Blessings in Disguise
paying it forward one donation at a time
Mission
Our mission is to provide free medical equipment and adaptable devices to seniors who can' afford the out of pocket expenses and to provide financial hardship to those families faced with a loss of income due to unemployment, FMLA, or short term disability, all employer approved.
Notes from the nonprofit
We are a 100% Volunteer Organization whereas our board members all have full time jobs in the community and we do this to give back to the underserved in our community. We don't give paychecks, we don't have offices, and we pride ourselves on being the most frugally minded nonprofit in the Toledo area. Our nonprofit doesn't even pay for the gasoline of our delivery vehicle. We use our monies with our community in mind. Almost the majority of the donations we receive aid a person in our community. We are an almost overhead free organization and that's how we intend to keep it. Volunteerism is a privilege.
Ruling year
2014
Founder?Executive Director
John Wade Sayre
Main address
2150 River Road
Maumee, OH 43537 USA
EIN
46-4922599
NTEE code
Family Services (P40)
Human Services - Multipurpose and Other N.E.C. (P99)
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
Our goals are two fold: providing financial assistance to families faced with loss of income due to unemployment, FMLA, and short term disability. Secondly, since we launched our HELP for Seniors program we have helped more than 2800 seniors with free durable medical equipment and aids. We are filling the gap with these two areas of concentration when the problems arise as there is no secondary source to fix these problems.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
H.E.L.P. for Seniors
The H.E.L.P. Program for Seniors stands for Helping Elderly Live Productively.
Today, Seniors need community support. We want to be one of those nonprofit organizations to help when we can.
So, in conjunction with a few knowledgeable Occupational Therapists, we are starting a loaner program for adaptive products such as walkers, canes, shower stools, shower benches, portable toilets, reachers and grabbers, and grippers.
The program will assist those seniors who can’t afford certain adaptive products or who are waiting for approval from their insurance provider but may need it now. You can borrow up to 2 items at a time.
HELP FOR HARDSHIP
Our Help For Hardship program can bridge the gap if you are suddenly faced with unemployment (no fault of your own), short term disability, workers compensation or FMLA.
Every day in our community, people face financial crisis’ that can topple the very foundation of their livelihood they have worked building for so many years.
When you need some assistance to stabilize your situation, that assistance can be very simple and small, yet very impactful. Whether you need mortgage/rent assistance, a car payment paid, a utility bill caught up to avoid shut off and even some basic groceries can make a huge difference in relieving the threat of financial collapse.
Where we work
Awards
Great Nonprofits 2020
Top Nonprofits
External reviews
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Average number of service recipients per month
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Older adults, Seniors
Related Program
H.E.L.P. for Seniors
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of people accessing aids or adaptations as a percentage of the number of people receiving a service from the Occupational Therapy service
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Older adults, Seniors
Related Program
H.E.L.P. for Seniors
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This is the number of seniors who have received free medical equipment or adaptive aids since we started our HELP for Seniors Program.
How many elderly patients are served each year with free medical or adaptive devices through your organization?
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Older adults, Seniors
Related Program
H.E.L.P. for Seniors
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This number represents the number of seniors in Toledo Metro area receiving 1 or more pieces of durable medical equipment or adaptive aids not provided by healthcare insurance.
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?
our goal is to fill the gap, give both of our target audiences "HOPE" and to really provide assistance to them at no cost to them. When we hear of a family or a family has written in to us for hardship assistance, we normally can turn around an answer and cut checks to the companies they owe within a week.
As it relates to our H.E.L.P. Program for Seniors, we normally can fulfill that gap within a couple days provided we have the medical equipment in stock. The majority of the equipment we buy is used and we repurpose for the sake of the community and continue to save money to do more for our community.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
#1. We are a volunteer organization. So no one receives any salary or wages for helping us.
#2. We always ask for anything free or reduced so we can help more people.
#3 We bring influencers to our board that that know people who can provide free services which allows us to spend more on our services and help more people.
#4 100% of the monies we bring in, are used for our core services. Nothing is spent on lunches, seminars, reimbursements, etc...
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Everyone from our board members, volunteers, and individual donors all perform various call to action initiatives to help us save money by getting services free, services highly reduced, and medical equipment either donated, found online used cheap, or get others to donate what they may have in the form of equipment.
Relating to our HELP for Hardship program, we have succinct rules in place on who we help. There are other programs out there that help the lower class/poverty level people, and we are in place to help those who fall through the cracks at the lower to middle class class level.Having these rules in place has drastically reduced the number of people who write to us for assistance.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Since our inception we have done the following:
1. helped more than 76 families due to financial hardship.
2. Paid for 32 Veterans Christmas Items during 2019 Christmas.
3. Donated more than 350 toys to children who may have gone without in 2019.
4. Providing 10 seniors with Christmas items
5. Provided more than 700 Seniors with medical equipment they couldn't afford.
Goals for 2020
1. Expand our Help for Hardship program from 1 month of help to 2 months of assistance.
2. Help over 400 seniors next year with durable medical equipment.
3. Create an ad hoc program to help those who don’t qualify for our Help for Hardship program.
4. Apply for a grant to help purchase a used box truck with lift gate.
5. Expand our drop off location spots
6. Reach 200 active donors giving $10 a month to our mission.
7. Reach Platinum status on Guidestar by providing complete metrics
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 make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, 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, 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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- 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.
Blessings in Disguise
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2022
Beth Rose
Beth Rose Auction Company
Term: 2014 - 2022
John Sayre
Absolute Worldwide Logistics Inc
Jean Jones
Beth Rose Auction Company
Cathy McGuire
McGuire Insurance
Rebecca Abu-Absi
Progressive Therapy
Joseph Iannucci
United Airlines
Vinnie Schiavone
Jim White Toyota
James Preston
NA
Todd Gagne
I2M Marketing
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
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 02/05/2021GuideStar 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 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 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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