PLATINUM2023

Friendly Center, Inc.

Helping families since 1924

aka Friendly Center   |   Orange, CA   |  www.friendlycenter.org

Mission

Providing stability, opportunity, and hope to children and families in poverty.

Ruling year info

1967

President/CEO

Cathy Seelig

Main address

PO Box 706

Orange, CA 92856 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

95-2479833

NTEE code info

Family Services (P40)

Elementary, Secondary Ed (B20)

Counseling Support Groups (F60)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Friendly Center’s aims to address the gap in resources that exists in Orange County for low-income families struggling to overcome the barriers of poverty. To address this need, Friendly Center offers over 15 free, wraparound programs and supportive services year-round; each of which fall under our 3 program pillars: Family Support, Hunger Relief, and Education Opportunity. Friendly Center’s programs and services are designed to both meet clients’ immediate needs while providing resources to gain long term self-sufficiency.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

The Power of Me

Friendly Center's after school tutoring program began in 1998 to address the problems of school failure, high school drop-outs, and gang involvement that plague children and youth in our community. Today, our program, The Power of Me, provides free academic tutoring programs at three locations for kindergarten through middle school students from low-income families. Programs include homework help and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) focused enrichment activities to close the achievement gap and reduce dropout rates among at-risk K-8th grade students. Friendly Center's goal is to help our students achieve high school graduation and post high school educational opportunities. We know the generational cycle of poverty can be broken through the successful education of our young people.

Population(s) Served
Non-adult children
Economically disadvantaged people

Comprehensive Family Services (CFS) addresses the barriers that poverty stricken families face by offering free programs and services that work to physically, economically, and emotionally strengthen families. The goal is to break the cycle of generational poverty, creating stronger households enabling children to grow up in safer communities. Using the family resource center model, low-income families and individuals have access to an array of over 20 free services and programs at each of our sites. Friendly Center is deeply rooted in the community and is a trusted resource offering an environment that is welcoming, respectful, and culturally competent. English, Spanish and Vietnamese languages are spoken, reflecting the diversity of the communities we serve. CFS are responsive programs that are designed to help low-income families, as well as those in emergency situations, by providing services, support, and encouragement as they move toward self-sufficiency.

Population(s) Served
Families

Friendly Center's Community Food program offer families multiple ways to receive food support based on their needs. This is achieved through two primary program components: Food Distribution Events and Emergency Food Assistance. Food Distribution Events are a reliable resource that offer families a variety of fresh and shelf-stable food items. When a family's needs cannot wait until the next distribution, Emergency Food Assistance is available.

Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Older adults
Families

Where we work

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of people within the organization's service area accessing food aid

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Families participating in emergency food assistance and supplemental food programs.

Number of personal development plans in place

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Families, Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

Comprehensive Family Services

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Families work one on one with staff in case management to develop plans with goals aimed toward self-sufficiency.

Number of children served

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of volunteers

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Input - describing resources we use

Direction of Success

Increasing

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Friendly Center’s vision is to end the cycle of generational poverty in Orange County. We aim to achieve this vision by offering comprehensive, high-impact programs to low-income families that both alleviate immediate crises and offer the tools to build a more stable, hopeful future.

1. Offer programs and services through community-based resource centers in easily accessible locations.
2. Ensure that all program participants have access to appropriate resources that will measurably strengthen progress toward stability and self-sufficiency.
3. Determine severity of participant's need and connect them to programs of greatest potential impact.
4. Evaluate effectiveness of programs to confirm they address the needs of participants.
5. Provide accessible food programs that offer a high quantity of nutritious food items.
6. Provide an environment that nurtures and cultivates learning for students in The Power of Me after-school program. Develop curriculum that expose students to current learning trends, such as science and robotics, to prepare them for future opportunities.
7. Get feedback from program participants and form committees made up of clients and community stakeholders to help develop programs and access community needs.

Since our founding in 1924, Friendly Center has existed to serve Orange County’s most vulnerable and marginalized families. Ninety-nine years ago, the population served was migrant farm workers living in the city of Orange; today it is working poor families across Orange County who struggle with the instability and challenges that come with living in poverty. Friendly Center has extensive experience delivering high-impact programs in Orange County and the capacity to adapt to community needs. With multiple sites, our impact and reach in Orange County stretches across various regions.

Friendly Center serves thousands of OC residents each year through its 15+ programs and services; taking a wraparound approach to connecting clients with resources based on their needs. Staff track program outcomes and client progress utilizing Friendly Center's robust database as well as other evidence-based outcome measures. One of these outcomes tracked by our database indicates that 95% of families who complete Friendly Center's Case Management program remain stable and self-sufficient one year after program completion. Further progress toward fulfilling Friendly Center's mission and vision continue through our expansion into various regions of Orange County.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    Friendly Center serves low-income households in Orange County.

  • 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 inform the development of new programs/projects, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    Friendly Center recently adjusted the recurring weekday and time of food distributions to better serve working families and those with children in school, based on feedback from a survey sent via SMS text to clients.

  • 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

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback

Financials

Friendly Center, Inc.
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build 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.

Friendly Center, Inc.

Board of directors
as of 03/03/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Vito Canuso

Intellectual Property Lawyer

Gisela Meier

Community Leader

Dennis Corbett

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Mark Richards

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Consultant

Ken Fisher

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Kathleen Juniper-Aust

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Patti Barrios

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Kris Erickson

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Laura Rothafel

Marriage & Family Therapist

Shree Kim

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Marge Aguilar

Bank of America

Fred Whitaker

Cummins & White LLP

Alisa Driscoll

Chapman University

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • 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

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 3/3/2023
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

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
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Decline to state

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 03/03/2023

GuideStar 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

Data
  • 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.
Policies and processes
  • 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.