charities usa magazine: summer 2011

7/31/2019 Charities USA Magazine: Summer 2011

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Mike SchuetteCCUSAs 2011

Volunteer of the Year

Wichitas Success in Making

Marriages for Keeps

One Year After the Gulf Oil Spill

THE MAGAZINE OF CATHOLIC CHARITIES USA Summer 2011 | Volume 38 Number 2

Eciency,Efectiveness,& ValueAchieving Poverty Reduction through

Market-Based Approaches


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his has been an interesting issue to put to-

gether, one very dierent in theme than any

issue weve done beore. As a urther explo-

ration o the policy ideas represented in the

National Opportunity and Community Renewal Act(NOCRA), this issue really pushes Catholic Charities

to think in new, innovative, and even challenging ways

about the work o poverty reduction.

Tis issue largely ocuses on market-based tools and

concepts that can transorm the work o poverty re-

duction. In the past, non-prot and or-prot organi-

zations have operated in dierent cultural worlds, with

dierent missions, methods, and goals. Tat divide has

not always been healthy, or it has separated each rom

valuable principles that could make each a more eec-

tive contributor to society. oday, we are seeing that

distinction blurred, as nonprots apply business princi-

ples to their work and as or-prots pioneer new corpo-

rate structures designed to produce social benets.

Many Catholic Charities agencies have implemented

smart business approaches to ensure their sustainabil-

ity. Its practically a necessity these days. But we have

not been as good at applying business principles in the

way we design, implement, and evaluate programs. Te

market-based concepts reected in NOCRAmea-

suring outcomes, gathering data to improve program

designs, giving consumers choice, determining cost-

eectiveness, and monetizing the social value we pro-

videare new concepts or many o us.

With our state and ederal budgets in the dire shape

that they are, with unds or social programs being cut

let and right, with widespread attitudes about waste-

ul and ineective government, and with oten high-

ly-publicized examples o publicly-unded social pro-

grams that dont work, we have to begin showing with

more tangible measures that our programs work and

that they provide value to individuals and amilies,

communities, and to the nation. We will need to think

in new ways and do more work, but in doing so we can

be more successul in doing what motivates us most

serving people in need. n

Ruth LiljenquistManaging Editor

To comment on this issue, please write to Ruth Liljenquist

at [email protected].

Eciency, Efectiveness, & Value

6 15

On the Cover:Photo: Steve Liss, AmericanPoverty.org.


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Features

7 Efciency, Eectiveness, and ValueAchieving Poverty Reduction through Market-Based Approaches

11 Making the Economic Argument

Measuring Our Impact in Economic erms

15 Understanding Social Return on Investment

Why Tinking Like a Social Enterprise Can Help Us

17 win Cities RISE!

An Example in Monetizing and Rewarding Social Value19 Funding Poverty Reduction in a New Way

Community Renewal Bonds and ax Incentives

22 Moving Forward with the National Opportunity

and Community Renewal Act

26 Catholic Charities USAs 2011 Volunteer o the Year Finalists

28 Catholic Charities USAs 2011 Volunteer o the YearMike Schuette

30 Strengthening Marriages, Strengthening the World

33 A Humble and Generous Heart

Departments

4 Presidents Column

34 Disaster Response

36 CCUSA News

38 NewsNotes

44 Working to Reduce Poverty in America

38 4

Charities USA(ISSN 0364-0760) is

published by Catholic Charities USA.

Address all correspondence to the managing

editor. 2011 Catholic Charities USA,

Alexandria, Virginia.

Editorial and Business Ofce

Sixty-Six Canal Center Plaza

Suite 600

Alexandria, VA 22314

t: 703-549-1390 : 703-549-4183

www.CatholicCharitiesUSA.org

[email protected]

Publisher

Rev. Larry Snyder

Executive Editor

Roger Conner

Managing Editor

Ruth Liljenquist

Creative Director

Sheena Leaye Crews

Contributing Writers

Roger Conner

Ruth Liljenquist

Editorial Committee

Jean Beil

Kim Burgo

Kathleen King

Kristan Schlichte

Rachel Lustig

Candy Hill

Jane Stenson

Catholic Charities USA is the National Ofce or

ne o the nations largest social service networks.

Member agencies and institutions nationwide pro-

ide vital social services to 8.5 million people in

eed, regardless o their religious, social, or eco-

omic backgrounds. Catholic Charities USA sup-

orts and enhances the work o its membership

y providing networking opportunities, national

dvocacy, program development, training and con-

ulting, and fnancial benefts.

Donate Now: 1-800-919-9338

Contents


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4 | CHARITIES USA


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As we continue to promote and work towards

Catholic Charities USAs goal to cut poverty in hal

by 2020, it might be good to step back and ask our-

selves how we got to this point. Was this a dream I

conjured up out o thin air? Was this the result o an over-zeal-

ous meeting at the national ofce? Te act o the matter is that

it came rom YOUthe members o Catholic Charities. And

it happened like this.

At the 2006 Annual Gathering in Minneapolis, the member-

ship adopted a policy paper titled Poverty in America: A Treat

to the Common Good. Tat paper captures the social situation

in the United States, and it gives the oundation or why a re-

sponse is required rom people o good will. But more impor-

tantly it encapsulates the motivation and dedication o the

women and men who are part o the Catholic Charities move-

ment. Because o that, the paper was overwhelmingly adopted,

and a clear message was sent to the national ofce: make this

our call to action that will engage the membership or years

to come.

As we considered strategies that could keep the momentum

going, we decided on the platorm o a campaign. Te Board o

rustees agreed and decided to make it quantiable by setting

the goal to cut poverty in hal by 2020. In 2007, that seemed a

loty, but do-able goal. And we were o and running.

As part o the celebration o our centennial year, we held ten re-

gional summits on poverty to nd out the big ideas that were

happening on the local scene. We took what we learned to a

summit o some 30 dierent proessionals and asked them

what a system that incorporated these rich and diverse ideas

would look like and how we could get there. Te result was the

National Opportunity and Community Renewal Act, which

was introduced into Congress during our Centennial celebra-

tion in September o last year. Tat piece o legislation is a

starting point in the public orum about changing the saety-

net system so that its goal becomes liting people out o poverty.

Tat conversation is gaining traction. But in that, we remember

that the goal is not passing this piece o legislation, but rather

getting people out o poverty.

Make no mistake about itCatholic Charities will contin-

ue its critical work o providing human services one individ-

ual and one amily at a time. Tis is a commitment we will

not walk away rom. But we see our role as more than simply

maintaining people who live in poverty. Our goal must be to

help them nd a way out. Tat is how we work to reduce pov-

erty in Americaone individual or one amily at a time, even

as we promote a re-ashioning o the saety net system in this

country.

With the Charter o 1910 tasking us to be the attorney or the

poor, can we do any less? n

SUMMER 2011 | 5

By Rev. Larry Snyder

Presidents


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6 | CHARITIES USA

Photo: Steve Liss, AmericanPoverty.org


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SUMMER 2011 | 7

By Candy Hill

Efciency,Eectiveness,

& ValueAchieving Poverty Reduction through

Market-Based Approaches

Many times over the last 100 years, Catholic

Charities has taken on the challenge o in-

uencing public policy on behal o the

poor. We have been instrumental in shap-

ing legislation regarding economic securi-

ty, aordable housing, labor rights, child and amily welare,

health care, and numerous other policy issues. We are now

again engaged in an eort to inuence policy, this time to

reorm the way that we as a nation create equal access to op-

portunity or individuals who are at risk o poverty or who are

living in poverty.

Our reorm policies, which are being advanced in the National

Opportunity and Community Renewal Act (NOCRA), are

summarized in three objectives:

Systems Changing: Designing a holistic approach to

helping people out o poverty as well as a comprehensive,

efcient, and eective services

delivery system.

Results Oriented: Focusing on eec-

tiveness by measuring our success based

on the outcomes in peoples lives, devel-

oping a single system to track results, and

investing in programs that work.

Market Based: Using market principles andtools to express the social and economic value

that poverty reduction generates, to incentivize

private investment in poverty reduction, and to

oster a consumer services model that encourages

choice and greater access to opportunities.

In short, these objectives are aimed at efciency, eective-

ness, and value in poverty reduction and have at their center

the individual person.


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8 | CHARITIES USA

Eciency

Te current service delivery system or low-income

Americans was designed decades ago in the era o

carbon paper and vacuum tubes. Eective at the

time, it supported our nation in cutting poverty

in hal rom 22 percent to 11 percent by the mid-

1970s. However, the system needs to be modern-

ized to ace the unique challenges and opportuni-

ties we encounter today, as we see record numberso people alling into poverty. Our current service

delivery system consists o many varied saety net

programs, each developed with good intentions to

meet a specic social condition. While these pro-

grams have achieved positive results, they contrib-

ute to a ragmented, program-centric approach to

assisting an individual.

Reengineering our service delivery system to take a

holistic and integrated approach to the person, who

actively participates in an individualized plan to

overcome poverty, provides the opportunities andengagement that can lead the person to sustainable

independence. In creating such a system, we will

improve services to people while achieving greater

operational efciency and better use o the limited

resources available to do this work. I we are serious

about cutting poverty in hal in this nation by the

year 2020, we must ensure that individuals engage

with a system that supports them in reaching their

ull human potential.

Eectiveness

Catholic Charities advocates or a holistic case-

management approach to poverty reduction, which

is the most eective approach in helping people

out o poverty. Tis individualized approach links

people with an array o privately and publicly-und-ed social services. Tese services vary widely in their

purposes, costs, and methods. In the past, service

providers as well as government oversight agencies

have lacked an adequate or agreed-on tool to eval-

uate these services or their eectiveness in helping

people reach sustainable independence. In the ab-

sence o such a tool, we have ocused on measuring

outputsor example, the number o meals served

or the number o shelter nights provided.

We need to develop an evaluation method or tool

that measures eectiveness based on outcomesorexample, the number o people who are no longer

hungry or homeless, the number o people who

were prevented rom alling into poverty or who

were lited out o poverty. We also need to evaluate

or cost-eectiveness and the social and economic

returns on the unds invested. As President Obama

recently pointed out in an April town hall meeting:

Reengineering our service delivery system to take a holistic and

integrated approach to the person, who actively participates in an

individualized plan to overcome poverty, provides the opportunities

and engagement that can lead the person to sustainable

independence.


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SUMMER 2011 | 9

Weve got to have a much more rigorous review

o how eective various programs are. Some work

and some dont. And i they dont work we should

eliminate them and put that money into programs

that do.

Value

Poverty reduction must yield measurable value

or the individuals and amilies who overcome pov-erty and also or communities and governments

that invest in measures to reduce poverty. For those

who overcome poverty, value should be measured

in a holistic way that takes into account more than

higher wages, but improved health, and access to

educational and asset-building opportunities. Te

value created in peoples lives should translate into

value or communities, as they become saer, health-

ier, and more prosperous. Further, reducing poverty

should also reap economic value or governments in

the orm o reduced public subsidies and greater tax

revenue as well as long-term reduction in costs asso-

ciated with social problems that are related to or ex-

acerbated by poverty.

While we as Catholic Charities center our work

on improving the quality o lie or people and

strengthening communities, based on the princi-

ples o human dignity and the common good, we

also recognize that tangible results matched with

an efcient service delivery system will promote a

more prosperous economy and nation or all.

Market-Based Approaches to Poverty

Reduction

Integrating market-based principles and tools is

one o the three poverty reduction objectives re-

ected in NOCRA. Tis concept may seem oreign

to human service providers, but in order to reducepoverty, we should engage all the tools, including

our market economy and market-based approach-

es, that can create the opportunities or individu-

als to reach their ull potential and achieve sustain-

able independence. Tis is especially important in

an economic environment where there continues to

be long term high unemployment rates and a lack

o new or sufcient job opportunities.

We believe that government can be a catalyst in the

marketplace to incentivize sustainability or human

services, investment, innovation, and new undingmechanisms to ensure that people living in pover-

ty have access to equal and expanded opportunities.

Incentivizing the market and its players in a way

that creates equal access to opportunity and sus-

tainable independence is at the center o the mar-

ket-based policy recommendations advanced in

NOCRA.



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What Is Poverty Reduction?

While the goal o poverty reduction is to help people move up out

o poverty, measured holistically by improved health, higher income,

and greater opportunities or education and asset-building, the

oundational principle o this eort is about helping people reach

their ull potential. Regardless o ones individual challenges and cir-

cumstances, each person should have the opportunity to reach their

individual ull potential, which, we must recognize, will vary rom

person to person. To do so, we must address the challenges and cir-

cumstances through an approach organized into three tiers o inter-

vention and support.

Tier 1: People with skills and experience but who are in need, pos-

sibly because o an unexpected lie circumstance, such as a job

loss or other loss o income, an illness, or a natural disaster. With

poverty prevention services and emergency assistance, these

people can have the opportunity to recover quickly and return

to sustainable independence, receiving support at the earliest

onset o the unexpected circumstance so that they do not have to

completely divest themselves o the assets that have kept them

independent.

Tier 2: People who lack the opportunities and skills to reach sus-

tainable independence on their own, possibly because o a lack

o access to a quality education, experience, and skill building

opportunities. Intervention strategies and supports to individu-

als in this tier may need to be more intense and delivered over a

longer period o time beore the individual can reach sustainable

independence. Each individual will not reach sustainable inde-

pendence at the same time period or with the same intervention

and support. The service delivery and public assistance system

must be fexible enough to holistically meet these unique needs.

Tier 3: People who have lie-long challenges and require support

to care or themselves. Services to people with a long-term ill-

ness, disability, or other long-term lie challenge will include on-

going support to help them meet their basic needs as well as

sustained assistance that will ensure them opportunities to reachtheir individual ull potential. Poverty reduction among this group

o people means alleviating the suering o poverty and ensuring

people a lie o dignity.n

Putting in place policies that encourage the use o market-

based strategies can strengthen sustainability or human servic-

es, which are oten vulnerable to budget cuts, as we have seen

with the recent recession. Te ederal government and nearly

every state government have aced budget crises, and services

or low-income Americans have been among the rst to be cut

or eliminated, making it more difcult or already struggling

amilies. By using the market-based strategies o measuring

outcomes, monetizing savings, and demonstrating the return

on investment, we can decrease the vulnerability o human ser-

vices to unding cuts. Tese strategies have the potential to in-

centivize providers to nd the most eective and cost-efcient

programs and to encourage policymakers to see these programs

as investments that can over time produce revenue, which canbe used to continue unding human services or be returned to

government treasuries.

Implementing policies that encourage the use o already exist-

ing innovative unding models can also create sustainable sup-

port or human services, even in times o economic downturns.

Te market-based approaches advanced in NOCRA encour-

age diversication o unding sources by inviting and incen-

tivizing the investment o private capital into human services.

Innovative tax and nancing concepts encourage individuals,

businesses, and communities to invest in individuals and pro-

mote human development while at the same time reducing theburden on already cash-strapped governments. However, invit-

ing investors into the human services arena will depend again

on the communitys ability to show the value it generates in re-

ducing poverty.

Te combined eect o these approaches will ultimately serve

the very people we are trying to help. With numerous eec-

tive services that have the resources to operate, case managers

and persons in need together will be able to choose those ser-

vices that best meet the needs o the person, resulting in great-

er access to opportunity, less dependence, and more indepen-

dence. n

Candy Hill is senior vice president or social policy and

government afairs

10 | CHARITIES USA


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In the 100 years that Catholic Charities has been serving

people living in poverty, we have consistently advocated

or greater support or the poor because we know by our

aith that it is the right and moral thing to do. We have

also appealed on the principle o the common good, that we all

benet when the good o all is sustained and preserved. Both othese concepts deeply motivate us to do what we do. Tey do

not, however, motivate others in the same way. In these times,

as Fr. Snyder, points out, we must be able to make an econom-

ic argument or why what we do matters.

Increasingly, Catholic Charities agencies and other services

providers are nding ways to measure and communicate the

social impact they are having in their communities and the

value o their programs in more economic terms, whether it is

to advocate or an eective and cost saving strategy, to show the

value an agency brings to a community, or to communicate the

impact o proposed unding cuts.

Making Economic Sense

Fr. Ragan Schriver, head o Catholic Charities o East ennessee

in Knoxville, N, has been very involved rom the beginning

with his citys ten-year plan to end chronic homelessness. With

a strategy built around dignity and best practices, the plan

is premised on the nding that what a chronically homeless

person needs rst and oremost, beore any other service can

be eective, is a home.

Making the Economic ArgumentMeasuring Our Impact in Economic Terms

When the moral argument and the common good argument do not work,then we need to make the economic argument. It is not our strength.

We must change that.

Rev. Larry Snyder, president o Catholic Charities USA

SUMMER 2011 | 11



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12 | CHARITIES USA

Under the plan, Fr. Ragan and others have set out

to build more permanent supportive housing acili-

ties in Knoxville. But they oten run into obstacles

in nding sites to build on.

Because this kind o housing is congregate housing,

we run into a lot o NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard)

attitudes, said Fr. Ragan. Many residents do not

want these housing programs close to their homes

and neighborhoods. Knowing that an appeal to

compassion, human dignity, and best practices may

not change their minds, Fr. Ragan has gathereddata to show how permanent supportive housing is

a benet to the community.

For one o his agencys supportive housing projects,

Fr. Ragan went beore the city council to ask or

zoning changes that would allow them to build. He

came with an arsenal o data showing how perma-

nent supportive housing saves taxpayer dollars. He

and others calculated that emergency room visits,

arrests or loitering and public disturbances, jail

stays, meals rom soup kitchens, and overnight stays

in shelters or one chronically homeless person cost

ennessee taxpayers $43,000 a year. Te cost o per-

manent supportive housing or one person per year

is estimated at $17,000, a huge reduction in costs.

I made three arguments that dayone about best

practices, one about being a Good Samaritan, and

one about cost savings, said Fr. Ragan. Te costsavings argument was the clincher. Te city coun-

cil passed the zoning change request, and Catholic

Charities was able to move orward in building its

supportive housing.

Fr. Ragan, who also teaches on evaluative research

in the social work program at the University o



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SUMMER 2011 | 13

ennessee, sees the writing on the wall. More and more, it is im-

perative that we show how our programs make economic sense.

We need to use the logic model to make our case.

Leveraging Up

In 2010, the leaders o the our Catholic Charities agencies

in KansasJan Lewis, Karen Hauser, Cynthia Colbert, and

Deborah Snappcame together to look or a way to leverage

each others contributions as an advocacy tool. Even though

they serve separately in disparate communities, they have a

statewide impact, serving people in need in all parts o the state,engaging volunteers and donors, employing people, and lever-

aging community dollars.

We wanted to nd a way to make our voice heard, to show our

impact on the lives o Kansas citizens and to reect a larger con-

stituency o donors and volunteers, said Jan Lewis, executive

director o Catholic Charities o Northeast Kansas. We elt we

could tell a bigger story together than we could by ourselves.

Jan and her colleagues pulled together a joint impact report, a

two-page aggregate summary o their agencies contributions

to their communities and the state. Tey drew their data rom

the Catholic Charities USA Annual Survey, and each agency

provided a story reecting the successes o their programs.

During the Centennial Gathering, Jan, Karen, Cynthia, and

Deborah visited their members o Congress as a delegation and

delivered the report. Since the gathering, they have produced

a report each quarter, which they have sent to their state and

ederal legislators.

Te reports detail the services that the Kansas agencies provide,but also the economic value the agencies are generating. Te

number o volunteers we engage is impressive. We cant aord

to hire more people, so rom a cost-eectiveness standpoint,

we wanted to leverage up our volunteers, over 1100 a month,

and show how many people we can engage, said Jan. Te

report also details how much money the our agencies lever-

age rom the community and other sourcesor each dollar in

state grant unds, the agencies leverage our additional dollars.

Emergency room visits, arrests or loitering and public disturbances,

jail stays, meals rom soup kitchens, and overnight stays in shelters or one

chronically homeless person cost Tennessee taxpayers $43,000 a year.

The cost o permanent supportive housing or one person per year is

estimated at $17,000, a huge reduction in costs.


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14 | CHARITIES USA

Relationship building is really the end goal. We know our leg-

islators are acing tough decisions. We want to be a resource, so

that they can know the impact o legislation on people, said

Jan. Te reports are also intended to build bridges with busi-

ness people. We want to get businesses involved in what we

are doing, but we have to speak their language, we have to show

the value we provide in a way business people understand.

Jan is pleased with the result so ar. At our recent visit with our

new senator, his sta asked, Are you the people that have been

sending these reports? Because we heard you. We get it.

Showing Fiscal Consequences

In the recent 2011 ederal budget showdown in Congress, the

Corporation or National and Community Service, a ederal

agency that unds several nationwide volunteer programs, was

on the chopping block. I this agency was eliminated, ederal

unding would be eliminated or the Senior Companion pro-

gram, which engages low-income senior volunteers in provid-

ing assistancesuch as grocery shopping and errands, trans-

portation, light housekeeping, and companionshipto rail

and homebound low-income seniors so that they can stay in

their homes. Te volunteers receive a small stipend, whicheases the strain on their own tight incomes.

Kathleen Donnellan is executive director o Catholic Charities

o Southwestern Ohio. Her agency has a senior companion

program unded with state and ederal dollars, and she knows

how the program improves quality o lie or both the senior

companions and the seniors they serve. But knowing that

Congress as well as Ohios legislature had (and still have) tough

decisions to make, she elt it was important that her state and

ederal legislators understand the economic impact o cuts to

the senior companion program.

Its much less expensive or a person to live in their own home

than in a nursing home, said Kathleen. I rail and sickly

low-income seniors are unable to unction in their own homes,

they are admitted to nursing homes, with Medicaid bearing

the ull cost.

Kathleen and the director o the senior companion program,

Dave Mickelson, crunched some numbers and ound that

or every month a low-income Ohio senior served by a senior

companion stays in his or her home, $4,307 in cost savings

to Medicaid is generated or the state o Ohio and the ederal

government.

Kathleen and David presented this inormation to their state

and ederal legislators. We wanted to show what would happen

i the program were cut. In this case, it was very easy to show

what the loss o the services would result in. Both the state and

ederal government would see a signicant and almost instan-taneous rise in Medicaid costs.

Kathleen hopes the inormation they presented had an impact.

In any case, the Corporation or National and Community

Services was preserved in the 2011 ederal budget, as well as

nearly all o the unding allocated or the senior companion

program. n

For every month a low-income Ohio

senior served by a senior companion

stays in his or her home, $4,307

in cost savings to Medicaid is generated

or the state o Ohio and the

ederal government.


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SUMMER 2011 | 15

hrough the National Opportunity and Community

Renewal Act (NOCRA), Catholic Charities USA is

promoting results-oriented and market-based ap-

proaches to poverty reduction. Tese approaches

can help us identiy the best poverty reduction programs, not

just in how they benet the individual, but in how they ben-

et society.

Tere are a number o ways to measure benet, both qualita-

tive and quantitative. In line with a market-driven approach,

NOCRA is specically pushing one kind o measure: cost bene-

t analysis. Te bill as it is now written requires that each o the

ten community pilots calculate the program cost-benet ratio

or each program under [their local plan,] which shall be the

ratio o(1) the cost o the program measured by dollars; over

(2) the benet o the program expressed in dollars. Expressing

the benet o a program in dollars (monetizing) is necessary to

assessing the programs cost eectiveness. Knowing the cost

benet ratio o a program can help determine its value as part

o a larger strategy to reduce poverty. Te most cost-eective

strategies ensure that we get the most bang or our buck.

I you take cost eectiveness a step urther into a social enter-

prise investment ramework, youre looking at the principle o

social return on investmenta measure o the nancial bene-

t you gain or the money you invest. Tis principle is becom-

ing increasingly salient to many state and ederal legislators as

they contemplate the nearly $1 trillion our nation spends each

year on saety net and social programs.

Social return on investment is a vehicle to account or social

impact in ways that are more tangible than others, says KimAltar, managing director o Virtue Ventures, LLC, an interna-

tional social enterprise consulting rm. Most leaders o non-

prots and social enterprises want to see i they are making an

impact in peoples individual lives. Teir investors (which can

be donors, taxpayers, sponsors, and private contributors) want

to see that impact in quantiable ways. Tey want to see how

the money they have invested is creating value.

Understanding Social Returnon InvestmentWhy Thinking Like a Social Enterprise Can Help Us


16/45

Alter notes that in the United States, we have tools readily avail-

able to monetize the value o social programs. We can calculate

the costs associated with incarceration, recidivism, substance

abuse, unemployment, teen pregnancy, lack o a high school

diploma, and other social problems, and then calculate the eco-nomic value o programs that prevent or resolve these prob-

lems, with the result o reducing government expenditures.

Tat being said, this kind o measuring is challenging.

Nonprots are oten unaccustomed to measuring social returns

in business terms. Add to that the acts that social returns are

oten difcult to measure; that nonprots may have insuf-

cient unds or inadequate time, skills, and systems or measur-

ing social return; and other business issues may overwhelm the

social objectives o the organization.

Calculating social return on investment depends on dening atthe outset the social and economic value you intend to create

such as decreased public assistance, or money leveraged, or jobs

createdas well as the indicators that can be measured to show

that value. It also depends heavily on measuring program out-

comes, which or many nonprots is daunting.

Outcomes measurement is hard, especially in programs that

are trying to change behavior. Tat change is hard to capture.

And measuring tools are oten ocused on short-term goals that

dont really measure the long-term impact o transormative

change. But it can be done well, says Alter.

Te upside o measuring outcomes is that providers can cap-

ture valuable data to help them improve their programs. With

the inormation youve gained, you can compare your pro-

grams and gure out why one program is better than another,

says Alter. Youll get more or your money, and it will also help

in tapping into new resources.

Alter has seen nonprots become much more eective by in-

tegrating business processes and strategies. She does acknowl-

edge, however, how challenging these ideas can be to many

mission-based nonprots, who are not accustomed to think-

ing like social enterprises or or-prot businesses. For some,

there is a cultural disdain or business approaches. Tere is

this idea sometimes that business is evil and charity is good.

But business is not evil. Its just a tool. What matters is how

you use it. n

Measuring Social Return on Investment

Catholic Charities agencies and other nonprots have been very good at

measuring social impact when it comes to our output. We measure the

services rendered and the number o people served, and those are im-

portant numbers because they indicate the scale o our work and the

scale o peoples needs. We are less skilled, however, in measuring the

outcomes o our programs, especially the long-term impact were having

in peoples lives, and beyond that the impact o our programs on the com-

munity or the nation. For example, what is the economic impact o a or-

merly homeless and nancially unstable amily in need o public assis-

tance coming out o a transitional housing program with greater earning

potential, improved nances, better personal and amily unctioning, and

no need or public assistance? Or what is the economic impact o an

agencys ability to engage volunteers to provide social services? Or how

many jobs does an agencys social enterprise venture create?

Social Impact and Social Return

Measuring social impact entails measuring both the qualitative and

quantitative impact o a program or enterprise. One way to measure quan-

titative impact is to measure the social return on investment, which mea-

sures the social value the social enterprise creates in nancial terms as

a ratio o the investment.

Social Return on Investment Measures

There are a number o ways to measure social return o invest-

ment, based on the mission o an organization. Consider the ollowing

examples:

Job created = cost savings on public assistance Fair wages = increase in taxable income

Income-generated by enterprise = savings to donor

Enterprise prot = investment money for other social programs

Social Return on Investment Formulas

There are also dierence ormulas or guring dierent kinds o social

return on investment. For example:

Economic impact = public assistance savings + earned income

program costs

Return to taxpayers = reduced government funding + increased tax

payments program costs

These are just some very basic ways to measure social return on invest-

ment. In recent years much more has been done in impact measurement,

with some very good examples coming rom nonprots across the human

service spectrum. For more examples and resources, visit www.virtueven-

tures.com, www.red.org, or www.blendedvalue.org. n

Resource: Kim Alter, Measuring Social Return for Social Enterprise

(PowerPoint presentation), October 2003.

16 | CHARITIES USA


17/45

SUMMER 2011 | 17

win Cities RISE! (CR!) is a Minnesota nonpro-

it dedicated to alleviating chronic poverty. CR!

works primarily with people whose amilies have

been poor or generations, most with a history o

homelessness, poor job histories, low academic achievement

and criminal convictions. Ater an intensive year-long ocus on

remedial education, skills training, coaching, internships and

personal empowerment (in other words, transormation into

accountable and hopeul human beings), graduates are placed

in jobs that pay an average o $25,000 annually plus benets,

an annual increase o almost $20,000 rom the time they enter

the program. One- and two-year job retention averages are 82percent and 73 percent, respectively.

Tese long-term outcomes create the economic value that en-

abled CR!, with the help o economists Arthur Rolnick and

Gary Stern o the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, to ap-

proach the state o Minnesota to develop the pay-or-per-

ormance model that it employs today. In 1995, the state o

Minnesota determined that each time a person is placed in a

job that pays more than $20,000 annually with health benets,

a job that is at least a $10,000 improvement in their income,

the state gains $3,800 per year rom increased tax revenue and

lower subsidy payments. Te discounted present value o these

uture benets over 15 years was calculated at $31,000. CR!

is paid a perormance payment o $9,000 or each individu-

al placement, and another a year later i the person is still em-

ployed in a job thats at least as good. CR! shares the econom-

ic value that its programming creates or the state and takes all

the risks; there is no payment or ailure. Since 1997, when it

was rst enacted, the state o Minnesota has enjoyed a return o

$7.24 or each dollar paid to CR! Tats a 624 percent returnon its investment.

win Cities RISE! was ounded by Steven Rothschild, a ormer

executive at General Mills. When he let the company in 1990,

he wanted to start his own business, but got sidetracked into

a much dierent venture. He observed the huge barriers or

poor black men in his community in overcoming poverty and

making something o themselves, and it got him thinking.

win Cities RiseAn Example in Monetizing and Rewarding Social Value


18/45

18 | CHARITIES USA

I thought about the average young black 23-year-old male ip-

ping burgers at McDonalds. He was a high-school dropout.

Hed done time in prison. He had athered a ew children. He

might be homeless, said Rothschild. Where could he go rom

there? What i he wanted to do something with his lie? Who

was there to help him?

Rothschild started doing some research. He called community

colleges, job training programs, and government agencies, and

what he ound unsettled him. Tere really were no programs

that he ound that could take that challenged 23-year-old black

man rom right where he was and help him develop into a pro-

ductive, responsible member o society.

No one wanted to invest in poor black males. oo much risk,

said Rothschild. But I saw that as long as no one invested

in poor black males, poor black women and children would

remain poor as well.

Rothschild did more research and began developing a pro-

graman intensive, multi-aceted, cognitive learning pro-

gramthat would change lives. And with his own money and

the contributions o like-minded riends, Rothschild started

win Cities RISE!

From the start, Rothschild knew the program had to be suc-

cessul and that he had to nd a way to prove not just its

social value but also its economic value, otherwise he would

never be able to attract state dollars to keep the program going.

Drawing rom his experience in business, he applied the con-cept o return on investment to his new social enterprise and

developed a way or measuring the economic value CR! could

providethe value o a man working in a good job with health

benets, whose need or public benets was reduced and whose

ability to contribute to the tax base was increased.

Combining an eective program with a way to measure the pro-

grams economic value led to the state o Minnesotas unding

o the program, though not in the usual way with grant money

up ront. Te pay-or-perormance arrangement certainly put

the burden o proving eectiveness on CR!, but it also cong-

ured perormance payments in such a way that CR! retained a

good percentage o the public savings it generated.

While nonprots assume more risk in this scenario, they have

the potential to earn considerably more nancial support

than under current (and uture) state spending plans, said

Rothschild. Tats a prospect that high perormers should

relish.

Rothschild believes that many nonprots already generate eco-

nomic value. CR! is not unique in its ability to generate

economic value rom the social good it perorms. Any social

enterprise whose quality programming creates incremental

tax revenues and/or reduces public subsidies in the short to

medium term could create high returns or the state and pay-ments or itsel. Examples include workorce and drug treat-

ment programs, health care, subsidized housing and higher ed-

ucation, among others. Some nonprots are doing it already;

they (and the government) just dont know it because returns

arent being measured or captured by the state.

With orecasts o tight state and ederal budgets or years ahead,

nonprots receiving government dollars or social programs

will increasingly have to prove their eectiveness and illus-

trate not only the social value but the economic value they pro-

vide. CR! provides a model worth consideration or Catholic

Charities agenciesnot only in developing eective programsthat improve peoples lives but in illustrating how government

investments in social programs are paying o. n

From the start, Rothschild knew the program had

to be successul and that he had to fnd a way to prove

not just its social value but also its economic value,

otherwise he would never be able to attract statedollars to keep the program going.


19/45

Decit reduction is one o the top priorities in

Washington these days. Comprehensive plans to

cut spending over the next decade and reduce

the decit are prolierating, and in many o the

plans, government-unded programs that serve low-income

Americans are among the rst programs to be cut. Cash-

strapped states have already made drastic cuts to programs that

serve low-income residents and likely will not be in a position

to increase spending or years to come, especially as Medicaid

costs rise.

In this budgetary context, Catholic Charities USA introduced

the National Opportunity and Community Renewal Act(NOCRA), which, in short, proposes a pilot projecta ve-

year ten-community experiment in reducing povertythat is

designed to change both how the nation delivers poverty ser-

vices and how we und poverty reduction programs. Given the

current budget challenges, CCUSA developed additional strat-

egies or unding this project than just asking the government

to write a check or develop whole new sections o the tax code

to benet the project. NOCRAs developers looked at existing

nancial tools in the tax code that could be adjusted to gener-ate at least some o the unding needed to support the project.

Here is some o what they proposed in the legislation:

1. Community Renewal Bonds: Te passage o NOCRA as

it is now written would authorize the national body over-

seeing the pilot project, the National Opportunity Board,

to sell $50 million o 7-year term, U.S. reasury bonds

with a guaranteed coupon, guaranteed by the U.S. govern-

ment. Funds raised rom the bonds would be distributed

by the National Opportunity Board to the ten commu-

nities participating in the pilot. Te bonds would reduce

ederal unding requirements and generate public undingo poverty reduction programs by incenting local partic-

ipation, including individuals, businesses, and banks, to

purchase the bonds to invest in their communities. With

reduced poverty among amilies and individuals, govern-

ment subsidies to poor individuals would decrease and tax

contributions would increase, generating the returns that

would enable the government to repay the bonds.

SUMMER 2011 | 19

Funding Poverty ReductionIn A New WayC om mu nityR en ew alB ond san d axIn cen tive sCommunity Renewal Bonds and Tax Incentives


20/45

20 | CHARITIES USA

2. Community Renewal Contributions: o en-

courage individual donors to support the pov-

erty reduction pilot project, NOCRA would

adjust tax laws to allow donors to claim 120

percent o contributions to the pilot on their

ederal tax returns. Further, the percentage o

allowable contributions in relation to ones ad-

justed gross income would be raised rom 50

percent to 75 percent, meaning that a person

could contribute up to 75 percent o their ad-

justed gross income and still receive the ull de-

duction. For corporations, the limit would beraised rom 5 percent to 15 percent. Te local

boards created under NOCRA would set spe-

cic criteria and select qualied non-prots to

receive Community Renewal Contributions.

Tis would have the eect o incenting donors

to channel unds to qualied non-prots that

are participating in NOCRAs poverty reduc-

tion programs.

3. New Market ax Credit: Te New Market ax

Credit (NMC) currently awards tax credits to

projects that develop and construct acilities

that provide community benets. Many times,

these projects are joint ventures comprised o

a developer and an investor who contributes

unds in exchange or tax credits, typically re-

sulting in the development and construction o

acilities that provide a community benet in

poor areas. Te tax credits oset income, which

makes it attractive or investors to enter into

joint ventures with developers, some o whomwill be nonprots. Currently, the NMC is

restricted to building projects in very specic

poor geographic areas. NOCRA would expand

the NMC to cover the entire area in which

each o the ten communities participating in

the pilot project is located. Tis is expected to

generate greater participation rom the com-

munity in supporting projects necessary to the

success o the pilot project.



21/45

An Experiment in Funding Poverty Reduction

While these proposals will likely be modied in the nal legis-

lation, CCUSA is determined to preserve these unding tools.

Why? Because how we und poverty reduction is an integral

part o the experiment. In other words, as much as NOCRA

is an experiment in identiying, developing, and elevating the

best poverty reduction strategies, it also is an experiment in

unding poverty reduction in a new way that is less dependent

on government unding and, as a result, less burdened by gov-

ernment regulations.

Te tools CCUSA has proposed essentially bring outside unds

into poverty reduction, relieving governments o at least some

o the cost burden. ax incentives will encourage individuals

and businesses to contribute private unds to poverty reduction

causes, and selling Community Renewal Bonds will provide

substantial unds rom investors. Te government will be able

to repay these investors as it experiences both substantial sav-

ings and earnings rom poverty reductiondecreases in public

subsidies, increases in tax revenues, and a multiplier eect to

the economy as assisted individuals earn more money.

Tis is really about unding poverty reduction in a whole dier-

ent wayby reducing dependence on government unds and

incenting greater participation by communities, said Keith

Styles o Arent Fox LLP in Washington, DC, who helped drat

the NOCRA legislation. Te increased involvement o the pri-

vate sector in the unding mechanism should result in more e-

cient and eective poverty reduction programs administered

at the local level by people with direct knowledge o the pov-

erty challenges in their communities. In turn, by reducing the

number o people living in poverty and helping them become

economically productive citizens, NOCRA should produce

both savings to government and increased tax revenues. We are

condent that both the private and public sectors will benet

nancially rom NOCRA.

Once the pilot project identies the most eective and efcient

programs or reducing poverty, those programs will be rolled

out or implementation nationwide. While NOCRA puts the

burden on local nonprots to implement highly eective pro-

grams, it also ensures that high-perorming programs will con-

tinue to be well unded, which will enable them to continuemaking a lasting dierence in the lives o Americas poor.n

The tools CCUSA has proposed essentially bring outside

unds into poverty reduction, relieving governments

o at least some o the cost burden.

SUMMER 2011 | 21

As much as NOCRA is an

experiment in identiying,

developing, and elevating the best

poverty reduction strategies, it

also is an experiment in unding

poverty reduction in a new

way that is less dependent on

government unding.


22/45

22 | CHARITIES USA

Members o Congress have bud-

gets on the brain. Even though the

2011 budget impasse was resolved,

Congress is still very much ocused

on budget and decit issuesraising the debt ceil-

ing, approving the 2012 budget, and putting in

place a long-term decit reduction strategy. So it

might seem that this is not the best time to rein-

troduce the National Opportunity and Community

Renewal Act (NOCRA). But thats not the case.

Poverty reduction needs to be a part o the discus-

sion on budgets and decit reduction.

CCUSAs social policy team is working to have

NOCRA reintroduced in Congress. Several sen-

ators are interested in sponsoring the bill, and as

things now stand, the bill will be reintroduced in

the Senate with minor changes by June 1. At that

point, the bill can be sent to the Congressional

Budget Ofce to be scored, a process that esti-

mates the cost and scal impact o the bill. Te bills

score will be necessary to uture negotiations.

Introduction in the House o Representatives will

come a bit later, ater CCUSA has nalized a coali-

tion o engaged partners which will ormally make

recommendations to improve the policy recom-

mendations as the legislation continues to advance.

Te coalition, which is now being put together, will

include diverse organizations that represent those

working on public policies that serve the poor and

representatives o state and local governments, busi-

ness, philanthropy, and education who agree to

work on innovative ideas and policy proposals to

advance poverty reduction. With a broader base o

people and organizations working together to de-velop the most innovative and eective programs

and policies with the best outcomes, CCUSA ex-

pects NOCRA to be a strong engagement tool in

advancing these ideas in the House. Te coalition is

expected to be nalized by late June.

Moving Forward with the NationalOpportunity & Community Renewal Act


23/45

SUMMER 2011 | 23

Capitol Hill Advocacy Day

On April 12, about 50 diocesan directors and local agency sta

members went to Capitol Hill to discuss NOCRA with their

members o Congress. Te message was well-received, and

it was because Catholic Charities advocates understand the

budget constraints we as a nation now ace.

Te message o our diocesan leaders was well received.

Reemphasizing the commitment to advocate or the least

among us and to ensure that they do not disproportionally bearany cuts that are proposed, diocesan directors advanced the

conversation, presenting their stories and ideas or greater ef-

ciency and eectiveness without cutting services to those most

in need, said Hill. Recognizing the tough choices that will

need to be made, we want to ensure that our network is at the

table providing inormation, insight, and policy that will pro-

tect those we serve while looking or efciencies and eective-

ness that address the challenges we ace as a nation.

CCUSA is engaged now in signicant ollow-up to those visits.

Members o Congress and their stas have asked or more

meetings, more details, and a deeper conversation about theproposed policies and innovative ideas. We are very pleased by

that, said Hill. Some diocesan directors were actually quite

surprised that Congressional sta members were ollowing up.

Hill again asserts the importance o NOCRA as a mechanism

or promoting policy ideas. We are looking or places we can

advance ideas orward, and we will continue. Tis is not a

short-term strategy. Tis is a commitment that began when we

launched the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in 2007. n

NOCRA as a Tool

While NOCRA moves orward, Candy Hill, CCUSAs senior

vice president or social policy and government aairs, reminds

us that we should look at NOCRA as a tool to advance policy

ideas on poverty reduction into the legislative process and to

engage other diverse partners and our network. Te ideas pro-

posed in NOCRA were gleaned rom Catholic Charities agen-

cies, community organizations, and local governments through

the Centennial Leadership Summits during 2009 and 2010.

Te passage o NOCRA is not the endgame, and we are not

under the illusion that the bill will pass as it is, or that it will

pass as a complete bill, said Hill. All bills get negotiated. Most

oten they do not pass in their original orm. Some pieces o

the legislation may have to move orward through dierent

mechanisms. Te point to remember is that NOCRA is a tool

to rame the debate, to start the conversation, to get across our

ideas about poverty reduction.

CCUSA continues to engage with the Administration through

the Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships Ofce and the

Domestic Policy Council to advance poverty reduction strate-gies, and expects to expand conversations with the cabinet sec-

retaries o the departments that oversee saety net and public

assistance programs. CCUSA is also expanding and strength-

ening partnerships with those that are willing to commit to

developing innovative poverty reduction policies and to reach

out to elected ofcials at the state, county and city level across

the country.

The passage o NOCRA is not the

endgame....NOCRA is a tool to

rame the debate, to start the con-

versation, to get across our ideas

about poverty reduction.

Photo: Troy Zeigler

Let to right: Rev. Larry Snyder; Bill Jones, executive director o Catholic

Charities, Diocese o Covington (KY); Congressman Geo Davis (R-KY); and

Steve Bogus, executive director o Catholic Charities o Louisville.


24/45

24 | CHARITIES USA

Join your Catholic Charities colleagues and partners rom

across the country at the single event ocused on the

unique needs o our network.

With a keynote address rom Colleen Barrett, president

emeritus o Southwest Airlines Co, the opportunity to celebrate

Mass with over 500 colleagues at St. Patricks Cathedral, time

and space or networking, and over 30 unique workshop oppor-tunities, attendees will head home invigorated, motivated, and

inspired with the national mission o Catholic Charities and the

breadth and scope o our network.

Engage in our national work to reduce poverty in

America

On Sunday and Monday o our gathering, we will con-

vene the rst annual national Poverty Summit, conven-

ing the national community to advance the work o pov-

erty reduction. Tis summit will continue to inspire active

participation in a national movement to reduce poverty in

America, to re-imagine the way America addresses pover-

ty, and to identiy, design, and implement innovative and

measurable strategies towards our common goal.

Participate in issue specic workshops

Over 30 workshops and breakout sessions will be oeredMonday through Wednesday ocusing on broad topics

such as business ventures, sustaining programs, peror-

mance measurement, branding and communications, ad-

vocacy, board development, and unding opportunities,

as well as critical issue areas such as adoption, housing, -

nancial literacy, and immigration. Workshops will present

best practices, share replicable programs, and discuss the

unique needs o Catholic Charities agencies.


25/45

SUMMER 2011 | 25

Reect on your spirituality

Te Annual Gathering and Poverty Summit will kick

o on Sunday aternoon with an opening liturgy at St.

Patricks Cathedral, ollowed by daily morning liturgies

in the hotel with dierent celebrants rom across our net-

work, and an ecumenical prayer service will closing the

Poverty Summit on Monday aternoon.

Network with colleagues rom across the country

On Monday evening, you will have the night on your

own to dine with colleagues, explore Sundance Square,

and continue the conversations rom the day. On uesday,

Proessional Interest Section members will have time to

meet over lunch to delve deeper into specic topics and

interest areas.

Explore what works at Catholic Charities o the

Diocese o Fort Worth

On uesday aternoon, Catholic Charities o the Diocese

o Fort Worth will throw open its doors, giving attend-ees the chance to explore some o its most successul pro-

grams. o keep these sessions interactive, space is limited

or each site tour.

Enjoy a lively country evening at Billy Bobs exas

Honky onk

For an additional ee o $50, attendees can hit the town

on uesday night, taking a bus to the historic Fort Worth

Stockyards or a special cattle drive just or our attendees.

Ater the cattle pass you by, ollow the signs to Billy Bobs,

the worlds largest honky tonk, or a night o great ood,

drinks, games, live music, and maybe a little dancing! n

Exploring What WorksCatholic Charities, Diocese o Fort Worth Program Tours

Financial Stability Services

Experience Fort Worths Financial Stability services by ollowing

a clients experience rom frst contact with Central Intake to

Financial Assistance to Financial Stability services, which help

clients build assets and make good decisions to avoid uture

need or fnancial assistance.

Business Venture Services

Learn about the history, purpose, strategy, vision, and strug-

gles o the agencys social business ventures: Translation and

Interpretation Services and WORN.

Childrens Assessment Center

Tour the Childrens Assessment Center, learn the advantages o

an assessment center vs. emergency shelter, and take part in a

discussion o issues such as shelter case management, social

work in the shelter environment, stafng a 24-hour shelter, and

coalition building in the community.

HOMES (Housing Opportunity Model or Empowerment

and Stability)

Get an in-depth understanding o this model program that works

in partnership with city government to address chronic home-

lessness as well as situational homelessness or amilies, in-

dividuals, and those re-entering society rom prison. Discuss

street outreach services, the diering models or dierent pop-

ulations, and operational issues, such as housing vouchers vs.

master-leases.

CASA Housing

Tour the CASA housing acilities or seniors and people with dis-

abilities and get an overview o the qualifcations, leasing pro-

cess, and social services and activities oered to residents.

An Innovative Development Ofce

Learn the strategies o a mission-based undraising model, ex-

perience a Catholic Charities 101 Lunch & Learn, and discuss

issues such as und development ofcers, parish relations, vol-

unteers, and grant writing.nPlease join the Catholic Charities network at our Annual

Gathering and Poverty Summit. View the ull schedule and

register online at www.CatholicCharitiesUSA.org/gathering


26/45

26 | CHARITIES USA

VolunteerCongratulations rom Catholic Charities USA to our 2011 Volunteer o the Year Finalists!

Volunteers nationwide make an invaluable contribution to the Catholic Charities move-

ment. Collectively, local Catholic Charities agencies rely on more than 260,000 volunteers

each year to serve nearly 9 million people o all aiths and diverse needs.

Catholic Charities USAs 2011

o the Year Finalists

Libba ClaudeCatholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens

Libba Claude o North Salem, NY, volunteers her time and resources to the hundreds o amilies who ben-

et rom The Childrens Center, operated by Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens, at the Bedord Hills

Correctional Facility in Bedord Hills, NY. The Childrens Center is a unique model program that unites children

with their incarcerated mothers. Libbas service to The Childrens Center began more than teen years ago,

when she rst volunteered to drive children back and orth to the Bedord Hills Correctional Facility so that

they could enjoy visits with their mothers, who were oten serving long sentences. Soon ater, she became a

childrens advocate, acting as a liaison between an incarcerated mother and the various entities that impact

her child, such as guardians, schools, hospitals, social workers, social service agencies, and the amily court

system. Through the years Mrs. Claude has kept children and their incarcerated mothers closely connected, de-

spite the physical separation imposed by their circumstances.

Theresa MeursCatholic Community Services of Western Washington

Theresa Meurs of Bellingham, WA, is dedicated to the homeless. Eight years ago, she joined another volun-

teer to wander amidst the homeless in her community and oer sandwiches and warm gloves. That min-

istry has grown into the Hope House Street Outreach, a homeless eeding program o Catholic CommunityServices Northwest (CCSNW), a regional agency o Catholic Community Services o Western Washington.

Theresa is now the volunteer coordinator o the Hope House Street Outreach Program, and every Thursday

evening, she and two vans o volunteers depart rom Hope House loaded with homemade lunches, warm

clothing, blankets, and a lot o love! Theresa truly sees the ace o Christ in each person she ministers to.

With love, she oers them a voice and a riend to talk to. She has been responsible or several homeless ad-

dicts getting o the streets and getting clean.


27/45

SUMMER 2011 | 27

Jody OConnorCatholic Charities, Archdiocese of Chicago

Catholic Charities, Archdiocese o Chicago, hosts a nightly supper ve days a week or 130 hungry and home-

less clients. Jody OConnor of Wilmette, IL, owner of Jody OConnor Photography and Board of Advisors member,

has been coming to the supper on Tuesday nights or nine years. During that time, she has been working on a

unique idea called Ater Supper: Visions o My Lie, a photo project that allows the dinner guests an oppor-

tunity to express themselves creatively rom behind the camera lens. The project combines art with social ser-

vices to give the clients a sense o normalcy, a means o expression, a development o talent and skills, and

a much needed source o income. Clients are given disposable cameras to take photos with, and ater sever-

al months o training, preparation, and narrowing o photographic choices, St. Vincent Hall is transormed into

a glamorous photo gallery where their art is exhibited and sold. The proceeds generated rom the sales go di-

rectly to the artists.

Marion SlackCatholic Social Ser vices, Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Meeting Mother Teresa o Calcutta when she visited Marion Slacks hometown o Levittown, PA, 35 years ago

had a life-changing impact on Marion. It resulted in her founding of a food assistance ministry called Marys

Cupboard, a ministry that has worked in collaboration with Catholic Social Services o the Archdiocese o

Philadelphia or 25 years. What began small in her own parish blossomed to involve ten Catholic parishes andlocal churches which donate ood or unds monthly. Marion began the ministry with her husband Donald, but

now has 61 active volunteers whom she coordinates, most serving a ew times each month. They pick up and

deliver donated groceries rom churches or supermarkets; receive, sort and stock ood items; and prepare in-

dividual boxes o ood to provide amilies in need enough meals and supplies or a week. Thanks to Marion,

Marys Cupboard provides meal packages to over 1500 amily households per year, totaling an estimated

78,000 meals annually.

Donna UseldingCatholic Charities, Diocese of Fort Worth

In the four years she has been volunteering at Catholic Charities in Fort Worth, TX, Donna Uselding has become

a dedicated advocate or the reugee community. She rst started as a mentor or a Burmese amily, then she

beriended another reugee amily, and soon was working with an entire apartment complex o reugee ami-

lies. She teaches weekly ESL classes, tutors kids with homework, helps families complete Food Stamp and

Medicaid applications, transports people to and from Catholic Charities Immigration Services, helps people

nd employment or get a drivers license, provides transportation to doctors appointments, and so much more.

Most recently, Donna got elderly reugee women involved in Catholic Charities new business venture named

WORN, which hires women to knit scarves, pays them a living wage, and sells the scarves to local boutiques to

bring awareness to reugees in the community.

Nancy Zabawa

Catholic Commission of Summit County, Diocese of Cleveland

Nancy Zabawa o Doylestown, OH, exemplies all that Catholic Charities stands or in empowering people to

move out o poverty and advocating or the most vulnerable in our society. Nancy not only volunteers with the

Catholic Commission o Summit County, in the Diocese o Cleveland, but personally mentors people in pover-

ty, helping them help themselves. Ater studying the CCUSA document, Poverty and Racism, she put together

a committee to study these issues and worked with the Diocesan Arican American Ministry Oce to look at

the particulars o racism and how it keeps people in poverty. From the committees work, Nancy developed and

brought to reality a retreat ocused on racism and poverty. She also developed a detailed manual or parish-

es or other groups to use in conducting that same retreat. With the committee, she has studied many poverty-

reduction programs and made connections with parishes and the larger community to bring together people

interested in helping. As a result, the agency now has mentors in its Bridges Out o Poverty Program and more

people aware o the need or mentoring. n


28/45

28 | CHARITIES USA

Volunteer

Catholic Charities USAs 2011

o the Year


29/45

For more than 15 years, Mike Schuette of Breese, IL, has

supported the work o Catholic Charities o Southern

Illinois (CCSIL). During the last ten years, he has served

as chair of the CCSIL Board and for the last fteen years

as the chair of Poverty Services, a volunteer-run agency of CCSIL

that helps people overcome barriers to gainul employment and a

lie ree rom poverty. One o those barriers is illiteracy.

In his early 20s, Mike started teaching prison inmates to read. A

shockingly high number o them could not read well or at all, no

doubt a contributing actor to their being incarcerated. When he

saw his rst success with an inmate, he was lled with an un-

quenchable hope. The inmate was elated because he knew he

could do it. And it really red me up because I knew it could be

done. That hope has inused his volunteer work ever since.

Ater decades o volunteer literacy eorts, Mike brought his pas-

sion or helping inmates learn to read to his volunteer work or

Poverty Services at CCSIL. As volunteer chair of Poverty Services,he linked the agency with a statewide group to lobby or legisla-

tion that would require literacy programs in all of Illinoiss prisons.

He also worked to engage more volunteers in tutoring, which suc-

ceeded somewhat, but not without problems, notably the prob-

lem o getting tutors past security in the prisons. Then with a fash

of inspiration, he began developing the Inmates Helping Inmates

program, in which literate inmates are trained by community col-

leges to teach illiterate inmates how to read. He got the program

started in two prisons, and each program has been a phenome-

nal success, with reading improvement greatly increased among

thousands of inmates. With the help of CCSIL and the Catholic

Conference of Illinois, Mike is now working with state legislators to

expand Inmates Helping Inmates into all prisons.

One o the best things about the program is that it helps both the

tutor and student. Its life-changing to both people. The studentlearns that he can do it, and the tutor realizes that he can help

someone. Its so neat to pass that re on, said Mike.

Mikes eorts on behal o inmates have extended outside o the

prisons. To assist inmates leaving prison, Mike is partnering Poverty

Services with Catholic Charities St. Vincent de Paul Society, DOC

Parole, Lie Skills, and other reerral service agencies to develop

a program to extend Inmates Helping Inmates participants liter-

acy classes toward achieving a GED and going to college. The fol -

low-up program also assesses or mental illness, substance abuse,

social needs, and provides each individual with contact inorma-

tion to locate employment and needed resources.

Mike tries to help the orgotten people, the people others have

written off, said Gary Huelsman, executive director of CCSIL. He

very quietly and patiently goes about the business o transorm-

ing lives, and he does it out of such purity of heart. I admire him

so much.

For Mike, serving others has been its own reward. We all need that

feeling, that knowledge that we can help someone. I would hate

to go through life without it. Its been the best thing in my life. n

We all need that eeling, that knowledge

that we can help someone. I would hate

to go through lie without it. Its been

the best thing in my lie.

SUMMER 2011 | 29

Mike Schuette


30/45

Amyriad o research studies has rmly

established that married couples

enjoy a multitude o benets that

include better health, longer lie

spans, higher earnings, and happier children.

Yet over the last ty years, the marriage rate in

the United States has declined, while the rate

o cohabitation and divorce and the number o

single parent households have gone up. Te de-

cline in marriages is even more precipitous and

troubling among lower-income households.

Concerned about the decline in marriages and

the correlation between that decline and poverty

and crime, the U.S. Department o Health and

Human Services unded a longitudinal research

project to identiy programs that signicantly

improve the marriages o low-income couples

with children. Trough this project, Supporting

Healthy Marriage, launched in 2003, thousands

o low-income married couples have participat-

ed in cutting-edge marital education programs

at eight sites across the country.

Catholic Charities, Inc. in Wichita, KS, was one

o the eight sites selected to conduct the study.

For the study, the agency developed an innova-

tive, multi-aceted program known as Marriage

or Keeps (MK). Te essential components othe MK program included oering marriage

education curriculum in small groups in addi-

tion to providing social activities or the couples

and their amilies. Nearly 800 low-income cou-

ples, in 46 cohort groups, took part in the pro-

gram. Catholic Charities o Wichita along with

the other three Catholic Charities organizations

in KansasDodge City, Salina, and Kansas

Cityimplemented a MK program in their re-

30 | CHARITIES USA

Marriages

Strengthening

Strengthening the World

By Kathryn Sponsel-Pauls


31/45

SUMMER 2011 | 31

spective dioceses. Each site utilized the standard components

o the program yet tailored the services to meet the specic

needs o their community.

Te MK program became one o the top perormers in the na-

tionwide study, with 80 percent o participants completing the

program and the majority o participants reporting a signi-

cant benet to their marriages. Although the nal results o the

research will not be published or a ew years, the preliminary

data has shown that measures related to marital satisactionand improved communication showed marked improvement

in the quality and closeness between marriage partners. O the

more than 700 couples who were assessed ollowing comple-

tion o the program, the majority showed increased marital sat-

isaction; o those, 43 percent showed dramatic improvement

in marital satisaction. Te majority o assessed couples also

showed vast improvement in communication skills; o those,

69 percent showed dramatic improvement. MK participants

have expressed their deep gratitude or the positive impact the

program has had on their marriages and children.

Were learning ways o how to have un with each other.

Te skills are transerable to our kids.

Since we started this, weve been sleeping in the same

bed again.

Tis is the high point o our week.

Te success o MK has prompted Catholic Charities in Wichita

to make it a part o their poverty-reduction strategy. We are

working on taking the marriage strengthening techniques we

have learned through the Marriage or Keeps programs and in-

stilling those techniques in all our programs to empower our

clients to have better marriages and stronger amilies so that

they can escape poverty, said Cynthia N. Colbert, executive

director o Catholic Charities, Inc. We have also utilized what


32/45

we learned in the program to oer marriage strengthening

classes to sta members o Catholic Charities and the Diocese

o Wichita.

Te success o Catholic Charities Marriage or Keeps programhas been embraced by the community. It has inspired addi-

tional community initiatives that promote marriage, such as

the Black Marriage Day event which brought together 300

participants rom the Arican American community to join in

celebrating marriages. Further, the MK program, while con-

tinuing to serve low-income married couples, has expanded

to serve many other populations throughout the state. For ex-

ample, Marriage or Keeps sta members have been working

with Hispanic groups to oer the program in Spanish. Given

the tremendous success o the program, MK personnel have

been actively working with churches, ederal and state agencies,

businesses, and other Catholic Charities organizations across

the country to create sel-sustaining marriage enrichment ser-

vices on a broad scale.

Catholic Charities Marriage or Keeps program is currently

producing a documentary that will not only showcase the ac-

complishments o the program but will also raise awareness o

the importance o a healthy marriage. It will oer viewers in-

sights on how to strengthen their marriages by utilizing the

principles o the program. Several television stations in Wichita

have voiced interest in airing the program.

In June 2011, Catholic Charities Marriage or Keeps pro-

gram will take part in the rst ever regional Kansas HealthyFamilies Summit, which is designed to educate the communi-

ty about issues acing amilies and the tools to strengthen am-

ilies. Kansans rom all over the state will be invited to attend

this three day event. National and local experts in marriage and

amily research, policy and services will present empirical strat-

egies designed to strengthen marriages and amilies.

We see our Marriage or Keeps program as having the poten-

tial to change the community as a whole by addressing the

root o many o societys problems, said Colbert. As the

United States Conerence o Catholic Bishops stated in their

November 2009 pastoral letter, Marriage: Love and Lie in theDivine Plan, we believe that the uture o humanity depends

on marriage and the amily. For that reason, our programs are

ocused on stabilizing and strengthening marriages and in turn

amilies to make our community and world better. n

Kathyrn Sponsel-Pauls is marketing manager or Catholic

Charities, Inc., Diocese o Wichita, KS. Learn more about the

Marriage or Keeps project at www.CatholicCharitiesWichita.org.

32 | CHARITIES USA

Te uture o the world and o the church passes through the amily.

-Pope John Paul II, Familiais Consortio


33/45

SUMMER 2011 | 33

A Humble & Generous Heart

Evelyn Scarcella

I wish I had been a philanthropist. Tis was the regret Evelyn

Scarcella o Bound Brook, NJ, expressed to her amily as they

pondered lie together at their 2009 Tanksgiving dinner, just

a ew months beore her passing.

And yet, Evelyn, a third order Carmelite nun who lived as a lay

person, was a philanthropistin every way. She volunteered

or years at the local medical center, served as a Eucharistic

minister or her parish, and ran errands or her many elder-

ly neighbors, all while working ull-time. She also gave gener-

ously to many organizations, among them Catholic Charities

agencies in New Jersey and Catholic Charities USA. She was

particularly moved by the needs o people suering because o

disasters.

Elaine Schiavone, Evelyns niece, remembers her aunt as a tal-

ented, outgoing woman who lived her simple, modest lie

with an enthusiastic spirit. She always wanted to help, always

wanted to do what she could.

Te modesty with which Evelyn lived her lie concealed her

many acts o generosity, something Elaine learned as she went

through her aunts papers and journals ater her aunts death.

Tat modesty, which derived both rom Evelyns personality

and also rom her commitment as a Carmelite, helped Elaine

to understand her aunts thoughts at that last Tanksgiving

gathering.

She was too humble to see hersel as a phi-lanthropist, even though she gave and did somuch, said Elaine.Quietly, she tried to liveas much as possible the lie o Christ.

Elaine nds inspiration in her aunts lie. She was an ex-

traordinary person. I hope to ulll my lie in the same wayshe did.

Tough Evelyn elt that she could have done more in her lie, in

her passing, she let a legacy o charity and good will through

bequests to Catholic Charities in Bridgewater, NJ; Catholic

Charities, Diocese o Metuchen, NJ; and to Catholic Charities

USA. Our deepest gratitude goes out to Evelyn and to those

like her who support our vital work. n


34/45

34 | CHARITIES USA

It has been over a year since the BP oil spill began in the

Gul o Mexico and nearly a year since the deective well

was sealed shut, but the eects o the spill still weigh on

the lives o people who make their living rom the Gul.

Over the last year, ve Catholic Charities agencies in theGul regionin New Orleans and Houma-Tibodaux, LA;

Mobile, AL; Biloxi, MS; and Pensacola, FLhave respond-

ed to individuals and amilies in crisis, providing emergen-

cy ood and clothing, nancial assistance, case management,

mental health counseling, assistance with claims applications,

and other services as needed.

Te stories o the people who have come to Catholic Charities

agencies or help are poignanta tour shing business owner

on the verge o eviction ater his business collapsed; a sher-

man mentally and emotionally overcome by the loss o his

arm in a recent accident, the loss o his marriage, the losso income ater the spill, and the loss o condence in his

uture as a Gul sherman; a woman laid o rom her job at

a seaood processing plant and struggling to nd another job

and make ends meet. o these people, and thousands more,

Catholic Charities agencies responded, assessing their needs

and bringing together the services, programs, and resources

to help them get back on their eet.

Even so, recovery or the oil spill victims has been challeng-

ing or at least two reasons: the BP claims process has been

decient and the spill was never declared a ederal disaster.

In his testimony in January beore the U.S. Senate Ad Hoc

Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery, om Costanza, ex-

ecutive director o Catholic Charities Archdiocese o New

Orleans Ofce o Justice and Peace, stated, Te [BP claims]

process is cumbersome, takes too long,requires excessivepaperwork,and ails to take into account the unique and

special needs o the impacted people rom the Gul area and

in particular, the needs o the shing industry.

Costanza also noted, Tis was never declared a ederal di-

saster; thereore, no coordinating structures are in place.

Subsequently, there is no ederal unding or disaster case

management, disaster unemployment, disaster ood stamps,

disaster mental health or individual assistance. BP has pro-

vided large grants to states and social service providers or

some o these services, but many nonprots have had to dip

into their own reserves to pay or the services.

People are still having a difcult time getting the support they

need. As o April 19, Catholic Charities in New Orleans re-

ported that 79 percent o their current clients in coastal areas

have yet to receive their claims payments. Te agencys case

managers are working with amilies to le claims applications

and ollowing up with claims processors.

Over the months, since the spill occurred, Catholic Charities

agencies have shited the ocus o their response rom emer-

DISASTER RESPONSE

StillRecoveringOne Year ater the Oil Spill in the Gul


35/45

Get Prepared to Get Prepared!

Join CCUSA and your colleagues or the inaugural Applied

Institute or Disaster Excellence,October 31-November 4,

20

charities usa magazine: summer 2011

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