Alexander J. Cortez and Alan Tuck

In 2004, Southend Community Services (SCS, now known as Our Piece of the Pie^®) reached a crossroads. Founded 30 years earlier to serve one of Hartford’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods, the organization’s reach had expanded citywide. Fueled by a strong track record of quality program execution, SCS had developed a broad portfolio of childcare, youth, and elder services. Now its largest contract was due to expire in a year—with no chance of renewal. SCS’ budget would be considerably smaller; its leadership’s ambitions for creating social impact were not.

With support from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, SCS teamed up with the Bridgespan Group to develop a plan for making the greatest possible contribution to Hartford going forward. Analysis of the city’s needs and existing providers underscored the critical role that SCS was playing in helping Hartford’s youth become successful adults. As a result, the joint SCS-Bridgespan team developed a plan for migrating non-youth programs to alternate service providers and for making the most of SCS’ youth programming.

www.opp.org