A Letter from our Executive Director
Updated: March 27, 2012
Dear Back on My Feet Baltimore,
Happy New Year Back on My Feet Baltimore Friends and Family! We can hardly believe that we are already in the second month of the new year and hope that it is off to a great start for all of you.
In light of the spirit of new beginnings, we thought it important to share with you a recap of some of our successes in 2011, our vision and plans for the BoMF Baltimore community in 2012, and our commitments to improvements to you and to your team members. Additionally, and most importantly, we wanted to offer the Baltimore community the opportunity to share your ideas, feedback and suggestions for how we can most successfully build the BoMF Baltimore chapter into the strongest possible community for our members.
While there have been many challenges that the BoMF Baltimore Family has endured over the past two years, 2011 was a year of internal growth, development and collaborating on program improvements focused around building sustainability. Furthermore, in 2011, organizationally BoMF grew by roughly 35 percent – a notable amount in a tough economy. Additionally, the regional structure has fostered increased collaboration among the BoMF Baltimore and DC chapters. We have welcomed and appreciated the opportunity to see how successfully the Baltimore community executes important program initiatives, we have shared many “best practices,” and each team has been an invaluable asset to the other as we have faced program challenges throughout the year. In 2011 we also established some exciting program connections and partnerships in Baltimore that will be more fully realized and implemented in 2012.
Given the challenges we’ve faced and the successes we’ve experienced we wanted to share with you our commitments and goals for the Baltimore team in 2012 and to create an open dialogue around these expectations. Establishing these goals and expectations is a major priority for all on the BoMF team. Below are some of the major initiatives in 2012.
PROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS:
Our priority is and always will be ensuring that we are doing everything we can to create a community whereby our members can move their lives forward. The strength of the Baltimore community has always been the chapter’s biggest asset. Without this critical part of our mission, we can’t expect anyone to have the support and emotional capital necessary to overcome the major obstacles often contributing to the cycle of homelessness. In 2012, we are taking a comprehensive look at improving how we translate success on the team into success in life through more robust “Next Steps” goal plans and partnerships including collaboration with the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED), implementing a targeted workforce development curriculum, improving financial literacy, and taking steps toward creating long-term and reliable employment partnerships with area and national partners.
Additionally, in 2012 we will continue to focus on improved recruitment and retention strategies for those teams that have fewer than seven active resident members. Our hope is that by BoMF Baltimore’s 3rd birthday on March 16, through increased collaboration with our partner facilities as well as specific team recruitment activities, all five teams will have a full roster.
BUILDING AN ENGAGED ADVISORY BOARD:
Another major area of focus and improvement in 2012 is establishing an active, engaged and committed Advisory Board. While this has been a slow transition, we understand the importance of a sustainable and contributing body of advocates and supporters. As part of this improvement, BoMF is working in collaboration with Accenture on a specific skills-based volunteer project that will, over the next four months:
1.) Assess and evaluate advisory board member experience, expectations and feedback to date
2.) Study industry best practices for advisory board operations and strategy
3.) Provide recommendations for effective organizational management strategies to sustain an engaged board
4.) Create a framework for appropriate board member and organizational expectations
5.) Develop a plan for board sustainability through member and staff transitions. We expect that at the conclusion of this project, the BoMF Baltimore-DC Advisory Board will reach a level of effectiveness and engagement to successfully contribute to the region’s financial and programmatic success.
PLANS FOR FINANCIAL SUCCESS:
The primary financial focus for 2012 is creating stability in the Baltimore-DC region. As a team we are committed to executing a conservative budget with realistic fundraising goals and reasonable expenses. While we cannot realize our fundraising goals without continued community support, we are prioritizing “smart” fundraising strategies that leverage the power of small-dollar contributions over a broad participant base. Campaigns such as Sneaker Week and point-of-sale efforts have the potential to greatly increase our fundraising effectiveness without repeatedly engaging our base of volunteer supporters. We expect to significantly build our supporter base in the Baltimore community through additional event opportunities such as a a new local race in August, a golf tournament and continued participation in regional events. We also hope to consolidate financial asks into one major nonres annual campaign to kickoff this June. Lastly, improvements on our FundRacing calendar management system will allow us to more successfully execute these opportunities.
COMMITMENT TO SUPPORTING OUR TEAM MEMBERS:
The strength of the Baltimore community plus the sweat-equity work ethic of our staff team have equaled a program that has had incredible successes and profound experiences. However, to sustain this success in 2012 and beyond, BoMF is committed to implementing additional structure, support and continued regular evaluation of program and program activities. In short, we want to keep our team members happy and promote a productive work-life balance. We expect that prioritizing efficiency and effectiveness coupled with improved team member communication provide balance and prevent staff burnout. Structured goal-setting, evaluation and management practices are important to creating a working environment that allows our staff and volunteers to be creative and collaborative but to maintain a healthy life balance.
These are the priority areas of focus for the Baltimore BoMF staff team in 2012, but we want to hear from you. We encourage you to take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us.
As always, thank you for the commitment you have made to your team and our members. Our commitment is to make BoMF the strongest community possible for our res, non-res and program partners. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you in 2012 and years beyond!
Sincerely,
Autumn Campbell
Baltimore-Washington, DC Regional Executive Director
