Assistance League® of Conejo Valley
Transforming Lives • Strengthening Community
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our major expense we currently face is paying lease for the Thrift Shop. If we were able to raise funds through a capital campaign to purchase our own building, the increase in revenue from our Thrift Shop would allow us to serve even more members in our community through our philanthropic programs.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Operation School Bell®
Provides disadvantaged elementary through high school children with basic new clothing, shoes and socks. Through referrals from principals, teachers and counselors in local school districts, children are outfitted as needed. This program also encompasses providing emergency clothing to area elementary schools, providing new and gently used books to children and agencies to promote literacy at home, and literacy volunteers in identified schools.
Vision for the Future, Eye Can See, Share-a-Bear, Assault Survivor Kits, I'm in Charge
Vision for the Future provides eye exams, frames and lenses to low income elementary, middle and high school students. Eye Can See provides eye exams, frames, and lenses to low income adults. "Share-A-Bear" provides teddy bears named CASEY to local hospitals, urgent care centers, and foster children.. Assault Survivor Kits provides emergency clothing and grooming kits to victims of assault through the District Attorney's office of Ventura County. I'm In Charge is an interactive, self awareness program taught by volunteers to educate children on home and personal safety issues.
Sharing the Warmth
Our Sharing the Warmth program is designed to help the homeless in our community. We are dedicated to providing new warm coats, new sleeping bags, and laundry supplies to our community homeless or neighbors who find themselves in need. In partnership with our Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, Harbor House, a social service agency dedicated to helping those who are most vulnerable, and Gold Coast Veterans Foundation, we provide needed items for the homeless.
Mammograms and Medical Supplies
Mammograms: Ventura County has the highest incidence of breast cancer in women in the entire state of California. Breast cancer is the leading cause of death for women ages 35 to 50. During the COVID pandemic, routine mammograms were skipped, and Stage 4 breast cancer rose 40%. Through our partnership with Conejo Free Clinic, we are helping to save lives by providing annual mammograms.
Medical Supplies: Diabetes and hypertension are at a crisis level for seniors, as well as for the low-income and unhoused individuals due to stress and hardships. We supply Conejo Free Clinic with glucose monitors and blood pressure cuffs for their clients to help with their at-home care. Our assistance enables Conejo Free Clinic to save lives.
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 organizational partners
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Our partners include school districts, retail stores, hospitals, outpatient/urgent care, sheriff's departments, free clinics, assisted living facilities and more.
Total number of organization members
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Operation School Bell®
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Membership includes our Chapter & Assisteens® auxiliary which offers boys & girls grades 7-12 the experience of creating & funding their own programs within the community while supporting the chapter.
Number of clients served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Adults
Related Program
Operation School Bell®
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Each year we track how many individuals are served through our philanthropic programs.
Number of outreach attempts to reporters
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
We contact local papers and online news about our philanthropic programs and our Thrift Shop events, which is our main fundraiser.
Number of overall donors
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
People with vision impairments, Economically disadvantaged people, Children and youth, Adults
Related Program
Operation School Bell®
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We receive support through individual donors, including tributes, and through grants from foundations and through donor-advised grants from individuals.
Number of participants engaged in programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Adults
Related Program
Operation School Bell®
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
We operated 15 programs in our community during the fiscal year 2021-2022 and will continue to serve as many community members as our budget allows.
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?
We are committed to the following goals: 1. Each year we review our community's needs, evaluate how we can improve our services, and implement a plan to meet those needs. 2. We strive to develop an informed and knowledgeable board with in-depth Board and Chairmen training along with an informed, committed and active membership. Members are encouraged to participate in philanthropy, general service, and regular meetings to fulfill our chapter mission. 3. The Director of Marketing strives to communicate with local media to increase our chapter’s name recognition as a leading volunteer organization to increase community support. 4. We are looking to secure corporate support and partners in the next fiscal year.
As part of our strategic plan, in the coming two to three years, in addition to raising funds to expand our programs and respond to community needs, we intend to implement a capital campaign to purchase a building for our Thrift Shop with a goal of increasing revenue and ultimately reducing expenses.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
In the past two years, we have expanded the grants committee, and are more systematically seeking funds from grant makers through increased applications. We have also just created a new fundraising committee to explore additional paths to raise revenue. Finally, we intend to expand new corporate and fiscal partners in the coming years as well as implementing an Advisory Council.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
With over 120 community volunteers and zero paid staff, a majority of the proceeds from our Thrift Shop (presently averaging $30,000 per month) go to support the Operation School Bell® clothing program and other philanthropic programs to improve the lives of children and adults in our community. Operation School Bell provides essential school clothing for elementary, middle and high school children from low-income families as defined by the federal government. We also provide these services to some foster and homeless youth.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We track the number of people we serve through our Operation School Bell program (2607 served last fiscal year 2020-2021). We also keep track of the volunteer hours donated to all our programs (more than 38,000 in the last fiscal year 2020-2021).
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
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.
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.
Assistance League® of Conejo Valley
Board of directorsas of 09/05/2022
Chriss Alwood
Assistance League of Conejo Valley
Term: 2021 - 2023
Chriss Alwood
Assistance League of Conejo Valley
Tammy Richards
Assistance League of Conejo Valley
Kathleen Dirks
Assistance League of Conejo Valley
Barbara Mandich
Assistance League of Conejo Valley
Michelle Sievers
Assistance League of Conejo Valley
Denise Landenberger
Assistance League of Conejo Valley
Kally McMurray-Fisher
Assistance League of Conejo Valley
Debbie Huyette
Assistance League of Conejo Valley
Cathy Ely
Assistance League of Conejo Valley
Susi Snow
Assistance League of Conejo Valley
Nicole Radoumis
Assistance League of Conejo Valley
Brigette Cofiell
Assistance League of Conejo Valley
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? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
No data
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data