CAP-ful of ideas on fighting poverty

from The Daily News Longview, Washington

Ilona Kerby, the leader of one of the area's largest social service organizations, cites a sobering statistic about poverty in the United States: About 37 million Americans lead a hand-to-mouth existence.

"That's one in 12. Those are huge numbers," said Kerby, who then adds with enthusiasm: "We're excited to be able to provide safety nets for some of those people. We are changing the face of poverty."

Since becoming executive director of the Lower Columbia Community Action Council (CAP) in September last year, Kerby also has also been trying to change the 42-year-old organization, which runs 20 assistance programs to help feed and shelter the needy. They include Help Warehouse, Meals on Wheels, energy assistance, helf-help housing and community jobs programs.

It's been a "whirlwind" first year on the job, said Kerby, whose main goal since taking over has been to reduce CAP's dependence on unstable government funding.

"We need to model the behavior we want from our clients," Kerby said. "We want them to move toward self-sufficiency, and we should, too."

CAP, housed in the old Sears building on Commerce Avenue, is a private organization that applies for competitive grants and funding. The agency receives about $3.7 million, or 64 percent of its revenue, from government grants and contracts.

"The biggest misconception I face is that people think CAP is a government agency," Kerby said. "We are a nonprofit, and I'm excited that we are learning ways to serve our mission and generate revenue." In March, CAP took a major step to wean itself from government support by appointing Alan Rose as the agency's first-ever community relations and development director. Rose, who had been CAP's director of community services since 1999, now oversees grant-writing, coordinates fundraising activities, and acts as staff to the CAP Foundation.

The purpose of the CAP Foundation, formed three years ago, is to raise endowment funds for future financial security. Interest from the funds can support underfunded CAP programs. It has grown in the last year from five to 13 active members, most of them businesspeople who are soliciting funds for the endowment.

"The CAP Foundation is energized with new leadership and members," Kerby said.

Another new avenue for income -- still in the idea stage -- is to create "enterprise ventures." Such businesses. also called "social enterprises," generate revenue while also being a training program for unemployed clients to learn skills to begin a career, Kerby said.

"Once in the workforce, 85 percent of those who started at minimum wage are still working after three years and have higher than minimum-wage incomes," she said.

Kerby said CAP also wants to start up "asset-building" programs to help people learn banking skills and establish savings accounts. CAP also wants to expand its self-help housing project, in which participants help build their homes in exchange for mortgage assistance.

"We are always looking for creative ways to move people out of poverty," she said.

Making Rose the development director was the right move, Kerby said, but it left her acting as both executive director and community services director, forcing her to run day-to-day operations of CAP's myriad assistance programs. "We hope to fill that position soon," Kerby said of Rose's old slot. "That will allow me more time to focus on the big picture."

Kerby worked for CAP from 1986 to 1991, helping people 55 years and older find work. She then worked for Lower Columbia College and spent 10 years heading up offender services programs for Cowlitz County before returning to CAP.

When she become CAP's executive director, she said people told her it would take three years for her to feel like she had a handle on the large organization.

"At the time, I didn't think it would take me that long," Kerby said. "But it's been a wild first year. I'm feeling a lot more confident, but there is always something else to learn."

New name for CAP?
There's long been a disconnect between Lower Columbia Community Action Council and its common name -- CAP. But that might change.
CAP, which stands for "Community Action Program," is a generic name for thousands of community agencies across the country. The Lower Columbia Community Action Council is one of 31 CAPs in Washington.
The confusion may be ending soon, though, because CAP Executive Director Ilona Kerby said the agency in January will launch a community-wide competition for a new name.
"We want one name that the community will recognize," Kerby said.