Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Dignity Matters was created in 2016 to address the lack of access to essential feminine hygiene items and underwear among homeless women and girls in Massachusetts. The need for free feminine hygiene products at shelters and schools is overlooked, so Dignity Matters' mission is focused on providing women and girls with these necessities which they must have to successfully function in a modern society Dignity Matters strives to provide period protection to all Massachussetts women who need them to immediately restore their dignity, and to remove some of the monthly reoccurring barriers these women have that prevent them from continuing education or work, looking after their families and achieving their goals. We do this as the best available research, data, our experience and observations at shelters as well as common sense points to the fact that lack of access to free period protection amongst women who can’t afford it is harmful to menstrual health and dignity of women.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Dignity at Schools
"Dignity at Schools" - through this program Dignity Matters supplies menstrual products, sports bras and underwear to over 50 high and middle schools in Greater Boston, Cambridge, Lowell, Lawrence in MA and Concord, Nashua and Hudson in NH. We have formed a partnership with Catie's Closet enabling us to supply these items to school closets (run by Catie’s Closet) so that girls can access them within their school building. Recent US study showed that “nearly one in five American girls have either left school early or missed school entirely because they did not have access to period products”*. Another 2017 New York study also proved that providing free period protection to school-aged girls reduced school absenteeism by 2.4%.* Because of the direct link between the provision of free menstrual care to schoolgirls and an increased school attendance Dignity Matters considers it a priority to continue to grow its “Dignity at Schools “ program.
To further support teen girls and their wellbeing, Dignity Matters supplies all 11 Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston with menstrual products as well as after-school programs in MetroWest. We are currently expanding to program to schools in MetroWest area.
"Dignity at Shelters"
"Dignity at Shelters" Programs supports homeless women at shelters and domestic violence programs with menstrual care and other necessities.
Where we work
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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?
In the short term, we strive to provide free tampons, sanitary napkins and underwear to those women and girls who cannot afford or readily access them. Addressing women’s most basic needs is central to improving the quality of their life, which in turn improves the lives of their family and all those around them. Through our current programs at shelters, public schools, food pantries and medical centers for homeless population, Dignity Matters support 2100 women EVERY MONTH with full period protection, as well as required underwear.
Our long term vision is a world where basic feminine hygiene products are available in all public bathrooms, free of charge, just like toilet paper is (and, incidentally, for similar health and cleanliness reasons). Accomplishing this, ideally though legislative changes, would bring us a big step closer to achieving true equality, which is imperative for a fair and sustainable world where everyone can thrive.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
After two years of operations Dignity Matters grew from a small grass-roots organization to the largest reliable provider of period protection and underwear for homeless women in Massachusetts.
Currently, to scale up, Dignity Matters is going through a strategic shift from predominantly in-kind donations, to a more scalable product purchasing strategy. This higher efficiency model of increased purchases of products directly from a low-cost volume manufacturer will quickly enable us to increase scale of operation by directly delivering the right specification product, straight to the women in most need, with more controlled delivery timing and product batch quantities exactly matching the needs of the shelters, schools, food pantries we support on monthly basis.
We have negotiated extremely low built-to-spec product supply costs and we plan to pursue our strategic shift over the next 3 years to reach over 8000 women monthly in 2021 instead of 2100 women we currently serve.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Dignity Matters is managed by a strong Board of Directors and Advisory Board (8 Directors together) who work closely together on governance, vision, relationships, advice and funding. Our staffing consists of the Executive Director, Grant Writer and we plan to employ a Development Director in 2019. The majority of our operations is run by our group of 200 volunteers, including; 15 chapter and co-chapter leaders, 1 distribution manager, 10 regular location liaisons, 3 program managers and 2 volunteer coordinators. Through the 15 chapter leaders, we run over 350 drives twice a year resulting in almost 400,000 items collected annualy.
We are building our fundraising capacity which already resulted in almost tripling our revenue in 2018 (versus 2017). We also invested in needed systems (client relationship management system, professional inventory systems etc) and rented a warehouse needed to house all the donations.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In short two years Dignity Matters developed 5 solid programs through which we serve on monthly basis 2100 homeless women and girls at:
1) homeless shelters
2) public schools
3) food pantires
4) medical clinics
Dignity Matters also organizes bra and underwear fittings (Dignity Beneath the Blouse Program) through which we serve women at shelters in Boston, Cambridge and Metro=West. 24 'bra fitting" have been organized in 2017 alone with some of the events large enough to fit 150 homeless women with bras in one day.
Dignity Matters moved from serving women in Metro-West only to Boston, cambridge and Merrimack Valley.
Dignity Matters moved from serving apron 40 parents (nonprofits including shelters, schools and domestic violence programs) to serving 81 parents as of October 2018.
Dignity Matters employed its first two part time employees in 2018 and secured a below-market rate for a sizable warehouse in Framingham which allows us to run our volunteering operations.
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
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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.
Dignity Matters Inc
Board of directorsas of 7/5/2021
Kate Sanetra-Butler
Dignity Matters
Term: 2020 - 2022
Kate Sanetra-Butler
Dignity Matters
Benjamin Kahrl
Dignity Matters
Jennifer Schiller
Dignity Matters
Laurie Mills
Dignity Matters
Corrie Dretler
Dignity Matters
Donna Fernandes
Dignity Matters
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? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
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? No
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:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 01/10/2020GuideStar 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 employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- 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 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.