About-Face

The business of helping others is filled with challenges-and competition for dollars, along with downturns in the economy, makes the mission even more difficult. Sometimes groups don't survive, while others manage to prosper and grow. Here are four stories of success in the face of adversity.

Literacy Council of Bonita Springs

Five years ago, when Katie Verna went to work at the Literacy Council of Bonita Springs, the organization was the community's best-kept secret. Operating on the Bonita Banner's loading dock, the council had a part-time staff of two and a budget of less than $25,000 to serve 140 students.

"The Bonita Banner has always been very generous to us, and they did provide free space out there," says Verna, now executive director. "But we were at the back of a building so people didn't know how to find us, and we didn't have much of a presence in

the community."

Since Verna's arrival, the council's budget has risen to $240,000, which went toward teaching 1,200 students in fiscal year 2005. Staffing now stands at two full-time employees, two part-timers and 400 volunteers. And a grant from Bonita Springs' Partnering for Results program pays three teachers to teach large evening classes.

"This is one of the agencies that has received increased funding from United Way simply because of their phenomenal growth and the innovative practices that they've initiated," says Cliff Smith, president of United Way of Lee County. "The challenge for literacy programs never is finding the students; it's finding the tutors. One of the many things we love about the Literacy Council of Bonita Springs is the amount of good work that gets done with low resources."

Several factors contributed to the turnaround. In 2004, the council moved its headquarters to a leased space on Old U.S. 41 in downtown Bonita Springs-visible and easily reached via bike or foot by many in need. The council recently leased a second building next door, and area businesses provided free services and paint. Students did the painting and installed donated doors in the 900-square-foot building. "There are an awful lot of angels in this community, and they make it happen," says Verna.

For the council, motivating the business community will always be a top priority. "Katie Verna continually finds ways to do more with less," says Harlan Parrish, president and chief executive officer of Colonial Bank, Southwest Florida region, and 2005 chairman of United Way of Lee County. "Over the past five years, we've had employees either serving on the board or working on a committee for the literacy council." Colonial Bank also has donated space in its regional corporate headquarters for large classes.

Another notable success is outreach literacy programs for workers-in grounds, maintenance or food service, for example-at upscale gate-guarded communities. Just finishing its fourth year, the literacy outreach at Pelican's Nest Golf Course has become a model for similar programs at eight other

local communities.

"Pelican's Nest actually pays their employees to take the classes, which I think is wise," says Verna. "Developing these programs is important; it is the most efficient way for us to deliver services."

Step by Step Early Childhood Education and Therapy Center

In 2003, Step by Step Early Childhood Education and Therapy Center in Golden Gate received notice that all funding would end in 30 days after its owner, Impact in Fort Myers, had declared bankruptcy.

Started in 1979, Step by Step provides help for children, from birth to age five, with developmental delays caused by any number of conditions, autism among them. The organization also operates a regular childcare center. "Impact was just the latest in a number of organizations outside Collier County that had been running the center over the years," explains Clay Cone, senior vice president at TIB Bank and a Step by Step board member.

As volunteers, Cone and others from the business community had just finished examining Step by Step's funding needs as part of United Way's budget review process when they learned of the 30-day notice.

"We were aware of the deteriorating situation at Impact, but surprised with how quickly the end came," Cone recalls. "It was a wake-up call, because there had been a lot of talk in the past about making Step by Step locally owned and operated."

When news came, the four on the United Way committee-two bankers, a lawyer and an accountant-decided to work with Step by Step to make the organization a nonprofit entity. The process was a lengthy one, involving new contracts with federal agencies and state and local education departments, and renegotiating an arrangement with the owner of the building. Emergency funding from United Way kept the center's doors open.

Because of the rapid response of the four volunteers, United Way's help and the devotion of Step by Step teachers, it survived, and 120 students never missed a day of school. Jean Mekeel, who had been a teacher, assumed the role of executive director and quickly learned the business end of running an educational facility.

Today, the organization has a local board-Cone, Polly Barton, Charles Alaimo and Barry Holes-the same four that saved it from going under. The center now sees 300 to 350 children a year.

"Before we stepped in, the teachers at the center had not been given a pay raise in four or five years," says Cone. "They were so dedicated to the center and the children served by the center that they had stayed on. That really made any transition easier."

Twenty-five percent of Step by Step's $1-million annual budget comes from fund raising, and it will always need local funding to stay afloat. United Way stepped in again last year with an emergency allocation of $15,000 to make year-end payroll.

"Having a local identity has

really helped because people within the community care," says Ernie Bretzmann, executive director of United Way of Collier County.

Fort Myers Rape Crisis Center

A financial emergency forged a better business arrangement for the Rape Crisis Center in Fort Myers. Three years ago, the former Phoenix Center, a Fort Myers rape-treatment facility with one nurse practitioner and limited funds, faced an uncertain future.

"We offered to take it over," says Jennifer Benton, executive director of Abuse Counseling and Treatment (ACT). "At the time, we didn't have any more funding, but we assessed the needs of the agency and worked from there."

At the Rape Crisis Center, nurse practitioners perform forensic examinations and well-woman examinations of sexual assault victims. On-call

nurses meet victims at the facility, which is located near Lee Memorial Hospital. The center's budget of $181,000 includes rent, nursing services and medicine. Services are provided free to patients, and the center is funded by United Way, state and local agencies, and private donors.

For ACT, which offers shelter and counseling services for abuse victims, the arrangement was a perfect match. It has a budget of $2.4 million and is certified and monitored by the Florida Department of Children and Families. "They had problems operating 24 hours a day because that takes a lot of staff members," Benton says of the Phoenix Center. "We already operate 24 hours a day, and we have a hotline. We have on-call counselors who can help victims understand the process and help them with the law enforcement aspects. The only thing we didn't already do was the rape exam."

By all accounts, bringing the Rape Crisis Center under ACT's umbrella made sense.

"It absolutely was the right thing to do," says United Way's Smith.

Fun Time Early Childhood Academy

Providing affordable care for children ages two to four has been the mission of Fun Time Early Childhood Academy for more than 40 years. But several years ago, the academy found itself struggling.

"I would venture to say that the group would have gone out of business if not for the consistent support of United Way," says Kim Long, chief executive officer of Fun Time.

Long, who has been with Fun Time for five years, credits the turnaround to a focused public relations campaign and a restructuring of its board of directors to include business and community leaders. And gaining certification though the National Association for the Education of Young Children "re-energized the agency and gave us the platform for continuous improvement and success," Long says. "We have refocused the vision of the academy and put an emphasis on high-quality education, not babysitting."

Over time, the need for early childhood educational services has increased along with the population. "What it meant to get children ready for school 20 years ago is totally different than what it means now," she says. "Academic stakes are higher."

Operating out of a bright yellow doublewide trailer on Fifth Avenue North, Fun Time Early Childhood Academy is something of a local landmark. With 51 children and a teaching staff of nine, the school is operating at capacity and has a waiting list of 200. Thanks to $4 million from the Naples Winter Wine Festival, a new building-24,000 square feet for 300 students-will soon be a reality.

Fun Time looks to United Way for guidance and to supplement its $900,000 operating budget. It aims to provide care at a reasonable price, with full-time care ranging from $145 per week for infants and $110 per week for four-year-olds.