Project Grant 18VSPCA008

ASCENCIA'S MISSION, "TO LIFT PEOPLE OUT OF HOMELESSNESS ONE PERSON, ONE FAMILY AT A TIME," SPEAKS TO HOW WE PLACE INDIVIDUALIZED CARE AT THE CENTER OF OUR WORK. OUR VISION, "A COMMUNITY WHERE PEOPLE IN NEED ACCESS SERVICES AND FIND SAFE, AFFORDABLE HOUSING," CALLS US TO ADDRESS SYSTEMIC DRIVERS OF HOMELESSNESS -- OUR ANTI-POVERTY FOCUS. ASCENCIA IS A 501(C)(3) ORGANIZATION FORMED IN 2006 AS PATH ACHIEVE GLENDALE TO OPERATE A RANGE OF PROGRAMS SERVING HOMELESS FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS IN THE GREATER GLENDALE AREA. IN 2011, WE SEPARATED FROM THE PATH FAMILY OF AGENCIES AND BECAME ASCENCIA. NOW IN OUR 11TH YEAR OF OPERATION, ASCENCIA'S DIVERSE STAFF OF 31 SERVES OVER 1,000 PEOPLE PER YEAR THROUGH OUTREACH, CASE MANAGEMENT, AND HOUSING-BASED PROGRAMS. OUR SERVICE AREA ENCOMPASSES GLENDALE, BURBANK, THE LOS ANGELES COMMUNITIES OF EAGLE ROCK, HIGHLAND PARK, GLASSELL PARK AND ATWATER VILLAGE, AND WEST HOLLYWOOD. ASCENCIA'S 20-MEMBER BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPLIES LESSONS FROM ANNENBERG ALCHEMY TRAINING TO ORGANIZE COMMITTEE WORK AND PROMOTE A CULTURE OF PHILANTHROPY. THE AGENCY'S ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET FOR FY2019 IS $3.1 MILLION. ASCENCIA SEEKS TO SERVE AS THE LEAD AGENCY TO BRING SEVEN (7) VISTAS TO FOUR (4) HOMELESS SERVICE AGENCIES LOCATED IN NORTHEAST LOS ANGELES. OUR VISTA PROJECT ALIGNS WITH THE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY PRIORITY AREA OF THE CNCS PROGRAMMING. THE VISTAS WILL ESTABLISH COMMUNICATION AND FUNDRAISING INFRASTRUCTURE TO RAISE THE ORGANIZATIONS' PROFILES, TO SOLICIT MORE FUNDING, AND TO DRAW IN NEW DONORS AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS. AS THE VISTAS' WORK HELPS TO GENERATE MORE DONATIONS, THE ORGANIZATIONS WILL BENEFIT BY HAVING MORE FUNDING TO OFFSET BUDGET SHORTFALLS, CONTRACT MATCH REQUIREMENTS, AND HAVE GREATER FLEXIBILITY TO RESPOND TO URGENT NEEDS FROM THE COMMUNITY. FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE MIDDLE OF FY2017, ASCENCIA WAS TOLD THAT ALL CLIENTS IN THE FAMILY SOLUTIONS PROGRAM NEEDED TO BE HOUSED 24 HOURS/7 DAYS A WEEK, WHICH MEANT HIRING A RESIDENT ASSISTANT TO COVER THE HOURS FROM 7 AM - 3 PM. WE HAD NOT ANTICIPATED THAT NEED AND HAD NOT BUDGETED AN ADDITIONAL 1.5 STAFF. THE TIME TO BUILD THE INFRASTRUCTURE MAY VARY SLIGHTLY BY ORGANIZATION, BUT WE ANTICIPATE THE PROJECT TO TAKE THREE (3) YEARS. THE FIRST YEAR WILL FOCUS ON BUILDING, THE SECOND YEAR ON REFINING THE INFRASTRUCTURE BASED ON FIRST YEAR'S ANALYSIS, AND THE THIRD YEAR ON RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING OF VOLUNTEERS AND STAFF TO CONTINUE THE PROJECT.