This project, Collective Impact Imperative, led by the N.E.W. Mental Health Connection will strengthen its organizational capacity by redesigning its website and updating marketing materials to better support mental health across the Fox Valley Tri-County region. The project will create a secure member portal with exclusive resources for dues-paying members, modernize public-facing communications and improve how funders, partners and community members understand the coalition’s collective impact. These enhancements will strengthen member engagement and retention, support long-term financial sustainability and reinforce The Connection’s ability to lead systems change that advances mental health equity.
The N.E.W. Mental Health Connection has served as the backbone organization for a coalition of more than 30 partners for nearly 15 years, leading collective efforts to improve mental health outcomes across the Fox Valley Tri-County region. Through initiatives such as D.R.I.V.E Health, MyConnectionNEW.org and Connected Fox Valley, the organization has strengthened access to care, elevated the voices of communities most impacted by inequities and helped engage approximately 30 organizations in a year-long cultural competency journey. However, its website and marketing materials have not undergone a comprehensive redesign in more than 10 years and no longer reflect the organization’s evolving role or meet the needs of its members. The lack of a secure member portal also limits the benefits available to dues-paying members at a time of growing funding uncertainty. Without modern, accessible communications and digital infrastructure, there are risks with weakening engagement and retention, reducing the ability to communicate system-level impact to funders and partners and limits a critical revenue stream that supports its work to advance mental health equity across the region.
By January 2027, The N.E.W. Mental Health Connection aims to strengthen its long-term sustainability and backbone capacity by launching a modern, accessible website with a secure member portal and updating all marketing materials to increase member engagement, improve understanding of collective impact progress and stabilize a critical revenue stream supporting systems-level mental health equity work across the Tri-County region.
