Families Fighting Flu Inc
Families Fighting Flu is not just our name - it's who we are and what we do!
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Influenza is a serious vaccine-preventable disease that causes millions of illnesses and thousands of hospitalizations and deaths every year in the U.S. Globally, it is estimated that upwards of 650,000 people lose their lives to influenza every year. Influenza is a vaccine-preventable disease, yet typically less than half of the U.S. population receives an annual flu vaccination despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation for annual flu vaccination for everyone six months and older. Many people still do not realize the dangers of flu and the devastating impact it has on public health and the U.S. economy. In fact, influenza results in more loss of life than any other vaccine-preventable disease and costs the U.S. economy billions of dollars every year. The mission of our organization is to save lives and reduce hospitalizations by protecting all children and their families against influenza through our education and advocacy work.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Stay in the Game™
Stay in the Game is a multi-year national campaign to educate families about the seriousness of influenza and the importance of annual flu vaccination.
Keep Flu Out of School
A five-year cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Association of School Nurses, and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases aimed at increasing awareness and advocating for annual flu vaccinations for elementary-aged school children.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
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?
Families Fighting Flu is a national, non-profit organization that consists of families whose loved ones have suffered serious medical complications or died from influenza, as well as healthcare professionals and advocates committed to flu prevention and treatment. In honor of our loved ones, we work to increase awareness about the seriousness of influenza and to reduce the number of hospitalizations and deaths caused by the flu. Through our education and advocacy work, we focus on informing the general public and healthcare professionals about the seriousness of flu and the importance of annual flu vaccination in an effort to increase flu vaccination uptake across various demographics. We want everyone to understand that flu does not discriminate and can be a serious disease, regardless of age or health status. Our goal is to increase flu vaccination rates in the U.S. to reduce the burden of flu on public health and the U.S. economy.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Every year, our organization seeks to raise awareness about flu through our education and advocacy programs, campaigns, and initiatives. We focus on various demographics of all ages in an effort to inform individuals and families of the seriousness of flu and the importance of flu prevention and treatment. Using a variety of communication channels such as traditional, social, and digital media, our organization shares key flu-related messages and personal stories of families impacted by flu in hopes that we can help prevent other families from experiencing the loss of a loved one to this vaccine-preventable disease.
Our organization develops educational and outreach materials and works in collaboration with community partners to help increase annual flu vaccination rates for children and their families. Our strategies focus on sharing key flu-related messages and information through various communication channels, including multiple social media channels (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube), digital media (i.e., Families Fighting Flu website), traditional (earned) media (e.g., publications, broadcast), speaking engagements (domestic and international), and collaboration with strategic partners and stakeholders. An important element of our campaigns is the sharing of personal stories of families adversely impacted by flu to illustrate that flu does not discriminate and can be serious - even deadly - regardless of age, health status, or ethnicity.
Our organization is very focused on providing people with accurate, evidence-based information about flu and flu vaccination so that they can make informed decisions about flu vaccination for themselves and their families.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our organization has three staff members (chief operating officer; communications director; volunteer coordinator). Our organization also has a 12-person Board of Directors, comprised of parent volunteers, and a 12-person medical advisory board of healthcare providers across the country. In addition, there are thousands of advocates across the U.S. and abroad that help amplify our efforts by sharing key flu-related messages, educational resources, etc.
Families Fighting Flu is more than just our name - it's what we do. We are uniquely positioned to share our first-hand experiences with flu in an effort to educate others about the seriousness of flu and the critical importance of annual flu vaccination for everyone six months and older. Our narratives are critically important to the conversation around flu because they demonstrate the severity of this vaccine-preventable disease and have the ability to move people to action when it comes to flu vaccination. Our personal stories resonate with people because they can identify with us as mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.
Our medical advisory board support the organization with their technical expertise in the field of infectious diseases and focus on influenza. In addition, our collaborations with strategic partners and stakeholders in the field of infectious diseases allow us to align efforts and address key public health issues related to influenza (e.g., education, advocacy, immunization policy).
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Between 2004 and 2010, Families Fighting Flu was instrumental in helping to expand the recommendation for annual flu vaccination by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Since that time, our organization has focused on education and advocacy in an effort to help increase annual flu vaccination rates amongst children and their families. Because flu can be serious for individuals of any age, health status, or ethnicity, our organization focuses on various demographics in an effort to increase flu vaccination rates across the lifespan. Through our communication channels (e.g., traditional, social, and digital media) and our educational programs (e.g., Keep Flu out of School and Stay in the Game), our organization has reached millions of people across the U.S. and abroad.
Our organization has been sustainable since 2004 because we play a vital role in the conversation around flu and flu vaccination. Families Fighting Flu is able to reach people on a personal level with our family stories that illustrate the very real dangers of influenza. Over the years, we have reached millions of people through our educational programs, campaigns, and initiatives, but the national flu vaccination rates are still below the goals of the Department of Health and Human Services. We want people to realize that flu is a public health issue that requires their attention and commitment. Our organization will continue to focus on various demographics, such as children, adolescents, adults, seniors, and pregnant women, in an effort to educate and inform people that flu is a serious, but vaccine-preventable, disease. It is our hope that through our continued efforts, we can increase flu vaccination rates and reduce flu-related hospitalizations and deaths.
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 inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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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?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for 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.
Families Fighting Flu Inc
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2022
Shelle Allen
Gary Stein
Alissa Kanowitz
Doris Stein
Joe Marotta
Joe Lastinger
Jennifer Pool Miller
Shelle Allen
Angie Wehrkamp
Amber McCarthy
Jessica Richman
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 ? No -
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? No -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
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:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 02/12/2021GuideStar 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 ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- 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.