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Meet Our Members: Palomar Family Counseling Service, Inc.

Meet Our Members: Palomar Family Counseling Service, Inc.

Untreated, mental health issues can have dire consequences for our communities – we’re on a mission to change that.  Since 1956, Palomar Family Counseling Service has administered programs and services to meet changing community mental health needs. We are recognized as a trusted provider of consistently high-quality mental health and case management services. Our passionate and dedicated staff strive to provide evidence-based care with skill and sensitivity.  We believe all individuals possess strengths and the capacity for positive growth.

We provide trauma-informed mental health services to as many individuals and families as our capacity allows.  We are committed to designing and delivering programs that serve children, families and individuals with limited resources who may not receive mental health care otherwise. Our enduring mission is to support and strengthen children, youth, adults, families, schools, and communities.

What a generous community we live in! This year in particular the outpouring of concern and support for mental health services for our fellow citizens has been so inspiring. Thank you for your confidence in our work. There is much yet to do.  Indeed, as we move into a new phase of the pandemic, it is clear that COVID-19 has taken a toll on mental health, with groups like children, racial and ethnic minorities, and low-income families hit disproportionately harder.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month.  Mental health is foundational to physical health and overall well-being.  Join us all month long as we raise awareness. For more information on our services and ways to help, visit www.palomarfamilycounseling.com or call our Director of Development at (760) 466.8887.

Meet Our Members: The Elizabeth Hospice

All hospice providers are not the same.

The Elizabeth Hospice, a local independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit hospice leader, has provided hospice care, palliative care and grief support services to children and adults in San Diego County and Southwest Riverside County since 1978.

As a nonprofit hospice, we offer care to everyone in the community; no one in need has ever been turned away for financial reasons. Our caregivers are trained to support veterans, addressing post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, survivor’s guilt, and soul injury. Additionally, we offer veteran pinning ceremonies to honor and thank veterans for their military service. Our comprehensive grief support services, which include individual counseling and support groups, are open to all community members, regardless of patient affiliation or how their person died.

The clinicians, staff and volunteers with The Elizabeth Hospice pride themselves on high-quality, compassionate care. We earned the Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission, an independent not-for-profit organization that certifies and accredits healthcare institutions across the US. This certification demonstrates our commitment to quality and dedication to excellence.

If you know someone facing the challenges of an advanced life-limiting illness who might benefit from the care and support provided by The Elizabeth Hospice, please encourage them to call 800.797.2050 or visit www.elizabethhospice.org. We’re here to help.

Premier Members Making a Difference: Graphic Assist

 

What do you benefit most from being a member of NCPC?

I’m Laura Roden, owner of Graphic-Assist. We provide graphic design services including annual reports, fundraising campaigns, donor, sponsor solicitations, and more. We partner with nonprofits and their strategic partners to support their fundraising and marketing while strengthening their relationships with their donors, board members, and volunteers.

What is your Mission?

We help nonprofits maximize their fundraising revenue. We communicate the value of their impact in the community using the same creative strategies and solutions the largest national organizations use.

What do you offer to the community?

With almost 20 years experience designing for corporations, small to medium businesses, and nonprofits, we’ve worked with national retail brands to sell their products in markets of all sizes. Our current clients benefit from that same level of graphic design experience. We specialize in working with nonprofits so they can use these major-league strategies to solicit support and donations from their communities.

For the last 10 years, we have been using our skills and expertise to help local and regional nonprofits maximize the return they get on their outreach and fundraising campaigns. We’re passionate about giving nonprofits with smaller footprints the ability to use the same strategies major organizations do. We send a monthly email sharing best practices, ideas, and even free templates. In May, we’ll be sharing a checklist of the 10 photos you need to take at your next fundraising event. Anyone is welcome to add themselves to the list here.

What changes/opportunities have occurred due to COVID-19?
The shift to virtual/remote work has encouraged nonprofits from all over the country to partner with Graphic Assist. We exceeded our goal for 2020-2021 to double the number of nonprofit clients and partners.

How to you benefit most from being a member of NCPC?
We are always trying to learn more about what our local nonprofits need and develop solutions to support them. Membership in NCPC gives us a chance to network with individuals who are actively serving our community. Meeting new people who are doing this important work inspires our team with new ideas and opportunities to give back.

What event/program or campaign do you have coming up that you would like to share with our readers?
We design custom annual reports for our clients, which are used as a multi-platform marketing tool. We want to help smaller nonprofits who might assume they cannot afford a custom document, design a report as well. We are in the process of creating a portfolio of templates that nonprofits of any size can use for fundraising and community building. If you would like to be notified when the templates are released, please email Laura: laura@graphic-assist.com.

 

 

Premier Members Making a Difference: California State University San Marcos

What do you benefit most from being a member of NCPC?
 

NCPC provides a range of professional development and networking opportunities for our development team and beyond. Over the years, our team members have been involved with board and committee leadership and our staff, faculty, and donors have served as featured speakers and panelists at events that bring the community together around important topics and initiatives.

 
What is your Mission?
 

At Cal State San Marcos our mission is student success. The University enrolls 17,000 students and is focused on closing educational equity gaps and providing social mobility for the most underserved populations in the region.

 
What do you offer to the community?
 

CSUSM offers 43 bachelor’s degree programs and 39 minors, 24 master’s programs, 5 credential programs and a joint doctoral program with University of California at San Diego. The university encourages community spectators for our 13 NCAA Division II athletic teams, along with various art and culture events that take place throughout the year. We are committed to building a stronger and more vibrant region by connecting the University to surrounding communities in mutually beneficial ways. CSUSM reaches out to all communities it serves to help address the region’s most critical issues.

 

What event/program or campaign do you have coming up that you would like to share with our readers?

 

Tuesday, May 3 is One CSUSM, a 24-hour campaign to raise funds for scholarships at Cal State San Marcos.
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One CSUSM is an important fundraising event because for many students, financial support from family is not an option as nearly 70% of our students receive financial aid. Scholarships are a vital component to student success, encouraging them to persist to graduation and experience the sense of pride that comes from earning a degree.
Please join us by making a gift May 3 between midnight and 11:59pm! There are more than 90 scholarships to choose from, including the General Scholarship Fund. Plus, your gift could be matched, dollar for dollar, thanks to a $25,000 match from the David T. and Dorris E. Staples Foundation. Visit our website: www.csusm.edu/onecsusm

 

Have you made a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization/company and if so, how are you demonstrating it?

CSUSM is an inclusive and welcoming community of students, faculty, staff, and administrators, grounded in social justice that creates educational equity as we reflect and embrace the range of regional and global diversity. We are an interculturally proficient learning community whose members at all levels develop and display critical skills to effectively advocate for social change, foster inclusion, celebrate and value difference, build on their unique strengths, and engage and contribute intelligently and effectively in diverse groups and communities. CSUSM has received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) award annually since 2013.

 

Meet Our Members: Blair Search Partners

Every organization’s performance is the sum of its people. As such, our mission is straightforward: source the highest caliber talent from across the nation on behalf of San Diego’s nonprofit sector.

Blair Search Partners is a retained executive search and recruiting firm, working exclusively with mission-driven organizations of all sizes and sectors. Our clients retain us to manage search engagements at every level, including c-suite, director, manager, and program/staff levels. While each search engagement is customized around the needs of the individual client organization, we place equal emphasis on the candidate experience throughout the entire process. After all, today’s candidate could very well be tomorrow’s volunteer, donor, or board member!

We don’t think of this as the business of recruiting: to us, this is the business of community building.

Please visit us at http://blairsearchpartners.com/ for more information about our firm and to view our current engagements.

Meet Our Members: Access Caregivers, Inc.

Access Caregivers is a special team of personal caregivers made up of Certified Home Health Aides, Certified Nursing Assistants, Homemakers and Companions with an abundance of experience in personal care. We are a locally owned and operated company based in North County with over 24 years of experience in care giving.  We are passionate about home care, believing that seniors should be respected and revered as the unique individuals they are.

After watching a 60 Minutes program in 1996 where they explored the poor care and treatment our seniors were receiving nationwide, especially in crowded nursing homes, I knew then I needed to contribute, so I left my aviation job to make a more personal difference. Coming from a culture where elders are seen as sources of wisdom and given proper respect as seniors, caring for them is natural for me – it’s an honor and not a burden. And because this is something I strongly believe; it naturally carries directly into my daily business practices. I remain highly involved in the care that each client receives.

Our skilled team takes pride in successfully matching clients and caregivers for optimum results with minimal disruption to the individual’s quality of life, working closely with each client and family to provide the most appropriate services available. A tailored care package is designed uniquely for each client because there is no need or request too small.  Our commitment and our vision is to make a difference in every life we touch. My personal mission is to achieve that vision daily.

– Marilou dela Rosa, Access Care

Premier Members Making a Difference: Boys and Girls Club of Greater San Diego

What do you benefit most from being a member of NCPC?
 
Through our membership with NCPC we are able to connect with other nonprofits and thought leaders in our local community. We also look forward each year to honoring our Volunteer of the Year.
 
What is your Mission?
 

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego‘s mission is to inspire and enable youth to achieve academic success, build good character and responsible citizenship, and make healthy lifestyle choices.

 
What do you offer to the community?
 

The BGCGSD offers after-school and school break programs for over 8,000 youth ages 5-18 throughout San Diego County. Participants engage in age-appropriate activities supporting academic excellence, character development, and healthy lifestyle choices. BGCGSD’s aim is to support youth by helping them grow into caring, productive, civic-minded, and successful citizens in their communities. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego service area covers over 2,000 square miles from National City to Borrego Springs; providing enriching programs at 19 community-based sites.

 
What was your organization/company’s biggest accomplishment in the past six months – one year?
 
Our biggest accomplishment in the last year has been the final reopening of the few Clubs which were still closed due to COVID. The Board of Directors and Senior Management originally planned to have all Clubs reopened by December 2022, however, due to increasing demand, the return of students to in-person learning, and with the support of individuals, corporations and foundations in the community, all Clubs were reopened as of September 2021, a full 15 months early! We have also been able to restart our bus transportation system, ensuring that members who are not within walking distance are able to attend the Club.
 
What event/program or campaign do you have coming up that you would like to share with our readers?
 

Our signature event, An Evening of Changing Lives, will take place on September 10, 2022 at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina. The funds raised at the event support our mission to inspire and enable youth to achieve academic success, build good character and responsible citizenship, and make healthy lifestyle choices.

 
What changes/opportunities have occurred due to COVID-19?
 

Our budget was greatly impacted both in revenue and expense. On the expense side, costs rose significantly due to the extended hours we were open from June 2020 to August 2021, the necessity of providing Personal Protective Equipment to staff and members, an increase in cleaning costs, the upgrades to Wi-Fi in all buildings and provision of personal supplies to each member to utilize. When the 2021-22 school year started, we were able to return to our normal afterschool hours of operations, and will continue to do so as long as the schools stay open for in-person learning. The impact on our revenue lies with the reduction in the number of children attending, which leads to a reduction in fees collected. Our Board and Staff responded to decreased revenue by revising our 5-year strategic plan. We took on a PPP loan, reached out to new potential funders and created a short term campaign to raise $1,000,000 to ensure that we were able to open all 19 locations by the start of the 2021-22 school year. Additionally, our program logistics continue to looks different in order to provide the safest possible experience while at the Club. Our groups are kept to the same 20 members with the same staff everyday. Children and staff must wear masks while indoors and activities must have enough supplies that no child has to share with another child. We follow strict guidelines for quarantining groups with suspected and confirmed exposure to COVID.
On the positive side of things, these changes to our groups, or cohorts, has increased the quality of interactions between staff and members. Staff are able to get to know the members better than ever before, which allows them to provide a more customized program to each member and gives the opportunity for a closer partnership with the parents.

 

Have you made a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization/company and if so, how are you demonstrating it?

 

Yes. Our Diversity Statement is:
It’s in our nature to include.
At the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego, we create safe environments for staff and members to express themselves and feel included. We believe that all people should have a future of hope and opportunity. To make that happen, we strive to cultivate Clubs which recognize differences and embrace diversity. We reflect the communities we serve by welcoming people of all races, sexual orientations, ethnicities, identities, religions and abilities.
In addition to the Diversity Statement, we are in the process of creating a DEI committee of staff at all levels, Board of Directors, and parents to ensure that we as an organization are providing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for all parties.

 
 

Premier Members Making a Difference: Coastal Community Foundation

 

What do you benefit most from being a member of NCPC?

The Foundation staff benefits through connecting with nonprofits in the community and learning about their work and services in North County. We have had the opportunity to meet many new people, build relationships and share information. We appreciate the opportunity to share our grantmaking programs through NCPC in order to reach more nonprofits. NCPC is a great resource and connector for North County.

What is your Mission?

The mission of Coastal Community Foundation is to enhance the quality of life in San Diego North County by directing philanthropic efforts toward community needs. We fulfill our Mission by…
  • Helping individuals and families meet their charitable goals today and in the future
  • Making grants to support nonprofit programs, education, and community needs
  • Helping to strengthen the nonprofit sector by providing support services
  • Promoting philanthropy in the community

What do you offer to the community?

The Foundation’s grantmaking provides resources for a wide variety of nonprofit programs in North County. The Foundation also serves as a philanthropic connector between local residents and nonprofits in the community. We often refer residents to organizations that match their charitable interests.
In addition to our grants, the Foundation assists residents in establishing their personal donor advised fund, becoming involved with one of the Foundation’s four giving circles or contributing to an area of their interest.

What was your organization/company’s biggest accomplishment in the past six months – one year?

In 2021, the Foundation granted over $1 million to a wide variety of nonprofits and educational institutions. Grants were made through competitive grant programs and donor advised funds. Seventy-seven percent of those awards were made to San Diego County nonprofits. In addition, CCF continued our collaboration with the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation and Impact Cubed to manage the COVID-19 grant program for the City of San Marcos.

What event/program or campaign do you have coming up that you would like to share with our readers?

Grantmaking for the 2022 grant cycle is underway. Upcoming competitive grant opportunities include: Hand to Hand fund for women and girls, Encinitas Fund, Solana Beach Fund, and Scalice Foundation for Music. Grant guidelines, program deadlines, and applications are available on the CCF website.
The Foundation’s giving circles also are an opportunity for North County residents to become involved with philanthropy without having a private foundation or their own charitable fund. By making one donation and having their gift pooled with others in the community, individuals can make a larger impact on programs and services that benefit the community. The giving circles also allow people to learn more about the nonprofit programs and services that are provided in their community. Learn more.

What changes/opportunities have occurred due to COVID-19?

Since the pandemic, many of CCF’s grant programs have shifted focus towards meeting the community’s basic needs such as food, housing, and emergency support services. These grants have helped nonprofits fill gaps in funding that federal or state dollars do not cover.

Premier Members Making a Difference: Allgire Foundation

 

What do you benefit most from being a member of NCPC?

We’re a new organization so it helps us immensely to see how everyone else does it.

What is your Mission?

The Allgire Foundation is dedicated to empowering people who are impacted by the lack of affordable housing and changing their lives through advocacy, education and support programs that provide tangible help. Ultimately, we want to make their house a home.

What do you offer to the community?

Scholarships, Care Packages for Residents of Affordable Housing, and Volunteer Opportunities.

What was your organization/company’s biggest accomplishment in the past six months – one year?

Spring Harvest. On March 20, the first day of spring, 200 volunteers gathered in the rain and packaged up over 10,000 bags of fresh fruits and vegetables and we delivered them to over 10,000 residents of 100+ affordable housing communities. The Allgire Foundation wanted to raise awareness of food insecurities and the difficulties of eating healthy given rising costs.

What event/program or campaign do you have coming up that you would like to share with our readers?

The Allgire Foundation’s Art, Wine & Adventure Gala on April 23, where we will gather after a rough two years to reconnect, reminisce, and look forward – and maybe raise a few bucks too!

What changes/opportunities have occurred due to COVID-19?

We pivoted to providing care packages to residents of affordable housing by delivering them because it was so difficult for residents, especially older residents, to get out and shop.

Have you made a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization/company and if so, how are you demonstrating it?

We seek volunteers from all organizations and groups, and serve residents of all affordable housing communities throughout San Diego.

 

Premier Members Making a Difference: Puzzle Pieces Marketing

Founded by NCPC Board Vice President, Angel Mason Broadus, and operated by her and her wife, Kristine, Puzzle Pieces Marketing is a creative and colorful Black-owned and women-owned marketing agency specializing in nonprofits and mission-driven businesses. We offer Digital Marketing, Branding, Website Design & Development, and Graphic Design.

What is your Mission?

To amplify the social impact of nonprofits and brands doing good by elevating their image and marketing.

What do you offer to the community?

Not only do we work with nonprofits and mission-driven businesses as our clients and partners, but we serve our community through serving on Boards, volunteering, and offering scholarships and internships.

Have you made a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization/company and if so, how are you demonstrating it?

We advocate for diversity and inclusion not only in our own workplace, but also within the organizations with which we choose to partner, support, and volunteer our time. As part of our mission, we choose to align and collaborate with organizations that share our values and have made commitments to supporting DEI initiatives.

Also, through our marketing, messaging, and social media, we are actively sharing and talking about causes and issues related to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

What event/program or campaign do you have coming up that you would like to share with our readers? 

As a minority-owned business, providing opportunities and supporting minority and LGBTQ youth is important for us. We offer four annual scholarships to financially assist minority and LGBTQ+ graduating high school seniors. Applications for our LGBTQ+ Youth scholarships open on March 31st. Please learn more and apply here: https://puzzlepiecesmarketing.com/scholarships

What do you benefit most from being a member of NCPC?

One of the biggest benefits of our NCPC membership is being able to network with people in the nonprofit sector and becoming more familiar and engaged with the important work they do for our community. This continued exposure to nonprofits keeps our team inspired and motivated to support our nonprofit clients and volunteer in the community.