Able to Serve, Inc.
give abilities a chance.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
In North Carolina, adults with special needs age out of high school when they turn 21. Thousands of these adults in Wake and Johnston Counties don’t attend college or trade school and are isolated from society, without opportunities to reach their full potential. Further, adults with disabilities are faced with unstructured schedules and experience the instability and uncertainty that results from being disconnected from others. They are often ignored, overlooked, and misunderstood and lack opportunities to explore what they have to offer their community and the world. Able to Serve's model provides structure through our day program where they are able to learn to become more independent and continue their education, are challenged to grow and mature through new experiences, accept responsibility for themselves and lead by example, and serve their fellow citizens as a meaningful part of the community.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Able to Serve Day Program
Day Program (Monday-Friday)-provides continuing education, life skills training, and active community experiences. Activities include web-based curriculum, service projects with local nonprofits/civic groups, operational greenhouse, and weekly activities on-site.
Where we work
External reviews

Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Sixty percent (60%) of Participant fees are covered by Able to Serve's fundraising efforts and donations.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Health
Related Program
Able to Serve Day Program
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Holding steady
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?
* Become the premier organization that serves adults with disabilities in Wake and Johnston County
* Become the go-to organization that provides a seamless transition for adults with disabilities
who are exiting high school
* Provide the best-in-class day program (in-person and online) for adults with disabilities
* Increase the number of participants in the program to 80 by the end of 2023
* Grow revenue to $650,000 by the end of 2023
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
To be the premier organization that serves adults with disabilities in Wake and Johnston County Expand exposure in the community:
Marketing: Upgrade design of all printed collateral / Make improvements to website
Secure external validation
Ensure management controls, policies, and procedures are documented and that we are in compliance with
all legal & regulatory requirements
Establish succession plan / executive team
To be the go-to organization that provides a seamless transition for adults with disabilities who are exiting high school:
Educate schools and parents regarding the opportunity and benefit of transition
Identify and build relationships with key decision-makers at county and school level
Increase exposure among families with students with disabilities
To provide the best-in-class day program (in-person and online) for adults with disabilities:
Increase relational engagement with families/participants:
Establish a case for being best-in-class
Create plan to implement online components of curriculum and program activities
Increase our capacity to effectively serve up to 80 participants by the end of 2023:
Acquire additional space and upfit for expansion and satisfy necessary infrastructure to accommodate 80
participants (budget, staffing, etc)
Grow revenue up to $650,000 by the end of 2023 to accommodate participant growth. Expand church partnerships:
Expand ATS network of new prospective donors
Create a compelling framework for communicating cost vs fundraising
Put together a plan for moving followers/donors to the next level of engagement
Feature the full five-day program when presenting to families to increase fee-for-service revenue
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Able to Serve is a faith-based, community-funded nonprofit organization that believes every person, regardless of their abilities, is created by God to live a full life. Our core service is a day program that focuses on providing a supportive environment to equip adults with disabilities with continuing education and life skills to be more independent and connects them with opportunities to use their abilities to serve serve their fellow citizens as a meaningful part of the community.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Able to Serve recently completed its Three Year Strategic Plan. Our progress to date has been:
Securing Platinum Level status with GuideStar
Fundraising/Development Plan completed
Completed the redesign of parents' packet & brochures
Implement GiveCloud online donation/campaign pages
Emphasize five-day benefits during parent presentations and in welcome packet
Design a major donor strategy (how to present to them and how to cultivate relationships)
All other activities are in process.
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 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, We include qualified feedback into our day program.
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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, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Participant Family time availability
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
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.
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.
Able to Serve, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 08/10/2023
Mrs. Carolyn MIddleton
Retired
Term: 2022 - 2024
Miss Holly Williams
Horizon Forest Products
Term: 2024 - 2022
Holly Williams
Horizon Forest Products, Marketing
Judy McCreery
Realestate Sales
Sue Lucas
Retired
Jennifer Boyd
Josnston County Schools
Mary Taylor Land
Retired
Paula Taylor
Retired
Jerry Blalock
Retired
Andrew Hodge
Adams and Hodge Engineering
Kimberly Davis
Future Homes
Carolyn Middleton
Retired
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:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
No data
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 08/09/2023GuideStar 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 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 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.