Peoria Area Not-for-Profits

The nonprofit sector is an essential part of the character of central Illinois, and the Peoria area is well known for being one of the most charitable communities in the nation. Year after year, the business community steps up to play an indispensable role in making our region a better place to live, work and play by supporting local not-for-profit organizations.

According to taxexemptworld.com, there are more than 2,100 tax-exempt not-for-profit organizations in the Tri-County Area. With so many worthy groups, it was not easy to select participants for this roundtable.

With iBi’s annual 40 Leaders Under Forty awards coming up on November 6th, we took a look at some previous winners who were—and are—some of the region’s strongest leaders in the not-for-profit arena. The following individuals are leaders of their respective organizations—the same ones they were with when they received the award.

Larry Timm, Junior Achievement (JA) 
Steve Thompson, Easter Seals (ES)
Shelly Heiden, American Red Cross Blood Services (RCBS)
Michael Stephan, Heart of Illinois United Way (HOIUW)
Katie Jones, Mental Health Association of Illinois Valley (MHAIV)
Pam Schubach, YWCA Peoria (YWCA)

Q) Explain how the local chapter and the national organization work together.

JA: JA of Central Illinois is one of 140 U.S. offices under its parent company, JA Worldwide. Junior Achievement reaches nine million students in 120 countries. JA Worldwide offers a variety of services quite similar to a franchisor/franchisee relationship.

ES: Easter Seals’ services are provided throughout the United States, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Australia. Our national organization, Easter Seals, Inc., is headquartered in Chicago and licenses affiliates like ours to conduct programs, raise funds and do business in the name of Easter Seals. Currently, there are 78 affiliates and one international affiliation. Last year, Easter Seals served more than one million children and adults with disabilities or special needs and their families in more than 550 sites. It is important to note that, while Easter Seals Peoria-Bloomington is a member of the national Easter Seals organization, we are an independent not-for-profit organization.

RCBS: Red Cross Blood Services is comprised of 36 blood regions grouped into seven divisions. The CEO of each region reports to a division vice president. The regions work together through a national inventory management system to ensure that lifesaving blood and blood products are available to patients wherever and whenever needed.

HOIUW: Unlike many other charities and nonprofits, United Ways are not chapters of a larger, national organization. Each United Way is independent and autonomous. The United Way of America, which serves as our national trade association, exists to provide national recognition through branding and advertising, along with support for public policy initiatives and assistance training volunteers and staff.

MHAIV: The national organization, Mental Health America, previously known as the National Mental Health Association, provides a leadership role for other MHA affiliates throughout the U.S., keeping us abreast of the latest in issues, policies and programs related to mental health. We receive no funding from the national organization, but we can choose to attend the annual MHA conference and other MHA-sponsored trainings for a fee.

YWCA: The YWCA Peoria is a member of the YWCA of the United States of America, Inc. and the Great Lakes Alliance Regional Council of the YWCA of the USA, Inc. However, each local association is an autonomous organization with its own set of bylaws. We pay dues to our regional council, which in turn, provides training and leadership, as well as advocacy for our association and region. Our national office is focused on creating a national presence and continued advocacy efforts throughout the U.S. and the world.

Q) To the extent possible, please break down your annual budget by source of funds in percentage terms.

JA: Junior Achievement reached 13,014 students during the last school year on $300,815—that is our complete and entire budget. So, for $23.11, each student experienced JA from a business professional an average of six times—that’s just $3.85 per session.

By experience, I mean interactive, hands-on sessions taught by someone just like you, rather than a lecture from a school teacher. JA provides all the materials at no cost to the school, including CDs, stickers, maps, game pieces, foreign currency and more.

ES: Nearly 60 percent of Easter Seals’ revenue is derived from program service fees, including those from private insurance companies, Medicaid and other reimbursements from the State of Illinois. Approximately 30 percent comes from generous gifts from individuals, businesses and organizations, underscoring the critically important role of local fundraising efforts in advancing the Easter Seals mission. The balance comes from investment income (5%), grants (4.5%) and miscellaneous income (1.5%).

It is also important to note how the dollars are spent. Last year, 88 percent of Easter Seals dollars went directly to programs and services, with just seven percent being spent on fundraising, 4.5 percent for management and general expense, and 0.5 percent for national Easter Seals membership fees.

RCBS: The American Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that supplies nearly half of the nation’s blood supply by working with more than four million donors and 3,000 hospitals. We rely on the generous gifts provided by volunteer blood donors. In order for the Red Cross to make that gift available to patients in need, we must collect, store, test and process the blood. There are significant costs associated with each of these processes, and in order for us to continue making these donations available, we must charge for the testing and processing of the blood to recoup these costs.

HOIUW: In 2007, the Heart of Illinois United Way raised more than $9.3 million for the health and social service industry of central Illinois. Our United Way has one of the lowest fundraising and administration costs in the nation, with 90.3 cents of every dollar we raise assisting the people of central Illinois. A panel of more than 80 volunteers, from diverse segments of the community, review grant applications from our 45 partner agencies and allocate these dollars to make the greatest impact. Because we are not a chapter of a larger organization, all of the money we raise is from central Illinois, and it stays in central Illinois.

MHAIV: We receive a large amount of our funding through fundraisers, including corporate sponsorship, special-event registrations and individual contributions, approximately 35 percent of our overall budget.

We are fortunate to belong to the United Way family of member chapters of the United Way, with the lion’s share coming from the Heart of Illinois United Way. We receive some support from a myriad of grants and contracts; from private foundations, such as the Tim Ardis Foundation for Hope; and from public entities, such as the State of Illinois Division of Mental Health; together making up approximately 30 percent of our budget. Our board of directors created an endowment with the Community Foundation of Central Illinois, and we earn income on that investment every year. This revenue and other sources make up the remaining amount—less than 10 percent.

The greatest gifts we receive, while hard to explain in financial terms, come from the outstanding collaborative partnerships we enjoy with other nonprofits. For example, for many years, we have received tremendous support from the Human Service Center Emergency Response Services, which provides daily back-up and support for our crisis hotlines. Likewise, we could not effectively promote our mental health education programs if local organizations like the Salvation Army, the Peoria Rescue Mission and the Center for Prevention of Abuse did not request and welcome these services for their families and staff. This is perhaps one of the greatest contributions of all—to “blend our agendas” and find common solutions through partnerships and cost-sharing solutions.

YWCA: Our budget breaks down as follows: grants (38%), program service fees (23%), United Way funding (10%), contributions (7%), rental income (5%), special events (3%) and miscellaneous (11%).