These are the marquee players in the world of nonprofits, but the media limelight often doesn’t shine in their direction. NorthBay biz shines a well-deserved spotlight.
These are the marquee players in the world of nonprofits, and their presence in the North Bay is pervasive—but relatively quiet. The media limelight, always looking for its next new cause, often doesn’t shine in their direction. And yet they consistently deliver top-quality services to their targeted clientele, efficiently and without fanfare, thanks to a cadre of caring volunteers and the support they receive from a benevolent business community.
Since this issue of NorthBay biz is dedicated to nonprofits, we’ve decided to highlight local chapters of these national charities and put a spotlight on the good work they do, so more will understand how critical they are to the very fabric of the North Bay communities they serve.
YWCA of Marin
The YWCA of Marin recently moved into new offices at 4380 Redwood Highway in San Rafael. The Marin chapter is part of the YWCA of San Francisco and Marin, which got its start in the city 134 years ago offering vocational training programs and residences for young women who were migrating to San Francisco in search of opportunity. The San Francisco organization opened its Marin office in 1958.
This longevity doesn’t always breed familiarity, however. First of all, the name (Young Women’s Christian Association) is deceiving. The organization’s goal is to empower women and girls (of all ages), youth and seniors (of both genders) and eliminate racism. It hasn’t been a “Christian organization” for more than 50 years and it actively welcomes people of all faiths and creeds.
While the group offers a variety of services in Marin County, its main focus is on two outreach programs, one for youth and another that helps women 50 years of age or older reenter the workplace.
Life, Inc., developed in partnership with the Deloitte Foundation and YWCA USA, is a youth-targeted, financial literacy, goal-setting and career exploration program established in 2008 at three Marin high schools; it now serves more than 300 youth each year. “We reach out to all youth, both male and female, and work with them to teach financial literacy, communication skills, career readiness and college preparation,” says Nancy Richardson, employer liaison for another Marin program called FiftyPlus (more about that in a bit). Another aspect of Life, Inc. is a conscious communication component that takes YWCA coordinator Lynn Murphy into schools to teach children how to communicate effectively and train teachers how to intervene when they suspect a bullying problem.
Important early life skills, to be sure, but with the recession and its economic fallout, it’s the YWCA’s FiftyPlus Employment Support Program that gets the bulk of the attention in Marin.
“Our population in Marin is aging and everyone’s [investment] portfolio has taken a big hit. The money and income residents were counting on is no longer there, so many people, particularly women, are finding they have to find a job and remain working,” explains Richardson, who finds it exciting in many ways. “Our mission is to prepare them with the skills they need in a new, dramatically different workplace from what they last experienced while also working with employers to promote the value of a dedicated and skilled older worker.
“Our clients have to consider all options,” Richardson continues. “So many jobs have gone away and aren’t coming back. So their big question is, ‘What do I do now?’ We work with clients to identify their objectives and personal capabilities and then help them find employment.”
The organization has a 15-station computer lab to teach workplace skills that might not have been learned in the past. Yvonne Ortiz, a faculty member at College of Marin, instructs classes in basic computer programs, such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint; sessions run 90 minutes twice a week for four weeks. The YWCA is also starting social media outreach to educate its clients about LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and other online sites, “which are becoming more important in the job search process,” Richardson says.
There also are workshops to help the women develop their résumés, write cover letters and sharpen interviewing skills.
“The business community has been very helpful to us, particularly with mock interview workshops and small business forums,” Richardson says. Recruiters and human resources managers from Wells Fargo Bank, Kaiser Permanente and Fireman’s Fund Insurance are among those who’ve donated their expertise to support older workers. “Mock interviews help our clients understand what an employer is looking for. It’s one thing to read the requirements in an ad and another thing for employers to provide insight as to what they really want.”
Richardson and Program Director Betty Szudy also work on self esteem issues. “We build self esteem and confidence,” she says. “Older adults become discouraged when they apply for job after job and don’t get a response. We’re here to provide emotional support and help them get through. We have a job support group that meets twice a month and we have a workshop on staying motivated.”
Richardson notes that the self esteem and motivation workshops are critically important to the success of the FiftyPlus program. “You can actually see posture changes in these women,” she says. “[After a few sessions], they carry themselves with more confidence. They really need to regain that bit of hope they might have lost. Hope is in short supply these days, and I think we provide it.”
The organization also helps older women with an entrepreneurial spirit. “Speakers from the business community come in and help us with a small business forum for those women thinking of starting their own business. They learn the ins and outs of running a business,” Richardson says.
The YWCA of San Francisco and Marin receives funding from the Marin Community Foundation and gets “strong support” from the corporate community, Richardson says. Among its top supporters are Union Bank, Wells Fargo Bank and Macy’s, along with the various chambers of commerce throughout the county.
Going forward, the organization sees a need to reach a broader group of clients and become more visible in Marin, Domeny says.
And while the YWCA of San Francisco and Marin has a very strong board of directors, with dedicated members committed to our mission, according to Domeny, the group is always “looking for board members who can represent us and our cause and be active on our behalf.”
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army has a large footprint in the North Bay, with Corps Community Centers in Santa Rosa, Petaluma, San Rafael and Napa, plus a very large Adult Rehabilitation Center and thrift store off Highway 101 in Healdsburg. In addition, its donation centers for clothing and household goods dot the three-county landscape.
Trish Poochigian is the Napa Salvation Army corps officer, who serves in Napa County. She’s held the post since transferring to Napa from Oakland this last July.
The Salvation Army’s mission is simple: As a Christian organization, it preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ and meets human needs without discrimination. Its reach in Napa, and in all the communities it serves, runs far and wide, offering myriad services.
“One of our most important services is our feeding program,” Poochigian says. A hot lunch is served every weekday at the Napa Salvation Army Corps Center. “Basically, if you’re hungry, you can come. You don’t have to meet any qualifications. We feed the homeless, obviously, but we also have seniors who can’t make all the ends meet.”
The organization also prepares food bags for those in need, giving them “a small commodity of staples to help them make meals,” Poochigian explains. Some of its biggest donors are Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe’s, Starbucks and Raley’s, all of which provide food items and supplemental grocery supplies.
The Salvation Army is working with PG&E to provide natural gas to homes of the underprivileged, who normally might find their utilities cut off during the critical winter months. PG&E is also working with Salvation Army to make its own facility, located on Franklin Street in Napa, more efficient in its energy use.
This past holiday season, the Napa Salvation Army worked with Queen of the Valley Hospital, Catholic Charities and Hands Across the Valley (another nonprofit that works to solve the hunger problem) to put toys under Christmas trees of children in need and provide Christmas meals to almost 1,500 families throughout the county.
“The combined effort and the sharing of resources is a format that works very well for all of us,” Poochigian says. “We’ve developed a good screening program to make sure we reach those in need. And, by working together, we stop people from double dipping—taking from one charity and then going to another and another for the same service. It helps us reach more people.”
The Salvation Army also offers youth programs—Girl Guides and Sunbeams for girls and the Adventure Corps for boys—which have a religious focus and help children develop morals and compassion. A Corps Cadets Leadership Program for older youth adopts projects in the various communities. “We’re also now beginning to raise money to send to Salvation Army Centers in Africa to help provide clean drinking water, so we’re both global and local,” Poochigian explains.
Religious outreach is also a big part of the Salvation Army’s program, which is evangelical in nature. In addition to Sunday School and regular church services on Sundays, the Napa Center offers weekday services specifically targeted to women, children and young adults, plus adult Bible studies.
One program that’s a signature effort for the Salvation Army is its Adult Rehabilitation Centers (ARC), which provide spiritual, social and emotional assistance to men and women who are unable to cope with their problems and who are no longer able to provide for themselves (www.satruck.org). Each center provides housing, work and therapy with the ultimate goal of returning these individuals to the workplace as productive adults.
Salvation Army thrift stores, with all their donated clothing and household goods, support the adult rehabilitation efforts, Poochigian says. “All the proceeds, after paying the bills, including leases, utilities and payroll, go toward helping adults overcome dependency issues.” But there’s another benefit to the program.
“When people donate items to the Salvation Army, we’re able to decrease what goes into our landfills. Whatever we can’t use in the stores is recycled, so we’re reducing our communities’ carbon footprints,” Poochigian explains.
The business community generously supports the Salvation Army, Poochigian says. “We’ve had help from Target, JCPenney and Walmart, particularly with our Christmas toys effort. Rabobank of Napa has been very helpful, and even though we’re a sober organization, we still work with vineyard owners and Napa Valley Vintners.”
The organization also gets financial support from its famous brigade of bell ringers, who brave winter weather to collect donations outside retail establishments during the holiday season.
Having support from local businesses is critical. “We can’t do it on our own,” Poochigian says. “If we tried, we wouldn’t be nearly as effective. My hand is extended out to grab theirs and they’re giving a hand to help us. In Napa, the entire community is really about supporting each other, and that’s special.”
Sonoma County Family YMCA
For 58 years, the Sonoma County Family YMCA has been promoting youth development, healthy living and social responsibility throughout the county. Much like the YWCA, its name (Young Men’s Christian Association, which roots back to 1844) is a misnomer, as it serves both males and females, from tiny tots to centenarians, and its programs are open to people of all religions and creeds through memberships on a sliding fee scale. “No one is turned away for the inability to pay,” says David Brown, president and CEO.
Its main facility and headquarters on College Avenue in Santa Rosa was built in 1972. Over the years, after additions and expansions, plus a major renovation in 2005, the “Y,” as it’s more commonly known, has grown to 34,000 square feet. It offers a wide variety of programs for all ages, focusing on health and wellness, aquatics, special interest classes and group exercise programs. There’s also a Y extension facility in Occidental.
While most people think of the Y and conjure up images of a well-equipped gym, swimming pools and exercise facilities, there’s much more to the organization. “We do lots of things to impact our local youth and provide support for families in our communities,” Brown says.
Throughout the school year, the Y serves close to 900 children at 18 schools in Petaluma, Rohnert Park/Cotati, Santa Rosa and Sonoma with both before- and after-school child care and preschool. It emphasizes youth programming, with sports, arts and crafts, cooking, teen leadership and games offered throughout the year. During the summer months, it conducts summer day camps and specialty camps as well as operating the Cloverdale Municipal Swimming Pool.
While memberships help fund the Y’s programs, its $6 million annual operating budget also depends on donations from private individuals, businesses and community foundations, with less than 1 percent of its budget covered by the United Way.
Over the years, the charitable needs in the community have grown significantly, and the United Way changed from focusing its funding efforts on individual agencies to more comprehensive initiatives and relying on donor choice, Brown explains. So for the last 15 years, the Y has relied more on its own annual fund-raising efforts and less on United Way.
The economic downturn also impacted staffing at the Y. “We had to consolidate some jobs, so we put a little more on each manager’s plate and started relying more on volunteers,” Brown explains. The bad economy also required a paradigm shift. “These days, if a program isn’t efficient and is having difficulty meeting its expenses due to limited financial support, we’ll probably phase it out,” Brown says. “[The economy] has also caused us to look more closely at programs before we jump into them. In the past, we would start a program and hope for support. These days, we have to secure the support before we initiate the program.”
Looking forward, Brown says the Y will do more collaborative work with other local agencies to deliver more programs. Brown is also hoping to expand its facilities to another location in the county. “We need to see which community wants to work with us,” Brown says. “After all, cities and towns are struggling, too.”
To bolster revenue, the Y conducts an annual support campaign for its operations budget in February and March and also benefits from two golf tournaments (one sponsored by the police, fire and sheriff’s associations and one it organizes) and the annual YMCA 10K Harvest Fair Run, now entering its 34th year. It gets generous support from local banks, including Sonoma Bank, Exchange Bank and First Community Bank.
Madeleine Keegan O’Connell, vice president of marketing for Sonoma Bank, says the Y has been one of many community groups the bank has supported for decades. “At Sonoma Bank, we have a deep commitment to our employees and the communities in which we operate,” O’Connell says. “Our bank’s mission is to build a bridge to the possible. If we can do that by supporting the communities we serve and our employees as they invest their time and talent, that’s what it’s all about.”
Joe Smith, who heads Sonoma Bank’s U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) lending department, serves on the board of the Y and also is involved in many of its operating committees.
“We appreciate what the Y is doing for the community,” O’Connell says, “and we want to be behind that.”
Goodwill Industries of the Redwood Empire
While most national charitable organizations are governed by rules established at their national headquarters, Goodwill Industries has a very different business model. It’s divided into territories, and each territory is locally controlled. While all Goodwills agree to operate under ethical business practices, “There are no national policies or directives on how we are to do things,” says Mark Ihde, president/CEO of Goodwill Industries of the Redwood Empire.
With corporate offices on Yolanda Avenue in Santa Rosa, Goodwill provides services in six Northern California counties—Sonoma, Napa, Lake, Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity. There are 15 people on its board of directors, currently chaired by Jean Kapolchok, owner of Jean Kapolchok & Associates, a land use planner based in Santa Rosa.
Goodwill’s mission is to provide job training and placement services to people with disabilities or other barriers to employment. “Our goal is to help people become self-sufficient and not have them rely on public assistance,” Ihde explains. Last year, Goodwill Industries of the Redwood Empire helped nearly 3,000 such clients through referrals from various county agencies throughout its territory and the California Department of Rehabilitation.
“We work with a very diverse group,” Ihde says. “There are people with masters degrees and there are people who have such severe disabilities that they need to have someone working alongside them to be functional. Some have criminal backgrounds. And all of them, for one reason or another, have been taken out of mainstream employment.”
Goodwill provides job assessments one-on-one and helps each client with interview skills, résumé writing and job searches. It also provides clothing so each person has appropriate attire for job interviews.
Clients are provided with financial literacy training. “It’s one thing for them to finally go to work, but it’s amazing just how many don’t understand checking accounts or how to manage money,” Ihde says.
This month, Goodwill will begin a new “Employment Works” program to help selected individuals “on the periphery of gang activity,” Ihde says. They’ll get training in what Ihde refers to as “soft skills,” including interviewing, conflict resolution and anger management. They’ll then go to work in the organization’s warehouse for four to five hours each day, “with the expectation that they learn what it’s like to have responsibility and get a paycheck,” he explains.
In a sense, while it is a charity, Goodwill also is an enterprise. To fund its programs, it relies on the donation of clothing and household goods, much like the Salvation Army’s ARC program. In the Redwood Empire territory, Goodwill has 13 stores in Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Cloverdale, Ukiah, Sonoma, Willits, Napa and Rohnert Park. It also has six stand-alone donation collection sites.
“All the stores are training facilities for future work as cashiers, clerks and customer service managers. We employ our clients,” says Ihde, who feels Goodwill has made a dramatic transformation over the past few years.
“We used to act like we were victims, and we’re not. We’ve worked hard to change our image. We’ve had to convince our clients that we aren’t victims of society and we do provide a service,” Ihde says. “Since the economic downturn, shopping in our stores has increased dramatically. It’s not just impoverished people anymore; we have prominent people who come. It’s now vogue to shop thrift!”
Most of Goodwill’s interaction with the business community is focused on relationship development, not financial support: “We want them to hire our clients,” Ihde explains.
To meet its budget, Goodwill Industries of the Redwood Empire has its stores and a recycling program. It’s also the designated collection agency for ewaste (old electronic items), but Ihde says that isn’t a major source of income. “It gives us $0.21 per pound to recycle a computer monitor,” he explains. “We recently had an ewaste collection event in Windsor and got 10,000 pounds of equipment. After expenses and labor, we made $335. But it did provide jobs and it does keep toxics out of the landfill.” The organization also receives some government funding.
Three years ago, just as the economy soured, Goodwill increased its fund-raising efforts. Each year around Halloween, it sponsors the “Ghoulwill Ball,” which Ihde describes as a perennial sell-out. It also holds a “People Empowering People” breakfast to solicit funds (the next will be March 2, 2012). “Clients tell their stories and employers describe the successes they’ve had hiring our people. Table captains invite their friends to come to the event,” he says, and, if all goes well, wallets open wide.
“But one of the best things we’ve done to increase public awareness of our efforts is to have a monthly tour of our facility, where we provide a light breakfast or lunch and show people our operation,” Ihde says. “People are amazed at what we do.”
In the end, “amazing” might be the best word to describe what all four of these charitable organizations do day-to-day—working in the background on shoestring budgets, making miracles happen one-by-one and weaving a rich community tapestry that serves as a safety net for those who otherwise might have no one to break their fall.
Job well done.
