Programs and results
What we aim to solve
According to the New York Women’s Foundation, 1 in 4 New York City women is living in poverty. For these women, poverty is a complex issue, not just linked to unemployment, but to job quality and the ability to convert wages into financial security. Once in the workplace, significant barriers to success remain with U.S. women still only earning 80 cents on the dollar compared to men – a figure that drops to 63 cents and 54 cents for African-American and Hispanic women respectively. For our clients, many of whom have been impacted by issues such as homelessness, domestic violence, substance abuse or even incarceration, the odds against achieving career success are stacked even higher. Referred to us by over 150 referral partner agencies across the 5 boroughs, our clients are all low-income New York City based women. While we serve clients of all ages, the biggest age group represented (43%) is young women in their twenties, with 86% of all of our clients are in their prime working
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Clothing Consultation, Resume Review and Interview Preparation
Bottomless Closet programming is designed to remove many of the barriers disadvantaged NYC women face in the search for employment. Women are initially referred to us by a partnering organization once they have secured a job interview. At Bottomless Closet, clients connect one-on-one with a highly skilled, professional volunteer who helps them build the skills and self-assurance necessary to succeed by creating an environment in which women are encouraged to empower themselves. By providing business appropriate clothing coupled with resume review and interview preparation, we serve as the catalyst for women to effectively prepare for job interviews and subsequent employment. We pride ourselves on providing a refuge in which we offer the respect, encouragement and professional guidance that every woman deserves. Each client meets one-on-one with a volunteer “Employment Coach” to begin the process of preparing for her interview. Together they select business-appropriate clothing in our boutique. In our coaching rooms, they conduct mock interviews, practice presentation skills, review and revise the resume for accuracy and content. What is perhaps most important in this process is the self-confidence that develops out of the respect and encouragement offered. Bottomless Closet provides clients with comprehensive materials that further emphasize the steps outlined above.
Comprehensive Workshop Curriculum
Bottomless Closet believes it is critical to provide on-going support for our clients if they are to truly achieve self-sufficiency. For this reason, we offer an extensive series of core and elective educational workshops designed to provide highly practical, easily accessible information on a range of topics in three areas: Professional Development Financial Management Personal Enrichment. All workshops are facilitated by volunteers – professionals in their fields -- and provide opportunities for women to learn concrete workplace skills, tips to negotiate difficult professional scenarios, and gain information on what is required to succeed professionally, financially and personally. As an incentive, clients are encouraged to complete a series of workshops and “graduate” with a Professional Development and/or Financial Management Certificate. These certificates serve to enhance clients’ resumes and provide a competitive advantage. As a further incentive, all workshop participants are eligible to select additional business attire, and thereby build their professional wardrobes at no cost.
Corporate Career Days
Corporate partners sponsor “Career Days” where Bottomless Closet clients interact with business professionals. Career Days provide further exposure for our clients to visit businesses where they learn about industries and jobs that might offer new career paths. In addition Career Days include components on resume review and interview preparation and mock interviews.
Where we work
Accreditations
Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance 2012
Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance 2013
Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance 2014
Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance 2015
External reviews

Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of job skills training courses/workshops conducted
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls
Related Program
Comprehensive Workshop Curriculum
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Our comprehensive workshop curriculum is built around three central pillars designed to promote self-sufficiency: Financial Management, Professional Development and Personal Enrichment.
Number of Career Days
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls
Related Program
Corporate Career Days
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Held on site at our corporate partners, career days offer clients new skills and perspectives across a range of industries.
Number of program graduates
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls
Related Program
Comprehensive Workshop Curriculum
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
In 2017, 4 clients graduated from the Professional Development workshop series and 6 clients graduated from the Financial Management series.
Number of Client Interactions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Since many clients engage with a range of our programs they have multiple touchpoints with Bottomless Closet. This metric measures the number of 1:1 personal interactions we have with clients each yea
Number of clients served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls
Related Program
Clothing Consultation, Resume Review and Interview Preparation
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This is the number of unique individual women who accessed our services this year.
Number of participants attending course/session/workshop
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls
Related Program
Comprehensive Workshop Curriculum
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Workshops cover Financial Management, Professional Development and Personal Enrichment
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn 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?
At Bottomless Closet our mission is to inspire and guide disadvantaged New York City women to enter the workforce and achieve success. We achieve this through the provision of career-appropriate clothing, resume help and interview skills, as well as access to a series of Financial Management, Professional Development and Personal Enrichment workshops aimed at achieving self-sufficiency.
To date, we have supported over 46,000 women in their effort to lift themselves out of poverty. In 2019, we held over 3,500 1:1 client interactions and worked directly with over 2,200 individual women while providing 100 workshops. Nearly 100% of clients identify Bottomless Closet as the key factor in their success.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Bottomless Closet clients are all low-income New York City women, referred by over 150 agencies throughout the city. When a client first comes to Bottomless Closet, she will have an interview set up and a basic resume but she will not be well equipped to succeed. For the next 90 minutes, she will work 1:1 with her Career Coach who will help her select the perfect interview outfit in our on-site boutique, refine her resume and practice a mock interview. By the time she leaves, each woman is not just an applicant, but a candidate for a job.
Once she secures the job, a client has the opportunity to return for a Post-Hire appointment geared around building out her career wardrobe and setting her up for success on those important early days of her new job. All clients have access to ongoing training through our broad workshop curriculum which incorporates courses on Financial Management, Professional Development and Personal Enrichment, all designed to promote self-sufficiency.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Over the past 2 decades, Bottomless Closet has experienced steady, carefully planned growth in its administration, financing, and programs. Originally a fully volunteer-run operation, under the leadership of Melissa Norden, the organization now functions with 12 paid staff in addition to 200+ volunteers and an active Emerging Leaders network. Bottomless Closet is governed by an 18 member Board of Directors and has an operating budget of $1.8M
Our experience since 1999 has enabled us to develop, test and refine program delivery and content to best support our clients’ needs. Many of our clients’ lives have been affected by issues like homelessness, domestic violence or even incarceration, and our expertise in working with this population is central to our volunteer and staff training as well as our programming. As the job market continues to evolve, our experience, leadership and capabilities set us apart in our ability to support New York City women achieve success in the workforce.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
To date, we have worked with over 46,000 New York City women in their effort to lift themselves out of poverty and build self-sufficient lives for themselves and their families. In 2019 alone, we held over 3,500 1:1 client interactions and worked directly with over 2,200 individual women while providing 53 workshops.
Nearly 100% of clients identify Bottomless Closet as the core factor to their success. Beyond just the direct impact on these women, we hear every day from our returning clients how the changes they have made in their lives are having a positive ripple effect on their families and communities as well.
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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Who are the people you serve with your mission?
We survey our clients at the end of every appointment.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.),
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects,
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We act on the feedback we receive,
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection,
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.
Bottomless Closet
Board of directorsas of 7/28/2021
Lisa Primeggia
Con Edison
Term: 2024 - 2021
Pam Kaufman
Nickelodeon
Diane Kenney
No Affiliation
Carolyn Huggins*
Katherine Watkin
No Affiliation
Christine Chang
Amanda Nussbaum
Proskauer
Katherine Davisson
Anne Blackman
Time Warner
Nancy Obler
AMERRA Capital
Sugandha Kalra
Citibank
Paige Ross
Blackstone
Yasmin Ibrahim
Debra Washington
First Republic
Karen Heath-Wade
American Century Investments
Hope Rothschild
Lisa Primeggia
Con Edison
Laura Balach
American Express
Andrea Lowenthal
ANZ Bank
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? Not applicable -
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? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 07/28/2021GuideStar 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 seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- 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.