SAVE THE KID FUND INC
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Many children with disabilities require an abundance of support in medical interventions, therapies, adaptive equipment, and financial support to cover those expenses. We seek to support as many children and families as we can in the community. This year we plan on an expansion in raising funds to facilitate the needs of so many children in dire need.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Robbies Riders
Robbies' Riders is our most exclusive program. This program provides children with disabilities adaptive therapuetic bicycles at no cost to families in the states of CT, RI, and Southern FL
Children's Cancer Support Fund
Fund to reimburse families for travel to treat cancer.
General Program Fund
Miscellaneous requests for donations associated with supports for children with disabilities.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
State of Connecticut Award for Community Giving 2020
Photos
Our Sustainable Development Goals
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Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Save the Kid Fund seeks to provide children in need with whatever will improve the quality of their lives. Our focus is on needs that insurance or other organizations do not cover. We seek the best value without sacrificing quality when providing material goods. Our exclusive adaptive bicycle program, Robbie's Riders is an excellent example of that. We continue to provide a wide variety of assistance to children, which include basic needs such as food and clothing, to medical or physical needs such as adaptive equipment.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We have a procedure for reviewing requests to make a decision on funding that is requested. We first determine need, many times during an actual visit from one of the STK Board members. We verify that there first is a child in need, get an estimate on the cost, and determine if the family is capable of bearing some of the cost. Additionally, we have spending guidelines that allow spending down to $5000 in our treasury. More strict voting requirements are imposed as reserve cash is depleted so as to never be in a position that we can't help in some way should an emergency need request is submitted or a routine operational bill come due. The STK Board then weighs the request based on need, available cash in the treasury, and if more than one request is received prioritizing the requests. Spending is therefore not the problem, but fundraising is. Over the years STK has used a variety of methods to raise funds. Cashing in empty soda cans morphed into a motorcycle raffle which gave way to grant writing and apparel sales. All along the mainstay of funding has been the payroll donations received from the employees of Millstone Power Station in Waterford CT. The payroll deduction program has recently been stopped but STK is attempting to get employees of Millstone Station to continue to give and have their donations matched by Dominion Resources - the owner and operator of Millstone Station. We will continue to nurture the relationship with Millstone to keep that avenue of funding open for general needs, and use grant writing as a primary source for funding specific activities like our most exclusive program Robbie's Riders. We have joined Grampy's Charities fundraising via Robbie's Run and will continue to nurture that source of funding. We also recognize that donations via the internet are yet to be fully developed.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We have limited our service area to CT and RI. Since the majority of our funding comes from Millstone Power Station employees, and those employees live in CT and RI almost exclusively; it made sense to have as a service area consisting of those two states. Recently we have added southwest Florida to our service area as we now have a Director there and maintain relationship with Grampy's Charities in that geographical area.
Our mission is such that help to any child in need that is considered. That covers a wide range of needs, from food and clothing to educational materials to adaptive equipment to travel for medical treatment to special educational opportunities. It is up to the Board of STK to prioritize requests when more than one is submitted for consideration. Obviously, not all requests are approved to be acted on. Any need that is within our financial means and is not provided by insurance or other charities we will consider. We have found that some needs such as wheelchair vans are too expensive for us to manage, and are rejected. Last year was typical and our aid spending amounted to ~$49,500.
Our ability to identify need has grown over the years. Specifically with the exception of reading of a need in the newspaper or hearing it on the TV news, our clients are referrals. We have built a network of contacts with hospitals, schools, clergy and physical therapy centers across our service area. From these “front line" personnel come many of our referrals.
Many of the board members presently belong or have belonged to other volunteer organizations. These experiences, ranging from Knights of Columbus Council Secretary to volunteer community Redevelopment Agency membership, demonstrate the charitable spirit of the STK Board members. We literally have hundreds of years for volunteerism as a board. Additionally, most STK Board members work or have worked in the highly regulated nuclear industry, a background that adds to our level of professionalism, teamwork and thoroughness.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Our cycle program has supplied over 400 special needs cycles at an average cost of $1162. After the first 40 to 50 bikes the average cost was ~$1500. Through careful monitoring of which cycle is chosen without sacrificing quality or functionality, and knowledge gained along the way, we have cut dramatically into that average cost while at the same time putting more and more children on quality cycles.
In our early years spending $2000 a year was considered large, today that has ballooned to over $50,000, with spending in several years of $60,000 to $90,000. To date we have supplied over $1,000,000 in aid to children.
We have not yet tapped the possible income from internet donations. We are working in that direction, as well as bettering our internet presence. We will pursue social media and have added a donation section to our website that is simple and easy to use while offering a high degree of protection.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To make sure we are doing our best to serve the community.
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
SAVE THE KID FUND INC
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2022
Tina Pappalardo
Joel L'Heureux
John Johannemann
Trudy Llasky
Charles Massung
Tina Pappalardo
Heather Deirberger
Tina Pappalardo
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 04/07/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.