FamilyMeans
Better is possible.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
FamilyMeans' programs
FamilyMeans provides the community with a variety of support ranging from Financial Solutions; Caregiving & Aging; Counseling & Therapy, School-Based Mental Health; Center for Grief & Loss; Youth Development for two low-income communities; and an Employee Assistance Program.
Financial Solutions
FamilyMeans Financial Solutions offers budget and credit counseling, debt management, student loan counseling, credit report review counseling, and financial education to help families develop the skills needed to establish and maintain financial stability. Our counselors are trained and certified by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, the national leader in setting high standards and ethical practices for nonprofit agencies. Financial Solutions offices are located in Stillwater, St. Paul, Eau Claire, and Rochester. Over the phone counseling also available.
Counseling & Therapy
FamilyMeans Counseling & Therapy provides mental health services to families and individuals ages 3 and up by a team of multidisciplinary mental health professionals. Mental health is important at every stage of life. It affects how people handle stress, relate to one another, and make decisions. Untreated mental health is associated with high risk behaviors, isolation, loss of hope, conflict in relationships, unemployment, homelessness and our national increasing rate of suicides. FamilyMeans has outpatient clinics in Stillwater, St. Paul, and Hudson.
Youth Development Initiative
Our Youth Development Initiative in the Landfall and Cimarron mobile-home communities provides the only on-site after-school and summer programming for youth ages 5 – 18. Both communities are home to low-income, diverse and at-risk youth populations that are physically and financially isolated from other after-school or summer activities. Participating youth can explore art, science, music, sports, cooking and technological skill-building in an open, free-choice environment.
School-Based Mental Health Services
School-Based Mental Health Services provides assessment, treatment and consultation services in the most easily accessed location for students: their schools. School co-location reduces the barriers of transportation, stigma, and finances. Research tells us that 20% of our students are struggling with mental health issues, 13% at a severity that interferes with daily functioning. We also find that only 2 out of 10 of these students are typically identified and treated. FamilyMeans' Counselors are accessible to students in 24 schools in 5 districts in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.
Caregiving & Aging
FamilyMeans Caregiver & Aging provides education, counseling, information/referral, support groups and group and in-home respite to informal, unpaid caregivers of children and adults, including elders, with functional limitations. We educate and involve the community in emerging issues related to aging, and engage people of all ages in meaningful volunteerism.
The Center for Grief & Loss
The Center for Grief & Loss, located in St. Paul, is a specialized mental health program that provides a range of services for grief, trauma, and life transitions. Services are available for children, teens, families, adults and couples. The Center also provides support and therapy in specialized loss groups such as for parent or child loss and suicide survivors. In addition, therapists at the Center partner with our clinic in Stillwater to offer support at organizations, schools, and businesses in the community for their staff or students after traumatic events.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
Council on Accreditation 2019
Videos
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
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?
A place to get and give help. FamilyMeans' mission is to strengthen communities by helping individuals and families* through life's challenges.
*FamilyMeans believes a family consists of people, whether living together or apart, related by blood, marriage, adoption or commitment to care for one another.
Every year, FamilyMeans helps over 12,000 individuals and families navigate life's challenges.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
See 2022-2025 strategic plan that helps to guide the Board of Directors and Staff at FamilyMeans.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
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 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
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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?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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about GuideStar Pro.
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
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
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.
FamilyMeans
Board of directorsas of 08/29/2022
Brian Gunderson
Heidi Hubbard
Brian Gunderson
Josh Zignego
Jessica Meletiou
Michael Lyner
Melissa Harris
Marissa Kropp
Rajean Moone
Peter Matzek
Lindsay Belland
Robert Clark
Clark Schroeder
Anu Green
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? Yes
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
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 09/16/2019GuideStar 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.