ACEs Changemaker Matching Grant Campaign receives $6,243 in the first week!

In the first week of the ACEs Changemaker Matching Grant Campaign, 32 very generous people donated $6,243! We are so very grateful.

A very generous funder has given us a matching grant for $50,000!! So, if we can raise $50,000 from the ACEs Connection community, as well as from those who believe in ACEs science, this wonderful funder will match any contribution that comes through our donation button up to $50,000.

Last week, I mentioned in general terms what the funds would spent on. I thought you might be interested in more specifics about what we do.

ACEs Connection launched as a social network (ACEsConnection.com) and news site for the general public (ACEsTooHigh.com) in 2012. Over the last eight years, as a result of requests by communities that launched ACEs initiatives, ACEsConnection.com has expanded to provide the following resources, services, interactive maps, and tools.

• The main network comprises blog posts, videos, a resources center, a calendar, webinars, and an Ask the Community section. Each of the 350 ACEs initiatives in cities and counties that have community sites on com(others are in development), has the same array; they are like mini-ACEs Connections. California is the first state to have all counties launch ACEs initiatives. We also have three dozen interest-based communities, such as ACEs in Education and Parenting with ACEs.
• We send out a daily digest and weekly roundup to our nearly 50,000 members to provide you with the latest news, reports, research and information relevant to the ACEs science movement.
• ACEs Connection has a full-time reporter who covers how organizations integrate policies and practices based on the science of childhood adversity and positive childhood experiences, and specializes in communities, families and children.
  
  
• Eight ACEs Connection Community Facilitators work online and face-to-face with the communities that have ACEs initiatives. They assist people in a community to start an ACEs initiative and provide them with ACEs Connection’s guidelines and tools. (Communities can choose to use ACEs Connection’s guidelines and tools or others for which we provide information and links.) Community Facilitators also do presentations about ACEs science, about ACEs Connection, as well as how to organize and grow an initiative. They foster connections so that organizations, initiatives and agencies collaborate with each other.
  
  
• Guidelines for starting ACEs initiativeshave been developed, and are regularly revised and updated, as the ACEs movement expands.
  
  
• Guidelines for growing ACEs initiativeshave been developed, with input from communities doing the work, so that organizations can share best (and worst) practices.
  
  
• A Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Toolhelps communities ensure that all sectors and subsectors are included in their ACEs initiative as a starting point for collaboration. Not only can communities track which organizations and sectors are becoming educated about ACEs science, but also who isn’t. The presentations tracker used with the DEI tool encourages initiatives to identify gaps and increase collaboration. We use a unique equity filter that uses 11 demographic categories to ensure that all parts of a community are included in an ACEs initiative.
  
  
• A Speakers’ Bureauhelps communities select among more than 200 speakers and trainers whose specialties range from ACEs science 101 to coaching organizations in specific sectors, such as education, on how to integrate healing-centered practices and policies in their work.
  
  
• An interactive map of ACEs Connection’s 350 geographic-basedcommunities (many others are in the development pipeline) pinpoints the location of an initiative, a link to their site on ACEs Connection, and the name of the initiative’s community manager.
  
  
• An interactive map of U.S. statesshows those that have done their own ACE survey and provides a link to their report.
• An interactive map of ACEs-science related state legislationprovides a link to each state’s page with a list of legislation and links to the laws.
  
  
• Partnerships with state-level organizations, including the California Essentials for Childhood and California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity, for which ACEs Connection is the backbone organization, and participation in national projects, such as the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice.
  
  
• For advanced ACEs initiatives, a Cooperative of Communities that allows initiatives to measure their progress, including outcome data, by using a Community Resilience Tracker. The cooperative also provides diversity, equity and inclusion training and coaching, network leadership training, pop-up learning collaboratives, and other services.

For an overview of ACEs Connection and information about our fabulous ACEs Connection team, check out our “brochure” site, ACEsConnectionInfo.com.

We so appreciate your continued interest and support. During this campaign, if you’d like to post a couple of paragraphs of how you’ve used ACEs Connection or how it’s enhanced your work or life, we welcome your story!

Thank you for your continued interest in and support for ACEs Connection. That, in itself, is a gift. And as you make plans for year-end giving, remember that your donation to ACEs Connection is tax deductible.

You can make your donation on the Changemaker Matching Grant Campaign page. If you have any questions about the campaign, please contact Carey Sipp at csipp@acesconnection.com.