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After 20 years of walking alongside communities, we’ve learned what truly works in the fight against povery and hunger. And now, we’re excited to share it with you.
Across the country, communities are discovering better ways to work together, and the results are changing lives.
When collaboration, technology, and a shared strategy come together, real transformation begins to take shape.
Getting Ahead provides people in poverty with the same information found in Bridges Out of Poverty, which was developed for professionals and others in the community working to end poverty. Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By World is a book and a 45-hour workshop that helps individuals in poverty build their resources for a more prosperous life for themselves, their families, and their communities.
True charity stems from compassion and cannot be legislated. The government is an institution and cannot be charitable in truth. True charity is voluntarily sourced. If charity doesn’t empower the poor, it misses the mark. Empowerment is impossible without some aspect of the challenge to help a person become self-sufficient. Real charity is “made actual” – it makes a real difference. Some good or service is rendered to the poor, and outcomes are measured to ensure that efforts are actually making a difference in the individual and community.
We believe our leaders and organizations must be equipped with the resources, tools, and talent necessary to tackle deeply rooted problems that exist in our communities. Too many times, those entrusted to make a difference are expected to do so with extremely limited resources and insufficient support. On a mission to change the odds. Spark Consulting Group works alongside courageous organizations that dare to combat social epidemics plaguing our community – providing expertise, technical support, and strategic leadership.
Tom Wolff and Associates bring forty years of experience in coalition building, community development, collaborative solutions and collective impact. We can advance and support your community and agency initiatives. We have the tools and resources necessary to mobilize the power of collaborative processes in your communities. Through collaborations and coalitions, individuals, organizations and communities become empowered to impact the world around them. Our work is dedicated to bringing greater joy and a deeper sense of spirit and purpose to those seeking to create healthy communities.
Since 2005, Significant Matters has worked with individuals, businesses, city government, non-profits and especially the faith-based community both domestically and internationally to explore and develop more sustainable ways of doing good. Though we still have a long way to go, we believe it’s possible to accelerate the learning curve in this arena through an initiative we have entitled SATtalks, which stands for Sustainability and Transformation Talks.
GoodCities specializes in coaching those who are facilitating the development of a city transformation movement. Our coaches understand the dynamics of leading citywide kingdom coalitions which seek to serve God and their city. Each coach understands the stages of transformation and the skills needed to move from one stage to the next. Our coaches are capable of teaching these skills or can bring in trainers who can. Coaching is a dynamic partnership between the coach and one being coached, helping that person/team move from where they are toward the person/team’s desired destinations. Those destinations are defined and shaped by the person/team being coached with the help of the coach to unlock the vision, build confidence, focus on goals, take practical steps and celebrate progress.
Entrusted Foundation facilitates the work of solving targeted, deep-seated, human-life problems in our communities. We also facilitate the conversations and processes necessary to define problems with honesty and clarity, so that we can design solutions collaboratively and creatively. Then, we help to cultivate the atmosphere and mobilize the resources necessary for the life-creating success of those solutions. Our community impact processes follow a multi-layered approach of Research, Revelation, and Response. In essence, problem-solving in the community is our way forward.
Cathy Easley is the former Associate Vice President of Community Impact at Trident United Way in Charleston, SC. She is widely recognized as a skilled leader known for a strategic and practical approach to complex social challenges affecting communities. With more than two decades of experience, Cathy has built strong partnerships with nonprofits, churches, businesses, and public leaders to drive meaningful change. Her work reflects a deep understanding of barriers facing underserved populations, including limited access to services and systemic obstacles. She has led initiatives that expand education, healthcare, and financial stability, creating both immediate impact and long-term community transformation and resilience for families and neighborhoods alike. Her leadership inspires collaboration and equips partners to align resources and deliver measurable outcomes that strengthen lives.
Quinn Schipper is the author of Trading Faces, The Language of Forgiveness, The View-The Voice of God, and 30-Second Spark. Quinn is passionate about helping people connect with God and others in real and practical ways. He is known for his conversational style that simplifies concepts, making them easy to understand. He expresses himself out of his confidence in God’s Word and an optimistic perspective on life.Quinn grew up on a Midwest farm but preferred sand and surf. He is a self-proclaimed minimalist and coffee snob, although none of that defines him. Quinn is unapologetically a follower of Jesus, with whom he enjoys hanging out on the daily adventure of living by faith. Alongside him is Becky, his wife of 40+ years, who splashes color all over his otherwise black and white world.
Jennie Robinson was elected to serve on the Huntsville City Council in 2014 after serving three terms on the Board of Education for Huntsville City Schools. She has served three times as Council President, and is only the second woman to serve in that role.Jennie received her doctorate from Purdue University and has over 20 years of leadership and governance consulting experience as the owner of a consulting company and as executive director of The ELM Foundation.Jennie has also served on the Board of Directors of the Alabama Association of School Boards, the Alabama Association of Non Profits, VOICES for Alabama’s Children, United Way of Madison County, the Rotary Club of Greater Huntsville and Leadership Greater Huntsville.She has served five times as a PTA president and is an honorary lifetime member of the Alabama PTA.She received the Distinguished Leadership Award from Leadership Greater Huntsville and the Women Honoring Women Award from WEDC Foundation.Jennie is married to Dr. Michael Robinson and they are the parents of five children. They are active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
