Assistance League of Omaha Nebraska, Inc.

Transforming Lives...Strengthening Community

Omaha, NE   |  www.ALOmaha.org

Mission

Assistance League volunteers transforming the lives of children and adults through community programs.

Ruling year info

1974

President

Ms. Betsy McDaniel

President-Elect

Ms. Carolyn McCormick

Main address

8502 West Center Rd

Omaha, NE 68124-2159 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

47-6088120

NTEE code info

Human Service Organizations (P20)

Human Services - Multipurpose and Other N.E.C. (P99)

Thrift Shops (P29)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2020, 2019 and 2018.
Register now

Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

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

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

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.

Population(s) Served
Women and girls
Men and boys

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.

Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Children and youth

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.

Population(s) Served
Adolescents

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.

Population(s) Served
Substance abusers
Women and girls

Comforts children in crisis situations with teddy bears distributed by police and emergency agencies.

Population(s) Served
Non-adult children

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.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth

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

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

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

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

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.

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.

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.

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

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • 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.

  • 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,

  • 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,

  • 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.

  • With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

    The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,

  • 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.

  • 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,

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback,

Financials

Assistance League of Omaha Nebraska, Inc.
lock

Unlock financial insights by subscribing to our monthly plan.

Subscribe

Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our 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.

Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build 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.

lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build 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 directors
as of 04/13/2022
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board co-chair

Ms. Betsy McDaniel

Assistance League of Omaha

Term: 2020 - 2022


Board co-chair

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

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • 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

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 4/5/2022

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:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female

The organization's co-leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

No data

 

No data

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 04/02/2020

GuideStar 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

Data
  • 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.
Policies and processes
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.