Nonprofit Sector Stewardship Winners Show Accountability, Innovation, and Strength

October 18, 2010

Nonprofit Sector Stewardship Winners Show Accountability, Innovation, and StrengthHeading here...
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September 28, 2010: Nonprofits can and are thriving in today’s environment despite the gloomy economic recovery outlook and multiple challenges facing communities. Three of those organizations - the NC Farmworkers Project, Rutherford Housing Partnership, and The Scrap Exchange - are being honored today by the N.C. Center for Nonprofits with a 2010 Nonprofit Sector Stewardship Award.

This annual statewide award recognizes excellent practices in ethics, accountability, and stewardship of the public’s trust and resources. Representatives from each organization received an award and accolades in front of more than 800 nonprofit and community leaders at the Center’s 2010 Conference & Public Policy Forum, in Research Triangle Park. Prudential Financial, Inc. sponsored this year’s awards which provide a commemorative piece by Durham artist Galia Goodman and $500 to invest in board/staff professional development.

NC Farmworkers Project (NCFP)
"We are honoring the NC Farmworkers Project because it is truly led by, and accountable to, the people it serves,” said Jane Kendall, president of the N.C. Center for Nonprofits. “And, we are focusing attention on its role as a bridge to help government and other nonprofits serve farmworkers better.”

Founded in 1992, NCFP helps farmworkers find solutions to their problems and improve their living conditions. Take Rafael Palacios, a 39-year old farmworker who has toiled in North Carolina’s tobacco fields for nine years to support his mother and son back in Mexico. When Palacios discovered a lump on the right side of his stomach, NCFP staff member Leonardo Galván encouraged him to visit a clinic. With the help of NCFP, Rafael was immediately transferred to Chapel Hill to remove the tumor, which would have been fatal if left untreated. He is now receiving treatment for leukemia. NCFP is able to provide him with medication that he needs but would not be able to afford otherwise. With the support and friendship of those at NCFP, Rafael continues going to his doctor’s appointments and also working every day in the tobacco fields

Myriam Hudson, executive director of NCFP, is most proud of the work she and other NCFP board, staff, and volunteers do onsite at the health clinics. “I love to listen to the farmworkers’ stories and the stories of the women who are being trained as ‘promotoras’ – health advisors,” she says.

NCFP also collaborates with the N.C. Farmworker Health Program, a branch of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, to provide donated supplies and volunteer support for health clinics. “Without its partnership, our program wouldn’t be successful at addressing farmworkers’ acute and chronic health care needs or providing preventive services that reduce costs later on,” says Elizabeth Freeman Lambar, program director for the N.C. Farmworker Health Program.

In 2009, NCFP’s health program assisted 744 farmworkers from 77 camps across three counties by providing health education and transportation to 295 clinic appointments, as well as interpretation in medical settings.

Rutherford Housing Project (RHP)

"We selected Rutherford Housing Partnership for carefully building a strong organization that is able to expand on solid ground to meet the burgeoning need for urgent home repairs that affect residents’ health and safety,” said Jane Kendall.

Founded in 1995, RHP assists individuals and families like Jaylen’s. The mobile home that Jaylen, age 3, and her siblings share with their grandmother is as tidy as possible, considering that four children under age 8 live there. But until recently, electrical sockets hung from the walls, the flooring separated dangerously from the walls, and the roof leaked. That’s before RHP sent materials, volunteers, and an electrician to make repairs. Jaylen and her family are among more than 100 families RHP helped in 2009.

As the demand for this assistance swelled, RHP realized that it had to grow to help more people like Jaylen. The Board of Directors developed a clear vision to expand the organization’s capacity to serve more homeowners – even with its modest annual budget of $143,000.

To raise money, RHP’s Board of Directors instituted a Sustaining Partners program to solicit monthly donations. Starting with five, they now have 40 sustainers. The number of total donors has grown from 13 to 191 in five years, and includes individuals, businesses, and churches.

“RHP is committed to excellence, not only in its repair projects, but also its internal management, access to resources, relationships, and public image,” says Nell Perry Bovender, executive director of RHP. “We believe our efforts further the public’s understanding and respect of nonprofits.”

Bovender is reflective about how her organization has achieved what it has. “The commitment of a few key leaders can inspire and encourage others to follow. Most of these are volunteers, and they’re rewarded in immeasurable ways when the work they’re asked to do is meaningful.”

The Scrap Exchange

"We are honoring The Scrap Exchange for its commitment to the whole community and for its innovative approach to securing funds for its work. It is a model for how nonprofits can build the local economy, increase community participation to address tough issues, and be successful social entrepreneurs,” said Jane Kendall.

Since 1991, The Scrap Exchange has collected reusable materials such as fabric, cones, tubes, and zippers – items that the community then turns into art. In 2009, it saved 42 tons of reusable materials from the landfill and made 52 donations of materials to other nonprofits, schools, prisons, and community groups.

Ann Woodard, executive director of The Scrap Exchange, explains, “We have a three-pronged mission: creativity, environmental awareness, and community through reuse.”
Adds Ruth Warren, a long-time volunteer and current staff member, “There is no other place I would rather volunteer or work than at The Scrap Exchange. It has been a pioneer in the re-emergence of reuse.”

As an artist, Warren has been incorporating reused items into her work since childhood. Her parents grew up with little money and relied on reuse as a means of survival during the Depression. “I learned early that reuse begins at home,” says Warren. “The concept isn't new; humans have been re-using ever since they figured out how to repurpose a rock into a useful tool. But sometime in the 20th Century, reuse was pushed aside.”

As long-time social entrepreneurs, the board, staff, and volunteers at The Scrap Exchange have demonstrated how some nonprofits can secure much of their funding with innovative approaches. Ninety percent of the organization’s budget is based on income generated by the retail store and its arts programs

For more information:

Trisha Lester, Vice President, N.C. Center for Nonprofits, 919-790-1555, x104, tlester@ncnonprofits.org
Myriam Hudson, Executive Director, N.C. Farmworkers Project, 919-915-9990, myriam@ncproyecto.org
Nell Bovender, Executive Director, Rutherford Housing Partnership, 828-248-3431, nbovender@bellsouth.net
Ann Woodward, Executive Director, The Scrap Exchange, 919-682-2751, ann@scrapexchange.org

About the Center
The mission of the N.C. Center for Nonprofits (www.ncnonprofits.org) is to enrich North Carolina’s communities and economy through a strong nonprofit sector and nonprofit voice. The Center helps nonprofits to: lead and manage their organizations effectively, reduce costs, work together to solve social problems, and enhance the state’s communities and economy. With 1,500 member organizations, the Center serves nonprofits that work in all 100 counties of North Carolina.

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