The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
In 2019, we had just finalized our FY20-22 Strategic Plan, with goals to expand our services into communities, establish NSC as
a hub for youth to grow & excel, open two satellite offices, let data inform our programming, and more. And we’d taken steps
toward realizing our priorities: we’d leased an office in a nearby suburb, hired staff for newly-created roles, and celebrated the grand opening of our Keystone computer lab.
Then the COVID-19 shutdown impeded some of our plan while accelerating others. We began—by necessity—to deliver boxes of food to our clients’ doorsteps, right into their communities. We started surveying our clients on a regular basis, so that we could adapt our services to meet newly-identified needs. We formed virtual support groups for kids, distributed Chromebooks, and urged the School District to provide language access to low-English proficient kids. During the pandemic, we:
- Delivered 2,500+ essential items & 1,647 gift cards or food boxes
- Provided 106 virtual ESL classes & 225 educational supports
- Offered 201% more therapy sessions
- Accommodated 465 clients through virtual case management
- Conducted 318 free telephonic legal consultations
- Helped 1,300+ clients with legal services
- Distributed $330,000 in direct assistance to immigrants
- Raised nearly $400,000 in direct assistance from donors
- Helped 100+ clients find new or first jobs, & gave out PPE to keep workers safe
- Began expanding services to include youth & children to strengthen family units
- Launched a succession plan & new programs to invigorate staff performance and morale
-Kicked off our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee
Since September 2021, NSC has also been marking is 100th anniversary. As part of this celebration, we have expanded our fundraising efforts by establishing an Opportunity Fund. This fund will allow us to innovate programs, strengthen our service delivery while expanding our reach, and steel the agency against times of turbulence.