The Berrien County Collaborative
In 1996, the Berrien County Collaborative was established with the help of the Family Connection Partnership. The Collaborative gained the support of Communities In Schools in 1998 and built an effective Board of Directors to oversee this joint initiative. The Collaborative has worked diligently on its organizational structure and design in an effort to establish 501c3 status. The Collaborative has transitioned from an informal meet and confer group to a fully functional non-profit business with an effective committee structure. Simultaneous to this effort, the Collaborative's energies coalesced around the identification and receipt of significant state and federal funds. The Collaborative's budget has grown from $25,000 (a planning grant from Family Connection) in 1996, to an annual budget in 2007 of over $1 million. This work has been successful due to true community involvement and dedication to planning on the part of families, business and industry leaders, school personnel, public agencies, and city and county government.
Collaborative Partnerships
Berrien County Board of Education
Family Connection
Community In Schools
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Berrien County Commisioners
City of Nashville
Grant Initiatives
Drug Free Communities SAMHSA
Safe Schools Healthy Students SAMHSA
March of Dimes
Community Based Abstinence Education (G-Rap)