December 9, 2011 Volunteers of America-Minnesota to Take Part in Cutting-Edge Project to Elevate Role of Strategy in Nonprofits
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE:
Dec. 9, 2011
CONTACT:
Kim Rymer
Communications Director
Volunteers of America-Minnesota
Office 952-945-4074, Cell 612-267-7622, krymer@voamn.org
Volunteers of America-Minnesota to Take Part in Cutting-Edge Project to Elevate Role of Strategy in Nonprofits
(Minneapolis, Dec. 9)—Volunteers of America-Minnesota (VOA-MN), a nonprofit human service organization headquartered in Edina, recently won a three-year, $215,748 grant from The Alliance for Children and Families to participate in an innovative project to learn how to elevate strategy in nonprofit human service agencies.
The grant comes from The Alliance’s Strategy Counts! program—a multi-year pilot project that will study the impact of increased focus on strategy among nonprofit human service providers. The Alliance, headquartered in Milwaukee, is one of the nation's largest membership associations of private, nonprofit human service organizations.
The Alliance’s Strategy Counts! program will help VOA-MN to effectively implement strategy-based practices to strengthen core services, increase mission-aligned growth, and enhance operational efficiency. Participation in the program will help position VOA-MN for long-term sustainability and growth. With support from the grant, VOA-MN named Jim Bettendorf as Vice President of Strategy and Operations. Jim’s role will be to advance and deploy strategy, as well as guide the agency toward mission excellence and positive outcomes.
“With nonprofits under pressure from tighter resources and changing client needs, it’s exciting to be part of an innovative program to help nonprofit human service organizations be more effective,” said Paula Hart, President and CEO of Volunteers of America-Minnesota. “The grant will enable us to increase our focus on strategy, strengthen our services, and ultimately enhance our long-term impact on the people and communities we serve.”
VOA-MN is one of 14 nonprofits around the country who will participate in the Strategy Counts initiative. Each nonprofit will test strategy models to determine whether they will increase organizational capacity and gain opportunities to generate revenues, expand core services, and achieve better resilience in the face of economic downturns.
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Volunteers of America-Minnesota
The mission of Volunteers of America-Minnesota is to help people gain self-reliance, dignity and hope. Each year, we provide a wide variety of health and human services for more than 26,500 Minnesotans in three impact areas: 1) Children/Youth/Families, 2) Seniors/People with Special Needs, and 3) Adults in Community Reentry. Called to serve since 1896, we are one of the largest and most comprehensive nonprofit human service organizations in the state. We are affiliated with Volunteers of America, a national, faith-based organization that helps more than 2 million people annually live healthy, safe and productive lives. For more information about Volunteers of America-Minnesota, visit http://www.voamn.org or call 952-945-4074.
Alliance for Children and Families
The Alliance for Children and Families, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2011, is a nonprofit national membership association of private, nonprofit human service providers in the United States and Canada. Motivated by a vision of a healthy society and strong communities, the Alliance strengthens the capacities of North America’s nonprofit child- and family-serving organizations to serve and advocate for children, families, and communities. The more than 350 members of the Alliance provide an array of community-based programs and services to all generations, serving close to 3.4 million people each year. The Alliance is accredited by the Council on Accreditation. More information about the Alliance is available at alliance1.org.