NEIGHBORHOOD EXECELLENCE INITIATIVE
Bank of America recognizes, nurtures and rewards community organizations, local heroes and student leaders that are helping their neighborhoods achieve excellence. Their Neighborhood Builders Program provides $200,000 in core operating support and leadership training over two years to selected nonprofit organizations working to promote vibrant neighborhoods. Bank of America awarded the Neighborhood Builders Award to the Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition for 2006 and 2007. Through this outstanding program, the Literacy Coalition was able to send its Executive Director and Director of Development and Program Compliance to five excellent national training sessions where they learned, along with other award recipients from over 70 other communities, from some of the best training experts available nationally. The training covered many of the hottest topics in the non-profit world such as branding, succession planning, building a diverse funding base and leading high-performing organizations. These staff members came back energized to strive further for excellence in all levels of the Coalition’s life and work.
The funding from the Neighbor Builders Award has assisted the Coalition in strengthening its internal systems especially in the areas of development, program compliance and accountability. Externally, the funding has made it possible for the Coalition to hire two outreach workers who spread the literacy message at the grassroots level specifically among Haitian and Hispanic populations. Through the work of these two outreach workers, hundreds of adults in need of English and reading skills have been connected with literacy programs and resources in
