Courage to Caregivers Inc
Education, Support and Empowerment for those who care
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The mission of Courage to Caregivers is to provide hope, support, and courage to caregivers and loved ones of those living with mental illness. We see ourselves in the caregiver burnout prevention business. We have three programs aimed at reducing stress, improving the satisfaction with life, achievement of personal goals and new skills attained for caregivers: One-to-One Caregiver (Peer) Support Breathing Meditation Classes Support Group
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
One-to-One Caregiver (Peer) Support
Recognizing that self-care is the “oxygen mask” for the mental illness caregiver, Courage to Caregivers is accepting applications for volunteers and participants for its One-to One Caregiver (Peer) Support program.
The program connects caregivers with volunteers who have experience caring for someone with a mental illness. The purpose of the program is to provide participants with training and resources to help them take care of themselves both physically and emotionally so they are better able to take care of someone else.
Apply here. https://www.couragetocaregivers.org/1-1-peer-support
Breathing Meditation Classes
At Courage to Caregivers, we know that meditation allows you to better manage day-to-day and critical, stressful situations. We have found that utilizing proper breathing techniques is vital to the regulation of our stress levels.
Participants are encouraged to relax, drop their expectations and judgement and deeply feel the mix of activities that have been specifically curated for the evening.
Breathing Meditation classes s are now being offered virtually via Zoom - you will need a smartphone or device that is able to connect to the internet like a tablet or a computer.
Support Groups
We want you to know that, as a caregiver, you are not alone. Our goals are to reinforce a variety of skills that seek to empower the mental illness caregiver and to establish a caring community.
Support Groups are now being offered virtually via Zoom - you will need a smartphone or device that is able to connect to the internet like a tablet or a computer.
A little more about our programs:
Our curriculum has 12 themes and 52 topics all around building resilience as a caregiver.
Our programs focus entirely on the caregiver (for those living with mental illness) and their self-care.
Our group leaders are experienced and in many cases licensed counselors or social workers.
We do not provide counseling or therapy - yet, are focused on empowerment of our participants.
Where we work
Awards
Leadership in Governance Award to Board of Directors and Strategic Planning Committee 2022
FREDLA/Family-Run Executive Director Leadership Association
Eugene Brudno Memorial Organization Award 2023
NAMI/National Alliance on Mental Illness Greater Cleveland
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of participants engaged in programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Caregivers, Parents
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The number of caregivers we served was 122 in 2023. These 122 caregivers attended a total of 1,723 service sessions in one or more of our three programs.
Number of new donors
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
270 individual donors contributed $72,250 in individual contributions. Additional individual donors contributed $10,900 through participation in one of our 5 Illumination! fundraising events.
Number of volunteers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Caregivers, Parents
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
50 volunteers devoted 5,456 volunteer hours.
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?
8.4 million Americans provide care to an adult with an emotional or mental health issue. 40% of these caregivers have shared they find it difficult to take care of their own health. 62% shared that their caregiving responsibilities made their own health worse. Mental health caregivers often have a “heavier burden of care and higher stress levels.” “The average mental health caregiver is roughly 54 years old. The most common type of mental health care is the one provided to a family member (88%). The typical mental health caregiver provides an average of 32 hours of care per week, as well as a 9-year caregiving journey.” (National Alliance for Caregiving Circle of Care: A Guidebook for Mental Health Caregivers from On Pins and Needles: Caregivers of Adults With Mental Illness study, 2016)
Courage to Caregivers launched three programs to address this need: One-to-One Caregiver Peer Support, Breathing Meditation classes and Support Groups. A one-year pilot in 2019 proved that all three of our programs have reduced caregiver stress and improved their satisfaction with life. We had 69 participants participate in one or more of these programs. On average, participants reported that participation in breathing meditation classes reduced stress by 48% and support groups reduced stress by 36%. Our in-person programs reach caregivers throughout Northeast Ohio. Our caregiver peer support program is fully virtual and we serve caregivers throughout the US. With the COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders, we morphed all of our programs to Zoom and have seen an increase in weekly attendance and a broader geographic reach. We can now support caregivers wherever they are!
The impact of our programs is measured through the following outcomes:
(1) Caregiver stress levels are measured before and after participation in weekly programs and monthly through completion of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS).
(2) Caregivers report improved satisfaction with life in an end-of-year one-to-one interview.
(3) Caregiver improved inner/personal strength and resilience to better support their loved ones is self-reported through number of personal goals achieved and measured monthly after participation in weekly programs.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Courage to Caregivers works to support caregivers by equipping them with life skills to build stronger coping strategies and greater resilience. We know that when caregivers take better care of themselves, they provide better care to those they love. We see ourselves in the caregiver burnout prevention business.
Our approach focuses entirely on the caregiver and their self-care, versus the traditional programs for caregivers which tends to focus on their loved ones’ mental illness. This paradigm shift is critical in supporting caregivers in their own journey of well-being. Our groups are led by professional leaders–credentialed instructors facilitate meditation and licensed social workers lead support groups. Other programs for caregivers/family members are usually facilitated by peers.
Our programs follow a curriculum with monthly themes and weekly topics all designed to build caregiver resilience. Examples of topics include compassion fatigue, understanding stress, healthy boundaries, sleep, nutrition, and exercise. These topics help participants to focus on self-care in new ways to evaluate, manage, and succeed in their daily lives.
We believe we are the first organization to provide peer support exclusively for mental illness caregivers.
Our programs are grounded in best practices from evidence-based research of caregivers (On Pins and Needles: Caregivers of Adults With Mental Illness study) as well as trauma-informed care. We have taken our approach because as caregivers: (1) with lived experience, we know the loneliness, isolation and stigma of caregiving; (2) our own health and well-being declined; and (3) we knew there had to be a better way of supporting caregivers, no one should take this journey alone.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our team includes: 1 full-time Executive Director as well as 2 part-time employees - a Program Coordinator and Community Outreach Coordinator. 6 hourly employees – 1 Administrative Program Assistant, 3 support group leaders, and 3 breathing meditation facilitators. We have 5 unpaid part-time summer college interns. We have 85 volunteers including: board and committee members, support group peer leaders, peer support volunteers, and Advisory Council members. Our board is composed of 5 volunteers – a Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary/Treasurer, and 2 Directors. We have a retired Wall Street investment banker, a licensed social worker for older adults, a chief patient experience officer for a global tech company, a registered nurse working in quality improvement for a prominent hospital and a project management consultant.
Our 2021 operating budget is $193,640 and sources of funding include: board and individual donations (25 %), corporate donations (5 %), foundation grants (8 %), government grants (13 %), fundraising events (3%), donated goods and services (46 %). We are partially funded by the State of Ohio for one program, and have secured seven foundation grants over the last two years. Our development plan includes a focus on cultivating major gift donors and new foundations as well as our first special event fundraising event launched in the fall of 2020.
As a younger nonprofit, our Business Plan acts as our Strategic Plan. We held a retreat in the fall of 2019 with our board and committee members which focused on our strategic vision. There were three outcomes which our board approved: (1) We are actively cultivating community partners to collaborate on a pilot of our programs focused on serving professional caregivers, and then will seek joint funding for this future project; (2) we will use a capacity building grant that we received to trial recording our breathing meditation program as an alternative revenue stream; and (3) we added a third (virtual) session of Breathing Meditation and Support Groups for caregivers since sheltering-in-place due to the COVID-19 pandemic (which has been met with greater attendance due to access of programs).
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We received our 501(c)(3) and launched our website and social media platforms in 2017. We then conducted a marketing research study of caregivers as well as focus groups for our proposed program models. In 2019, we piloted three programs for caregivers: One-to-One Caregiver (Peer) Support, Breathing Meditation classes, and Support Groups.
As a younger nonprofit, our Business Plan acts as our Strategic Plan. We held a retreat in the fall of 2019 with our board and committee members which focused on our strategic vision. There were three outcomes which our board approved: (1) We are actively cultivating community partners to collaborate on a pilot of our programs focused on serving professional caregivers, and then will seek joint funding for this future project; (2) we will use a capacity building grant that we received to trial recording our breathing meditation program as an alternative revenue stream; and (3) we added a third (virtual) session of Breathing Meditation and Support Groups for caregivers since sheltering-in-place due to the COVID-19 pandemic (which has been met with greater attendance due to access of programs).
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 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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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 look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, 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?
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
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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.
Courage to Caregivers Inc
Board of directorsas of 01/18/2024
Kristine Bryan
Retired, Private Harbour Investment Management
Term: 2017 - 2024
Antoinette Thomas
Microsoft
Term: 2019 - 2025
Mhoire McGrath Cade
McGrath Associates
Monique Carter
University Hospitals
Mary Abood
Erin Bilski
Aereo Investment Group
Leah Clelland Jochim
L&T Ventures Consultants
Dr. Alaina Foster
Effective Leadership Academy
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? No
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
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 10/29/2023GuideStar 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 ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- 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.