Listen4Good: Using Feedback to Boost Equitable Impact

Let’s chat about how funders and nonprofits can integrate client listening and feedback practices to do good!

Listen4Good provides nonprofits and government agencies with ways to solicit and respond to direct client feedback to improve their work and impact. In this virtual roundtable on Zoom, we’ll learn from inspiring leaders and Listen4Good practitioners:

We’ll share more about L4G programs for nonprofits, resources and reflect on how listening more systematically to clients can increase the effectiveness of our work and organizations.

About our Speakers:

Laura Foster, Bill Wilson Center 

Laura Foster, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, is the Division Director of Research, Analysis and Impact at Bill Wilson Center. Prior to her current role she was the Division Director of Housing and managed the full range of housing programs offered at BWC serving families and young adults experiencing homelessness, including former foster youth. Overall, Laura has 23 years of experience in Social Work which has included providing services to survivors of domestic violence and a Parent-Child Interactive Therapy (PCIT) therapist.  Laura has a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from Illinois State University and a Master’s Degree in Social Work from San Jose State University.

Bill Wilson Center provides services to more than 5,000 children, youth, young adults and families in Santa Clara County through our various programs. Additionally, we reach more than 100,000 clients through our street outreach and crisis line programs. Bill Wilson Center programs focus on housing, education, counseling, and advocacy.

Rolland Janairo, Silicon Valley Urban Debate League

Rolland joined the Silicon Valley Urban Debate League as its Executive Director in December 2018.

Born and raised in New York City to parents who immigrated from the Philippines, Rolland has developed a deep appreciation for the transformative power of education as a product of the NYC public school system. While attending and after graduating from Brown University, Rolland volunteered and taught at a preschool in Providence, Rhode Island. He later earned his Masters Degree in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Rolland also serves as Treasurer of the Board of the Directors of the Thrive Alliance of Nonprofits of San Mateo County, as well as the Vice President of the Board of Directors for the California Association of Urban Debate Leagues. He is a Board member with SV2, and a Senior Fellow faculty member with the Institute of Nonprofit Practice.

The Silicon Valley Urban Debate League helps students uncover and hone the power of their voices, so they can confidently step into their full potential as professional and community leaders. With access to new opportunities, students open a world of possibility for themselves.

Valerie Threlfall, Listen4Good

Valerie serves as Executive Director of Listen4Good. The guiding objective of L4G is to shift power and center organizations on the perspectives, wisdom, and needs of those most impacted but least heard in the sector.

An industry leader in the feedback space, she is also Principal of Ekouté Consulting, which advances the use of feedback to inform strategy and measurement efforts for social-sector organizations. Valerie also served as founding director of the Center for Effective Philanthropy’s YouthTruth project. Under her tenure, YouthTruth matured from an idea to an organization serving hundreds of schools across 23 districts. YouthTruth has since grown to survey almost 2 million youth today.

Valerie holds a joint MBA and MPP from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Listen4Good, originally started by the Fund for Shared Insight, offers an 18-month capacity building program for nonprofits, with the goal of developing equitable measurement systems that center constituent perspectives and needs. Participating nonprofits receive access to:  1) 1:1 coaching support; 2) group learning; and 3) a core web application that provides functionality to build strong feedback loops. Organizations build their skillset and toolbelt in participatory measurement, shifting power to communities that have been historically left out of decision making. Since 2016, Listen4Good has supported over 850 nonprofits through their capacity-building program.

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This event is co-hosted by Listen4Good (L4G) and the Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2). Listen4Good is a deeply valued partner and friend of SV2 in advancing equity and sharing power throughout our social impact work.

This session will be held in virtual format via Zoom. The meeting access info will be sent via Eventbrite confirmation emails. To access the meeting info, Eventbrite will require you to log in or create an account if you don’t already have one. You will receive confirmation emails from Eventbrite 48 hours before the event, 2 hours before the event, and as the event begins. In any of these confirmation emails, click the orange “View the event” box. This will take you to a screen with an orange “Join now” button. Click on the button. This will take you to Zoom and you can follow the Zoom prompts to join the session. If you have additional questions or have difficulties joining the meeting, please contact Amy Badiani (abadiani@sv2.org).

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