Little Friends, Inc.

In FY25, Little Friends seeks to expand our role as a leader, advocate, and service provider for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) across their lifespan. Identifying the disproportionately high rates of homelessness, unemployment, and poor obesity-related health outcomes, resulting in individuals with I/DD living 18 years less, on average, than the general population, we're offering innovative programs to address inequities in our population's access to social determinants of health.

Little Friends' two schools are fully operational with in-person learning and with enrollments that now reach 130 students. Our Spectrum Vocational Services program completed a full-scale migration into a new facility located next to the agency's two schools. Spectrum was at the Downers Grove location since 1975, representing a 20-minute drive between the agency's two major campuses. Now the buildings are adjacent to each other, creating 14-acre campus that represents more than 136,000 square feet of programming space for children, young adults, and our entire adult population. The agency's respite program has returned with a flourish after COVID-19. The free program used to take place on Thursday evenings. It has now expanded to Wednesday and Saturdays, adding an educational curriculum to support 59 special needs children and their siblings each week.

The Little Friends Center for Autism provides a combination of in-person therapies and Telehealth that enable critical work with children on the autism spectrum to receive diagnostic evaluations, therapy, and parent education from licensed clinical professionals. The agency's Community Living Services staff will continue to provide intermittent to 24/7 care to more than 100 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who reside in one of our 43 community-based residential properties.

Little Friends is in Year 4 of the Building Futures campaign that has successfully raised more than $9MM. The goal is to secure $10MM in five years to support the launch of new, innovative programs, fund significant upgrades to residential facilities, and grow the agency's endowment.

The agency's advancement team is pursuing a diverse and sustainable revenue stream to support Little Friends' continued growth, expanding our special event, third-party fundraisers, foundation and corporate grant requests, government funding opportunities, and appeals.

The key strategy for Little Friends is to build a comprehensive vision for the agency now that the transition of the Spectrum Vocational Services site location from Downers Grove to Warrenville is completed. This represents an exciting new chapter for the agency as all resources will be housed in two large, adjacent buildings for the first time in the organization's 59-year history. With a vision of a healthy living campus, promoting lifelong health strategies for individuals with I/DD that public health campaigns have historically ignored, Little Friends is developing programs for a greenhouse and an on-campus behavioral health center designed to meet the unique needs of our I/DD population.

Our Adult Day Services program has laid the groundwork for the formation of the agency's sixth program, called Connecting Adults with Communities. Launched in January 2024 with great success, this program features job training and job placement for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities between ages 18-35 who are functioning at a higher level of cognitive engagement. Having already secured employment for members of the program's first cohort, our Connecting Adults with Communities program is making great strides as a community leader in workforce development for individuals with I/DD. In addition to our Connecting Adults with Communities Program, Little Friends is working closely with the nationally recognized Ken's Krew job training program for individuals with I/DD, bringing this successful program to Illinois for the first time.

Little Friends' Krejci Academy and Mansion High Schools will continue to expand applied learning applications that align with the teaching curriculum. Krejci Academy was recently named a School of Excellence by the National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET) for the sixth year in a row.

Little Friends is capable in effectively addressing the goals and strategies for the agency because of the longevity of the senior leadership. Four of the nine members of the CEO's cabinet have been with the agency for more than 30 years apiece. Two cabinet members have been with the organization for 20 or more years, and only two of the senior leadership team have been with the agency for less than three years. Prior to his involvement with Little Friends, the CEO was a CEO of two different (and successful) manufacturing businesses for more than 30 years. Our CEO was also recently included in the listing of top 100 CEOs and C-Level Executives in Chicago by Titan 100.

Our ability to address our organizational goals for the year relies heavily on effective communication. The CEO meets with his direct reports every other week and the larger senior leadership team meets twice a month to review progress made on goals we have established for the year. The feedback captured from these meetings is shared at the departmental level so plans can effectively be launched and executed at every level of the agency.

The Board of Directors maintains an active role in governing the agency by providing critical leadership and setting policy with the CEO. The board plays a key role in stewarding funds from the community and by leveraging their contacts to strengthen the agency's profile throughout the region. This group of volunteer leaders are critical in helping the agency navigate into the new space and they will be instrumental in helping the organization achieve success with their capital campaign.

Little Friends completed fiscal year FY24 at the end of June. Highlights for the FY24 year included the re-accreditation by the Council on Quality and Leadership (CQL). CQL is the commonly identified as a leader for human services organizations and systems in improving the quality of life for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through offering resources that include year-round training, consultation, certification and research.

Little Friends's Krejci Academy was named a School of Excellence in 2024 by the National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET). There are only seven private schools in the state of Illinois that carry this distinction and fewer than 85 schools listed nationwide.

The Advancement department set new records in funds raised annually. The 2024 Benefit Auction, which is the agency's signature fundraiser of the year, raised $1MM in gross revenues.