Neighbors Incorporated

The heart of Neighbors, Inc. is our dedicated volunteers, staff, and community supporters who are committed to providing healthy food, clothing, individual support services and financial empowerment to help stabilize people with low incomes in northern dakota county. We predominately serve the communities of south st. paul, west st. paul, inver grove heights, mendota, mendota heights, lilydale and sunfish lake as well as many who are homeless. Of those served, historically, 40 percent have been white, 32 percent have been latino, 14 percent have been african american, 12 percent have identified as multiracial, and 2 percent have been asian and native american. Additionally, many of our supportive assistance programs serve dakota county's aging population. As the needs of our community have changed, Neighbors' programs and services have evolved. Our current programs and services include: hunger relief, essential clothing and household items, meaningful referrals to community resources/agencies and financial empowerment. In addition, we have a seasonal holiday gift adoption program for families and seniors in need. Neighbors has multiple bi-lingual staff who ensure programs and services can be offered in both spanish and english. We rely on volunteers to help us meet our mission on-site and in the community each day; our volunteers help our Neighbors to thrive. At Neighbors, we focus on providing high-dignity, person-centered services. From the first time an individual comes to Neighbors or calls for support, there is a comprehensive effort to ensure they are able to access a wide variety of services and programs to meet their needs. Our client engagement specialists connect people to Neighbors' array of stability and financial empowerment services as well as provide meaningful referrals to community services such as transportation, emergency assistance and childcare.neighbors provided services that addressed the following areas of need: hunger relief:our hunger relief program provides nutritious food resources to families and seniors in need in our community. Neighbors is committed to making it as easy as possible for those in need to get food. Neighbors guarantees the same level of service for all participants regardless of address, language limitations, disability, race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, citizenship status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, familial status, receipt of public assistance, and being a member of a local human rights commission. Neighbors offers three options to access our onsite food shelf: in-person shopping, home delivery and curbside pick-up. We also offer weekly and monthly supplemental food distributions open to anyone in our community experiencing need. In addition to our onsite food resources, Neighbors partners with six local apartment complexes via our regularly scheduled "express" satellite food shelves. These satellite locations bring healthy food to residents experiencing multiple barriers, such as transportation. Each of our food support locations allows clients to choose their own items including a variety of fresh produce, dairy, bakery, meat, and shelf-stable foods. Emergency food packs are provided when immediate support is needed. Financial empowerment:our financial empowerment services provide free personalized, one-to-one coaching and education to help improve the financial well-being of people in our community. Financial well-being means having financial security and financial freedom of choice, in the present and in the future. Services include: advice on managing money and debts, budget development, obtaining a copy of and understanding credit reports and scores, financial educational materials and workshops, digital literacy education and training, connecting persons to home ownership services and offering career counselling. Small sums grants are available for qualified individuals served by Neighbors. Small sums grants are intended to be proactive, person-centered, collaborative grants clients can use to meet their goals. Examples include paying for a class, licensure, tools, and building credit, and emergency savings. Neighbors has two accredited financial counselors on staff who have met the education and experience requirements of the association for financial counseling & planning education. Stability services:clothes closet thrift store: the thrift store sells high quality donated clothing and household items to the public at affordable prices. For those experiencing difficulty affording clothing/household items, a gift card is provided annually to receive items at no cost for the entire family.holiday gift program: our winter holiday program focuses on matching our local community with families and seniors. Community members sponsor a family or senior (who are currently receiving services with Neighbors) and provide gifts to help brighten the season for those who may not otherwise be able to afford them. Meaningful referrals: Neighbors trained staff connect individuals to community resources and partner agencies such as childcare, transportation, housing resources, etc. Community engagement: Neighbors' volunteer program supports Neighbors array of programs and services. Also included in this area are education and training opportunities including internships, nonprofit training opportunities for youth, and an alumni volunteer program for volunteers who are no longer able to serve in person. Key fy 2022-23 accomplishments and strengths: -increased access to food resources through our express sites and community distributions-grand opening of our financial empowerment program leadership, staff, board and volunteers: Neighbors has a team of 17 staff members. Our model is such that there are more volunteers than paid staff who help bring our mission to life every day. Our dedicated volunteers provide assistance in a variety of tangible ways throughout all of our programs and services. In addition, we have five employees and several volunteers who are fluent in spanish.our board of directors consists of individuals who are leaders in their fields and are passionate about Neighbors and the people we serve. We continually strive to have a diverse board. Board members bring a mix of skills and expertise in accounting, legal, finance, human resources, business development, etc. As well as robust knowledge of our communities. In february 2023, Neighbors president and ceo charlie thompson resigned his position. Neighbors employed the help of mighty consulting to conduct the search for a new leader. In june 2023, dawn wambeke was hired as Neighbors executive director.program and services fy 2022-23 data:hunger relief program: households served: 24,870 (duplicated)individuals served: 64,893 (duplicated)pounds of food distributed: 901,379 lbsfinancial empowerment program:financial education services: 349 visits (duplicated individuals)stability services:families receiving clothing vouchers: 509 families / totaling $23,447 in merchandisepeople receiving holiday gift assistance: 594 children and 59 seniorscommunity engagement:total volunteers: 609hours served: 21,758 hoursrole in the community and relationships with other organizations:neighbors has been a trusted source of assistance for low income, resource constrained, individuals and families for more than fifty years. We are known in the community as a place of help for people who do not have resources to resolve scarcity problems associated with living in poverty. Helping professionals in our service area refer their clients to us whenever there is a need for food, clothing, financial education and other essential needs items we provide. We minimize the duplication of services by partnering with community programs already in place. Foundations, corporations, civic engagement organizations, government and individual donors partner with us to financially support our operations and programming. The organization has no voting members. All members of the organization are non-voting members. The management of the affairs of the organization is vested in a board of directors.