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Annual Report 20102010 Board of Directors

Mindy Stern Meiering, ChairE. Michelle Sylvain, Vice Chair

Kelsy McCarthy, SecretaryMelanie McLean, Treasurer

Victoria FittsMilgrimMargie Deane GrayJohn HeavenrichKendra Holmes

Brigid KorceRichard Mason

Judi MoraTerri Steinberg

Nancy Vanderwal

Members and corporate sponsorsmade 2010 a year to remember!By Liz MoraExecutive Director

2010 was a year of growth and transitionfor the Women’s Resource Center, especiallyour personal growth as we learned more aboutthe Center’s history and programs. We learnedwhat has been tried in the past, what worked,what didn’t and what currently needs somefine-tuning.

In the process, we learned that our anchorprogram – Resource and Referral – needed atighter structure and more definition for bothinternal and external audiences. We designedintake policies and procedures to ensure thatclients receive consistently high-quality cus-tomer service and effective referrals from everystaff member and volunteer. During 2010, wesaw a 13-percent increase in the number ofclients we served. We attribute the increase notonly to the difficult economic times we’re expe-riencing, but to the word-of-mouth referralsfrom clients who received the help theyneeded.

By the fourth quarter of 2010, we realizedthat the Women’s Resource Center was not im-

mune to the drop in funding levels so manyother nonprofits nationwide are experiencing.So a transition began. We cut the office man-ager position and filled in the gap with volun-teers. We also reduced office hours by openingat 9 a.m. and closing at 4 p.m. Mondaysthrough Thursdays, and closing at 1 p.m. onFridays. Although the cuts were difficult, itproved to be the right thing to do. Volunteersanswered our call for help, and we now havenew recruits Kelly Von Stroh, Sarah Wallin, andKatie Melcher joining our faithful, longtime vol-unteers Barbara Shore and Sue Griffith. Thedecrease in office hours allows staff to be 100percent available to clients when we’re openwith plenty of time to get work completed whileclosed.

Through the change, we had to say good-bye and thank you to Carol Freitas, our officemanager, and Diana Serpe, our programs direc-tor, who left to accompany her husband in anew job assignment on the Front Range. Bothcontributed much to the Center’s successes in2010, and they will be missed.

(See Executive Director’s Report Page 2)

Women’s ResourceCenter named 2010Nonprofit of the Yearat Chamber AwardsCelebration

Just in case you hadn’t heard,the Women's Resource Center wasnamed the 2010 Nonprofit of theYear at the Durango Chamber ofCommerce Annual Awards Cere-mony on Thursday, Dec. 20, at theFort Lewis College Community Con-cert Hall.

"This is such an honor to be re-congized with such stellar organiza-tions like the Boys and Girls Cluband La Plata Youth Services, whogive so much for families and youthin the community," Executive Direc-tor Liz Mora told the audience of400 upon receiving the award.

Mora thanked the "foundingmothers of the Women's ResourceCenter and the membership. With(See Nonprofit of the Year, Page 2)

Our Mission:The Women’s Resource Center advocates for the personal empowermentand economic self-sufficiency of women and families in La Plata County.

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Women’s Resource Center staff and board members are all smiles after receiving theNonprofit of the Year Award from the Durango Chamber of Commerce. From left areBret Burrows, Fatherhood Advocate; Christy Schaerer, Programs Coordinator; VictoriaFittsMilgrim, Board President; Liz Mora, Executive Director; Deborah Uroda, Marketingand Fund Development Director; Tim Walsworth, Executive Director for United Way ofSouthwest Colorado, who announced the award; Eve Presler, Advocacy for La PlataProgram Director; and Mindy Stern Meiering, outgoing Board President.

Photo Courtesy Durango Chamber of Commerce

(Continued from Page 1)

out you, we would not be the place togo when you don't know where tostart."

She also thanked staff members,the board of directors, the advisorycouncil and the volunters. "Withoutyou, the Center would not have beenable to serve the 800-plus clients weserved."

And she thanked "all the othernonprofits in this community. These arethe organizations providing all the serv-

ices in the community that we refer ourclients to.

"I am very proud of what we haveaccomplished this year, and thank youso much for recognizing the Women'sResource Center as nonprofit of theyear. This is such a huge honor!"

Mora took over as executive direc-tor in June 2009. This year's nomina-tion was the third the Center hasreceived in its lifetime, but the 2010award is the first time it has receivedthe award.

Nonprofit of the year

(Continued from Page 1)

Although the transitions we made in2010 were difficult, we nevertheless see ex-citing new opportunities ahead for 2011!We’ve welcomed Christy Schaerer to thestaff. Along with years of experience in thecommunity’s nonprofit sector, she alsobrings new insight to the Resource and Re-

ferral, Microloan and Girls to Women,Women to Girls programming. We madeour first microloan in two years for The RedTent, a new integrated health and wellnesscenter for women. And we’re planning toexpand the microloan program to includestudent loans and scholarships for clientswho need assistance with their post-sec-

ondary education goals.In January, we were honored to re-ceive the 2010 Nonprofit of the YearAward from the Durango Chamberof Commerce. Remembering theexcitement of that evening and the

overwhelming sense of gratitude we feltwhen we were called to the stage to receivethe award makes me proud to be a part ofthe Women’s Resource Center. We’ve weath-ered tough economic times and transitionswhile continuing to provide exceptionalservices to women and families in this com-munity – all because of you, our membersand corporate sponsors. We cannot thankyou enough for all the support you gave uslast year! The volunteer time and financialresources you gave in 2010 are an inspira-tion to continue to excel and grow as we ap-proach our 25th anniversary in 2012.

Executive Director’s Report

Membership elects new Boardof Directors in January;

Five new members have joined the Women's Re-source Center Board of Directors after the member-ship approved their candidacy at the Center's annualmeeting on Wednesday, Jan. 12. The membership alsoapproved the board's slate of officers. Here are thisyear’s board members and officers:• Victoria FittsMilgrim, President. Ms. FittsMil-

grim is owner of True Life Coaching and Re-treates.

• Margie Deane Gray, Vice President. Ms. Gray isexecutive director of the Fort Lewis College Foun-dation and the Office of Development.

• Brigid Korce, Secretary. Ms. Korce is a commu-nity volunteer and avid photographer. She’s amember of Del Alma and the Durango EstablishedNeighborhood Design Review Board.

• Tonya Gander Ensign, founder of emagine-Green, an environmental education company andemagineCoaching, a strategic coaching and con-sulting firm.

• Heather Leavitt Martinez, graphics specialistwith Korn/Ferry International and fine artist, co-founder of Arts Perspective magazine.

• Melanie McLean, Treasurer. Ms. McLean is aCertified Public Accountant with Fredrick, Zink &Associates.

• John Heavenrich, retired attorney.• Kendra Holmes, owner of Professional Turf Solu-

tions.• Richard (Dick) Mason, retired professor from

Southern Methodist University.• Beth McMacken, owner of Athena Design & Ad-

vertising, Inc.• Lynn Sholler, employment law attorney and

human resources consultant.• Nancy Vanderwal, owner of Vanderwal Design.• Daniel Wiggins, President and Chief Investment

Officer for Black Label Wealth Management, LLC.The Women’s Resource Center Board of Directors

meets at 5:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of themonth. Meetings are open to the public. Call 247-1242 for more information.

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Resource and Referral: The Foundation of Our WorkNumber of women seeking our help

increased by more than 13 percent in 2010

As part of our three-year strategicplan adopted in 2010, we established arigorous system for intake, analysis, re-ferrals, and follow-up with our clients toimprove the quality and consistency ofour core services. Our goal is to be THEPLACE TO GO for women who havechallenges they can’t resolve on theirown.

Through on-demand or by-appoint-ment case management, in a safe,woman-to-woman environment, theResource and Referral Program will:1. provide an open door, five days a

week, to women;2. engage women in a structured con-

versation to identify all barriers toa client’s success;

3. effectively and accurately diag-nose, clarify and prioritize womens’needs;

4. create an action plan for women tofollow;and,

5. serve as an expert resource thatconnects women to accurate andup-to-date community servicesthey may need,so that we may increase the num-ber women who effectively use so-cial services and non-profitcommunity resources and reducethe number of women who fallthrough the cracks.We served 871 women in 2010. We

saw significant increases in womenseeking assistance with divorce andcustody issues and affordable housing.And we also saw a significant increasein the number of women seeking infor-mation and counseling for starting theirown businesses.

We conducted an analysis of community re-sources that offer free education and trainingfor work readiness and job-search skills, net-working opportunities, entrepreneurship, andsmall business development, and as a result,opted not to duplicate programs already offeredin the community.We will refer women who need work-readinessand job-skill training to the appropriate agen-cies, and we will continue to connect womenwith volunteer mentors through our “30-MinuteExpert” program.

We also will continue our collaboration withthe Southwest Colorado Small Business Devel-opment Center to help women develop businessplans and start new businesses. The SBDC of-fers a number of excellent workshops andclasses on small business development that weadvertise through our weekly e-newsletter,News You Can Use, and to which we referwomen who want to start their own ventures.We continue to host an SBDC

representative in our offices the first Mondayeach month for free business consultations.

We continued our WRC Microloan Programand are happy to report that we provided onebusiness owner with a $10,000 microloan thatclosed in December. It’s our first loan in twoyears! Perhaps a sign that the economy is im-proving? We hope so.

And another business owner paid off hermicroloan in full. It was an exciting year!

We will discontinue our Business Women’sNetwork meetings in 2011, because of relativelylow attendance rates and the creation of severalnew – and free – networking opportunities inthe community. We will collaborate with theBusiness Women’s Idea Exchange and Duck GirlArt’s evening networking events so our mem-bers know about opportunities to meet otherwomen business owners and professionals inthe community.

Log onto our Web site at wrcdurango.org tofind out times and dates for networking events.

Business ServicesOne client pays off loan in full;

new business opens with Center’s Microloan Program

Memberships& Fund-Raising

Confidence in the Women’s Re-source Center grew in 2010 asdemonstrated by a 44 percent in-crease in individual membershipsfrom 261 members in 2009 to 375members in 2010. Those numbersdo not include our 27 wonderfullifetime members. We also receivedmonetary and in-kind contributionsfrom 77 corporate members in2010. Of that number, 36 busi-nesses – nearly half – were first-time donors.

Net fund-raising revenues for2010, including membership dona-tions, sponsorships, and specialevent revenues were $54,281. Wewere especially thrilled with the re-sults of our Year-End Campaign.Our generous members and corpo-rate friends contributed $23,195 –16 percent more than our goal of$20,000!

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Advocacy for La Plata receives statefunding from the ColoradoWorks and Pro-moting Safe and Stable Families programs.This past year, the Colorado Department ofHuman Services conducted an audit of thoseprograms, and as a result, we were affordedthe opportunity to change how we allocaterevenues to cover the Women’s ResourceCenter’s costs to oversee the agency.

A portion of the WRC Executive Direc-tor’s salary, for example, will now be cov-ered by state revenues to compensate forthe time spent on administrative duties as-sociated with ColoradoWorks and PSSF.

With the clarity we gained about our fi-nancial relationships with the state and Ad-vocacy for La Plata, we believe we will bemore successful in obtaining grants to sup-port both Advocacy for La Plata as a pro-gram and the Women’s Resource Center asthe umbrella agency that administers itsfunds.

Advocacy for La Plata and Women’s Re-source Center staff meet twice monthly toimprove our referral processes and to shareinformation about changes in the commu-nity’s social services network. We’ve devel-oped a strong, symbiotic relationship thatwe hope will continue to improve over thenext year.

FATHERHOOD PROGRAMThe Women’s Resource Center and Ad-

vocacy for La Plata received a $50,000 grantin 2010 to work with 78 fathers to improvetheir parenting skills. Of that number, 50were incarcerated and participated in theprogram to learn how they could play amore positive role in their children’s livesafter they were released from jail. Another28 fathers participated in the 16-week pro-gram. Responsible Fatherhood covers childdevelopment, the important role that fathersplay in their children’s lives, non-violentcommunication strategies, co-parentingstrategies, and other aspects of good father-ing. Advocates also work one-on-one withfathers to show them how to find affordablehousing, education, vocational training, andjob-search assistance.

Advocacy for La PlataOur largest program aims to keep families together,

return adults to the workforce

Families and IndividualsServed in 2010:

• 581 individuals total• 179 families• 209 adults• 452 children• 78 fathers

Financial ReportRevenueGrants $14,700Fundraisers $84,067Memberships $25,737Major Gifts $1,850Annual Giving $13,675*Programs $237,222Donations $2,632Interest/Dividends $8,092TOTAL $387,975

ExpensesEmployees $250,051Fundraising $30,066Operations $65,490Programs $40,371TOTAL $385,978

Net Income $1,997

Fund-Raising Events:Men Who Grill $12,827Girls Night Out $41,454Annual Campaign $13,675*

* Does not include contributionsrecorded after Jan. 1, 2011

MAJOR GRANTSBallantine Family Fund $2,500High Noon Rotary $500El Pomar $5,000LPEA Round-UpFoundation $1,000Sam Bloom Foundation $1,200Johnson Foundation $12,500La Plata County $2,000Anschutz Foundation $5,000Durango City BlockGrant $2,200Enterprise Foundation $5,000Women’s Foundationof Colorado $1,000

Clients Served

Girls to Women, Women to Girls ConferenceWe scaled back our

Girls to Women, Women toGirls Conference and offeredthe daylong program to Du-rango, Bayfield, and Ignacioeighth-grade girls. Thetravel time and coordinationmade it difficult to continueserving girls in Pagosa Springs and Mancos;however, we have extended an offer to helpthose communities establish a similar pro-gram if they so desire.

More than 260 eighth-graders attendedworkshops on “Healthy Relationships,” pre-sented by Rocky Mountain Planned Parent-hood staff, and “Self Esteem,” developedand presented by community volunteers.Students explored “Values and Prejudices”with the Durango High School PrejudiceElimination Action Team. And they had an

opportunity to visit with highschool girls to find out what highschool will “really” be like whenthey arrive next fall.

More than 50 adult women vol-unteered for the event, assistingwith planning, organization, in-struction, and mentoring.

Post-conference evaluations indicatethat more than two-thirds of the girls be-lieved the day to be worthwhile and thatthey learned something new about them-selves that will help them negotiate thetransition to high school.

As one participant said on her evalua-tion, “I learned so many valuable things thatI hope will help me succeed in life and highschool. This opportunity was great andhelped me feel more confident going on tohigh school and growing up."

‘You don't have to be anti-man to be pro-woman.’

~Jane Galvin Lewis