Assistance League of Omaha Nebraska, Inc.
Transforming Lives...Strengthening Community
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Assistance League of Omaha is dedicated to providing support and transforming lives of children and adults in the greater Omaha area. Needs include, but are not limited to, lack of appropriate school clothing and shoes, literacy, supporting teen parents, crisis intervention and support.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Assault Survivor Kits
Kits containing a complete change of clothing and hygiene products are provided to hospital emergency rooms and shelters for victims of rape and other forms of violence.
Operation School Bell
When a child in need of school clothing is referred by his or her school staff, he or she is invited to shop at the Operation School Bell shopping event at JCPenney Store at Westroads Mall. The child may choose clothing to meet his or her needs, such as jeans, hoodies, shoes/boots or a new coat. Each year, close to 4000 children from Greater Omaha School Districts receive new clothing from Operation School Bell.
Operation Teen Parent
Prepares and delivers incentives to teen parents to graduate in Omaha Public School District. Selects and awards four senior students scholarships for post-secondary education. Promotes reading to children.
Operation Recovery
Works on life skills projects with the residents of Santa Monica House, a halfway house and program for women with substance and alcohol abuse issues.
Operation Bear Hug
Comforts children in crisis situations with teddy bears distributed by police and emergency agencies.
Operation Literacy
Provides gently-used and new children's books to children and adults in need to encourage reading and promote literacy. The recipients include a homeless shelter, a Grandparents Raising Grandchildren organization, and other social service agencies. The recipients distribute the books to children they serve.
Where we work
Awards
Top-Rated Nonprofit 2021
GREAT NonProfits
2021 1st Place Thrift/Consignment Store 2021
Omaha's Choice Awards
Best Practices Partners 2021
Non-Profit of the Midlands
External reviews

Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of students demonstrating responsible behaviors and work habits
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, Men and boys, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Operation School Bell
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
School personnel when surveyed three months after students participated in Operation School Bell, reported that OSB had a 79% observed positive impact on student behaviors.
Number of youth who demonstrate that they have developed a strong sense of self
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, Men and boys, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Operation School Bell
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
School personnel when surveyed three months after students participated in Operation School Bell, reported that OSB had a 93% observed positive impact on student confidence.
Number of clients served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, Men and boys, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Operation School Bell
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of volunteers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, Men and boys, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Operation School Bell
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Some volunteers were still hesitant to volunteer due to the threat of COVID. Nonetheless, 4707 volunteer hours were dedicated to clothing K-8 children in October.
Total number of organization members
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Infants and toddlers, Children and youth, Adults
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Assistance League of Omaha is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) with 305 members, delivering philanthropic programs to people in need in the Greater Omaha community.
Number of school contacts who believe program meets a high priority student need
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, Men and boys, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Operation School Bell
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
When surveyed three months after Operation School Bell, 100% of school personnel indicated the program served a high-priority need of the school's students. Note: Pandemic impact.
Number of youth who model positive behaviors for peers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, Men and boys, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Operation School Bell
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
School personnel when surveyed three months after students participated in Operation School Bell, reported that OSB had 79% positive impact on classroom behaviors.
Number of youth who demonstrate that their school attendance has improved
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, Men and boys, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Operation School Bell
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
No longer monitored.
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?
1. Operate Philanthropic/Service programs to meet identified community needs.
2. Improve financial strength and profitability.
3. Create and maintain a diverse, informed and committed membership.
4. Increase visibility and name awareness in the community.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Provide adequate staffing for all philanthropic programs. Value, appreciate, and nurture members. Encourage participation of every member in programs and fundraising regardless of membership status. Provide leadership training. Develop funding sources and relationships for budget maintenance and expansion. Become a recognizable all volunteer organization in the community. Assess technological tools available to increase member satisfaction, public relations, and fundraising. Conduct ongoing investigation into newest technological advances and usage/successes of other non-profits. Develop contingency plans for financial and/or public relations windfall, shortfall and/or catastrophe and crisis management.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We are capable of providing a shopping experience for over 4000 students during the month of October to select new school clothing, coats, shoes, and a new book. We are capable of providing clothing/hygiene kits for sexual and physical assault victims for a full year. We are capable of providing teddy bears for first responders and abuse centers year-round to distribute to children. We provide over 2000 children's books for agencies including foster care. We are capable of mentoring and supporting women completing a recovery program for drug/alcohol abuse. We are capable of mentoring and supporting teen parents in the pursuit of finishing their high school education. We are capable of supporting literacy through Operation School Bell, Operation Literacy, and Operation Teen Parent.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The global pandemic continued to challenge our community. Despite limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Operation School Bell served 3,585 kindergarten through eighth grade students, although 4,235 were invited to participate. The shopping experience took place over a sixteen-day period in October. Operation School Bell had a reported 93% positive effect on students who participate. ALO will continue to work with the local schools to ensure we are meeting the needs of their students. We will continue to develop our website, Facebook page, and Instagram account plus look at other social media/communication sources. Thrift Shop . . the store is seeing profits approaching pre-COVID times. During the 2018-19 non-pandemic year, over 3,800 hours of volunteer work were donated by our membership to maintain programming and staffing.
We will continue to assess our programs for impact in the community.
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?
The Assistance League of Omaha dedicates its efforts to helping children and adults in the community so their essential needs are met and families flourish.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Paper surveys, Constituent (client or resident, etc.) advisory committees,
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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 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?
Parent and school personnel feedback regarding Operation School Bell prompted Assistance League to add additional translators available to families during their child's school shopping experience. Data indicated that families were grateful for the additional support while our nonprofit continues to tweak that process.
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,
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How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?
The Assistance League uses feedback to ensure the programs adapt to changing needs in the community. The budget was increased in 2021-22 for Operation School Bell and Operation Bear Hug to meet the demand from the community.
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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 ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, 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,
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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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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.
Assistance League of Omaha Nebraska, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 04/13/2022
Ms. Betsy McDaniel
Assistance League of Omaha
Term: 2020 - 2022
Ms. Carolyn McCormick
Assistance League of Omaha
Term: 2022 - 2023
Linda Perkins
ALO, 1st VP Philanthropic Programs
Terri Gangestad
ALO, 2nd VP Resource Development
Nancy Johnson
ALO, 3rd VP Membership
Carrie Clure
ALO, 4th VP Marketing
Linda Primm
ALO, 5th VP Support Services
Paula Peel
ALO, 6th VP Education
Lynn Perry
ALO, 7th VP Strategic Planning
Kathy David
ALO, 8th VP Technology
Jeannene Mason
ALO, Secretary
Susan Fleetwood
ALO, Treasurer
Robbie Mang
ALO, Pariamentarian
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 ? Not applicable -
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? Not applicable
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:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 04/02/2020GuideStar 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 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 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 help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.