FY24 Sets Service Provision Record. Again.
Our GRACE family celebrated the end of our fiscal year on September 10, with a catered dinner, games, prizes, and good fellowship. The GRACE Fiscal Year runs September 1 through August 31, and each year we hold a “New Year’s Party” remembering the year just past, and the new one before us.
There was a feeling of true joy in the air for a tremendous FY. We welcomed our new CEO, Rebecca Cox, at the beginning of Q2—December 4th to be exact—the day of the Christmas Cottage Open House.
Rebecca was only the third chief executive in the 38-year history of GRACE, attesting to the long-term stability of our organization.
Just a month earlier, we had completed our best GRACE Gala ever! With record net revenues, and net as a percentage of gross (an efficiency rating for special events) of an exceptional 73%, the Gala was a phenomenal success.
Gratefully, Gala funds helped launch a year that would see more and more people coming to GRACE for assistance. In perspective, when COVID sent our mission scrambling in FY20, GRACE care managers served 11,042 unduplicated clients.
GRACE ended FY24 with 11,597 unduplicated clients served—a record year. This total confirms the trajectory observed in FY23 when care managers saw 10,301 unduplicated clients come to GRACE—nearly 47% more than FY22 (7,010 unduplicated clients).
With the number of people in need climbing and families waiting in line every day before we open our doors, GRACE care managers welcomed the return of their Chief Program Officer Stacy Pacholick and greeted our clients with open arms and much-needed assistance.
Stacy had assumed the CEO duties for an interim time concluding when Rebecca began her tenure in December.
As will all years, FY24 was not without its sadness. Ms. Stacy retired at the end of the FY after more than a decade of service to the GRACE mission. We have all embraced her promise to return as a volunteer, and her retirement brought Jina Walker aboard as the new Chief Program Officer.
Just to complete the circle, other FY24 statistics only reinforce the need for GRACE services. Kyle Buchanan and the GRACE Food Pantry welcomed 9,692 shoppers; Shirley Roberts and the GRACE Community Clinic held 704 clinics throughout the year, an all-time record. Another all-time record, Deb Ebeling and GRACE Feed Our Kids, served 36,104 lunches this past summer. Additionally, Mentorship Housing continues to serve our neighbors by providing safe, stable housing for up to 24 months. This long-term housing option provides the foundation for skills development such as budgeting, parenting, job readiness, and higher education just to name a few.
GRACE fully accepts our “new normal”, the continuing upsurge in service provision; the understanding that more needs mean deeper, longer-lasting personal and financial crises; the need for affordable housing and housing assistance; and a rapidly growing volume of needs.
GRACE continues to admire the courage it takes for a person to approach us and admit—often to a perfect stranger—that they are unable to properly care for their family’s needs. We are honored to offer food, shelter, clothing, medical care, emergency services, and so much more to those in need.
We are so very thankful to live in a community that acknowledges the importance of a program like GRACE. GRACE helps preserve the stability of families in crises, and brings a special history, with a vibrant culture of volunteerism, a strong can-do ethic, and a deep sense of service.
GRACE’s strength has always been the willingness to join together with others, advocate for what is important, and respectfully move forward when consensus is reached.
We look forward to FY24; to helping families find a safe place to live; to find work; to regain financial stability; to learn new life skills; to finish school; to heal; and to once again become self-sufficient members of the community.
