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Lighthouse Inc.
2008 Directors Report
Introduction
2008 A Year of Building
The past few years have all been years been filled with change. Three years
ago we were an organization in crisis that was reeling from a change in
funding strategy and the failing health of the founder. In 2007 we began to
address the areas of organizational weakness. In 2008 the organization
worked to get in position for a strategic overhaul. The past year has been a
year of steady growth with a clear focus on building a strong foundation.
The key areas of focus centered in four areas 1. Board Development 2.
Human resources 3. Fund Development 4. Program Development. The
purpose of this report it to review the progress we have made to this point
and to look at how this journey has positioned the organization to continue
to 2009.
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2.
Board Development
BVU
One of the key moves that Lighthouse made was to invest in our Board with the services of BVU.
The board consulting at the end of 07 got 2008 off to a great start. We have seen some big changes
in the make up and the function of our board.
Committees
In 2008 the Lighthouse board formed four committees to lead the work of the board. Finance,
Development, Board Performance, and Strategic Planning were the key focus areas with a board
recruiting and human resource group that took on specific projects.
Diversity
A long term commitment to better reflect the community we serve was implemented. With a
special focus on getting leadership in the form of board members that live in the community and
have a better cultural perspective. We will continue to value diversity and embrace it as a necessary
core principle that will drive us toward the future and strengthen our commitment to the mission
and vision.
Accountability
A series of performance measures were established and monitored for the work of the board.
Strategy
The board conducted a “retreat” to evaluate where we are and where we are going and how we are
going to go about getting “there”.
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3.
Human Resources
One of the key problems for years has been a single
staff, on man approach to everything. It was clear
that there needed to be more help in the way of paid
staff if Lighthouse was going to grow. In 2008 we
moved from 2 people on payroll, to 9 permanent staff
and 12 summer program staff.
Manual:
In order to hire new staff a HR policy and procedure
manual had to be implemented. The board enlisted
the help of Paychex HR services to carry out these
tasks.
Payroll:
Another key concern with adding new staff was the
sophistication of our payroll procedures. Again
Lighthouse turned to Paychex to carry out this
function.
Staffing
Operations
In order to monitor the continue program growth for
Lighthouse, we have hired our first support staff.
Bonnie is our new office/operations manager.
Bringing her on board will allow us to handle the
details in the same care and passion we do our
ministry.
Finance
Our budget seems to double every other year. With
these new resources come a greater need for sound
financial principles. Our board has committed to
transparency, accuracy, and accountability in our
financial practices. We want to model best practices
in these areas.
Planning
In order to better leverage our history and the
relationships in the community to do the most good,
we have committed to a constant process of planning
and evaluating the work we do by gathering the voice
of the community.
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4.
Program Development
In addition to our long standing programs,
Lighthouse launched two new summer programs in
2oo8.
Summer Span
This program was funded via the GOFBCI to address
the issues surrounding childhood hunger. The
program combined three components to help
students. Feeding, math and reading tutoring, and
physical and social education. We saw our kids
increase 21% in reading comprehension.
Reality Check
This program was designed to bridge the gap between
suburban and urban youth by creating an intense
“reality tv” type experience that simulated poverty.
We taught young people about social justice issues
and served the community with service projects that
made a big impact.
Current programs
Heaventrain
Keeps plugging along, averaging 1200 kids a week.
This year was special in we committed to serve
burgers every week possible. We also worked to
develop a leadership team approach.
Storehouse
Tough year as food is getting hard to come by. The
key donor has informed us that they will no longer be
able to supply our delivery. We do need to work to
address some of these issues.
Express Basketball
The team is growing as more kids are looking for
things to do. We have a new coaching staff that is
committed to bringing the program up to it’s
envisioned purpose.
Soccer clinic.
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5.
Fund Development
Full Measure
In 2008 we had CCF funding to cover the cost of a fund development consultant. They have
developed a development plan that has strategies for multiple funding streams. We have been able
to implement several of these strategies while working to add more in 2009.
Grants
We have gone from $0 in grants in our entire 28 years to over $100,000 this year. The expectations
of the future are bright as we learn how to plan, manage, and report our funding resources. The
finance systems and staff will allow this growth to continue into the future.
Donor Development
We are working to change the face of how we interact with donors. It is very improtant that we
value them as stakeholders and do everything in our power to include them as part of the team.
Public relations
Printed material
In order to better communicate out mission, vision, and work we have started a pr campaign that
will include printed materials and packets. This will also include a bi-monthly newsletter and other
periodic mailings.
Online presence
In order to maximize our communication and in order to stay connected in a technology age,
Lighthouse has invested time and money to develop a web presence. This will continue to be a key
priority for the future.
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6.
Co$aboration
Community
In 2008 Lighthouse made a concerted effort to be
more involved in community activities. We were
involved in several projects that were lead by
community partners. We were also committed to
involve partners in our program activities.
Churches
Victory and Scranton Road served as our two summer
tutoring and food program sites. Both of these
partners will be involved in future projects.
Community
Lighthouse partnered with Burton Bell Car
Development Inc. to work on the Colfax Ave. model
block project. Together we were able to strengthen a
key block by providing some major repairs to 12
houses on the street. We have partnered since and
have plans for future partnerships.
Political partners
Local
Councilwoman Phyllis Cleveland is a friend and
partner of Lighthouse inc. She has made sure that
momentum is not lost so that some key projects were
able to continue. She has the pulse of our community.
State
The Governors office partnered with us to start two
tutoring sites in the summer span program. The goal
was to tackle issues surrounding children's hunger.
CMHA
Lighthouse is CMHA’s longest standing resident
services partnership. The original public housing
authority works with us to make sure we are able to
meet resident needs.
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Community partners Cleveland City Stars Coats for Kids
PAC LaShaunda Lee Scranton Rd. CDC
Project Access Men of Central Adopt a School Network
Central Weed and Seed Burton Bell Carr Dev. Inc. Greater Cleveland YFC
Neighborhood Leadership Inst. The City Mission
Lonnie Burton Rec. Vocational Guidance Services
Social Service Partners Cleveland Foodbank Children’s Hunger Alliance
CMHA VGS Winner’s Influence
City of Cleveland Parks and Rec. Community Care Network
Partner Churches Rich Hts. Christian Assembly Wooster Naz
Christ the King Bethany Baptist Cornerstone
Bed Naz Grace CMA Crossroads CCU
Victory CMA Encounter
Scranton Rd. Bible Church Crestline Naz
Political Partners Ohio Department Of Ed. Div of Parks and Rec.
Councilwoman Cleveland Cleveland Muni Schools East Tech H.S.
Gov. Strickland Progressive Action Council
Corporate Partners Burger King Jenne Distributers
Keefe Supply group Payless Shoes Down the Way
Hadrian Darko Group Inc. Bob Evans
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Key Outcomes of 2008
The key word coming out of 2008 was excellence. We are committed to doing every aspect of our
work with excellence, with a constant pursuit of finding the best way to do what we do. We are
focusing on getting our foundations strong so that we can grow in 2010. We have always been a
ministry that had the heart right, but we will no longer sacrifice any aspect of our work, for any
reason. We will do better...
Teamwork
We have seen two key areas where this has taken hold. The division of Leadership from director to
the board. The shared leadership is much stronger, much effort is being invested in seeing a strong
board providing strong governance. Interdependence, Empowerment and accountability are the legs
we are building our team on. We have also worked to build a team of staff both paid and volunteer.
Collaboration
We will do anything we can together with partners, and only do what we must on our own.
Diversity
This will be a value that we model and we will gain strength from this core guiding principle.
Strategy
We will listen to the community and work for the change that leads to an empowered and equipped
community. We will be in a constant state of learning and planning and evaluating.
Together we can see His Kingdom Come...
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9.
2009
Here we come...
The future is now
Staff
In 2009 we will not grow outward, but will focus on
systems excellence. We have a staff for the first time
in our organizations history, this will require great
deal of work to bring the team together. We will work
on perfecting what we have in place and continue to
gather info and create a plan for 2010. Working
toward excellence in everything.
Finance
Both the systems of how we
handle and report our money as
well as the process that we use
to set and monitor budgets will
be scrutinized. We will work
with the Bean Counters
consulting firm to address the
financial foundation of the
ministry.
Exce$ence
We have been working so hard to grow and to move
away from our crisis mode of a few years ago. This
year we will reflect on what we have learned, and
focus on creating excellence and create a well
developed strategic plan for the future.
We will take a long look in the mirror for 2009.
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