Building a Stronger Community
This month, kids filled the hallways of school buildings throughout Frankfort. More than 800 of those youth have been impacted by incarceration already within their few years of life. To put that into perspective, the total enrollment of students at Western Hills High School is 868.
Wanda Joyce Robinson Foundation started in 2018 with a vision to support these children. The work we do helps to fill gaps in systems, support school administrators and positively impacts the local economy, workforce and overall health of our community.
A recent article from Magnolia Tribune stated: “What affects mothers affects their children. And what affects families always affects the fabric of society.” (magnoliatribune.com) We cannot make Frankfort stronger without supporting the youth and families that are dealing with incarceration on a daily basis. Cycles of addiction, mental health crisis and incarceration will continue if left ignored. Wanda J is here to meet people where they’re at and develop long term relationships with them in order to break these cycles.
Currently, on average, there are 88 parents incarcerated at the Franklin County Regional Jail in a 30 day period. Our approach touches all pieces of a family unit. We offer parenting classes and support inside jails. We connect with caregivers and parents on the outside and offer emotional support through programs and groups. We work with schools and counselors to get the kids the support they need at home and inside school buildings. We get the kids involved in our KRUSH, Middle School or High School Programs. We host family events and gatherings for everyone. We find mentors to connect with youth. We offer financial support when we can. We connect families to resources that already exist. We make sure their basic needs are being met. We pick up kids and take them to counseling, sports activities, school functions and more. We answer the phone and listen when caregivers need someone to talk to. We teach kids to drive. We take them to doctor appointments. We help them write resumes and fill out college applications. We cheerlead, counsel, empathize and love. We use the term Wanda J Family with purpose. We ARE a family and we help fill a missing role in the lives of many.
An important mission like ours takes intentional planning and financial support to accomplish. Most of our staff are currently employed through grant funded positions. Other grants we receive offer restricted funds for very specific needs. Our operational costs (the costs of doing business) is approximately $65,000 which is predominately not included in grants. We cover these expenses through fundraising, sponsorships and our sustainer program. The foundation has received no major gifts, over the amount of $10,000, with the exception of one from Justice Action Network, who donated $50,000 in 2021 which allowed us to be in a position to apply for a federal grant. Typically, federal grants require an organization to have a certain amount of money in the bank in order to prepare them for a process of reimbursement.
While grants are an amazing resource for non-profit organizations, it’s important to know that grant applications take hours of work and require an organization to have access to funds up front. Sometimes money isn’t reimbursed for long periods of time- the first large grant we received was not reimbursed for ten months. During those ten months, we had to fully support our operations through fundraising. Thanks for buying our donuts, raffle tickets and letting us hide eggs in your yard! These fundraisers, while fun and extremely useful for our mission, will not sustain a nonprofit. We pinch the pennies. We make it work. Your donations of any amount mean the world to us and we take every dollar and stretch it to benefit the community in the best way. Our stewardship is monitored by a finance committee in addition to our board of directors. We maintain a Better Business Bureau accreditation and a platinum seal of transparency through Guidestar. We’re committed to the long term health and viability of our organization and that includes strategic and financial planning and constant monitoring of our core values and goals.
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Published in The State Journal. This is part two of a three part series from the Wanda Joyce Robinson Foundation. Learn more about them and find their financial reports at wjrfoundation.org.