DEVELOPING, SUPPORTING, and

PROMOTING

2010-2011

HOWARD COUNTY
HUMAN SERVICES

Report to the Community

with
EDUCATION

and TRAINING, ADVOCACY, and

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS.

Association of Community Services 10480 Little Patuxent Pkwy. Suite 920 Columbia, MD 21044 410-715-9545 info@acshoco.org www.acshoco.org

Presidents Annual Message

ACS 2010-2011 President Harry Schwarz

t has been an honor to serve the Howard County community as President of the Association of Community Services for these past 12 months. ACS is an extraordinary organization of 120 organizations and individual advocates, befitting our extraordinary county. ACS initiates and collaborates through our partnerships (listed separately here) to advance the capacity and effectiveness of human services in Howard County. It bodes well for the future of Howard County community services that ACS is here.

The ACS Board are some of the most talented leaders from the nonprofit, faithbased, business, and public sectors. Our Public Policy Committee is made up of county professionals and community advocates working with our elected officials and county leadership to respond to the human service needs in our community. We provide numerous opportunities for our membership to be informed and learn skills required to better meet their missions, all organized by volunteers. And we celebrate the Howard County human service network through the Audrey Robbins Humanitarian Awards. This year the Board, staff, and Executive Committee revisited our strategic plan and revised it, spawning development of detailed annual plans and budgets. We renewed our membership structure and initiated a process to diversify our funding based on a model introduced at the Nonprofit Resource Development Council conference last year. We developed a visionary plan for improving our communications with all of you. Anne Towne has been a great executive, and she has assembled a talented group of staff and consultants that do it all. Shes been a large part of our success and our organization and the community owes her a debt of gratitude. As she moves on, weve had the opportunity to consider what we need in an Executive and find that person in Duane St. Clair. We anticipate that ACS will continue to be a vibrant and vital organization that collaborates with all sectors of the Howard County community to make our county the best that it can be. It has been my personal gift to be a small part of it. Thank you.
Association of Community Services 10480 Little Patuxent Pkwy. Suite 920 Columbia, MD 21044 410-715-9545 info@acshoco.org

Anne Towne

Duane St. Clair

www.acshoco.org

Education and Training

ACS will provide education, training, and information to help members achieve their missions
ACS provides high-quality education and training programs for the human service and nonprofit community with a special focus on the needs of Howard County. Training programs, special-interest forums, monthly meetings, and Hot Topic sessions are designed to provide staff, board members and volunteers with the skills and information needed to provide services and manage their organizations both effectively and efficiently. Training Programs Four training series: focusing on fundraising, marketing, outreach to culturally-diverse communities, and management skills attracted more than 223 people. In addition, three, three-session training series addressed Cultural Connections: Workforce, Youth, and Aging; Finder$, Keeper$; and Crafting Your Message So Donors Will Listen. An eight-session First-time Managers series was developed to help new managers learn to supervise, hire, present, manage, motivate, and evaluate staff. Members-only Programs Hot Topics sessions offered informal presentations of new initiatives, services and programs as well as timely topics of interest to ACS members. Sixty-four staff, board members, and volunteers attended this years sessions that included Immigration Status and Its Implications; New Directions for the United Way; Make the Right Referral; and Howard Health Counts.

Back-office Group sessions offered hands-on demonstrations and

discussions of new technology and ways to streamline operations. These sessions offer an informal setting that is ideal for sharing ideas and resources, and networking with colleagues. Six sessions were held in FY11 focusing on Google Tools, Risk Management, Needs Assessment, Effective use of Howard Health Counts, RSS feeds, and QR codes. General Membership Meetings Monthly general membership meetings not only present information on a wide variety of human service issues, but provide members with valuable opportunities to share information, make announcements, and connect with colleagues. ACS held eight general meetings in FY11 that attracted an average of 53 people per session. Topics addressed included nontraditional sources of funding, initiatives to promote self-sufficiency, gang and youth violence in Howard County, changes in the Health Department, and the results of the 2010 Census and Community Needs Assessment.
Association of Community Services 10480 Little Patuxent Pkwy. Suite 920 Columbia, MD 21044 410-715-9545 info@acshoco.org www.acshoco.org

Advocacy
ACS will provide proactive leadership to influence human services policy and human services delivery systems based on reliable data and best practices
Human services advocacy continued as a priority for ACS during FY 2011. In late summer and fall 2010, ACS co-sponsored candidates forums with the Howard County League of Women Voters for local and state elections. As part of the effort to inform and educate, ACS distributed its 2010-2011 Priority Issues papers to all candidates. Issues included human services infrastructure, community infrastructure, health care, education, work support and finances. For the first time, ACS / actively supported a revenue bill Alcohol Tax in the state legislature as part of state public policy activities. This was a major philosophical change recognizing that ACS could not continue to advocate for more and better services if it was not willing to advocate and support revenue to pay for needed services. ACS believes that raising revenue is appropriate when needed as long as it does not unduly affect those residents living at or below 200% of the Federal poverty level. Several meetings, including general membership meetings, were held with the County Council and Howard Delegation throughout the year. Of the 40 State bills tracked by ACS, 17 were supported, one was opposed and 22 were monitored. Eight of the 17 supported bills were passed including the modified alcohol tax bill, tuition exemption for certain qualified immigrant students, immigration study extension and upgrading child neglect to a criminal act. At the County level, ACS testified on a number of County bills including the FY 2012 County Budget, housing and transportation bills that support ACS priority positions.

Honoring Those Who Serve

In 2011 the Audrey Robbins Humanitarian Awards continued its 36year tradition of recognizing individuals and organizations who made exception contributions to Human Services in Howard County. Videos of the honorees posted on the web enabled us to share their accomplishments with the community long past the awards luncheon.
Association of Community Services 10480 Little Patuxent Pkwy. Suite 920 Columbia, MD 21044

2011 Audrey Robbins Humanitarians. Front Row: Don Bard, Volunteer of the Year; Michelle Glassburn, President, makingCHANGE Employee Team of the Year. Middle Row: L-R: Jack Letzer, makingCHANGE; Barbara Coleman, Employee of the Year; Brad Closs, Neighbor Ride, Volunteer Team of the Year; Association of Community Services (ACS) President Harry Schwarz; Kari Staddon, makingCHANGE. Back Row: Deb Popiel, and Nancy Huggins, Audrey Robbins Awards Co-Chairs. .Missing: Theresa Croney, making CHANGE.

410-715-9545 info@acshoco.org

www.acshoco.org

Community Connections
ACS will create opportunities for its members to network, collaborate, and build relationships with each other and with community leaders.
Creating partnerships and ongoing collaborations for its members, and with other institutions is a vital element of ACS activities. Activities in 2010-2011 included:

First Fridays for Executive Directors, held in collaboration with the Columbia Foundation, provided a unique opportunity for leaders in Howard Countys non-profit field to share insights, information, and engage in problem solving in a collegial, and professional atmosphere. The Gavel Group for Board Presidents addressed issues critical to those with the ultimate organizational responsibilities and oversight. Managers Network, established in 2011, provides ongoing opportunities for individuals who have participated in ACS management training series to continue their networking and professional growth. Policy Analysis Center a Joint Project Between ACS and the Horizon foundation released major studies including one on budget trends from 2008-2011and the Self Sufficiency Indicators for 2010

ACS staff linked members to various community activities most notably the work groups and committees of the Board to Promote Self Sufficiency and collaborations with Leadership Howard County and the Columbia Foundation.

Community Outreach
ACS reached out to the community through a variety of traditional and social media opportunities. These included: Developing and distributing 20,000 copies of Looking for

MEMBERSHIP
ACS membership continued to reflect an important blend of community organizations: fourteen for-profit organizations, seventy-seven non-profits, nine government agencies, ten faithbased organizations, and sixteen community advocates. Membership benefits included monthly meetings, discounted rates for education and training programs, and access to skills building programs for members leadership and staff. More than 30 members served on the organizations committees in 2011. ACS membership committee surveyed the membership and used the survey results, plus interviews and program evaluation results to help the committee and the organization identify key benefits and services.
410-715-9545 info@acshoco.org www.acshoco.org

Answers? Directory of Community Services in Howard County.

By-lined articles and ads on community services in The Business Monthly. ACS News and ACS Events,-e-newsletters published monthly. Regular Facebook and Twitter postings. Online information and media resource information.

Association of Community Services

10480 Little Patuxent Pkwy. Suite 920 Columbia, MD 21044

A C S S T R AT E G I C P L A N
Mission The mission of ACS is to develop, support, and promote the Howard County human services community with education and training, advocacy, and community connections. Vision Howard County is a community where individuals and families have access to the human services they need. Values Respect: ACS believes that all of its members, the people they serve, and their cultures have the right to be valued, respected, and included in the life of the community. Inclusiveness: ACS believes that a strong human services system is known to the community through outreach efforts that minimize physical, cultural, and language barriers. Quality: ACS believes that human services are accessible, clientcentered, delivered by qualified staff, well managed, and accountable for outcomes. Collaboration: ACS believes in collaboration among advocates, non-profit, faith-based, government, philanthropic, and business communities in developing comprehensive solutions to human services needs. Goals Education and Training: ACS will provide education, training, and information to help members achieve their missions. Advocacy: ACS will provide proactive leadership to influence human services policy and human services delivery systems based on reliable data and best practices. Community Connections: ACS will create opportunities for its members to network, collaborate, and build relationships with each other and with community leaders. Communications: ACS will build a brand and communications that are current, relevant, and understood through the community. Sustainability: ACS will ensure the relevance of its services and the stewardship of its human and financial resources.

FUNDING
INCOME
Membership Grants Audrey Robbins Unemployment Services Trust Other $ 4,618 (3%) $ 7,028 (5%)

$142,495
$44,275 (32%) $67,000 (47%) $13,650 (10%)

Education and Training $ 5,924 (4%)

EXPENSES: $142,350
Administration Members Services Public Policy $32,687 (23%) $65,057 (46%) $15,547 (11%)

Education and Training $29,059 (20%)

Approved by the ACS Board of Directors on December 2, 2010.

OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President: Harry Schwarz Vice-President: Jackie Eng Secretary: Debra Popiel Treasurer: Vacant
Dick Barnard Jay Blackman Gail Doerr Vidia Dhanraj Lisa Dolce Steve Girard Mary Lorsung Jessie Newburn Laurie Remer Mary Schiller David Shippee Laura Smit Sue Song Rev. Robert Turner Cathy Yost

2010-2011

President: Jackie Eng Vice-President: Dick Barnard Secretary: Debra Popiel Treasurer: Brad Closs
Carol Beatty Brad Closs Gail Doerr Vidia Dhanraj Jesse Guercio Michelle Glassburn Nancy Huggins Ande Kolp Grace Morris Laurie Remer Mary Schiller Harry Schwarz Donna Stinchcomb Rev. Robert Turner Cathy Yost

2011-2012

Anne Towne, Executive Director

Association of Community Services

Duane St. Clair, Executive Director

410-715-9545 info@acshoco.org www.acshoco.org

10480 Little Patuxent Pkwy. Suite 920 Columbia, MD 21044