Our Approach
Building the Conditions for a Healthier Community
Health is shaped by daily life: the schools children attend, the outdoor spaces families use, the resources people can reach, the relationships that offer support, and the ways residents participate in community decisions.
Impact Alamance takes a broad view of health because children, families, and neighborhoods are shaped by much more than medical care. We work alongside residents, community groups, schools, nonprofits, local leaders, and other partners to build healthy environments and strengthen community connections.
Our approach combines partnership, investment, data, and public knowledge to support collective, long-term, measurable change across Alamance County.
How We Work
Civic engagement is at the center of our work.
We begin with public knowledge: what residents and partner organizations understand through lived experience, community conversations, local data, and shared learning.
We use that knowledge to identify common concerns, shared aspirations, and opportunities for action. From there, we invest in community-driven solutions that build capacity, strengthen relationships, and create pathways for residents to get involved.
Theory of Change
The bridge illustrates how Impact Alamance connects community investment to lasting change. Strategic investments help strengthen individual and organizational capacity, build community and systems capacity, support civic infrastructure, and create the conditions for a caring, connected community.
When residents, organizations, and local leaders have trusted relationships and practical ways to work together, they can build solutions that reflect the needs, strengths, and hopes of Alamance County.
What Shapes Community Health
Health is shaped by the conditions around us, including economic stability, education, healthcare access, neighborhood environments, and social connection. These social drivers of health help explain why some families have easier access to resources and opportunities than others.
Social drivers help us understand the conditions that affect health. Civic conditions help us understand how communities work together to improve life for everyone.
Understanding these conditions help Impact Alamance decide who to partner with, what to invest in, and how to support change that improves life across Alamance County.
Social Drivers of Health
- Social Drivers of Health—economic stability, education, health care access, neighborhood environments, and social connection—shape the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age.
- Together, these non-medical factors drive up to 80% of health outcomes, whereas clinical treatment and healthy behaviors make up 10–20% of health outcomes according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Public Capital: The Civic Conditions that Support Change
Strong communities need more than programs and funding. They need civic conditions that help people build trust, work across differences, and act together. The Harwood Institute’s Public Capital framework names nine elements that help communities move from concern to action.
Abundance of Social Gatherings
Places and moments where residents can connect, build relationships, and learn what’s happening in the community.
Organized Spaces for Interaction
Structured opportunities for people to come together, discuss shared challenges, and identify ways to act.
Boundary-Spanning Organizations
Organizations that connect people, groups, and resources across different parts of the community.
Safe Havens for Decision Makers
Trusted spaces where leaders can speak honestly, work through challenges, and test ideas.
Strong, Diverse Leadership
Leadership across the community that reflects different experiences, perspectives, and relationships.
Informal Networks and Links
Everyday connections that help information, ideas, and resources move through the community.
Conscious Community Discussion
Opportunities for residents and leaders to think together about public concerns before deciding how to act.
Community Norms for Public Life
Shared expectations for how people listen, collaborate, solve problems, and work together.
Shared Purpose for the Community
A common sense of direction that helps people see how their efforts connect to something larger.
Strengthening the Community Grid
Impact Alamance uses the concept of a community grid to illustrate how resources, relationships, and opportunities flow across Alamance County.
When parts of the grid have weaker connections or less access, families may struggle to reach the support they need.
Impact Alamance helps strengthen that grid so resources can flow more freely and reach more people, especially in places where access has been limited.
Learn About Our Equity Journey
Our approach is grounded in the belief that everyone in Alamance County should have the opportunity to live a healthy and fulfilling life. That means paying attention to the barriers that limit access to resources, opportunities, and full participation.
Learn how Impact Alamance is working to center equity in its practices, partnerships, and long-term community investments.
Focus Areas
Impact Alamance focuses on three connected priorities: Healthier, Smarter, and Stronger. Together, they guide how we invest, partner, and support community-driven change.
Healthier
Healthier focuses on the shared foundations that help people live well. This work supports physical, mental, and social well-being through investments in policy change, built environments, outdoor spaces, and community health initiatives.
Smarter
Smarter supports strong beginnings, sustained learning, and pathways to opportunity. These investments help students, families, educators, and school systems build toward lifelong achievement and career readiness.
Stronger
Stronger builds the relationships and civic capacity needed for lasting progress. This work supports resident engagement, nonprofit capacity, community partnerships, and local action.