Norcal Spinal Cord Injury Foundation
Connecting the SCI Community in Northern California
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Spinal Cord Injury Community in Northern California is underserved and many individuals and family members do not have access to information and resources that will allow themselves or their loved ones to reach their full potential after a life changing injury or condition resulting in paralysis. Immediately after injury, Spinal Cord Injury patients go through acute rehabilitation at one of the 9 dedicated Spinal Cord Injury in patient rehabilitation centers in Northern California. Because of insurance costs, length of stays at these facilities have reduced dramatically in the last decade now averaging less then 25 days in Northern California. In 2006, the average stay in acute rehab in the united states was 70 days. in the vast majority of cases this is an in adequate time from to prepare the patients and family members for their changed lives as they return home to face the challenges paralysis brings.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Care Package for Everyone
Ensure every person with a new case of spinal cord injury/disorder admitted at a medical facility or rehab center in Northern California receives a Care Package customized as much as possible based on the needs and level of injury of the person.
Road to Recovery
Provide qualifying recipients in Northern California with block grants for continued therapy and /or equipment as well as dedicated mentoring supporting individuals with SCI/D
Donated Durable Medical Equipment
We receive donations of durable medical equipment from individuals who no longer need them and we make them available free to individuals with spinal cord injuries who would benefit from them.
The Franklin Project
NorCal SCI believes in the importance of outpatient SCI rehabilitation and exercise for maximizing recovery from SCI, reducing SCI related complications and providing survivors of SCI with a higher quality of life. The late NorCal SCI co-founder Franklin Elieh was instrumental in creating the opportunity to attend Neuroworx for a small number of individuals in 2020 and 2021. Until we open our own Bay Area-based rehab capability sometime in 2023, we plan to give qualified individuals the opportunity to attend Neuroworx, in Salt Lake City, Utah for extended outpatient SCI rehabilitation and exercise.
It's Within You: Life After A Spinal Cord Injury
Thanks to a generous grant from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, NorCal SCI will be enrolling a total of 80 newly-injured starting in October 2021 in the “It's Within You: Life After A Spinal Cord Injury” program to help support the lives of those individuals with SCI who are within two years from their injury date. Each person’s program will take four months to complete.
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of clients participating in educational programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
People with physical disabilities
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Virtual Education Program for the SCI Community
Number of individuals using our help line or email support
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
People with physical disabilities
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We have email support and a help line where will aim to respond in one business day
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?
NorCal SCI provides information and resources allowing people affected by or living with a Spinal Cord Injury/Disorder in Northern California to thrive and live productively.
Road to Recovery Invest a minimum of $60,000 in block grants for continued therapy, acquiring medical equipment, or making minor home modifications for those individuals without health insurance coverage or personal financial means as well as providing peer mentoring supporting individuals with SCI/D.
Care Package for Everyone. Collaborate with every medical facility or rehab center in Northern California so that every person with a new case of spinal cord injury/disorder admitted receives a Care Package customized as much as possible based on their needs and level of injury. This includes addition of technological devices to increase the level of independence experienced by such individuals.
Mobile SCI Clinics. In addition to returning to San Luis Obispo, expand this program to two new locations in Modesto/Stockton and Chico/Redding communities and establish mobile clinics to support individuals in areas under-served by medical professionals (nurse, physical and occupational therapist, peer supporter) with expertise in individuals with SCI/D.
Energize the SCI Community. Collaborate with support groups and organizations to promote and develop events and activities that help create opportunities for any member of the SCI community interested in maintaining an active lifestyle regardless of their disability.
Outreach to Hospitals & Rehab Centers. Expand our engagement with all rehab facilities in Northern California by offering their staff in-service, training and peer mentoring programs and help increase the level of patient care at their facilities.
Advocate for Greater Access. Identify unmet needs and opportunities that require greater level of public advocacy to help bring the type of change that would provide better access to the services and needs of the SCI community.
Develop our Organization. Expand our board and volunteer base in order to enhance our organization's capabilities to best serve the needs of the SCI Community in Northern California.
Open our Extended Rehabilitation Facility by May of 2022 - Execute the implementation model for our new SCI Extended Rehab facility that would operate in the Bay Area and serve 30 recently-injured individuals by providing longer lengths of physical or occupational therapy after getting discharged from their initial rehab hospital stay. In addition, we will provide an Open Gym environment for those with longer term injuries or for the newly-injured to continue their exercise programs. At the same time, continue with developing multiple revenue streams to help support the continuing operation and expansion of the facility in the years to come.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We already have the staff and volunteers in place to achieve our tactical goals. We are expanding our board and our volunteer base to drive out strategic goals to grow our organization to make it sustainable and have a succession plan in place for they key members of the organization.
Sustainable fundraising strategies will be a key area of focus for our new board members.
Recruit an Executive Director to help guide the organization’s future growth - As our founders realign their focus and responsibilities on more strategic initiatives, we plan to hire a half-time Executive Director position to help facilitate and accelerate further growth of the organization.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
All our programs are easily scalable and the infrastructure and know how are in place to expand these programs to better serve our community.
We effectively have 1.5 full time staff although unpaid have the skill set and passion to implement our programs and serve our community.
We have another 20+ volunteers to support our events and outreach efforts.
We have secured funding to support our Strategic Goals and have a plan to sustain our new center for beyond 2024.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We are fully transparent and our progress and plans are documented on this site as well as our website in the form of our annual reports.
https://norcalsci.org/what-we-do
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 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 engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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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, We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, It is difficult to identify actionable 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.
Norcal Spinal Cord Injury Foundation
Board of directorsas of 02/21/2024
Nicolas Struthers
Arash Bayatmakou
Dave Greenfield
Julie Pollitt
Chris Wilder
Tricia Lawrence
Pravin Vazirani
Dan Scrivner
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 ? Not applicable -
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:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 04/26/2023GuideStar 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 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 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.