RBJ Giving Guide 2025: A Philanthropic Resource Community voices drive decision-making at nonprofits

The art of weaving community voices in decision-making is an intentional practice that leads to both stronger organizations and communities, according to leaders of Rochester nonprofits.

“To me, the magic ingredient for running a successful organization is really making sure that consumer and community voices are present and that the table is diverse,” said Lori VanAuken, president and CEO of Catholic Charities Family and Community Services. “Including these voices shapes services and addresses issues in ways that are thoughtful, resulting in maybe cutting edge.”

Catholic Charities has an expansive portfolio of services that supports 21,000 clients from all backgrounds and income levels annually, including adoption services, care management for seniors, housing services for people with HIV/AIDS, refugee resettlement and workforce development.

“We really work to deliberately hear from the people that we’re serving,” said VanAuken, who notes one of the many ways the organization does this is through their consumer advisory board. This board is made up of a diverse mix of clients who meet monthly to share their perspectives which, in turn, helps drive decision-making.

The organization also participates in community collaboratives that keep it in tune with what others are doing and how they can partner to make a bigger impact. Surveys, focus groups and meetings with elected leaders are a few of the other ways Catholic Charities incorporates community voice in decision-making.

“Listening to what people really need, peeling back the onion to figure out what the root causes of the issues are and how we work together to make Rochester a great place to live, work and play is so important,” VanAuken said.

As the hub of the emergency food system across a ten-county service area, Rochester-based Foodlink relies heavily on community input to ensure it meets critical food access, food literacy and career empowerment needs.

“At Foodlink we work very hard to make sure that we work with the community, not for the community,” said Beth Hershel, the organization’s vice president, development and community engagement. “It's core to our values.”

One example is the community ambassador portion of its mobile Curbside Market program, which provides fresh fruits and vegetables in 65 neighborhoods across the City of Rochester.

In exchange for a stipend, the program’s ambassadors encourage fellow community members to shop at the market. They also provide valuable feedback to Foodlink about matters like the type of food offered and the times the market is available.

“It is very much a community-led, community-driven program,” Hershel said. “The community ambassadors also do a lot of critical outreach and advocacy for us as well about issues that are impacting food access in the communities.”

Other programs that Foodlink relies on the community to provide perspectives and input on include its career fellowship program and community cafe, urban farm and community garden, and community kitchen on Mount Read Boulevard which makes over 10,000 healthy meals and snacks a day for children and programs throughout the region.

“We make meals from scratch in that kitchen, and we often connect with all of our meal sites and our partners to gather feedback,” Hershel said. “We talk to our site coordinators, students, parents, and others to find out what’s working. What meals do they like? What meals do they not like?”

At Goodwill of the Finger Lakes, which serves 84,908 people annually through community impact programs like Goodwill Vision Enterprises, 211/ LIFE LINE and workforce development, the organization can’t put a price tag on the value of community and consumer input.

“When we think about our mission, it starts with the word ‘elevating’ and that’s by design because we believe at Goodwill that it’s important for individuals to keep their own agency,” said Jennifer Lake, president and CEO of the organization. “It’s our role to be of service and to provide tools and skills in a way that meets them where they are and meets their needs, but we can’t presume to know what these needs are unless we’re connecting with and asking them.”

This person-centered, collaborative approach, which Lake says is at the heart of all the organization does, shapes decision-making and programming. An example is the organization’s Goodwill Learning Academy, which pairs adults with education success coaches to guide and empower them through the process of completing their high school education.

“We solicited feedback from the community at large about any additional opportunities to serve them and we learned about a gap where individuals who don’t have a high school diploma or a GED are struggling to complete them in a traditional format,” said Lake, explaining how the Goodwill Learning Academy’s roots stemmed from community input. Rochester-based St. John’s offers a full spectrum of innovative services that help older adults embrace living at every stage of life, including senior living, nursing home care and respite care services.

Partnership with different community organizations like Nazareth University and the many ways St. John’s leadership weaves outside community voices into decision-making around programming and services.

“It’s our responsibility as non-profits to be good stewards of the community’s resources, and getting the input of the community and making sure that we’re delivering on what the needs are is part of that process,” said Jennifer Lesinski, vice president of marketing at St. John’s.

An example: Students from Nazareth University who take a class on the St. John’s campus recently collaborated with residents to evaluate and map age-friendly resources in Monroe County towns, like senior centers and crosswalks.

Although most people who utilize St. John’s services live at St. John’s Meadows, Brickstone by St. John’s and St. John’s Home, Lesinski says it’s important to remember they are still members of the greater Rochester community with valuable voices.

“There’s power in coming together and getting ideas from lots of different aspects of the community, people with different experiences and different views,” Lesinski said. “We’re better when we’re together.”