Greyston Foundation 2012 Annual Report and Strategic Plan

Transcription

1 Greyston Foundation 2012 Annual Report and Strategic Plan

2 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2012 marks 30 years since the inception of Greyston, which started as a small baking operation dedicated to providing opportunities to unemployed homeless people. Over these 30 years, Greyston has emerged as a leading force in social enterprise in low-income communities, hiring the hard-to-employ while succeeding as a for-profit business with a double bottom line of profit and economic justice. The original mission of the Bakery to provide jobs to homeless people was expanded through the 1980 s and 1990 s to encompass a number of initiatives designed to provide a holistic support network to families and individuals in Southwest Yonkers. Greyston pioneered the development of permanent housing for homeless families with support services, and went on to create 300 units of housing for homeless and low-income families in Westchester, with supportive services for those in need. To meet the needs of formerly homeless and low-income parents, Greyston created a pre-school child care program that is nationally accredited. As the AIDS epidemic became acute in the 1990 s, Greyston created permanent housing and a day program for individuals afflicted with the disease. Throughout its history, Greyston has been a leader in addressing poverty through entrepreneurship and innovation. This leadership continues to this day as Greyston Bakery was the first Benefit Corporation (a new type of corporation which uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems) to be incorporated in New York State this February. The Greyston Bakery received the most benefit from this restructuring, and in conjunction with a new leadership team in place since the beginning of the year has shown significant growth in two areas, sales and employment. The Bakery has increased employment by 30 over the past year, to 80 people, and is on track to increase revenue significantly as new investments enable us to service and attract new customers. In addition to expanding the Bakery s business and mission, in 2011 Greyston achieved a number of other milestones. Greyston broke ground on a new housing project that will create an additional 95 units of affordable workforce housing in downtown Yonkers. In response to community needs, Greyston expanded our infant-care capabilities and added space for an additional 12 children, bringing our capacity to 96. Building on the success of the Bakery s hiring policies, Greyston has continued to expand our Workforce Development programs and now trains upwards of 50 individuals every year in a wide variety of fields. Upon completion of the restructuring, the Foundation s Board focused on the future potential of Greyston s mission. The plan that follows emphasizes Greyston s history of adopting a social entrepreneurial approach to addressing poverty, and stresses the holistic approach to individual success in overcoming the barriers to self-sufficiency. In 2011, Greyston successfully completed a financial restructuring and asset sale which reduced its overall debt load by more than $7 million, eliminating a burden that had clouded the financial sustainability of the entire organization, and freeing up management and financial resources to focus on future opportunities. Steven Brown President & CEO Edward Falkenberg Chairman, Board of Directors

3 GREYSTON FOUNDATION STRATEGIC PLAN Through a strategic planning process, Greyston examined the needs of its community, its own strengths and weaknesses, and the impact and viability of individual programs and the organization as a whole. Having recently completed a successful debt restructuring, Greyston has developed a strategy for a sustainable future. MISSION As part of the planning process, Greyston has revised its mission statement to more fully capture Greyston s future direction: Grounded in a whole-person approach, which we call PathMaking, Greyston Foundation, a pioneer in social enterprise, creates jobs and provides integrated programs for individuals and their families to move forward on their path to self-sufficiency. BREAKING THE CYCLE The new strategic plan: Builds on Greyston s core strength in helping those with significant barriers to employment become and stay employed, as well as access affordable childcare and housing; Ensures excellence in operations, so that Greyston can best serve its clients and achieve its mission; Seeks to ensure the sustainability of the organization and its efforts to reduce poverty and build strong communities in Southwest Yonkers. EXPAND SOCIAL ENTERPRISE AS A PATH TO JOB CREATION Greyston s central goal is to help those with significant barriers to employment become and stay employed so they can be self-sufficient. In order to create more jobs, Greyston will build on its historical leadership in social enterprise by expanding the Bakery s operations and launching a new social enterprise. GREYSTON BAKERY - Greyston Bakery s current revenue is $8 million a year. Increasing revenue by diversifying our client base beyond our valued partner for 20 years, Ben & Jerry s, will allow the Bakery to employ more individuals. LAUNCH GREYSTON S NEW SOCIAL ENTERPRISE - Building on the success of the Bakery, Greyston intends to launch a second social enterprise to create new jobs in the community and continue to diversify Greyston s revenue mix with a higher percentage of revenue from earned income. EXPAND BAKERY APPRENTICE TRAINING - Greyston works to provide its employees with the skills necessary to be successful in the career path that they choose. Showcasing how a non-profit s social service program can work with a for-profit business, apprentices at Greyston Bakery will receive a significantly expanded training that includes Work Readiness Training combined with the solid skill of working in a manufacturing environment. Individuals will be introduced to techniques that will support behavior change, and give them a sense of satisfaction, pride, and accomplishment.

4 EXPAND CHILD CARE CENTER AND YOUTH SERVICES TO MEET GREATER COMMUNITY NEEDS Greyston believes that provision of affordable, high quality childcare is a critical support structure enabling low-income parents to work. The Children and Youth Services program works to provide high quality social/ emotional and academic development to children ages 0-5, and provides a safe and educational space for children after school. The Greyston Child Care Center recently celebrated its 20th Anniversary providing excellent childcare to low-income families in Southwest Yonkers. The Center currently is licensed to serve 96 children between the ages of six weeks to five years old. Greyston recently added two new infant rooms to meet the needs of the community, bringing the total infant capacity to 28. The Center is one of only a handful in Westchester County that has been awarded accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). GOALS FOR GREYSTON S CHILD CARE CENTER include increasing the number of families and children accessing the Center and working more closely with parents of children at the Center to help them identify job training and employment opportunities, potentially through Workforce Development and PathMaking services. Parents with stable employment will enable children to stay in the Center for longer periods of time thereby exposing them to the curriculum and better preparing them for school. In addition, Greyston will seek strategic opportunities to acquire additional childcare facilities in Yonkers and/or Southern Westchester. CHILDCARE

5 RESTRUCTURE REAL ESTATE PORTFOLIO The provision of affordable housing to vulnerable populations is essential to helping them achieve self-sufficiency. Historically, Greyston has taken on the full burden of financial risk and exposure in developing affordable housing. Greyston will work to identify partners to recapitalize the properties in our portfolio. With partners, Greyston will be able to maintain crucial services for clients while attracting financing to upgrade the existing portfolio. Current projects that will be completed within the time frame of this strategic plan include the 95 units at 49 North Broadway and accompanying buildings on Warburton Avenue. Greyston is also working with a development team to redevelop the Longfellow School and other sites in the Hollows neighborhood for workforce housing. MEETING CHANGING NEEDS

6 RE-EMBRACE PATHMAKING AS A CORE COMPONENT OF GREYSTON S SERVICES AND PHILOSOPHY The concept of PathMaking Services represents Greyston s most original contribution to the field of community development. PathMaking is a holistic approach to working with people in communities. It is both a guiding philosophy and a program at Greyston. The PathMaking philosophy is our belief that individuals can be supported to achieve wholeness (self-sufficiency) that comes from having a well-balanced, satisfying, and integrated personal and professional life. PathMaking works to enable and empower individuals with the goal of achieving a self-sustaining life as they travel down their own self-directed path. The PathMaking program at Greyston provides direction, support, and referrals to all members of the Greyston family employees, clients, and the community as a whole, in the areas of personal and professional development and organizational success. PathMaking work with individuals has a ripple effect on the greater community; as individuals become more self-sufficient and self-assured, they begin to impact their community the same way. PathMaking Services with respect to individuals goes beyond conventional case-management and human resource development functions. In recent years, the PathMaking program has suffered from limited staffing due to the financial burdens associated with our prior debt load. Greyston is now taking the opportunity to reframe PathMaking. Rather than a program managed by one person on the organizational chart, the PathMaking philosophy will instead be infused throughout the Mandala. To ensure PathMaking s central connection to Greyston s mission, Greyston will invest in redefining PathMaking and broadening its reach. ENSURE OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY THROUGHOUT THE MANDALA In order to continue to provide the highest level of services and programs to the community of Southwest Yonkers, Greyston will create a process whereby we continually assess the success and sustainability of all the programs in the Mandala. Decisions to keep, modify, exit or pursue new programs will be based on an assessment of program impact and sustainability. PATHMAKING

7 CHANGING LIVES CREATE AN OUTCOMES MANAGEMENT SYSTEM THAT TRACKS AND GUIDES SUCCESS IN EACH PROGRAM AREA As part of our strategic plan, we have put various tools in place to help us regularly monitor the health, sustainability and impact of all of our programs and to aid us in reviewing the overall portfolio. INTEGRATE AND STRENGTHEN SERVICE COORDINATION so that clients can better access a broader range of services. A staff committee will work to ensure that clients and employees receive more efficient and better service delivery from the various programs in the Mandala including the Bakery, workforce development, child care and housing. STRENGTHEN EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION CAPACITY and promote Greyston s model as a not-for-profit operating a successful social enterprise. Greyston will expand external relations in Yonkers, through greater engagement with other organizations and local government, as well as increase its visibility in Westchester. Greyston will work to share information about our structure and history for alleviating poverty in Yonkers and work with other organizations to replicate this model in other low-income communities. CONCLUSION With the adoption of a forward thinking Strategic Plan; a strong Board and leadership team; and a successful business model, Greyston is positioned to continue its national leadership in social entrepreneurship. Greyston s vision is to build on its strengths as a successful social entrepreneurial organization, which in conjunction with its PathMaking philosophy of addressing human needs holistically, can be a powerful force for transformation in people s lives. This combination of entrepreneurial spirit and the caring force of our PathMaking philosophy, serve as the pillars of our organizational culture, and make Greyston a unique force in community development.