SpringBoard: How We've Helped

The Jericho Road Project has had the opportunity to support a wide variety of nonprofit organizations in Lowell. Here are just a few of the ways in which we've helped.

Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association

The CMAA serves the country's second largest Cambodian population by providing services such as mental health care, translation, nutrition counseling, and job training. Recently, the organization has come across hard times. Its annual budget dropped from $3 million to $800,000, it had to cut staff positions, and bad press followed. As a result, many needy Cambodians who had come to rely on CMAA's critical services were no longer served.

CMAA's executive director and board met several times with Jericho Road volunteers. Once trust had been established, the group concluded that CMAA needed an organizational assessment. Don L., a Jericho Road volunteer who is an experienced management consultant, had just the right skills to do the assessment. Don and a colleague, Tim, interviewed 27 people with a strong interest in CMAA's survival as a vital organization: board members, staff members, funding sources, and local politicians including the mayor. The Jericho Road team then analyzed and processed 150 pages of interview research notes, which culminated in a series of recommendations it presented to the CMAA several months later. With a road map to organizational health, CMAA is now taking specific actions recommended in the report to rebuild its capacity and better serve the Cambodians of Lowell.

Acre Youth Organization

The Acre Youth Organization runs the Little League in Lowell's most depressed neighborhood - the Acre - and initially approached Jericho Road for help with donations of baseball equipment. AYO is run by a handful of dedicated volunteer board members, has no paid staff, and works hard to raise enough money to keep the organization afloat. The league plays with old balls and has no running water or rest room facilities on the field.

To address AYO's chronic fiscal fatigue, Jericho Road helped devise a long-term solution: a revenue-generating concession stand in the heart of a rejuvenated baseball field. To develop the "Field of Dreams," Jericho Road put together a team of four of its volunteers - a project coordinator, a designer and copywriter, a construction manager, and business consultant. The team created a funding packet, including a business proposal and a vision for a community-centered field that was endorsed by the Office of the Mayor of Lowell. In October, 2003, Jericho Road sponsored a Field of Dreams work and fun day in Lowell to revive the field and break ground for the campaign to build the concession stand.

African Assistance Center

The AAC serves Lowell's African immigrant and refugee community, providing a range of services, including job training and search services, teaching English as a second language, and health care. While it has been in operation since 2000 the AAC has only recently moved out from under the auspices of a larger host organization, or "fiscal agent," to become a separate and independent nonprofit organization. The transition has required many complex legal, programmatic, fiscal, and strategic decisions and actions by AAC's executive director, Cecilia Okafor and her staff. Paul R., a Jericho Road volunteer and senior business executive with experience in the non-profit sector, worked closely with Ms. Okafor, sharing the workload and bringing his business and organizational skills to help make the transition smooth and professional. Together, they also identified priority areas that other Jericho Road volunteers could take on. One of those areas is editing and grant writing, and Tim B., the former editor of a nationally recognized business magazine, has already begun working with the AAC.

Lowell Small Business Assistance Center

The LSBAC serves aspiring enterpreneurs and small-business owners in the Greater Lowell area. Jericho Road approached Executive Director Russ Smith to discuss a potential collaboration. Smith had been single-handedly teaching the Center's Right Start curriculum, introducing the basics of business in-six week courses conducted in a three-hour class each Wednesday evening year-round. When he was sick or on vacation, the classes often came to a halt. For lack of staff, the Center was also unable to offer counseling during evening hours, the only time available to many prospective entrepreneurs. To meet LSBAC'S needs, Jericho Road established the Business Executives Advising New Entrepreneurs ( BEANE) program. Ten Jericho Road volunteers are now teaching virtually the entire Right Start curriculum. In addition, with BEANE help, the LSBAC is now able to offer counseling during evening hours and plans to expand its focus to include an emergency, Counselor on Call service for existing but struggling small businesses.