Thank you to donors and volunteers

Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection was incorporated as a non profit organization in February 1993. We had seven volunteers and no money, or source of income, at that time. We only had a long history of tutoring second to 6th grade kids at the Montgomery Ward headquarters, and a commitment to helping 7th graders from that program get continued help so they would be starting jobs and careers some day. We also had a vision of filling a leadership void, to help programs like Cabrini Connections grow in all parts of the Chicago region.

Each year we have raised money from a variety of donors to help do this work. Montgomery Ward was our major donor and supporter, providing free space, utilities, etc. and an annual $40,000 grant, from 1993 through 2000. Since then we have rented space, and paid all of the utilities and operating expenses, costing nearly $70,000 per year.

In 2000 we reported income of more than $500,000 to support our work, including in-kind donations. Between 2001 and 2006, income has ranged from $350,000 to $375,000, which means we've been operating with much fewer resources (especially due to the deduction of expenses for rent/utilities each year).

Thanks to the help of many volunteers who have supported Cabrini Connections and the Tutor/Mentor Connection, we've continued to serve teens in Cabrini Green, and serve tutor/mentor programs throughout the Chicago region.

In 2007 our operating expenses were $380,601 (non audited). $152,114 was for the Cabrini Connectons tutor/mentor program. $147,119 was for the T/MC. $81,000 was for fund raising and general administrative expenses.

Thanks to several unexpected 4th quarter 2007 gifts, we were able to report revenue, including in-kind, of $475,380 this past year, nearly a $100,000 increase! The increases came in the form of an anonymous gift of $50,000 (to be spent on T/MC GIS/Program Locator work); a $30,000 grant from the SunTimes Marovitz Lawyers Lend A Hand to Youth Fund (to support T/MC); and an in-kind donation of $28,000 for work on the T/MC Organizational History and Tracking System (OHATS).

While these donations provided the increase that propels us into 2008, more than 20 corporations and foundations provided gifts ranging from $1,000 to $30,000 and more than 300 individuals gave gifts ranging from $10 to $5,000. Among our corporate and foundation donors were:

2007 donors:­ The Chicago Department of Children and Youth ($40,400). HSBC North America ($30,000), SunTimes Marovitz Lawyers Lend A Hand ($35,000); The Polk Bros. Foundatio($25,000); The Circle of Service Foundation ($10,000 from 2006 challenge grant); Prologis Foundation, $10,000, BlueCrossBlue Shield of Illinois and McMaster-Carr Supply Company ($7,500 each); Hewitt Associates Foundation, $6,000; The Siragusa Foundation, the Tiger Woods Foundation, the Dr. Scholl Foundation, ($5,000 each). Deluxe Corporation, $4,000; Cabrini Connections was a beneficiary of the 2007 Kellogg Business School Manager¹s Ball, held in April ($10,400). The organization¹s annual golf benefit was held in July, with gross receipts of $61,000. Five event sponsors gave $5,000 each (Legacy Mortgage, Merrill Lynch Capital, Wintrust Financial, First Bank of Oak Park, and National City Mortgage).

We have already started 2008 with a major donation of more than $50,000 from the HSBC Global headquarters in London. Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection was selected as one of six charities in the world who will receive an end of year grant given by the company in place of sending holiday cards.

The fund raising success we have is the result of the work of more than 100 volunteers, from the Cabrini Connections program, the Tutor/Mentor Connection, our Board of Directors, and our advisory council. While many reading this blog are aware of some of the volunteer roles with Cabrini Connections, I encourage you to visit our Technology Wiki and view the list of volunteers supporting the T/MC and our technology strategies.

Our success is also because many people who have been volunteers, leaders and donors in the past, are still making contributions to support us for the present and the future. Of our 2007 individual donors, 53 made their first contribution between 1993 and 1996. Three of our donors were volunteers with the Montgomery Ward program between 1973 and 1975 when I first became involved. Friends and family or many volunteers and directors have been donors and volunteers ever since we created Cabrini Connections.

You can review our 2006-07 Annual Report here. Once we've audited 2007 we'll create a similar report and put it on line.

Through the Internet my hope is that we can reach out to the 500 teens and 700 volunteers who have been part of Cabrini Connections since 1993, and we can reach further back to 1965 and reconnect some of the more than 4000 volunteers and 4000 youth who were part of the original Ward program from 1965 to 1992. This is a huge community of talent and potential leadership that we seek to mobilize to support volunteer-based tutor/mentor activities at Cabrini Connections, and throughout the city, state and country.

While the bulk of new 2008 funding will be directed to the Tutor/Mentor Connection, the result of this new funding will be more support for Cabrini Connections students and volunteers, as well as more support for tutor/mentor programs around the city, and in other places where leaders use our web site as a resource.

We are in the process of interviewing candidates for the Administrative Coordinator position, and have applied to have a 2008-09 Public Service Fellowship from Northwestern University (Nicole White is the 2007-08 fellow). I thank everyone who has contributed time and talent over the past year, and the past 15 years, to your efforts.