and the District of Columbia. In order to create a sustainable movement, the National Urban League recognized the need for Affiliates to increase and diversify their funding base and focus on pursuing philanthropic dollars from private sources such as individuals, corporations, and foundations. This would allow them to continue to carry out vital programs in urban communities across America.

The Solution

CCS partnered with the National Urban League to design Project Rock, aimed at strengthening and diversifying Affiliate funding streams and increasing private funding. Initially piloted with a select number of Affiliates who received intensive coaching and support, the program later created the following permanent assets available to all Affiliates:

• Executive Fundraising Academy (EFA), a weekly virtual fundraising training curriculum and in-person workshops offered to Affiliate staff, leadership, and volunteers.
• Projectrock.org, a comprehensive website for Affiliates to share and review fundraising best practices and templates.
• Project Rock Hotline for Affiliates to call Monday through Friday to receive fundraising advice and discuss strategy.

The Impact

Project Rock helped increase the dollars raised in fundraising efforts at National Urban League Affiliates. Affiliates participating in the intensive pilot phase saw private year-over-year fundraising results increase by 46 percent.