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Clark Web Site Letter
August 2009
Summer greetings!
We’re back with a revamped Web site we hope is more informative, relevant and easier to navigate.
Moving toward the final quarter of the year, it is no revelation to observe that 2009 has brought huge challenges to nonprofits and funders alike. No one has escaped. In June I reported to our board on a survey by which we sought to assess the impact of the economy on many of our grantees. We reviewed approximately 50 replies. While bright spots were hard to find, it was clear that organizations having strong board leadership and solid management were able to make sound but difficult program and budget decisions. Careful but decisive cuts were made but in a fashion calculated to preserve the core values and work of the organization. For organizations not having those assets, survival is uncertain. Perhaps it is timely to dust off and review the “what works” protocol. (You will find it in the “Grants: Guidelines” section.) Ironically, these times do present opportunities as we are compelled to look harder for approaches to problems which are proven and cost effective. Just embracing an idea because it is “innovative,” “represents new thinking,” or “you can just see it is better,” no longer works. We ALL need to find ways to work smarter, more effectively and be prepared to offer data to prove it.
And that’s an area where there is good news. In Hillsborough County, Florida, the Civil Citation Initiative pilot saved the state of Florida $588,000 and Hillsborough County $181,000. About 550 youth who would have been arrested at school participated. These young people made a mistake. They have been held accountable and, in many cases with their families, have been directed to the help needed to stay on track. This is a win for our school system, law enforcement, judiciary and our overworked state attorney and public defender offices. We are grateful for their leadership. Check it out at www.cchillsborough.org. The foundation will be supporting a similar effort in Brevard County this year.
Keeping kids in high school and preparing them for the workforce is a priority for the Eckerd Family Foundation. Nationally, Florida ranks 5th from the bottom in high school graduation rates. College preparation is not the answer for everyone. Locally, the Bowers-Whitley Career Center graduates over 90% of its students with a certification in a career specialty. Graduates move on to pursue a trade or more education, perhaps community college and beyond. Please take the time to read the reflections of Charlie Stallings, a talented young writer, who visited the school. It is in the Education section, “Bowers-Whitley Career Center.” Bowers-Whitley is one of four public high school career centers in Hillsborough County.
For youth aging out of foster care, there are some good outcomes as well. High school graduation rates continue to improve and in Hillsborough County, for the population of youth ages 19-23, over 80% are now employed or going to school compared with fewer than 9% when we started focusing on foster care youth almost five years ago.
A total of 388 students in Hillsborough high and middle schools received individualized support services from the guidance counselors dedicated to youth in foster care. Through a new partnership with Wheels of Success , a young man who has aged out of foster care received the first car give away. Wheels for Success plans to provide three cars per year to youth involved with Connected by 25 Hillsborough through this partnership. Also, 21 youth in Hillsborough County and 13 youth in Brevard County have completed the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Financial Literacy training in the past three months and are set to open their matched Opportunity Passport individual development accounts. Two former foster youth in Hillsborough County are headed for post graduate degrees at Howard University and Stetson Law School.
These successes occur not “because of” the Eckerd Family Foundation. The outcomes reflect the accomplishments of superior leaders and staff who are focused on real, understandable and sustainable youth outcomes and boards following the principles of sound governance. We continue to scan for opportunities to build upon our existing work in youth failing in school, those aging out of foster care and youth in the juvenile justice system as well as our general grantmaking.
In this letter, I have only mentioned a few of our grantees in Florida. There are others whose stories must be told, stories about organizations who have focused on real youth outcomes. As the foundation begins to focus more on its “exit strategy,” it is more important than ever to support organizations that have fully embraced the “what works” approach to nonprofit management.
In the months ahead, while our communities hopefully recover from the horrible effects of the recession, we will continue to share experiences about what is working well so that these opportunities might be pursued and sustained in future years.
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