Café Reconcile (RNO) – New Orleans, LA
Café Reconcile New Orleans (RNO) is a nonprofit organization that works with disconnected and out-of-school youth and communities living in poverty. RNO encourages personal growth, provides workforce development training, promotes entrepreneurship, and reconnects youth to opportunities in order to help transform their lives and build strong communities. Its Workforce Development Program has a four-tiered customized learning structure, which includes foundational life skills training, occupational skills training at Café Reconcile, career exploration opportunities in line with meaningful career pathways, and job opportunities with RNO’s employer partners or certification through community college pathways.
Support from the Fund for Workforce Equity enabled RNO to launch its Alumni Advisory Council (AAC). The AAC is comprised of 15 young leaders between 18 and 24 years of age actively engaging alumni through social and professional events. The Council meets monthly for trainings on topics like Positive Youth Development and Storytelling for Change, and members participate in RNO’s organizational strategic planning sessions. The Chair and a General Member of the AAC jointly serve on the RNO’s Board of Directors.
While RNO has always engaged program alumni, this project gave the organization an opportunity to be more strategic and intentional about getting feedback from alumni about its newer Workforce Development Program model, a youth development space that supports career exploration and job readiness opportunities. Part of the AAC’s charge is to determine how to solicit feedback from program alumni, such as through surveys, interviews, and focus groups. Through this project, RNO hopes to surface a clear set of recommendations or best practices in its 2024 Strategic Plan. In addition to the grant funding, RNO’s participation in the Fund’s learning community was a valuable experience. Individualized coaching around journey mapping, or how people experience and interact with programs, services, and systems, was particularly instrumental in helping RNO think through program design and post-program supports for alumni. Through this technical assistance, the organization could effectively identify gaps and opportunities in programming and gather and apply feedback from alumni and employer partners alike.