ON YOUR FEET FOUNDATION
Providing post-placement support for birthparents since 2001
Mission
On Your Feet Foundation honors the choice of birthparents to place their child for adoption; empowers all of our clients by connecting them with resources, services and community; and educates others about the challenges facing birthparents.
Ruling year
2001
Executive Director
Mrs. Alexis Eyler
Main address
1555 Sherman Ave #173
Evanston, IL 60201 USA
EIN
36-4460465
NTEE code
Human Service Organizations (P20)
Services to Promote the Independence of Specific Populations (P80)
Adoption (P31)
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
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Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
On Your Feet Foundation works to address the problem of trauma in adoption. Specifically focusing on improving outcomes for birthparents, we provide access to adoption-trauma competent therapy, a community of birthparents, case management support and overall post-placement support. For birthmoms, PPD often goes undetected as it typically falls to pediatricians to identify. Like adoptees, birthparents have higher incidences of substance abuse, depression and incarceration. Our intervention helps birthparents get their lives back on track. When we achieve better outcomes for birthparents, those results translate into better outcomes for all members of the triad (birthparent, adoptive parent, adpoptee).
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
On Your Feet Forever Birthmother Retreats
On Your Feet Foundation holds three weekend retreats annually for birth mothers, along with 3-4 virtual retreats. In-person retreats are held in Michigan City, Indiana, which is easily accessible by car, by plane to Chicago or Indianapolis airports, Amtrak train or even bus. Launched in 2020, our virtual retreats enable birthmoms to attend no matter their location. We have a staff of 7 leading our retreats, all of whom are birthmothers themselves.
Financial Assistance
On Your Feet Foundation awards grants and provides financial assistance to birthparents for tuition assistance, job placement, housing and therapy.
Case Management
Our case managers provide 1,500 hours of direct support to more than 75 birthmoms annually. They:
♣ Offer unbiased support and guidance to birthmothers
♣ Assist birthmothers in setting goals, and defining objectives to meet those goals
♣ Connect birthmothers with other birthmothers, helping to build their community of support
♣ Refer to community resources, such as Dress for Success, National Able Network, and counseling resources that specialize in the adoption triad; identify resources state-by-state to support out-of-state referrals
♣ Coordinate birthmother events, such as career chats and the annual holiday dinner, to help forge relationships with birthmothers and enhance skills
♣ Identify appropriate grant recipients, compose grant requests, and submit to the grant committee - further helping birthmothers reach their goals
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of free participants in conferences
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Families, Parents, Multiracial people, People of African descent, People of Asian descent
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Total number of conferences held
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Multiracial people, People of African descent, People of Asian descent, Families, Parents
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Average number of service recipients per month
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Families of choice
Related Program
Case Management
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Total dollar amount of grants awarded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Multiracial people, People of African descent, Economically disadvantaged people, Victims and oppressed people
Related Program
Financial Assistance
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Total number of grants awarded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Financial Assistance
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of hours of coaching
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Multiracial people, People of African descent, LGBTQ people, Women and girls, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Case Management
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Added a case manager and an associate case manager to staff in 3Q 2020 and 1Q 2021.
Number of mentors recruited
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people, Victims and oppressed people
Related Program
Case Management
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
In 2021, we launched our Birthmom-to-Birthmom Mentor Program.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
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?
On Your Feet Foundation's goal is to improve outcomes for birthparents. We do this through providing comprehensive resources including case management services, access to adoption-trauma competent therapy, birthmom retreats, support groups, as well as adoption education for all members of the adoption constellation, with a focus on shining a light on birthparents and adoptees. In addition, we offer grants to birthparents for therapy in the event that they do not have access to therapy through their insurance or do not have insurance. We also help our birthparents pursue educational goals including awarding grants for tuition. Our case management staff assists with resume development, interview skills and job placement. We seek partnerships with organizations such as Dress for Success in order to help our clients. In 2022, we launch our Birthparent Support Alliance, a membership program enabling adoption agencies and attorneys to provide comprehensive, neutral post-placement support to all of their clients. In addition, in 4Q 2022, we launched Activism in Adoption as a standalone educational platform that scaffolds marginalized voices in adoption, specifically birtparents and adoptees.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
- We have broadened our reach across the US and Canada by offering all of our programs virtually, enabling us to reach birthparents no matter where they are.
- We are working with adoption agencies to prioritize post-placement care through the launch of our Birthparent Support Alliance
- We are educating all stakeholders in adoption - adoption professionals, prospective adoptive families, adoptive families, adoptees and birthparents through our newly-launched Activism in Adoption Platform
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We are a neutral organization within the adoption landscape which uniquely positions us to work with all members of the adoption constellation in an unbiased manner.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Access to comprehensive post-placement services for birthparents has never been more important. On Your Feet Foundation’s neutral position in the adoption constellation remains unique. As our reputation as the authority on post-placement support has grown, so have requests for services by birthparents located throughout North America. Our community of supporters has been integral in keeping up with this demand for our services. This year we launched our Birthparent Support Alliance for adoption professionals to demonstrate their commitment to ethical adoptions by ensuring that the birthparents they work with will be able to access post-placement services through On Your Feet Foundation. We shined light on our mission through an increase in outreach. By attending conferences, hosting networking events, and continuing our adoption education series, Activism in Adoption, we were able to connect with members of the adoption constellation, enabling collaborative opportunities for best practices for ethical adoptions. Recently, an adoption professional who regularly participates in Activism in Adoption, credited On Your Feet Foundation with laying the groundwork for all sides of the adoption constellation to thrive. She also thanked our staff for sparking change within the practices of their agency. The impact of our work goes beyond our direct services, though we are so proud of that too.
In 2022, On Your Feet Foundation:
- Hosted nearly 200 birthmoms at 75 BirthmomsConnect Calls with themes ranging from Effective Communication to Taming Anxiety, all with opportunities to share personal stories and develop a support network.
-Through case management, we worked individually with 78 birthparents in the form of 1:1 coaching and customized resources.
-We connected 10 mentors and mentees for the 2nd year, witnessing how those relationships grow and benefit participants.
-52 birthmoms attended retreats, offered in both in-person and virtual formats which eliminated barriers to participation.
-We awarded 8 grants for counseling and provided gifts to nearly 70 children through our Holiday Assistance Program.
-We connected with hundreds of adoption professionals throughout the United States to answer questions, engage support, and instill the urgency that birthparent needs are prioritized.
-We had over 180 attendees participate in Activism in Adoption, an educational platform which creates a safe space for open and honest conversations on challenging topics.
-More than 300 birthparents are connected through closed Facebook groups, including our birthfathers support group
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 serve individuals who have chose to place a child for adoption. In addition, through our adoption education initiatives, we serve all members of the adoption constellation.
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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, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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What significant change resulted from feedback?
We have made adjustments to our registration process for retreats and added a program in partnership with another organization
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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 take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, 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 demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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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, 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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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
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ON YOUR FEET FOUNDATION
Board of directorsas of 01/23/2023
Monica Tsikretsis
Deanna Schuette
United Way
Term: 2022 - 2024
Nancy Swabb
Molly Berger
Adoption Center of Illinois
Martha Lindstrom
Cordan James
Jennifer Diehl
Hope Baker
Hannah Eloge
Kindred+Co
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? 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
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 01/23/2023GuideStar 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 review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- 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 disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- 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 use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- 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.
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