Congreso Brings in 2018 with Theory of Change

Dear Friend of Congreso,

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

It is with much excitement that I share with you, on behalf of Congreso’s Board of Directors and the entire Agency, a sneak peak to our fresh start in 2018!

As a partner, supporter, stakeholder and – most importantly – friend, to Congreso, you are keenly aware of the Agency’s remarkable history and evolution over the last 40 years. It is with great pride that we reflect on our roots, history, and tradition as a multiservice Latino organization committed to serving those facing the challenges of poverty, access, inequality and opportunity. It is also with great pride that as an Agency we have never been satisfied with the status quo, and remain committed to learning and challenging ourselves, our work and the impact we make in our community. It is with this spirit in mind, that as an Agency we began 2018 by embracing change and innovation by undergoing an intensive Theory of Change process.

After several days of reflection and with a working group led by staff, leadership and our Board of Directors, I am pleased to share with you exciting updates to our mission, target population and outcomes. As an Agency, we have adopted the following new mission statement: Congreso de Latinos Unidos enables individuals and families from predominately Latino neighborhoods to achieve economic self sufficiency and well being.

We believe this statement will guide us operationally towards two general outcomes: (1) economic self-sufficiency, defined as education and workforce development, and (2) well being, defined as effective parenting (both receiving and giving), health and housing. As we focus on these specific outcomes, we will shift our target population and begin to develop programming to expectant parents and deliver services to the child at birth, following the family through educational, health and economic milestones all the way through early adulthood and employment, all while ensuring both basic and specialized needs are met through a redesigned case management infrastructure. This statement, together with a to-be-developed vision statement and our adopted values, will provide us with direction and inspiration as we work each day from the heart of the Latino community.

Through the course of our work, we are committed to intimately working with individuals and families toward the achievement of both outcomes and strategically partnering with organizations to ensure needed services outside our scope are delivered. We are also committed to collaboration, new and existing partnerships and working more efficiently. Over the course of the next year, we will adopt an implementation plan intended to assess current programming for mission-fit, enhance current programming’s ability to adapt to the new target population, and design new programming to align accordingly.

While the Agency has always focused on economic self-sufficiency and addressing root barriers, we believe this focus will allow us to serve in a deeper way at a much earlier start. We are excited to begin this journey.

On behalf of Congreso de Latinos Unidos, I thank you for your continued support and wish you the best in 2018!

Adelante!

Yours in service,

Carolina C. DiGiorgio

President & CEO