The mission of the van Beuren Charitable Foundation (vBCF) is to invest in the quality of life and quality of place of Aquidneck Island and surrounding communities in Rhode Island. Over 60 members of the Newport, Rhode Island community gathered together on November 30, 2023 to begin a conversation about collective action. This group, assembled by the van Beuren Charitable Foundation, included people young and grown working in education, the arts, health care, and more; they represented public institutions, government, private businesses, nonprofit organizations, and their own families — the main thread tying them together was the energy to build a better, more equitable Newport for its residents.

Consuela Greene, Colette Stanzler, and Lucas Orwig had the privilege of introducing and discussing Root Cause’s model for collective action with community members. We talked about how much of the work done in communities is only able to address the symptoms of larger, deeper problems. In order to make real transformational improvements, it may be necessary for several organizations and individuals to band together with the intention to address that common purpose.

In the summer of 2023, Root Cause partnered with vBCF to launch a Collective Action Cohort focused on strengthening and increasing access to opportunities for the Newport, Rhode Island community.

In the summer of 2023, Root Cause partnered with vBCF to launch a Collective Action Cohort focused on strengthening and increasing access to opportunities for the Newport, Rhode Island community. This cohort provided five existing collaboratives and initiatives with an opportunity to strengthen their collective action work. The partners were:

• Reading Literacy Initiatives (including Kids Count and Newport Partnership for Families)
• Middletown Public Schools
• Newport Open Space Partnership
• No Wrong Door
• Newport Health Equity Zone: Women’s Resource Center

Root Cause facilitated two in-person gatherings during which each participant completed a Collective Action assessment to better understand their organization’s strengths and areas for focus and then developed an action plan for improving their work based on components of the  Collective Action framework. Initiatives also had the opportunity to meet with Root Cause for coaching and additional support. 

The project ended with the Root Cause team identifying key learnings from the Collection Action Cohort to share with vBCF as well as propose opportunities and recommendations to strengthen collective action and collaborative work in Newport, RI.