I have been you and I have heard you.
Senior Centers are under-resourced and often your staff is stretched thin and under-trained for the work you do. With more people in your community aging and many desiring to age at home for as long as possible, how do you adapt in a way that’s healthy for your business and serves the growing need?
KovirPage will take your center’s pulse and give you professional coaching and support to position your agency and staff for maximum capacity and impact. Each of these sections is detailed as you scroll down, but a year of work is outlined like this:
We’ll review the national senior center standards with you and also any standards your state, Area Agency on Aging, or Commission on Aging to which you are held. You should feel confident about the areas you in which you excel and use your strengths as a starting point for our time together.
Should you decide to pursue accreditation, this process will set you up for success. Many sites have found accreditation to open more program and funding doors.
Standards are awesome to achieve, but we want to know what your team experiences and feels. We’ll review your center’s organization structure, culture, technology, systems, and so much more. Knowing what works well and where your pain points are is key to being a better business.
We’ll hear straight from your staff, board of directors, and other key people what the center’s strengths are and how they hope to improve.
The topics we focus on vary based on the outcomes on the previously mentioned evaluations, but the highlights include and are not limited to topics like:
The topics we focus on for development vary based on your feedback. We recognize there are staff passionate about seniors, but haven’t had a lot of experience or education in these areas. Highlights include:
With a Boot Camp plan upgrade, you have access to all our online courses.
Technology can be so frustrating!
It doesn’t have to be. Let us learn your systems and what you are trying to accomplish and make recommendations that fit your budget. Recommendations typically include items like:
Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to spend hours on Google finding a policy example of what your funder requires? A template for a grant proposal? Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to search for a guide to walk you through the marketing plan asked for in the national standards?
We got you! AND if you have a something that you are proud of and want to share, feel free to contribute to the library.
With a plan upgrade, you can have Kovir create content just for you as well as have access to our Senior Center Program Library.
As part of this program, we will connect you with other senior centers who are currently working through this process or have already finished it.
We’ll set up some ways for you to continue sharing and connecting beyond your one year with us.
Did we mention our monthly group Q&A? It’s a great opportunity to hear what other sites are asking!
This is the newest addition to our program. We are partnering with an EAP group to offer whole person wellness to your staff. They can call and talk to a counselor about:
With the Boot Camp plan upgrade, your staff’s family members are allowed to participate in this as well.
We think whole person wellness models not only work with the older adults we serve at our centers, but also in our organizations. With senior centers and small non-profit businesses, there are commitments and values that indicate health. Logically, if we focus on those areas for your agency, you’ll have healthier outcomes too. Here are some statistics and related articles for you to decide for yourself:
Outcome: After one year in this program, your site’s penetration rate will increase.
Your foundation consists of things like mission, vision, values, business and marking plans (yes, you are a business), finances, policies – you get the drill. Forbes found mission driven agencies are more likely to build trust, authenticity, and transparency among clients, donors, and stakeholders. These strong agencies become high performing organizations with higher sustainable revenue streams, and high performing workers willing to stay for more than 5 years.
Outcome: After one year in this program, your team will increase their knowledge in deliverable areas and satisfaction with their position. Clients will be surveyed as a testimony to increased positive atmosphere.
Your team is everything. Board, executive director, program director, meal coordinator, intake coordinator, janitor, key volunteers, you name it. Could we do our work without them? An agency’s leadership style can make or break a staff, just as staff can change the course of the leadership. If your coworkers are competent, it makes your work enjoyable and easy. If your coworkers are not bearing their weight, it makes your work stressful and complex. Did you know:
7 out of 10 stay for professional development;
74% of employees want more professional development to reach their potential;
87% of Millennials and Gen Z’ers look for professional development opportunities in their job offers;
Companies that offer comprehensive educational opportunities experience 24% higher profit margin;
On-boarding costs alone are estimated around $4K and if they don’t stay it often means the equivalent of a full year salary lost to the agency.
Outcomes: After one year in this program, staff will confidently use the equipment and software at their fingertips, technology will record an increase in views/clicks/defended attacks/etc. Clients will be surveyed to demonstrate increased service delivery and/or innovation.
Yale Insights notes that when a nonprofit invests in technology, they notice an Improvement in efficiency, service delivery, employee innovation. You have tasks that can be automated, reports that can run in a moment rather than a day of digging through your binders, and a program that makes a quick and beautiful flyer. More efficient and higher quality outputs mean you have more time and energy to put toward your services.
More so, technology is most often our first touch point with our clients. Research shows they will be turned away by an underused Facebook or an outdated website – sometimes even funders and large donors will be. Also, technology is our first wall of defense when someone is trying to steal social security numbers, bank information, medical data – the right technology and practices can keep this safe, but the missing or outdated tech can leave organizations vulnerable.
Outcome: Increased stats (clients, members, participants, units, etc) for the agency. Clients will be surveyed on their increased quality of life because of services offered.
Every aspect of this program comes down to the client’s perspective and experience. All this work is for our clients: John, Joe, Betty, Judy, Maria, Susan, Bev. My heart is with older adults for so many reasons (I can talk to you later about that!), and I truly believe that seniors centers are in a unique place to serve aging persons to make a healthier society and a healthier person. I believe that equipping you to better serve your community and being supportive where and when you need it is going to change the landscape in Michigan.
In my self-care training I talk about how you have to fill your own cup before you can fill someone else’s cup; you have to put on your own oxygen mask before you can put on someone else’s. The same is in our agencies – pour into them so they can pour into your community.
Let KovirPage help you increase your capacity and impact.
Well then I’m excited to talk to you, I love an inquisitive and open mind!
You can schedule a call or drop an email using this form and I’ll follow up with you as soon as I can.
Also, if this is something you are interested in but don’t have funds right now – please still fill out a contact form. I have an option for me to help you raise funds for this program because I believe in it so much.
Can’t wait to hear from you.
~Marie Gress, LMSW-Macro