Partnerships: How UH Gets Big Things Done

Partnerships have become one of the most important things we’ve built as a community association. No single organization — ours included — can keep a neighborhood like University Heights active, safe, and thriving on its own. What we can do, and do pretty well if I do say so myself, is bring people together. This month I want to show you what that looks like in practice.

We partner with our business members, promoting them so they can grow and succeed while their support of our events and programs keeps UH an active and exciting neighborhood. We partner with the City of San Diego on the issues that shape daily life here — the Vermont Street Bridge, neighborhood policing, traffic calming, and pedestrian safety — and we make sure the community’s voice is heard as the City enacts policies that affect UH. We also partner with fellow nonprofits and community organizations — the Birney Bees Alliance, RooFriends, Friends of the UH Library, RideSD, the UH Women’s Walk Club, the UH Historical Society, HSI Fang Temple, Diversionary Theater, and others — all working together to form a strong network of support for our community.

Most importantly, we partner with you, our members: putting on events that meet everyone where they are, bringing neighbors together, shining a light on important issues, and increasing our collective impact.

Some partnerships run even deeper. The UH Garden Club and UH Arts Association operate under the UHCA umbrella: independent in spirit and leadership, but sharing our foundation of tools, technology, fundraising, and promotion as part of our 501(c)(3) charity. It’s a model that lets small, passionate groups grow without reinventing the wheel.

This summer showed what a partnership can accomplish at scale. UHCA teamed up with the University Heights Community Development Corporation (UHCDC) on two major efforts. The Summer Concerts just wrapped its 28th year as a resounding success in both attendance and fundraising (see page 8) — UHCA handled sponsorships and promotion while UHCDC ran logistics, each organization putting its energy where its expertise lies. Together we also took on the critical issue of the UH Trolley Sign (see cover story): publicizing the problem, driving the City to a solution in short order, and mapping a plan to refurbish the entire sign in time for its 30th anniversary next year.

Real progress in a community like ours never comes from any single person or group — it comes from many people and organizations choosing to work together, openly and with trust in one another. I’m proud and honored that we keep finding ways to be bigger and better collectively than any of us could be alone. That’s what makes a community stronger — together.