Praise for Chasing Success

This book is the compelling story of one small but significant nonprofit founded to apply research to improve child outcomes in a metropolitan area. It is a story of leadership, innovation, and measurable results. Many lives were changed but the difficulty in maintaining funding and focus underscores the reality that neither government nor philanthropy understands or invests in what is needed to succeed. Einstein said that today’s problems will not be solved at the same level as they were created. He was right.

—David R. Walker, Vice President and Comptroller, Procter & Gamble (retired)

Judy Van Ginkel’s thoughtful book, Chasing Success: The Challenge for Nonprofits, offers candid and critical insights into the difficulties nonprofit leaders face, from funding, to scaling, to collaboration, to innovation, to assuring equity, and to listening to parent voices. I followed Van Ginkel’s leadership of Every Child Succeeds (the case study for this book) and saw first-hand the excellence of every aspect of the program. I examined the compelling data from the Moving Beyond Depression innovation and waited for it to become a normal part of every home visiting program—which sadly it never did. How can programs that are the best in their class not flourish and become models in every state? The book raises important questions about how social services are delivered in this country and demands attention from policymakers and others. If we are serious about supporting parents who are raising the next generation, the challenges illuminated in this book must be addressed.

—Libby Doggett, PhD, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Education

In short, Every Child Succeeds (ECS) changed the course of early childhood home visiting. Its partners have inspired and supported many, including me, in building regional and national platforms for research to inform evidence-based policy and practice. This book makes it possible for wider audiences to learn from ECS’s experience.

—Anne E. Duggan, ScD, Professor Emerita, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Chasing Success is an extremely important contribution to articulating and addressing the meta-issues faced by nonprofits seeking to improve their communities. Congratulations on a substantial contribution to the pragmatic literature on the care and feeding of a community-based nonprofit.

—Frank W. Putnam, MD, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina and Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital

Van Ginkel’s Chasing Success shares invaluable wisdom from a 20+ year visionary leadership journey with Ohio’s Every Child Succeeds. For nonprofit and early childhood system leaders, funders, policymakers, and students, this long-term case study brings a unique perspective to the evolving challenges of leading an exemplary, community-
serving successful nonprofit.

—David W. Willis, MD, FAAP Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of Social Policy

Judy paints a vivid and compelling picture of what it takes to lead a successful nonprofit. Her stories and lessons learned would be valuable to any CEO but are especially enlightening for those who lead nonprofits as she describes navigating a myriad of opportunities and challenges in her experiences.

—Jim Spurlino, CEO of Spurlino Materials and Author of Business Bullseye

Van Ginkel astutely identifies challenges many nonprofits face when increasing community impact. She urges us to have courage, know what questions to ask, be part of the solution, and above all, always hold true to our missions. Van Ginkel offers valuable lessons for both new and experienced nonprofit leaders, funders, policymakers, and students.

—Jennifer Frey, PhD, President and CEO of Every Child Succeeds

Dr. Judith Van Ginkel represents the gold standard when it comes to nonprofit leadership, coalition-building, and sustaining results over time. Her new book, Chasing Success, is a captivating exploration of her transformative leadership at Every Child Succeeds in Cincinnati. With a focus on the organization’s first two decades, this book unveils the incredible story of growth and impact under Dr. Van Ginkel’s guidance.

Every Child Succeeds has been a beacon of support for parents from pregnancy through their child’s crucial first one thousand days. Inspired by the wealth of scientific evidence underscoring the significance of early childhood development, the organization emerged in the 1990s to nurture a brighter future for countless families.

Dr. Van Ginkel’s narrative is not just about one nonprofit—it’s a profound lesson in nonprofit administration. Drawing from her extensive experience, Chasing Success offers invaluable insights into founding and nurturing a nonprofit, leveraging research and best practices, adapting to change, and upholding accountability to stakeholders. The book delves into the intricacies of navigating shifting policies and funding dynamics at both the national and regional levels—a perspective seldom explored yet crucial for the success of smaller organizations nationwide.

Key to this journey is the visionary collaboration with former Procter & Gamble CEO John Pepper, whose instrumental role in bringing the organization to Cincinnati laid the foundation for Dr. Van Ginkel’s impactful tenure of over two decades. Chasing Success is a tribute to her unwavering commitment, and it stands as an essential guide for nonprofit leaders seeking wisdom rooted in evidence-based insights and long-term achievements. I’m so glad she put pen to paper and wrote this book, which can serve as a guidepost for those who seek to fulfill her legacy.

—Byron McCauley, Founder, McCauley Communications and Co-Author of Hope Interrupted: America Lost and Found in Letters with Jennifer Mooney

About Cincinnati Library Publishing Services (CLIPS)

CLIPS provides professional publishing services for digital and print publications, conference proceedings, journals, affordable textbooks, and open educational resources produced by University of Cincinnati faculty, staff, and organizations with department sponsorship and funding. CLIPS encourages authors to publish in barrier-­free open-access formats. CLIPS, an imprint of the University of Cincinnati Press, is committed to publishing rigorous, peer-reviewed, leading scholarship in social justice, community engagement, and Cincinnati/Ohio history.

Judith B. Van Ginkel

Copyright © 2023

Cincinnati, Ohio

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Permission requests regarding this work should be sent to:

University of Cincinnati Press, Langsam Library, 2911 Woodside Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221

ucincinnatipress.uc.edu

ISBN (hardback) 978–1-947603–62-2

ISBN (e-book, PDF) 978–1-947603–63-9

ISBN (e-book, EPUB) 978–1-947603–64-6

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023910355

Designed and produced for UC Press by Jennifer Flint

Dust Jacket: Author Photograph by Brenda Clark-Conley

In memory: Every Child Succeeds leadership lost

• Anita L. Brentley, PhD
• Catherine Smale Caldemeyer
• Joseph Gibbs MacVeigh
• O’dell Moreno Owens, MD
• Frank P. Smith
• Deborah Lynn Vargo
• Reverend Clarence Wesley Wallace

This book emerged from a meeting with my longtime friend and colleague John Pepper, former CEO of Procter & Gamble and community leader. He had been involved with our Every Child Succeeds program since its inception, and his work with socially focused community nonprofits was legendary. He told me, “What we learned through the development of Every Child Succeeds has relevance well beyond our local community and beyond programming for young children. Rather, our work reflects, as a microcosm, the issues and the barriers that most nonprofits face. And, why, when looking with clear eyes and objective vision, too often they fail over time—even though they may have short-term success.”

I retired as the pandemic descended and, remembering John’s suggestion, began to review notes, develop a chronology, and identify themes that reflected my work with nonprofits over more than 40 years. What began as a history of a small regional nonprofit that met with some success became a treatise on a larger problem. What advice can I offer to leaders working in and/or funding nonprofits so that we can do our work better and serve more people effectively? In short, what have I learned, and what might help someone else?

The work described in this book unfolded with support, guidance, and brilliant insights from many people. Axiomatic as it is, none of us creates alone. The learnings in this book emanate from an extraordinary board and committed staff members at Every Child Succeeds, our partners at Cincinnati Children’s, the United Way of Greater Cincinnati, the Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency, our nonprofit colleagues, and our community, both in the business world and in the neighborhoods. Most important, we learned from families—all 28,000 of them—who were and continue to be our best teachers.

Books that have value are imbued not only with answers and prescriptions but also with the right questions. In the first 20 years of Every Child Succeeds, we were surrounded by people who asked the hard questions, held us accountable for achieving our aims, and consistently made our work better.

The quality of this manuscript has been guided from the beginning by my first readers, who volunteered to read a long manuscript numerous times and to be candid about both content and style. John Pepper was invaluable for his keen ability to be insightful and relevant. Tom Boat, Chair of Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s, brought his clinical expertise and his understanding of collaborative systems. Lee Carter, a remarkable community leader, showed us not only what it takes to be successful but also how to find the resources to make success possible. David R. Walker, retired P&G executive, one of the most thoughtful and pragmatic people I know, always thoroughly answered questions and made you wonder why you had ever considered any other path forward. David insists, “Define the problem you are trying to solve!” Anne Duggan, professor emerita at Johns Hopkins University, who directs the Home Visiting Applied Research Collaborative, is an expert on using research to strengthen services for families. She understood the importance of using resources effectively and asking questions that matter. David Willis, a pediatrician and national leader with a well-deserved reputation for building systems that work, continued to remind me that an effective system is only as good as the ways in which it reflects the needs and goals of the people it serves. Good relationships among people make systems come alive.

I left Kay Johnson for last because without Kay, there would be no book. Nationally recognized for her work in maternal and child health policy, as a researcher, advocate, and consultant, she had been an advisor to ECS for nearly 20 years. She is a friend, colleague, and exacting editor; as well as a relentless voice for reducing the impact of poverty and racism, and increasing access to services for women, children, and their families. She was both a muse and guide for this project. Her encouragement kept me going, while her encyclopedic knowledge of policies and programs ensured that the work was comprehensive.

Always and forever, my family has been essential to my success. My family’s role in shaping this story began with parents who believed in me and understood, decades ago, that women could be leaders. My husband, David, has not only been incredibly patient but has also given me the space to grow and the time to succeed. My daughters Jennifer and Leigh, and granddaughters Caroline and Nora, make me proud every day. They are all people who live with kindness, integrity, and a sense of adventure.

Judith Van Ginkel