BUILDING FAMILIES TOGETHER INC NFP
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Building Families Together wishes to assist families whose lives have been disrupted by incarceration through referral sources and building community service partnerships, while adding services inside the jails and prison systems.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Fatherhood and Reentry Program
This is our own unique 12 week program that is offered in the Lake county jail by a 1 male mentor and 1 mental health professional. This program is run by volunteers to teach men about - manhood, fatherhood, and reentry. This is with the hopes that they are better equip to be returning citizens once they are relapsed.
Building Families Together Re-entry Mentoring Program
Through Our mentors we provide experience based mentoring to men returning to society after incarceration.
We place individuals with experienced individuals who have a history of at-least 3 years in society free from criminal behavior and lifestyle.
Through these mentors we provide those participating in our mentoring program with the experience strength and hope they need to succeed.
Through this program we teach participants how to walk the road already paved to productive positive lifestyles and community involvement.
Clothing Program
This program was formed through in-kind donations. We have clothing and household items for our clients (men, women, and children). This was started because when men are released from being incarcerated they only have a pair of sweat pants and tee-shirt. This attire is not good enough for a job interview. In addition, for their significant others and their children it is very difficult to provide for the family if dad was the primary bread winner. So, by providing these items it help lessen the stress on the family unit.
Online Court Classes
Our online classes is nationally recognized and satisfies court, legal, and employment requirements. Click here to view our Course Instructor’s credentials and designations.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Average grant amount
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Families, Incarcerated people
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We were unable to obtain any grants for these years, unfortunately.
Number of training workshops
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Incarcerated people
Related Program
Fatherhood and Reentry Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Total number of organization members
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Families, Incarcerated people
Related Program
Fatherhood and Reentry Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This is representative of our Board of Directors.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
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?
These programs will further help our families with the reentry process. We are also actively seeking donor funding to help with our mission. These potential donors, will benefit from increased customer and brand loyalty, attract new business partners and relationships, generate recognition for the good they create in society, and receive tax donation for contributions. In addition, we are actively seeking partnerships to expand our reach and to aid Illinois in the lack of reentry services.
Building Families Together goals are to connect fathers who are returning to society with the resources that research shows as being most vital to avoid recidivating, as well as connecting their families with the support necessary for successful reentry. Initially these connections will be made with other business providing such services. Resources include, but are not limited to: providing referrals for anger management, substance abuse interventions, reentry programs, housing and employment opportunities.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Objectives for the next four years:
1) Increase partnerships to 3 each year
2) Increase working relationship with correction facilities to 3 each year
3) Establish a working relationship with 4 schools a year
4) Establish a working relationship with 3 churches a year
5) Develop a sustainable Corporation
6) Continue to find donors and enhance/increase fundraisers
7) Continue to hire volunteers for branding, marketing website, enhancement, and program design e.g. (Volunteers are from Taproot)
8) Obtain 12 dedicated and motivated members to the Board of Directors
9) Obtain commercial property to service our clients in one place
10) Appeal to donors that care about our cause
11) Implement accessible reentry programs
Keys to Success
• Establish and build relationship and trust with families, communities, and community leaders
• Provide accessible family services
• Establish assessible and sliding scale fee reentry programs on our website
• Build a supportive and active Board of Directors
• Hire motivated interns and volunteers
• Launch a series of fundraisers that will successfully fund our client's needs
• Gain active donor membership
• Write award winning grants
• Assist other organizations in our community with similar interest
Building Families Together is looking to attain start-up and operational funding. Due to Illinois's, statewide funding cuts and without a state budget, obtaining state assistance may not be a viable option. Therefore, we understand for our nonprofit to survive we need the continued support of volunteers and added support of donors. Therefore, we will utilize a mix of several diverse financial resources to achieve sustainability. Without start-up and operational funds, it will be nearly impossible to provide for families who desperately need the help of Building Families Together or to compete with competitors.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Building Families Together prides itself on wanting collaborations, networking and building partnerships. This standard works from a cooperative framework in all that we do. It is a deep-seated part of our cultural as a Corporation. In fact, there are very few projects or programs that do not involve some level of partnership and/or collaboration with others. For example, using a solid referral base can advance overall community initiatives in assisting an underserved population. Building Families Together will also seek collaboration, networking, and partnerships with all individuals that are rooted in our interest. This will help us gain service expansion in this unique industry. Building Families Together's partnership, collaboration, and networking efforts will cause a reeling expansion that will continue over the next several years. We are indeed a Corporation with unique opportunities to forge lasting and meaningful relationships with other corporations to strengthen the nonprofit community.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Every individual working on behalf of Building Families Together (including CEO, volunteers, interns, and the Board of Directors) has been equally charged with the responsibility of having the conversations that lead to expanding awareness of who the company is and what they do, as well as for upholding and embodying the mission, vision, and values of Building Families Together. At this time, we have been able to help 5 families in the past two months with life skills services (coping skills); supplied clothing to their children. We have built strong partnerships with neighboring libraries, other nonprofits, police stations, and IKEA to help with job placement. We will continue to use our marketing strategy to successfully place ourselves in our community as a valuable and much needed resource. This will be accomplished by a volunteer referral coordinator who will create and maintain a network of contacts that will serve as a referral source for the program.
Brochures will be developed to sell the benefits of the program to referrers, donors and clients. The referral coordinator will provide progress reports for the referring program, school, church, or agency. The goal will be to build an effective marketing program on the success of helping 2 or more families a month and gaining 1-2 every 3 months.
A marketing effort will also be implemented to attract and retain quality volunteers for Building Families Together. However, the core of the marketing strategy will be the creation of the program's Board of Directors who will be charged with the responsibility of advocating for Building Families Together to 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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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 identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, 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?
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.
BUILDING FAMILIES TOGETHER INC NFP
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2022
Bob Whitt
Building Families Together Inc.
Term: 2019 - 2022
Jennifer Witherspoon
Vice President
Hema Kumar
Treasurer
Gil Feliciano
Director
Nilesh Patel
Director
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
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 01/15/2021GuideStar 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 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 use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- 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.