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Introducing Stephanie Minor, CNA Director
Stephanie Minor has first-hand experience of CNA services having participated in several programs or activities in the last few years. Most notably, she was the Top Prize Winner in the Desert Fast Pitch event in November 2018.
Stephanie grew up in New Mexico and has lived in Massachusetts, Florida, Oklahoma, and Idaho. She moved to the Coachella Valley in 2015. She and her daughter, Chloe, live in La Quinta.
Stephanie worked for Martha's Village & Kitchen in Indio for the last four years. She started as the Director of Development and was promoted to the Executive Vice President two years ago. Her primary duties included: administrative oversight of staff, development of resources, communications and special events.
Stephanie's energetic style and attention to detail has already benefited RAP and our clients. In acknowledgement of RAP's unique funding formula, Stephanie recognized the importance of Transparency and Accountability to our funders and is responsible for helping us achieve a "Platinum Level" of Transparency on GuideStar.
Here is a brief glimpse of Stephanie's motivation and goals in her answers to the following questions:
Why did you decide to take on the CNA Director duties and responsibilities?
"I appreciate the work that CNA does, and I love the anticipation and excitement related to all of the things that we can and will do in the future. Nonprofits are asked to do the hardest work, often with the most limited resources. I love knowing that I am part of a team that is providing help to the very people who help those most in need in our communities."
What are your ideas or plans for the future of CNA?
"My plans for the future of CNA are to continue to provide the amazing resources offered and to expand our services and offerings. The first few weeks I have been with CNA have been spent listening to many nonprofit leaders and members of staff, nonprofit Board members, the RAP Board, and consultants and educators in an effort to find out more about what people want to see and learn from CNA. I plan to implement as many of these needed trainings and resources as possible, but I want to make certain that everything we offer is of the highest standards and quality, so that the nonprofits we serve receive the most benefit."
Why should a nonprofit become a CNA member?
"A nonprofit should become a CNA member because membership gives access to expert advice and resources, many opportunities for expanded skills, networking opportunities which allow for valuable connections, discounts on important conferences and seminars, and so much more!"
We look forward to her anticipated contributions which will strengthen our RAP Team to improve the quality of life for our residents.
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"Grants Corner" aka "Ask Eva!" - RAP's Mental Health Initiative Collective Impact Report
Hi all!
I was recently stopped in the hallway near my office by an organization who heard that we asked our Mental Health Initiative Grantees to conduct a collective measurement tool to evaluate impact. I thought I would share with you some of what I told the inquiring program director.
RAP just completed its fifth year of the Mental Health Initiative (MHI). Here at RAP, we LOVE data and impact! In the third year of the initiative, RAP partnered with HARC, Inc, a nonprofit research and evaluation organization to carry out a collective impact evaluation of our MHI. The result is a MHI Collective Impact Report. With a shared measurement tool, it enabled an assessment across all the MHI funded organizations providing the ability to determine impact to the populations being served. In other words, did the funding make a difference, improve lives and the well-being of the residents in RAP's geographic region (eastern Riverside County). A 10-item questionnaire was created by HARC that covered four domains- 1) Mental health quality of life, 2) Access to mental healthcare 3) Stigma in obtaining mental healthcare and 4)Impact of services of support network. Grantees (funded organizations) that responded to RAP's Request for Proposals (RFP's) 2017.1, 2017.2 and 2018.1 are required to complete them. English and Spanish versions of the survey were provided for adults as well as children to complete. The report provides information regarding the Grantees for 2017.1 and 2017.2 RFPs. Sharing from the report on progress in the Mental Health Initiative.
- A total of 5,508 people were served across the grantee's efforts, 4,743 adults, youth 435 and seniors 330. Of those served, a total of 1,436 (26%) were living in poverty. Approximately 37,710 were estimated to be indirectly impacted.
- Both Mental Health Quality of Life domain and Impact on Support Network indicated improvement. Mental Health Quality of Life indicating well-being improved over time and Impact on Support Network with over half of participants feeling that the services received resulted in very positive impact on their relationships with others.
- No significant changes in access to mental healthcare and stigma regarding seeking treatment. Persons who didn't get mental healthcare had overarching themes of fear of negative evaluation or they want care and can't get it due to external barriers.
Overall, the well-being of participants significantly increased throughout their time in being served by RAP's Grantees.
There are three organizations who were awarded grants under MHI 2018.1 RFP and we will look forward to reading their impact results included in next year's collective impact report.
This was a first time undertaking for RAP to corral funded organizations providing various programs and services to all utilize the same measurement tool to evaluate the impact of their work collectively. We think it was a successful and are excited moving forward!
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Greetings! I hope that your summer is going well and that you enjoyed your Fourth of July Holiday. There are many exciting activities taking place during this "slow" season. I would like to share some information about recent or future activities here at RAP.
As previously reported, the RAP Board held their Annual Strategic Planning meeting in April and adopted a new Strategic Plan in May. The Board and Staff are pleased by the accomplishments we have achieved in our previous Four Year Plan which focused on Mental Health. RAP contracted with HARC to assess the community impact as a result of our Mental Health Initiative which directed a greater percentage of our Grant funding to this effort. We would be happy to share the HARC report with anyone interested in gaining access to it.
Goodbyes
In the last two Newsletters we welcomed two new board members. Unfortunately for us, this Newsletter we say "goodbye and thank you" to two of our board members, Amber Amaya and Anayeli Zavala, who decided to step down owing to other commitments. We will miss their insight and enthusiasm for their respective communities and trust they will stay in touch.
We also are saying "best wishes" to CNA Director John Epps who retired at the end of June. We are pleased by the great turnout we had at the CNA Mixer on June 26, which celebrated John's
contributions to our community.
Recent Grants
The RAP Board recently allocated grants to the following organizations:
- Community Action Partnership's (CAP) Cool and Warm Weather Centers
- Mission Veterans
Nonprofit Management Certificate
RAP celebrated with the 12 people who completed the 35 week Certificate in Nonprofit Management course at UCR Palm Desert. The RAP board invests in the development of leadership for our nonprofit professionals by providing a financial scholarship to offset a significant portion of tuition fees.
UCR Nonprofit Management Program Graduation July 28, 2019
Erin Eslinger, Julie Countryman, Paulina Rojas and Jilliana Antoniewicz
Brianna Uhlhorn and family
Jeffrey Lowe, Ricardo Lopez Somoza, Olivia Gonzalez, Erin Eslinger, Julie Countryman, (Instructor) Jenai Moorehead, Paulina Rojas, Brianna Uhlhorn and Jilliana Antoniewicz
Blaire Jelmberg and Christian Jelmberg
Welcome to Stephanie Minor, Director of Center for Nonprofit Advancement (CNA)
Lastly, I want to introduce Stephanie Minor as our new Director of CNA. Stephanie started her new role in mid-June and already has made some significant contributions to the organization. If you haven't met her, I encourage you to reach out to Stephanie to get to know her and share your ideas about CNA
Enjoy your summer and don't forget the sunblock!
Sincerely,
Lety De Lara
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Association of Fundraising Professionals' (AFP) National Philanthropic Organization of the Year
We are honored that AFP selected the RAP Foundation as the Outstanding Philanthropic Foundation, Corporation or Civic/Service Organization for this year. RAP will be honored along with the following organizations persons at the Annual Luncheon on November 8.
- Outstanding Philanthropist - James and Carol Egan
- Outstanding Fundraising Volunteer - xxx
- Outstanding Nonprofit Founder _ Jo Rosen with Parkinson's Resource Center
- Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy - Boys and Girls Club of Palm Springs' Keystone Club
- Outstanding Fundraising Professional - Judi Olivas
Congratulations to all. Thank you to AFP for the special recognition.
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CVHIP Connects Coachella Valley Residents, Service Providers To Resources
By Will Dean, Desert Healthcare District Director of Communication and Marketing
Long gone are the days of resource binders with countless pamphlets, brochures and business cards of different service providers, who may or may not still offer a specific program or service to the community.
The Desert Healthcare District and Foundation wanted to resolve this problem and found a solution using an innovative and responsive online resource guide called Coachella Valley Health Info Place (CVHIP). The mission of CVHIP.com is to connect all Coachella Valley residents in need of health and wellness resources and the hundreds of service providers who offer those programs and services. CVHIP.com makes it easy for both service providers and residents to connect to local resources with functionality that includes the ability to:
· Search a reliable online database of social service programs in multiple languages that is easy to navigate and includes information on organizations across the entire Coachella Valley and beyond. Topics range from food and housing assistance to behavioral health needs, and many others.
· Find the most important information on service providers that is accurate, easy to access, and maintained on a regular basis.
· Allow service providers to claim their own profile and edit it on CVHIP.com.
· Email, text or print program/service information directly from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
For more information or to schedule training for your organization, please contact Alejandro Espinoza, director of outreach at the Desert Healthcare District and Foundation, at aespinoza@dhcd.org.
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Supporting Nonprofits' Search for Grants
Besides having a lending library of many books in nonprofit topics, for example, Nonprofit Management, Human Resources, Writing Proposals, etc., RAP provides two free online research services at our facility.
The Foundation Center is the nation's leading authority on institutional philanthropy and serves grant seekers, grant makers, researchers, policy makers, the media and general public.
And Grant Station provides additional funding sources including Federal, State and regional grants.
These online resource services are available to nonprofits and can be easily viewed at the RAP office. Contact Jennifer Braun at Jbraun@RAPFoundation.org or call at 760 674-9992 to make a reservation.
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Community Action Partnership Cool Centers Keep Cool
Protect Your Health When It's Hot! County of Riverside Community Action Partnership is coordinating Cool Centers to serve as drop-in sites for vulnerable individuals, seniors, the disabled, and others in need of temporary relief from the heat.
For Cool Center locations, hours
and tips on how to protect yourself from heat related illnesses, please call: County of Riverside Community Action Partnership 2038 Iowa Avenue, Suite B-102, Riverside, CA 92507 Phone: 951-955-4900 TTY: 951-955-5126 FAX: 951-955-9089 or www.capriverside.org
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