Programs and results
What we aim to solve
CORA Services is a private, not-for-profit organization headquartered in Northeast Philadelphia and serving all across the city, CORA Services is a Family Resources Center providing an array of comprehensive professional services focused on prevention, intervention, remediation and referral assistance. Guided by the theme Children are the Heart of the Matter, CORA supports children and families with services from Early Childhood and Early Intervention to after school programming, to individual, family and group counseling to substance abuse treatment. Our wide variety of services address many issues and allow families to receive a number of supports empowering them to overcome obstacles to dveelopment and productivity .
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
CORA Services - A Resource Center for Children, Youth and Families
CORA, which stands for Counseling Or Referral Assistance, is a community- based, nonprofit 501(c)(3) agency. From its main location in Philadelphia, and school and neighborhood sites, CORA serves close to 25,000 children and families each year in a wide variety of programs.
Designed from its origin with a strong focus on early intervention and prevention, CORA's approach is active, caring, and enabling to those who come for help, acceptance, and an invitation to growth.
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
CORA Services is a nonprofit, non-sectarian social service organization, whose mission is to enrich the quality of life for children, families, and the community by offering programs that promote respect and dignity. Rooted in a tradition of care and compassion, CORA was established in 1971 to respond to the ever-increasing challenges of the community. Consistent with this heritage, CORA pursues the highest standards; these standards guide the employment of staff, the quality of programs and the integrity with which the organization regards all people. CORA's commitment is to evoke creatively, new perspectives, empowerment and hope in the lives of the children and families it serves. Today, the staff serves children and families in non-public schools, public schools, city recreation centers, and local community centers, neighborhoods and homes.
Where we work
External reviews

Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of students enrolled
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
CORA Services - A Resource Center for Children, Youth and Families
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of families served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
CORA Services - A Resource Center for Children, Youth and Families
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of training events conducted
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
CORA Services - A Resource Center for Children, Youth and Families
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of people on the organization's email list
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
CORA Services - A Resource Center for Children, Youth and Families
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
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?
Rooted in a tradition of care and compassion, the mission of CORA Services is to assist children, youth and families experiencing academic, emotional and social challenges, which impede their development and productivity. The vision of CORA Services is to provide new perspectives, direction, empowerment, and hope for children, youth and families.We provides services in schools, neighborhoods and homes, meeting families where they are to best support them.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
CORA Services offers a pragmatic service system approach which is focused on prevention, active and early intervention, remediation, and the development of coping skills inherent in the human spirit. We believe in networking as well as offering clients referral assistance to appropriate providers in order to maximize our clients' opportunities for success. We offer a wide array of services and focus on seemlessly supporting families experiencing a number of potential stressors or high risk factors.CORA fills in the gaps where services do not exist and walks alongside families to help them overcome challenges.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our highly skilled and well trained educators, counselors, case managers and therapists focus on the specific needs of our children and families and tailor their services to meet those needs on an individual level. In the tradition of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, CORA staff focus on the core values of individual worth, mercy, reconciliation and zeal to best serve those coming to us for support. We have established strategic partnerships with other providers, schools and the City of Philadelphia to ensure our capability to best serve the populations who need our services most.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
When CORA was established as a small counseling center in 1971, the agency served about 600 families on their first year of operation. Today CORA touches the lives of approximately 20,000 children and families annually. Our reach now consists of more than 400 employees and 60 programs/services as well as a presence in more than 200 Philadelphia schools. We own and operate 3 excellent early childhood education facilities, run 7 afterschool programs and summer camps serving over 500 children and continue to look for opportunities to bring our services to areas of the city where we could make a positive impact. As we approach our 50th anniversary as an agency, we plan on continung to evolve to meet the needs of the communities we serve and continuing to grow our team and when appropriate without sacrificing the high quality service with care and compassion that's our hallmark.
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.
CORA Services, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 10/27/2020
William DeMarco
John Mapes
Dennis O'Brien
William DeMarco
Bridgid Lawlor
Herbert Bass
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
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
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Disability
No data