PAULS PLACE INC
Transforming Lives, Strengthening Community
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Poverty, homelessness, unemployment, inadequate education, and other challenges keep people living in Southwest Baltimore communities from leading stable and self-sufficient lives. The basic cost of living for a family of 4 in Baltimore is $51,234; nearly 60% of families in Southwest Baltimore earn less than $40,000. Our neighbors are living paycheck to paycheck, and an unexpected bill can mean cutting back on food, having to go without needed medicines, having the lights turned off, or even homelessness. In Southwest Baltimore, 30% of adults have not completed high school. That leaves them unprepared for most jobs. As a result, more than 30% of the adult population is not working and the unemployment rate exceeds 14% – almost 3 times the national average. 6 in 10 children are living in poverty. The adults in their lives are struggling to meet the basic needs of their families and are not always able to provide the academic support, safety, and encouragement children need to thrive.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Health and Wellness Programs
Paul's Place's health and wellness programs improve the physical and mental well-being of low-income and homeless adults and children in Southwest Baltimore. Health and wellness programs include hot lunch, emergency food pantry, market place, showers, laundry service, nurses' clinic, and women's group.
Case Management Services
Paul's Place's case management service increase workforce-related skills and help low-income and homeless adults in Southwest Baltimore move toward self-sufficiency. Case management services include employment assistance, Ambassador volunteer program (structured volunteering for community residents), benefits assistance, holiday programs, and one-on-one coaching/case management.
Programs for Children and Youth
Paul's Place's programs for children and youth promote academic success and personal growth, providing mentoring, and developing personal responsibility, self-esteem, and resiliency. The after-school program for 125 Pre-K-5th grade students is held at nearby George Washington Elementary School
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 clinic visits provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Health and Wellness Programs
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Data by fiscal year
Number of meals served or provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Health and Wellness Programs
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Data by fiscal year
Number of students at or above a 90% attendance rate
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Programs for Children and Youth
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Could not track due to COVID-19 school closures
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?
Paul's Place is a catalyst and leader for change, improving the quality of life in the Southwest Baltimore communities of Pigtown, Poppleton, Southwest Baltimore, Morrell Park, and Westport. Paul's Place provides programs, services, and support that strengthen individuals and families, fostering hope, personal dignity, and growth.
Our vision is that the individuals and families living in the communities of Southwest Baltimore will have full access to high quality health care, education, employment, and housing along with the other supports necessary for stability and self-sufficiency.
In 2016, Paul's Place completed an assessment of neighborhood needs and opportunities to respond with programs and services that are part of the solution to poverty and disenfranchisement in the neighborhoods of Southwest Baltimore and in Baltimore City. That assessment led to a set of four strategic goals to guide the growth and sustainability of programs and operations through 2019 and to envision the future of human service delivery:
1. Operate a dynamic, anchor human service agency that improves the lives of people in Southwest Baltimore.
2. Position Paul's Place externally as a thought leader and internally as a highly effective organization.
3. Ensure the financial sustainability of Paul's Place in order to continue and adapt to changing needs in Southwest Baltimore.
4. Re-imagine human service delivery in Southwest Baltimore in order to respond to changing needs and serve more residents.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Paul's Place offers a broad range of programs, services, and resources for underserved individuals and families in Southwest Baltimore to help them move closer to self-sufficiency and reduce their reliance on emergency services and basic assistance.
Health and Wellness Programs improve the physical and mental well-being of low-income and homeless adults and children in Southwest Baltimore.
- Basic assistance programs provide hot meals; showers; emergency food provisions; laundry service; gently-used clothing; and emergency utility, medical, and rent assistance.
- A Nurses' Clinic in partnership with the University of Maryland, School of Nursing offers health check-ups; medical case management; referrals for medical, substance use and mental health services; and assistance navigating insurance and health care systems.
- Weekly Men's and Women's Groups provide guests opportunities to build support networks, enjoy activities together, and work through challenges.
Case Management Services increase workforce-related skills and help low-income and homeless adults in Southwest Baltimore move toward self-sufficiency.
- Adult education offerings include basic literacy classes, GED classes and exam preparation, and computer skills training in our 21-station computer lab.
- An on-site employment coach, based at Paul's Place in partnership with Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, provides targeted support for unemployed or underemployed adults in job searching and career development.
- The Ambassador Program offers a structured volunteer experience for working-age adults in early recovery, for senior citizens, and for adults with limited employability addressing barriers to employment and personal growth.
- The STABLE Home Project connects individuals and families experiencing chronic homelessness to Safe housing in a Timely manner that is Aligned with their needs, priced within the Budget, Local and Enduring.
- Case management is available for adults and children to receive structured, ongoing assistance in navigating complex challenges and reaching self-selected goals related to housing, employment, mental and physical health, education, and other issues.
Programs for Children and Youth promote academic success and personal growth, provide mentoring, and develop personal responsibility, self-esteem, and resiliency.
- After-school programs for students in grades 1-12 offer academic support, enrichment activities, opportunities to enhance physical and mental health, career exploration, internships and mentoring.
- Summer programs for elementary and middle students enhance learning over the summer through exposure to new experiences; summer programs for high school students provide career exploration, college preparation and a paid internship.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
William (Bill) McLennan has served as Executive Director for over 18 years. Bill has led the growth of Paul’s Place from offering basic needs services to offering programs that help our guests move toward self-sufficiency and has increased the number of people we serve from 1,500 guests each year to 3,500. Through his leadership, Paul’s Place has developed strong, authentic partnerships with dozens of nonprofit organizations, businesses, schools, faith-based organizations and government agencies to strengthen our ability to serve our guests.
Terry Manning, Deputy Director, has worked in the nonprofit sector for 20 years, with 15 at the senior management level. Prior to Paul's Place, she served seven years as Vice President of Human Capital Management and Compliance at the Children’s Guild where she oversaw all aspects of human resources and created a quality improve monitoring system. In addition to supervising frontline staff, she is overseeing implementation of the new culinary training kitchen initiative.
Paul’s Place considers its financial stability a priority to ensure we can continue providing essential services to individuals and families in crisis. Over time, we have maintained broad support from a variety of sources including individuals, foundations, businesses, and government agencies. We are fortunate to have a loyal donor base as evidenced by the 60% donor retention rate we have enjoyed for the past three years. This far exceeds the national average of 45.5%. Our development team works diligently to attract new donors in all categories and engage them in full partnerships including volunteering, in-kind gifts, and financial support. In FY19, 48% of our donors increased their giving from the previous year, and 234 donors made their first gift.
Our fundraising is strengthened by strong volunteer involvement and targeted requests for in-kind support. The contribution of time by 3,500 volunteers annually represents a huge cost savings to Paul’s Place and increases our internal capacity to deliver quality services. In FY19, we averaged more than 100 new volunteers each month.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Thanks to our efforts over the past 38 years, thousands of people have achieved stability. However, community listening sessions in the wake of the 2015 Uprising confirmed that the need for job training, accessible employment, and neighborhood economic development continues. Vulnerable residents require more than short-term assistance; they need a long-term economic investment to support them in achieving economic stability. Paul’s Place will launch a culinary art training program that will empower residents to become self-sustaining.
We are designing and constructing a 21,000 square foot facility on a newly acquired vacant lot at the western gateway to Pigtown – the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Cross Street. The building will house the culinary arts training program as well as a restaurant and catering business that will operate to provide on-the-job training. The training program – to open in spring 2021 – will follow a national, evidence-based model to prepare 60 adults per year for careers with good wages in the food service industry.
Graduates will receive both front and back of the house training due to the onsite restaurant and catering business. They will earn the ServSafe certification® at the managerial level, which opens job opportunities in industries in Baltimore that pay above minimum wage. We will connect participants to employment through our network of partnerships with local anchor institutions, and continue providing case management support for a minimum of six months post-graduation.
While enrolled, students will have immediate access to Paul's Place's services, including food, showers, laundry, mail holding, computer and phone access, transportation assistance, and assistance with their stability goals. They will also have a place to store their belongings and study in the Groundworks student lounge space.
The Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation projects a 12% growth in Baltimore City in food preparation and service in the decade ending in 2024; further, the Southwest Baltimore area has large institutions that have both food service needs for employees and a desire to support and improve their community. We will harness this industry growth to train more community residents to take advantage of these higher-wage opportunities.
According to the 2018 Economic Impact Study by Sage Policy Group commissioned by Paul’s Place, the culinary art training program, restaurant, and catering business will support 122 jobs and nearly $12.2 million in annual economic activity after the first year due to operational spending and the spending of households positively impacted through job placement.
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?
For 40 years, Paul's Place has made a commitment to support and help individuals and families in the underserved communities of Southwest Baltimore. We serve those experiencing homelessness, food insecurity, barriers to employment, and people who need help with access to medical care, benefits, and/or vital documents.
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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 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?
In response to guest surveys and informal feedback, we now offer breakfast as part of our food program, in addition to our established lunch service. Within the first week, the number of breakfast guests has grown.
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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 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 act on the feedback we receive
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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
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
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.
PAULS PLACE INC
Board of directorsas of 09/15/2022
Larry Laws
BGE/Constellation
Term: 2022 - 2023
Larry Laws
BGE
Gabrielle Glorioso
Carroll County Public Schools
Jason Goger
STX
Shurid Sen
Sustainalytics
Keith Stone
Brown Advisory
Katrina Sungail
Visit Baltimore
Terry Thompson
Franklin Templeton
Michael Wilt
Becton Dickinson
Larry Lichter
McCormick & Co.
Charles Callahan
University of Maryland Medical Center
Dante Jones
Jones Enterprise Construction Services
Susan Owens
Wells Fargo, retired
Paul Schurick
Oyster Recovery Partnership
Yvonne Terry
Baltimore Outreach Services
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
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 10/30/2020GuideStar 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 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 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 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.