2015 ANNUAL REPORT. Together IT S POSSIBLE

Transcription

1 2015 ANNUAL REPORT Together IT S POSSIBLE

2 O U R M I S S I O N Community Action Agency of Butte County, Inc. serves as a catalyst to reduce poverty and its symptoms through providing quality services, developing resources, collaborating with others, advocating on behalf of the economically and socially disadvantaged, empowering individuals, and improving the conditions in which people live, learn, and work. O U R V I S I O N We envision communities whose members feel secure and are self-sufficient. Thomas Tenorio Chief Executive Officer Timothy Hawkins Chief Programs Officer Dana Campbell Chief Financial Officer David Burris Chair John L. Gliha Vice Chair E X E C U T I V E S TA F F B O A R D M E M B E R S JoAn Townsend Secretary Doug Benander Treasurer C O N TA C T I N F O R M AT I O N P.O Box 6369 Chico, CA (530) Administrative Offices located at: 181 E. Shasta Ave. Chico Roy Fisher Member Michelle Morris Member Rebecca Williams Member

3 Message from the Chief Executive Officer Community Action Agency of Butte County, Inc To Friends and Supporters: The Agency s year in 2015 was a great combination of change and challenge. The traditional flexibility of federal homeless services funding gave way to directed restrictions. The new state focus on greenhouse gas reduction was impacted by excessive restrictions. In both cases the Agency had to make significant changes to either appeal to our community for support to offset funds in jeopardy. We also made every effort to make the new programs work. It set the stage for us to engage the public in more understanding of the funding challenges that we were facing. It was historically, not the kind of focus that we were used to doing. Thomas Tenorio Chief Executive Officer We finally got with it and embraced the need for us to combine delivering great services that address the important needs of members of our communities and a focus on telling our story. It is not unusual that community action agencies devote their resources to action that helps people. But more often than not our activities do not make the front page or the evening news reports without an effort to accomplish that goal. We made a strategic investment in our employees to develop and launch a new commitment to public visibility. It is clear that the traditional funding sources are not available as they were before. It is also clear that our local communities appreciate our efforts to help improve the conditions in which people live and work. So it is up to us to make it as easy as possible for our neighbors to support us. Our appeals are varied and frequent. All the while we remember the counsel of smart supporters to share, no stories without data and no data without stories. We provided over 400,000 meals to over 7,000 of our neighbors to ease the food insecurity that affects one of every four children. We re committed to helping kids do better in school through healthier eating. We were able to reduce the monthly cost of utilities an average of 30% for seniors and low-income families to enable them to live better and more comfortably within their limited resources. We also helped our local economy to benefit from the $3 million impact of tax returns to 1000 of our residents. We ll continue to hone our abilities to increase our visibility. But we will always seek to focus primarily on our mission and vision. That is our distinctive and something worth promoting. Yours in Service, Thomas P. Tenorio, CCAP Chief Executive Officer

4 Community Action Agency of Butte County, Inc Message from the Chairman of the Board David Burris Board of Directors Chair

5 Community Action Agency of Butte County, Inc The Lives We ve Touched 5

6 Community Action Agency of Butte County, Inc Energy & Environmental Services Our Energy and Environmental Services Program (EES) delivers a wide variety of services to the low-income population of our community. These diverse programs improve the lives of both homeowners and renters through long-term energy savings by making long-term improvements to the home and providing for emergency repairs, ongoing health and safety measures, and home improvements which allow our customers to be safe and secure all year long. Depending upon program eligibility, customers can receive such improvements as new heating and air conditioning systems, water heaters, windows, doors, insulation, appliances, shower heads, energy efficient light bulbs and more. Through our Utility Assistance program families facing a potential shut-off of utilities can receive immediate assistance with their bill. Customers in more rural areas that heat their homes with wood or propane can also receive emergency assistance through the direct delivery of these fuel sources. Eligibility for these services is determined by household income, family size, whether or not children reside in the home and their ages, and any medical or disability situation that are evident. EES 2015 highlights 2,603 households consisting of 6,696 individuals received EES services. Of those individuals, 1,443 were Senior Citizens, 2,441 were children and 1,394 had a disabling condition.

7 Community Action Agency of Butte County, Inc Esplanade House Community Action s Esplanade House is committed to breaking the generational cycle of poverty and broken families. For families to improve their circumstances, their children must be able to remain in school and receive services necessary to address the developmental challenges that are likely to arise as a result of their trauma. By addressing the specific needs of children, particularly those needs related to their trauma, the long-term prospects for a family s well-being are greatly increased. Community Action believes that to recover from homelessness or other family trauma and achieve self-sufficiency, housing assistance alone is not enough for most families. Most require assistance and opportunities in areas at least as comprehensive as the issues that caused their trauma in the first place. Areas of need include financial planning, substance abuse counseling, education, parenting classes, mental health counseling, and treatment for chronic illnesses, among a host of others. In 2015 the Program s 58 apartments housed 228 individuals, of which 119 were children. Upon entry, selfsufficiency matrix assessments help individualize needed resources. Many residents are evaluated with cooccurring physical and mental health conditions upon entry that must be addressed in order to succeed. Supportive Services provided included comprehensive Case management, tutoring, nutrition education, parenting and life skills, budgeting and financial literacy, Substance Abuse Counseling and referrals to other community resources. All participant incomes are below 50% of Butte County s Area Median Income. 45% of adults in the program obtained employment, 72% received job training and other skills for employment, 86% obtained a driver s license and reliable transportation, and 86% received healthcare services. Every child obtained immunizations, medical and dental care and 50% of the children saw improved academic success in school. The Esplanade House wants to than all of its valuable collaborative partners and volunteers who donated nearly 6,000 hours of volunteer support to help improve the lives of their neighbors at the Esplanade House. Our gracious volunteers embody the spirit of hope, improve our community, and make Butte County a better place to live. Community Action cares about the entire community, and we are dedicated to helping people help themselves and each other. Together we re helping people and changing lives.

8 Community Action Agency of Butte County, Inc Food & Nutrition The CAA Food & Nutrition Program operates within a six county region (12,000 square miles) by collecting, warehousing and distributing produce, perishable and non-perishable food items through North State Food Bank in an effort to help minimize hunger. Here is a look at 2015, our programs and how CAA s North State Food Bank is able to help individuals and families in the communities we serve. North State Food bank receives perishable, non-perishable and non-food donations through the Feeding America network along with local companies and food drives from local businesses. Through these partnerships nearly 1,040,000 pounds of product was donated to NSFB in non-profit member agencies consisting of food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, youth programs and other hunger relief organizations access this product, directly distributing to the community. Monthly distribution of food commodities made available through the USDA Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP). Distribution total of 51,000 food boxes made possible through many dedicated volunteers at 47 different locations in the counties we serve. Seasonal Tailgate food distributions; produce and other perishable items are brought directly into fifteen different cities in the six county regions we serve. Distribution of produce is market style - the event includes other resource agencies providing community outreach of services. Approximately 3,500 families were served at these events in The farm 2 kids program; we contributed 32,300 pounds of produce to children attending specific afterschool programs and market style events. Our hope for the future is to expand our services to the community, as we continue to build relationships with the other organizations that share our same mission and vision we are able to help more families, individuals and children.

9 Community Action Agency of Butte County, Inc Financial Report 10, , ,779 1,358,332 REVENUE SOURCES 227, ,189 3,545,258 Contracts and grants-state and Federal Commodities- Federal 1,045, ,502 EXPENDITURES 536,162 3,693,239 Community Programs Energy/Weatherizat ion Esplanade House 703,106 Contracts and grants-pg&e 632,710 Food and Nutrition Program TOTAL REVENUE: 6,335,380 TOTAL EXPENDITURES: 6,747,118: FINANCIAL POSITION 3,095,621 4,371,043 Assets Liabilities 928,498 Net Assets HOW TO DONATE TO SUPPORT US: The Community Action Agency is a private, non-profit corporation with tax-exempt status. People interested in supporting the accomplishment of results and services provided by the CAA can do so in several ways. You can: -make a tax-deductible financial contribution for which you will receive a receipt for your files -make a donation of appreciated or income-producing assets (e.g. stocks) which can be structured to also provide tax benefit to you -make a donation of real property for use or disposition by the agency with, again, a structure to the transaction that can provide you with tax benefits -include the CAA in estate planning preparations to ensure that a legacy for you or a loved one is remembered We urge you to consult with your estate planning professional. If you need advice then we can put you in contact with the resources available at the North Valley Community Foundation. Thank you for your generosity.

10 Community Action Agency of Butte County, Inc Asset Building 2015 VITA Program: Volunteer Tax Preparation Assistance began on January 31 st and finished on April 7, For the 2015 Filing Season the total production for all four of our CAA-sponsored sites is 974 total tax returns filed. The breakdown by each site is as follows: Dorothy Johnson Center: 288 CARD Center: 419 Durham Library: 136 Chico State University: 131 With the average cost of preparing a tax return being around $300, the IRS estimated that CAA sponsored sites helped to save clients around $292, in return preparation fees. A total of $304,539 in refunds to VITA clients who filed for the Earned Income Tax Credit was received. In addition, the 974 filed tax returns also produced a total of $919,168 in refunds to clients in our local community. The VITA program provided a positive economic impact to Butte County of nearly $1.2 million.