INTRODUCTION

Youth as Resources of Central Indiana (YARCI) asked me to conduct a stakeholder assessment beginning in the Fall of 1999 and concluding in the Summer of 2000. The assessment process involved the examination of material from the YARCI files (proposals, evaluation reports, board minutes) and direct interviews in focus groups with seven major stakeholder groups involved in the organization: board, staff, youth participants, parents, sponsoring organizations and adult leaders, beneficiaries, and organizational supporters.

In this report, no effort is made to recount the history of YARCI, which has been documented elsewhere (Youth as Resources of Central Indiana Fact Sheet). Rather, analysis and commentary will concentrate on several issues of development, structure, and process that confront the organization at the present juncture. Each of these issues will be analyzed in its historical context, its present manifestation, and its likely future course. Recommendations will be made regarding choice points facing the organization, aimed at assuring its continuing service to the Central Indiana community.

WHAT IS A STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT?

Every organization is dependent upon its stakeholders, those who have clear personal interests in assuring that the organization succeeds in the tasks it sets. One image of the stakeholder is that of a group of individuals seeking to secure a large tent against an upcoming storm. Each group holds to a rope that is tied to the tent, and then ties that rope to a stake they have securely driven into the ground. The sturdiness of the tent depends upon the ability of each group to secure and maintain its tie to the enterprise all the participants have chosen to support.

A stakeholder assessment seeks, first, to identify the groups most important to the specific organizational task. Most organizations rely on a number of these stakeholder groups. That is, they are "multi-stakeholder" organizations.

YARCI is clearly such a multi-stakeholder organization. It relies upon the strength and commitment of a number of different groups of people, great and small, to assure the success of its task. From a 10-year old child in a rural town surrounding Indianapolis to a well-known foundation director in the center of the city, YARCI identifies and attracts its key stakeholders. The participants Youth as Resources attracts learn quickly that it is crucial for them to secure their stake if both their personal goals and the goals of the larger organization are to be met.

The task of the individual who conducts a stakeholder assessment is to learn what s/he can about the mission of the organization, to meet with the key stakeholders, to provide some perspective and analysis of how the work of the various stakeholders is serving the mission of the organization, and to offer some considered suggestions as to how the various stakeholders might best address issues facing them in the present and likely to face them in the upcoming future. This task I have attempted in the present intervention, and I proceed to a review of the role of the various stakeholders of Youth as Resources of Central Indiana.

HOW WELL ARE YARCI’S STAKEHOLDERS SUCCEEDING?

This report reviews the commitment, work, and accomplishments of seven major groups of stakeholders of the Youth as Resources of Central Indiana. The work of these stakeholder groups are presented in a conventional analytic order, and by no means in terms of their importance to the organization’s success. As will be seen, YARCI is a highly energized and successful organization, and, ultimately, this success rests in the hands of its most important stakeholder group: the remarkable young people of central Indiana who have chosen to involve themselves in its work.

board MEMBERS

The activities of Youth as Resources of Central Indiana are provided oversight by two distinct sets of boards of directors. The six counties participating in the program each host an "action board" to guide the program, and an "advisory" YARCI board provided direction from the regional level.

From the founding of the program in 1987 through 1996, YAR operated only in the city of Indianapolis. Since 1996 programs have been established in the surrounding counties of Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, and Morgan, and Indianapolis programs have been extended to the portions of Marion County outside of the city limits. This expansion of program coincided with the assumption of formal organizational responsibility for the program by the United Way of Central Indiana, which serves the same six-county region.

During the period from 1987 through 1999, 111 different individuals served on the Advisory Board of Youth as Resources. Attendance at board meetings averaged about 13.73 members per meeting through 1996, dropping to 8.44 per meeting when the board was reorganized as the regional YARCI Advisory Board in the period 1997-1999. However, since the reorganized board was constructed with a membership of 15, rather than the pre-existing 25, the percentage of members attending actually increased slightly (from 55 to 56 percent) after the reorganization.

From the outset, one-third of the seats on the Advisory Board were allocated to youth participants in the YAR program. Like all members of YAR boards and committees, youth members were provided with clear instructional materials on the conduct of meetings and the practice of effective leadership. Having so many young people on the advisory board also presented challenges of membership turnover, and, indeed, between 1987 and 1999, over half those who ever served on the advisory board attended three or fewer meetings. On the other hand, 33 individuals attended six or more meetings of the advisory board during the same period (See Figure 1).

Closer analysis of these 33 frequent attenders finds that the challenge of turnover was remarkably well met by YAR. Over one-third of advisory board members who attended six or more meetings (13) were youths. Even more remarkably, 7 of the 15 members who ever attended 12 or more meetings were young people. And, just to nail the point down, two of the three most frequent attenders in the entire history of YAR were youths, attending 25 and 24 meetings, respectively. So much for the notion that young people are unable or unwilling to make long-term commitments to social service and action!

Indeed, half of all members of the YAR advisory boards who attended three or fewer meetings were adults. It might even be easier to make the case that YAR is challenged by turnover and attendance among its adult advisory board members than it would to argue that its youthful members, moving on through the many stages of adolescence, find it difficult to sustain their participation.

YAR Advisory Board members also represent a wide range of social diversities. Of the 33 members who attended six or more meetings, the sexes were evenly represented (17 females, 16 males), and fourteen came from minority racial or ethnic backgrounds (11 Black, one Hispanic, two Native American).

A principal responsibility of the YAR board during the period 1987-1996 was to discuss and approve proposals for funding specific youth-directed projects developed by the program and presented by staff to the advisory board. In addition, issues of organizational development and strategy were consistently discussed at its meetings. Two particularly important issues presented themselves during the period: the question of merging with another organization (1991-2) and the issue of moving from a city-wide to a regional focus (1994-6). Each of these issues deserves a focused review.

The merger with United Way was part of a long and deliberate process of organizational transformation. For its first four program years, through 1991, YAR’s start-up activity had been sheltered by the administrative umbrella of the Youth Development Initiatives organization. Knowing that this support would not continue beyond 1992, the YAR board began to search for a new organizational umbrella under which its program might advance. A Long-Range Planning Committee was appointed in 1991, and was instructed to guide the process of organizational transition. At the first meeting of the committee, consideration was given to the possibilities involved in affiliating with at least ten organizations throughout the community, as well as the potential of "standing alone" as an independent organization.

Discussion about affiliation with United Way had begun informally in conversations between a member of the transition committee and United Way leadership even before the first meeting of the Long-Range Planning Committee, and a "very promising" formal meeting was held with them in June. At the second meeting of the Committee on July 10, 1991, a list of key advantages and disadvantages of affiliation with United Way were discussed:

--United Way would provide funding and assistance with administration, such as financial record-keeping and personnel.

--United Way will have sufficient space for the YAR program.

--United Way has an identity in the community as an organization that provides funds and promotes good community works.

--There could be some loss of control and focus on youth-directed community service activity.

--United Way is fairly restrictive on how you can go about raising funds. Soliciting funds from various sources could be touchy.

--United Way doesn’t fund schools; YAR does. This could probably be worked out.

Further discussion at the July meeting indicated that "Youth as Resources is an attractive option to United Way because it fits in with their strategic plan—it would involve United Way with many young people, and would give them another avenue to work with community agencies and programs that do not fall under United Way agency status."

Another issue was discussed at that meeting: "the prospect of YAR serving the multi-county area currently served by United Way." A concern was raised about the possible impact of "spending restrictions by county", but it was also noted that the Lilly Endowment favors expansion of the YAR model. The minutes of the meeting indicate that "Consensus was that we should not limit our possibilities by being closed-minded about expansion."

By the end of the remarkably productive meeting of July 10, the committee expressed its wish to continue its exploration of three options: Standing alone, affiliating with United Way, or affiliating with the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. Meeting minutes indicate the advantages of the latter course "are that the Children’s Museum shares common philosophy about positive youth activities, is a ‘user-friendly’ place for youth, and owns a building" containing space that might prove workable for YAR Disadvantages were stated to include a "current lack of space and the fact that YAR would be in competition with the Museum itself for funds. They would not be able to financially support YAR."

Standing alone was seen to involve the advantages of autonomy and eligibility for United Way funding, but contained a long set of disadvantages, including fund-raising pressures, perceived preference by the Lilly Endowment for broadening the base of YAR support, the decline of corporate funding in the face of the then-current economic turn-down, the costs of fundraising staff, and the problems involved in competing for funds with other direct-service agencies.

At its meeting of August 20, the Committee drew up a list of "negotiable" and "non-negotiable" points to discuss with the Children’s Museum and United Way representatives, and a series of meetings were conducted with both organizations.

The meetings with the Children’s Museum were "frank and cordial", as they say in the world of diplomacy, but came to a close in January 1992 when the museum concluded that it would need to absorb YAR "as if it were a program" of the museum in order to assure that YAR could assume the "competitive position" it required. Recognizing that this proposal would compromise the autonomy of organizational operation required by YAR, the museum’s vice-president recommended that "we no longer pursue a formal affiliation" between the organizations.

At the same time, the United Way board president wrote the YAR Advisory Board President with the news that his board "enthusiastically endorsed your proposal regarding a possible merger," concluding that there were "no issues that you presented that were considered obstacles—only logistics and details to work through to the satisfaction of both parties." The YAR advisory board regularly discussed the progress of the transition process at its meetings, and few objections were made to the decision to accept the United Way offer. On June 10, 1992, the Advisory Board of Youth as Resources met at its new home within the United Way building on North Meridian Street.

As each new county came on line, it demonstrated and sustained full participation for its action board, which considered and approved projects to be implemented in the respective counties. But the regional board, consisting of three representatives from each county, has been perceived as experiencing difficulty in maintaining the active participation of its members. In the focus group one of its members observed that the YARCI board is experiencing problems of attendance and problems of turnover.

In actuality, as noted above, the percentage of members attending advisory board meetings has actually increased slightly since the reorganization. Thus the perception that the six-county board is attracting less participation most likely reflects the fact that the new board is meeting on three times a year, and that its attendance seems smaller because its total membership base is smaller.

A review of attendance at meetings of the various county action boards indicates that attendance is as impressive as it was during the first decade of the program, when only Indianapolis boasted the program (See Table 1). However, there too, board members and staff worry about the problems of turnover and attendance. A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) Analysis conducted by an external consultant in Boone County indicated that "board dedication" was an important issue facing the advisory board in that county.

A focus group consisting of nine past and present board members indicated that the YARCI board question was the major issue of current concern. The merger with United Way is perceived to have been smoothly accomplished. The development of county programs is also seen to have been effectively implemented. But the YARCI board requires definition and role, board members agreed, and some ideas for such definition will be presented in later sections of this report.

staff LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Youth as Resources finds itself in the enviable organizational position of being served by an executive director who founded the organization, and who has served continuously at its head. When such an individual remains dedicated to the organization and its mission, is able to shift in role from founder to administrative leader, and is capable of working effectively with all major stakeholder groups—an organization is triply blessed. Such is the case with Paula Allen as the founding director of Youth as Resources.

Paula has been able to hire new staff with the expansion of YAR in the latter years of the past decade, and these individuals appropriately and productively complement her skills and leadership style. Staff members are lively, articulate, personable, and appear to work effectively with each other, all the time staying in sync with the manifold responsibilities of their position.

As an external visitor to the program, it was not my role to engage in any systematic process of personnel assessment of the YAR staff. But I did meet with the full staff in an initial focus session on my first trip, and then observed individual staff members at work both for a county action board meeting and at the June conference. My impression of their competency and commitment to task is a highly favorable one, based on those observations. My only suggestion pertains to personnel considerations: an eye toward a balance of gender, age, and race within staff is surely appropriate, and should be a factor when future hiring is contemplated.

Perhaps the most significant challenge to the staff has come with the expansion of the YAR program to five new counties. Therefore this section will include a discussion of that process and the challenges it continues to present to the YAR staff and program.

The possibility of serving a multi-county region was first broached at a meeting of the advisory board in September, 1993. At that point, the minutes record that "YAR is looking at the possibility of expanding beyond Marion County. Paula suggested forming a committee to look into this probability." This mention came two years after the issue was first presented at the meeting of the Long-Range Planning Committee of July 1991, as was noted above, during the initial discussion of affiliating with United Way.

An Expansion committee was appointed in 1994, and by the middle of 1995 the expansion process was well underway. Minutes of the advisory board meeting of May 4, 1995 record that "YAR is expanding into Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, and Morgan Counties, and is currently recruiting VISTA volunteers to assist with the expansion. A "new expansion committee" was appointed in September, 1995, and issued a set of recommendations in August 1996.

Among the recommendations of the new expansion committee was one urging the creation of a "Central Indiana YAR Advisory Board" consisting of three representatives from each county, at least one of whom will be a youth. Each county was recommended to establish an "action board" following upon pre-existing practices for the Indianapolis program. The advisory board approved these recommendation at its meeting of September 1996, and the new structure was set in motion to begin on January 1, 1997.

The move to a regional structure was clearly a process in which the executive staffer was the leading actor, responding both to her own vision of the program and the strong encouragement of her principal funding organizations. Minutes of the advisory board record few instances of any strong board participation or deflection of initiative throughout this process, though an interesting observation was recorded at the September 1996 meeting: "Comments that new system would be more of a collaborative effort than a top-down governing system. Another comment was that it would be more bureaucratic."

The expansion to the counties is clearly proceeding in a productive and successful fashion. Able staffers have been retained in the counties and programs are up and running in each location. Action board attendance remains high in each location. And fears of unhealthy competition for funding between the various counties have proven unfounded.

Board members interviewed in the June 2000 focus group offered the following comments on the regionalization of YARCI:

1. Change often presents opportunities, as in the United Way connection.
2. Sure, there were concerns about the merger. Identity was a big issue. But things have worked out smoothly.
3. Now the big issue is finding the right way to create an endowment.

youth participants

Young people serve within the Youth as Resources program in two major ways: 1) as planners and deliverers of needed services to their communities; and 2) as members of YAR advisory and action boards and committees. During the June 2000 conference, my staff and I were able to meet with a number of YAR youths to discuss their experiences in these two capacities.

The focus group for YAR’s youth participants was a lively and good-humored event. Readers are invited to listen to the entire tape, available at the YAR office. Here are some highlights of the discussion, all with direct quotes from the discussion:

• We saw that the library needed supplies for the children's section, so we started up a grant for that. As we went along we added things like Amanda Strong, Sanders Glen, and it's grown bigger and bigger as we've gone along.

On what they feel is important about YAR, and how participating makes them feel:

• Just knowing that you've helped people come together in a neighborhood where they're all diverse. You've helped people help themselves. You give them the information they need and they help themselves.
• I think it gives us youths a different perception from the community, for them to realize that not all youths are caught up in drugs or drinking or gangs or whatever.
• With the Amanda Strong project, we give books to needy kids at Christmas. I know I love to read a lot and it was kind of sad that some of the kids didn't get the opportunity to be able to read because they weren't being given books. It was neat to see that happen because it'll open up a whole new world for them.
• If you give someone a smile, or just a little gift, you'll make that little piece of the world better, and maybe they'll go and help someone else, and at the end of that long chain you might have something big happen.
• I think it just builds hope in people, and us thinking that we can continue to do community service. The more people you get involved in it, the more who are going to be growing up and who are going to be the future of youth as resources, and it's really great to see. It's bringing up a hope for the future that we can make things better.

On why youth service works:

• A lot of times adults give up on things. I guess, as children, we have a different view on the world. We don’t realize that things can’t be done; we kind of have this childish mentality that we can do anything. We use that to get things done. Things that adults wouldn’t pursue or wouldn’t be able to get done we can get done because we’re determined and we really think we can make a difference.

On YAR's important accomplishments:

• It made the kids think that beer is nasty.

On beer, and what alternatives they recommended to drinking alcohol:

• Beer is not cool to drink. The cans may look nice, but what's on the inside is not good.

• Joining clubs, going to the park, and drink juice.

On the YAR project in which they visit with people in nursing homes:

• It's nice to see all the people smile because you can tell that they feel like they're not being left out of things. You can tell that they're happy because they feel like they haven't been forgotten, that people still remember them and still like them.

On what they tell their friends and classmates about YAR:

• I be like, y'all should come, it's fun.
• Just talking about the program, you make people think. They start thinking, "maybe I wanna do something like that", or "maybe I could help out in the community". Just mentioning what you're doing, and they think, "wow, you're making a difference, why don't I".

The June focus group for board members included four young people who were either present or past board members of the organization. The principal contributors to the discussion were the young board members. Their adult colleagues, who also contributed to the conversation, most often nodded with evident pride and approval as a variety of points were made by the youths clearly and with great effectiveness. The principal contributions to the discussion by the young board members asserted the following points:

• The networking with others doing useful and important work
• Positives presented about young people on media, etc.
• Active citizenship and increasing participation
• Developing leadership roles

• They respect the time and effort I put in on YAR.
• They are jealous of the privileges in travel and support that I receive.
• All my friends are active in projects—they all want to be part of YAR.
• They see me as a source of ideas.

• I wish we would meet with them more than we do.
• There were a lot of territorial concerns at the beginning, over sharing resources with the counties, but these seem to have been resolved satisfactorily.

parents

A small group of parents participated in our focus group, and delineated a long list of changes they saw in their own children as they became active in Youth as Resources:

• Improvements in self-esteem
• Better school performance
• Development of leadership skills
• Ability to conduct interviews and to be interviewed themselves
• Skill in public speaking

One father described the role he played in helping organize a YAR project. "You can’t imagine unless you have been there how the older students took on the roles of mentor and advisor. I gave them a game plan, and then I just made myself in to a fly on the wall. I stayed back and watched them conduct the project. It was incredible to see what they accomplished and how well they did it."

A mother said: "I see YAR as a training ground for kids learning to serve. The skill of giving needs to be nurtured and grown. Very few organizations have as their goal to nurture that spirit of giving. The secret is that the more you give, the more you get back. The kids go with the idea of helping others, and that is true: they are. But the people they are serving help them so much more. What they are learning, the kids probably don’t know it’s happening. That’s how it works. It comes back."

The role of the YAR staff was strongly valued by the parents, and they also expressed comfort with the regional nature of the organization. A mother from one of the outlying counties noted that there was a limit in the number of times both she and their children could find the time to travel to Indianapolis for meetings. Clearly, YAR parents put their time in, both ferrying their kids to meetings and in participating themselves in YAR projects. Organizing most YAR activities on a county level seemed most appropriate, the parents indicated, to the scope and scale of their busy lives.

sponsoring organizations and adult leaders

Another important stakeholder in the YAR system are those organizations under whose auspices the young participants come together and are enabled to organize their projects. A number of these stakeholders were interviewed in a focus group in June. Their responses may be summarized as follows:

• There is a certain exchange value in membership with YAR. You learn the behaviors, attitudes, expectations, etc. of a variety of other organizations. You create a web or virtuous circle that reinforces positive growth. There are many skills learned through membership, including: empowering skills, selfless service fulfillment, time management, community building, social interaction and involvement.
  
  What are the benefits of sponsoring a YAR project?

• You can get directly involved with community service through YAR. There is no mumbo-jumbo, you simply get in and get something done. The projects help provide people with a sense of accomplishment; they get something
  positive done in the community and or neighborhood. Working with YAR
  allows people to see the real America, a microcosm of how it should be.
  The diverse background of participants and recipients helps to promote
  community harmony.

• Initially, projects were centered in Indianapolis, but now their impact is felt statewide. YAR projects have helped to 'insulate' neighborhoods from an often hostile social climate. The community feels this same impact because it sees a stronger neighborhood providing for itself and actively involved in making the lives of youth better, while offering service opportunities. The idea of community here in Indianapolis is expanding as the connection between various social service organizations is nurtured by their YAR involvement.
• In the theater program I administer, YAR participants direct, produce, and deliver performances to audiences who would not ordinarily be able to attend such events. After the performances, as in retirement homes, the kids meet with the audience in question and answer sessions, which sometimes go on for more than an hour after the performances. The YAR involvement changed the focus of our program from a "youth involvement" program to a full fledged community service project. The kids kept saying "Where can we take this?" and the focus of our program completely changed.
• At the museum where I work, a group of upper middle class affluent young people have come to see that they have much to give back to the community, and that it is important to see that there are people out there who need their help.
• The program opens kids’ eyes to what an important resource they are. They learn about budgets and proposals and how to make programs work.

• School programs
• Pregnancy services
• Pet Grooming
• Sharing Stories (Library)

• It would be good if YAR could become more of a clearinghouse as well as representative for youth organizations throughout Indiana. They could create a monthly newsletter that addresses a variety of issues such as administration, budgeting, training, and management. YAR might also consider a monthly series, where a variety of issues are addressed or committees formed from a variety of organizations to address specific issues.
• YAR might do more to coordinate publicity for the umbrella organizations and cooperatively fund a venture toward the media—listing persons to call, contacting media, and providing leads for stories to reporters.
  
  What are the highs and lows you see in YAR?
• Seeing the positive change is definitely a high that can't be quantified. There has also been positive publicity generated through the association with YAR.
• The lows involve basic complaints of too much administration and not enough support.

On the basis of this focus group participation, it is apparent that YAR programs have achieved considerable support among sponsoring organizations. The only criticisms are the almost inevitable ones regarding there being limits to the funding available and a bit of grousing about the complexity of the YAR funding process.

beneficiaries OF YAR SERVICE

Insufficient participation was achieved from beneficiaries of YAR services to permit the recording of views in a focus group. Nonetheless, two representatives of beneficiary organizations attended a part of the June conference, and both expressed strong support for the YAR programs that had served their organization and its recipients of service.

organizational supporters

Youth as Resources has benefited from its inception by being granted a favorable position within the rich institutional and philanthropic world of Central Indiana. An early recipient of support from the Lilly Endowment, YAR later earned the support of other philanthropic organizations, and ultimately was awarded a privileged position within the United Way of Central Indiana organization.

It is clear that YAR remains a program that is highly valued by the foundations of the region. In the focus group for institutional supporters, the following major points were made:

What are some points of pride you feel toward YAR?

• YAR doesn’t always work with the cream of the crop, but makes change nonetheless.
• The media connections YAR establishes are often productive.
• YAR projects a positive image and is recognized by others as a valuable and important program.

• United Way has also sought to build a regional connection. It too needs a balance between local connections and regional coordination. There’s a common struggle here. Both United Way and YAR are learning with and from each other in building a regional organization.
• It’s important to work together, especially to reduce competition for funding.

• The steps YAR has taken with United Way and moving to the counties have strengthened its ties not only with the Lilly Endowment and the Indianapolis Foundation, but they have also developed new ties with community foundations on the county level.
• It is hard to overestimate the importance of leadership in this case, leadership at YAR, United Way, the foundations, numerous community-based groups, business associations, various governmental agencies, etc.

Clearly, Youth as Resources is a valued organization within the greater Indianapolis community. Its relationship with its financial supporters achieves the highest test of philanthropy: YAR’s programmatic success makes its philanthropic supporters look very good themselves. After all, a donor’s gift is largely as good as the use that is made of it. And YAR returns a very high value for the philanthropic contributions it receives.

Secondly, the merger with United Way has developed with a synergy that even the most visionary broker of the relationship might not have dared to expect. To be sure, as board members recalled in the focus group, then United Way President Irv Katz and his associate (and now President) Ellen Annala had an "emerging vision" of YAR’s potential role within United Way. And Katz is fondly remembered for the way in which he never seemed to busy to welcome the young activists within YAR into the United Way building and to interest himself in their work—again a tradition Annala has followed.

As YAR becomes a United Way program, new lines of connection are being discovered. The remarkable young people who have been schooled in board leadership and service with YAR form a cohort who will someday, and not distantly so, take their rightful positions within the top ranks of the region’s adult leadership. In many respects United Way, through its nurturance of YAR, is growing its own future leadership.

A second pattern of synergistic development occurs between YAR and United Way. As United Way of Central Indiana itself moves to secure and strengthen its regional presence by developing advisory boards within each of the six counties, it can benefit from the experience of YAR in moving earlier in the same direction. Indianapolis has been a national leader in developing metropolitan solutions to urban problems, both with its "Unigov" approach to central city annexation of suburban areas and now in its effort to relate the urbanized area to its surrounding more rural counties. YAR and United Way are prime actors in making metropolitanism work in Central Indiana.

WHAT ARE THE MAJOR ISSUES CURRENTLY FACING YARCI?

Youth as Resources of Central Indiana has successfully addressed numerous organizational and developmental challenges during the first 13 years of its existence. It has dreamed a compelling vision and implemented it in the form of a broad and vital organization. It has secured support for the expansion of its program. It has worked sensitively with its external stakeholders to assure the continuity of its expanded program. And it has found a uniquely suitable organization home to sustain and challenge itself, a home in which it contributes at least as much as it requires for its continuing support.

What then does the stakeholder assessment indicate requires examination and adjustment in this largely favorable situation? Three issues present themselves: fine-tuning the regionalization process, developing policy for future growth and development, and getting the story out. Let us review each of these issues as they emerged in the focus group discussion.

REGIONALIZATION

The key funders and organizational supporters of YARCI were asked in the focus group: "How is the regional structure working?" Their responses may be summarized as follows:

1. Surrounding counties have contributed important resources to the effort.
2. UWCI costs have gone up as staff has increased from three to seven positions.
3. UWCI is seeking links to YAR activities in the counties.
4. The YARCI advisory board has become a more "occasional" structure. There is a danger of "layering" here. The real energy is at the county level.
5. But centralization makes some things happen. At the county level, programs are being effectively conceived and implemented. At the regional level, the necessary tasks involve sustaining support and developing policy.
6. Having a connected director is really important. A great strength of YAR resides in its excellent staff.

What emerges from this discussion is the need to rethink the role of the YARCI advisory board. This is the one issue resulting from the expansion to the counties that is yet to be fully understood and resolved, as this board is seen as being under-energized and still somewhat uncertain of its role in the organization.

POLICY DEVELOPMENT

YAR board members, in their focus group discussion, identified "policy development" as an issue that requires attention if the program is to continue to grow and thrive. Board members recognize that the organization is not at a point in which policy concerns are central, and is basically advancing and implementing a sound and valued program. But hree observations regarding policy development, nonetheless, were made in the discussion and seem worth consideration:

1. Funding is a question always of concern, even when things are going favorably, as they are at present.
2. Allocation policy (such as 25% for celebration) is another important issue that requires recurrent consideration and review.
3. Destructive competition between the counties didn’t happen, but it could have. It is important to assure that the various county activities remain in sync with YARCI policy. There is a role for the YARCI advisory board in assuring this coordination.

GETTING THE STORY OUT

YAR’s key philanthropic and organizational supporters presented the following observations regarding the public’s awareness of the program:

1. YAR is a "best-kept secret." At a recent meeting, the Mayor found himself deeply impressed and eager to learn more about this program. He stayed the whole evening when he intended only to make a brief comment and then leave.
2. Recent Boone County activities—particularly the project that provided address signs for Emergency Medical Service location—illustrate the compelling nature of YAR programs. In this activity, there is a direct effect on human lives. What a powerful recognition one gets by listening to a 911 call where the team cannot find the location where someone is in trouble.
3. YAR inspires other organizations to create service learning projects. It was the example of YAR programs, for example, that helped turn school policy and practice around on this issue.
4. YAR’s press releases announcing awards are always picked up. But YAR could do a better job in getting the media to focus on the outcomes of these awards as well.
5. There’s a real possibility of YAR making a national policy impact here. This is a voluntary program—not for stipend or credit. It deserves a close look by all concerned with youth development and voluntary action. This program might well be given considerable visibility in the current socio-political climate, which stresses service and giving back, and is increasingly aware of the importance of youth.

WHAT OPPORTUNITIES PRESENT THEMSELVES AS YOUTH AS RESOURCES FACES THESE CHALLENGES?

It is not the task of one who conducts a stakeholder assessment to presume to tell an organization what it should do. Rather, the present assessor chooses to proceed through his task by means of a process of appreciative inquiry, aiming to arrive at a conclusion that shares images of potential development that may be shaped and developed by the client organization, should it choose.

The problems involved around public relations and information seem relatively minor, though the compelling nature of the story of many Youth as Resources projects deserves to be more fully and widely told. It is certainly important for the United Way public relations office to get the news out about both awards and project outcomes. Program coverage frequently provided on Indianapolis media and occasionally by national media such as ABC News clearly enhance both the form and the substance of the program’s work. But parents and supporters alike told us that more could be done—fuller coverage and better understanding among media, elites, and the broader community. One possibility might be the commissioning of a trade book to tell the story of Youth As Resources, a task that might be undertaken by the Center for Youth as Resources. On a more modest scale, the involvement of the current writer with YAR has given rise to a forthcoming column he will write in The NonProfit Times, the major trade newsmagazine in its field.

The successes involved in the regionalization experience and the merger with United Way invite a resolution of an important organizational challenge that remains to be achieved: to clarify the contribution expected from the YARCI board.

An intriguing and highly intelligent version of such a restructuring was presented by one of the young board members in the focus group, following upon the observation that the present structure of the YARCI advisory board presents problems of continuity, focus, and turnover. The suggestion: that the Nominating committee move to define the YARCI advisory board as a "prestigious board", empowered with primary responsibility for the development of policy for the organization on a regional basis. Such a board might take the form of an executive committee, meeting on an "as needed" basis.

The young board member continued: "The YARCI board is different from the county action boards. It is important that it have a strong ‘board definition’, as it is further up the ladder than the county boards. It would be appropriate for service on that board to lead to even higher service within YAR—say on the national level, or to a job."

CONCLUSION: SOME VERY MODEST SUGGESTIONS FOR CHANGE IN THE YARCI STRUCTURE

It is not easy to come up with a list of recommendations for improving the delivery of the YARCI program. The program is original, powerful, and it enjoys the support of all its stakeholder groups. It is administered with commitment and intelligence; it inspires its participants; it benefits from the generosity of the community it serves.

Ideas for improving the YAR program are consistently brought to its board and staff from the stakeholder groups. Giving the YARCI advisory board an appropriately central and effective role in the program has received recent attention, and is a primary concern of stakeholders. A number of useful ideas for enhancing this board have already been brought to it for consideration.

Running the risk of listing suggestions that have already been considered by YAR’s leadership, at least to some extent, I would advise that further consideration be given to several ideas that might serve to clarify the role and impact of the YARCI advisory board. These suggestions are aimed to sustaining the organization as a regional one, but assuring that its work be appropriately divided between the county and the region. This point is important, because the issue of regionalism is one that both YARCI and its parent United Way organization are struggling with at present.

Let me be clear on this matter: Tempting as it may be to build metropolitanism into the YARCI focus, I believe that the future feasibility of the program will remain dependent upon its developing projects that are rooted in the several and separate communities (neighborhoods, cities, towns, and rural areas) of Central Indiana. The multi-county central Indiana area is not now, nor is it ever likely to become, a single metropolitan community. Indeed, the unique metropolitanism in the region is focused on Marion County, which provides a progressive "uni-gov" structure that links the central city and what would otherwise be its surrounding suburbs. The counties surrounding Marion are not sufficiently closely linked to the central county to warrant giving YARCI a single metropolitan focus in its structure and program.

YARCI has chosen wisely, in my view, to organize county by county. The outlying counties are distant from Indianapolis, and poorly linked by systems of transit. It simply does not make sense to ask young people, and their parents who so often are required to drive them places, to spend hours per day in private automotive transit to plan and implement participatory activities such as those that form the heart of the Youth as Resources program. YAR, I believe, should continue to organize and develop programs that primarily focus on the local communities in which its participants live.

The focus on local communities does not mean that the regional focus is either unimportant or irrelevant to YAR. Indeed, a great strength of the program lies in its bringing leadership and participants together from time to time on a metropolitan basis. Getting to know people from different backgrounds and communities, learning with and from them, is a valuable way of building "bridging social capital" in any program of voluntary action and service. YAR should be constantly alert to such opportunities, as it is, but they need to be developed within the reasonable constraints of time and travel costs in a widely spread metropolitan region.

That much said, let me proceed to my suggestions:

• The YARCI board’s impact and effectiveness might be enhanced by building an interactive electronic communication capacity into its structure and process, reducing the need for the time- and energy-consuming and increasingly difficult automotive commutes required for face-to-face meetings in the greater Indianapolis area.
• Development of a list-serv among the board members and senior staff might reduce the need for face-to-face meetings to as few as two times a year while preserving the immediacy of addressing issues in "real time" by means of electronic linkage. (Members without on-line capacity might be awarded computers—a benefit of service that would be significant to them, and increasingly inexpensive in our electronic world.)
• One YARCI advisory board meeting might take place on the day of the YARCI annual celebration, which itself brings together young participants and other stakeholders from the various counties. The desirability of such contact between youths in the various counties was particularly expressed by one of the youths serving on a current YAR board.
• Enrichment of the YARCI board with regional stakeholders whose prestige and commitment in the region merit selection might also be given consideration. Such individuals need not have been previously connected with a YAR county program. Imagine, for example, the lift received by the organization that succeeds in persuading Isaiah Thomas to serve on its board. Such an organization would surely be one, this observer would suggest, which already enjoys the favor of a community influential like Ralph Taylor, another basketball player of note just a few years back. Sound like YAR, dear reader?

Other possibilities present themselves, of course, as ways of reforming the YARCI structure, but they seem less exciting to this observer: Executive leadership, both by the YAR director and top United Way officials, could play an even greater role during the increasingly mature years of the YAR program. Most issues confronting the organization in its present phase are administrative in nature, and the YAR model is now tested by time and it clearly works. Or, it might be possible to try to breathe new life into the present structure by means of ever more clever scheduling to try to entice board members to come together three times a year from the far corners of the six central Indiana counties. (But this has been tried with great ingenuity—and flies directly into the winds of the distances involved in central Indiana.)

This consultant’s enthusiasm flags when considering the options presented in the previous paragraph, and so he moves quickly to conclude the present report:

JON VAN TIL , Ph.D. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY JULY, 2000

Youth as Resources of Central Indiana (YARCI) asked me to conduct a stakeholder assessment beginning in the Fall of 1999 and concluding in the Summer of 2000. The assessment process involved the examination of material from the YARCI files (proposals, evaluation reports, board minutes) and direct interviews in focus groups with seven major stakeholder groups involved in the organization: board, staff, youth participants, parents, sponsoring organizations and adult leaders, beneficiaries, and organizational supporters.

In this report, analysis and commentary concentrates on several issues of development, structure, and process that confront the organization at the present juncture. Each of these issues is analyzed in its historical context, its present manifestation, and its likely future course. Recommendations are made regarding choice points facing the organization, aimed at assuring its continuing service to the Central Indiana community.

A stakeholder assessment seeks, first, to identify the groups most important to the specific organizational task. Most organizations rely on a number of these stakeholder groups. That is, they are "multi-stakeholder" organizations. YARCI is clearly such a multi-stakeholder organization. It relies upon the strength and commitment of a number of different groups of people, great and small, to assure the success of its task.

Youth as Resources of Central Indiana has successfully addressed numerous organizational and developmental challenges during the first 13 years of its existence. It has dreamed a compelling vision and implemented it in the form of a broad and vital organization. It has secured support for the expansion of its program. It has worked sensitively with its external stakeholders to assure the continuity of its expanded program. And it has found a uniquely suitable organization home to sustain and challenge itself, a home in which it contributes at least as much as it requires for its continuing support.

Three issues that might benefit from examination and adjustment are identified in the report: 1) fine-tuning the regionalization process; 2) developing policy for future growth and development, and 3) getting the story out.

In the case of Youth as Resources of Central Indiana, the successes involved in the regionalization experience and the merger with United Way invite a resolution of the remaining organizational challenge: to develop a policy capacity by means of a revitalized YARCI board. Suggestions for such an enhanced board are presented in the report.

The report concludes: "Stakeholders of Youth as Resources of Central Indiana—you have done marvelously in developing a program of great vision, meaning, and effectiveness. Do press on and extend and expand the tasks you have done so well to bring into reality. You are building not only better communities for today, but also for generations to come. Few organizations can match the significance of your work, and I conclude by wishing you ‘Godspeed’ and thanking you for the chance to see you all at work. I hope that my report will help in smoothing off a few of the corners that remain as you advance the vital work your organization accomplishes so well."