THANK YOU!

YOU are making a difference with every dollar you contribute to the National Exchange Club Foundation. And we still need your support...

The economic challenges facing our world have taken a toll on nonprofit organizations throughout the country. Many are closing their doors. While we have been fortunate to maintain our services through these difficulties, our regular contributions have fallen off significantly. And, while our capital campaign is ensuring the future of our programs of service and our national project of child abuse prevention, we need to maintain our regular support to handle our current expenses.

Please consider an end of year tax-deductible gift to Your Foundation. Recognize someone you care about with a contribution in their name rather than a tie or fruitcake that may not be used. Honor the memory of a loved one with a memorial that will help strengthen the organization that you care about.

You can change the world!

With your continued support, Your Foundation is able to make a difference – every day…

ü      Changing Lives with College Scholarships

ü      Preserving Families Through Positive Parenting

ü      Strengthening Communities

ü      Serving America

 

 

INVESTING IN AMERICA’S FUTURE

Campaign FAQ

This is YOUR campaign, so each month we will focus on questions asked by our members regarding our capital campaign.

Question:  Why can’t we just write a few grants or ask a big corporation for funds?

Answer:  We do write grant proposals, and we do ask corporations for support. Our list of corporate donors is growing. However, to get significant support from corporations or charitable foundations, we must demonstrate that 1) we have strong internal support of our own organization; and 2) we have a demonstrated capability to handle a significant amount of money.

One of the first questions corporations and charitable foundations ask is: “How many of your organizational leaders support your efforts?” There is an assumption that those who are leaders of an organization will support it with investments of tangible resources as well as time and talent.

Another consideration is that, often times, grants are for start up or research and demonstration projects. Corporations and foundations like to see their names attached to specific projects to enhance their marketing potential. This can be a win-win situation for both the giving and receiving organizations. However, it is important to realize that grant monies are often restricted to specific projects, and cannot be used for routine expenses like salaries, utilities, and other necessities.

Grants have an important place in a diversified funding plan. But we need to be careful to have a balanced approach to resource development in order to maintain a stable organization.

 

Campaign Updates

Watch for exciting updates following our Mid-winter conference in January! We have a vision for Exchange, and we are moving forward every day. Our campaign goals are:

1. Sustain Child Abuse Prevention Efforts through Perpetual Endowment
2. Establish Proactive Leadership Role in Contributing to the Prevention Field
3. Evaluate and Research Programs and Impact
4. Restore and Expand Network Resources

We encourage you to ask questions and learn more about the campaign. Please review the Case Statement at www.exchangeclubfoundation.org. Feel free to contact Foundation President, Rick Gordon at 909-717-4577 or rdgordon@pngusa.net; or Interim Executive Director, Karen Askew at kaskew@nationalexchangeclub.org or 800-816-4570.

 

Child Abuse Prevention Overview: Understand the significance of your national project

o       What is Child Abuse? Any mistreatment or neglect of a child that results in non-accidental harm or injury and which cannot be reasonably explained, including: physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and neglect.

o        How big a problem is Child Abuse?  In 2007, 3.2 million referrals, involving more than 5.8 million children, were made to Child Protective Service (CPS) agencies. More than 55% of these reports were made by professionals such physicians, teachers, and social service workers.

o        Why do people abuse children? Most parents want to be good parents but may lack child-rearing skills or knowledge of developmental milestones. Many abusive parents were themselves abused as children, and may not realize the long-term effects of their behaviors. Factors contributing to child abuse include immaturity of parents, lack of parenting skills, unrealistic expectations about children's behavior and capabilities, a parent's own negative childhood experience, social isolation, frequent family crises and drug or alcohol problems.

o       Our Signature Program: Why a Parent Aide Program?  Our program was based on the well known work of Drs. Ray Helfer and Henry Kempe about the Battered Child Syndrome. They introduced a program concept that provided calm, dependable “friends” to serve as role models for positive parenting. Increasingly, home visitation services have been shown to reduce parental stress and contribute to a more stable home environment. Currently, our Parent Aide program model is being evaluated by Columbia University under a grant from the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Another study of our model is being considered with the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

o       What Are Parent Aides? Parent Aides are professionally trained and supervised individuals who provide support and encouragement, model appropriate parenting skills, provide genuine and caring friendships, serve as an outside social control to stop abuse immediately, and address special needs of the family by referring them to community agencies when necessary. As supportive, caring individuals, Parent Aides often make the critical difference in enabling parents to succeed. 

o       How Do Families Benefit From Parent Aides? Parent Aides help parents learn to build self-confidence, self-esteem and coping skills. Many parents benefit by understanding the developmental needs of their children, while learning how to manage their home environment more effectively. Parent aides also teach parents how to make social contacts and to use community resources.

o        How Are Our CAP Centers Started? All of our Exchange Club Centers for the Prevention of Child Abuse are community based nonprofit businesses – that is to say, they are “locally owned and operated”. CAP Centers are started by Exchange Clubs joining forces with others in their community to address the problems of child abuse. A local board is formed to assess the need, develop resources, file corporate documents, and develop strategic plans. Once the application is approved by National’s Board of Trustees, the center board can hire an executive director and begin providing services. The CAP Services staff of the National office provides  technical support for these efforts at each step in the process. Then on-going training, technical support, and quality assurance is available to the Center staff and the board.

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For additional information on the above and other topics, check out our websites:

www.exchangeclubfoundation.org

www.preventchildabuse.com

 On behalf of the Board of Trustees of the National Exchange Club Foundation, may you and your family have a safe and happy holiday season!

  Yours, in Exchange,