New Trier Township

Youth, Seniors, and Community Resources Funding Committee

Wednesday, February 22, 2023 – 7:30 p.m.

Agenda

 

  1. Approval of September 2022 Minutes
  2. Chair and Trustee Reports
  3. Administrator Report
  4. Review of Funding Letters
  5. Liaison Reports
  6. Other Business
  7. Adjourn

 

Administrator Report 

Thanks again for your participation in the funding process. It’s been a pleasure working with all of you. As I move on, I would just ask all of you to work with Steve, my replacement. As you look at agencies and programs in the future, remember that most of our agencies do a good job, but often are too busy and let evaluation go by the wayside. But activity is not the same as results.

 

The funding letters are written and we will review them at the meeting. They are attached.  No significant issues, but I have already asked the youth centers to track daily attendance at their respective locations and they can also track attendance at off-site events. Their first reports will be due in early February. There are no members who have served the full six years, but 4 members, Sharon Weingarten, Melissa Frey, Dave Barta and Leslie Weyrich are on their final year in 2023.  They can move to other committees after that if they wish. Ed will summarize his presentation to the Board as part of the Chair Report.  I think the process went well thanks to all of you, but we will have a brief discussion of the process. The board makes final decisions in February. All of you are invited. It’s February 14th at 7:30 p.m.

 

Minutes from September 2022

Members Present – Ed Olinger, Sharon Weingarten, Bridget Lewis, Belle Lerner, Ian Larkin, Dave Barta,   Trustee Ruben, Steven Anderson.

Motion to approve the minutes was passed on a voice vote. 

 

The Committee did introductions, including new staff member Steve Anderson. Trustee Ruben noted that there is a Wellness Fair that we are co-sponsoring with the Senior Center on October 22nd. The current name of the Committee, Lifestages, was tabled until the next meeting.

 

Brian distributed proposals and noted that we got an application from the Glencoe Jr. High Project, despite our funding letter from last year. They asked for an increase to $15,000! One new agency applied, a non-profit online newspaper called the Record, which the Board funded last year for a Youth in Journalism Workshop. The committee set their fall schedule, with two review meetings in October and three hearing dates in November. We did not set the Decision meeting yet. Brian will e-mail the schedule to everyone tomorrow, along with which agencies to review on which date.

 

Liaison Reports

  • Belle Lerner/Legal Aid - The clinic, founded in 2015, provides pro bono legal aid to low income individuals in Lake and northern Cook counties with a focus on domestic violence, immigration, and housing issues.
  • Ms. Shulman has been their ED since 2016 and Greg Davenport recently joined the organization in the new Director of Development position.
  • The clinic currently has 29.5 FTEs, of which 16 are attorneys.
  • NTT has been providing funding to the clinic since 2019.
  • Last  year, they handled over a dozen cases for NTT residents. Additionally, they provide training clinics on issues such as Power of Attorney, Healthcare Power of Attorney and Housing Rights.
  • Although the number served ebbs and flows, they anticipate an increase in the number of NTT residents served in 2022 compared to previous years.
  • Through an outside grant, the clinic recently received fundraising training from The Compass Group in which data and benchmarks were provided comparing the clinic to similar organizations and offering strategies for increasing the clinic's fundraising efforts.
  • The clinic has received a grant to implement Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
  • There was a recent article in the Sun Times that included clinic expertise to addressed domestic violence perpetrators' use of AirTags to track/harm their victims. https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/5/27/23143274/apple-airtag-stalking-gps-domestic-violence-wings-sarahsinn-north-suburban-legal-aid-chicago-police
  • The clinic recently was one of the first organizations to successfully achieve asylum status for an Afghan refugee.
  • COVID continues to play a role in the housing issues the clinic encounters as it works to prevent illegal evictions and assist people who cannot afford the rising costs of renting.
  • In July, the clinic will be releasing their 2022-2024 strategic plan. Ms. Shulman indicated she will send me a copy at that time.
  • They have had 18 NTT clients, 11 power of attorney, 5 Housing Cases, 1 Domestic Violence, and 2 Immigration.  They will be at our Wellness Fair in October.

Ed Olinger/WYO – It was quiet over the summer as visits were down. They project a $5k funding gap and a busy fall schedule.

Leslie Weyrich/GYS – They have a new director, Michelle Rosenthal, who is the former director of GJHP. She’s outgoing, enthusiastic and has lots of great ideas for the agency.  They are doing a food drive for the pantry, and a volunteer event at an animal shelter.

Brian had some suggestions about reviewing proposals. For new people, look at the first time through as a learning process.

Respectfully submitted,

Brian Leverenz