step up savannah 2015 annual report

8/20/2019 Step Up Savannah 2015 annual report

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2015 Annual Report

Step Up engages all sectors of the community to improve the economicmobility and nancial stability of families in Savannah and ChathamCounty.

2005 - 2015

Step Up Savannah Inc.

Ten Years of Creating Opportunity



1 | Ten Years of Creating Opportunity

A Decade Of Stepping Up As Step Up celebrates its 10th Anniversary of reducing poverty in Savannah, I am reminded that from the

very beginning we knew it would not be an easy or quick task. Savannah’s poverty is multi-generational and the

barriers to reducing poverty are many. Step Up’s approach has been a collaborative effort, bringing together

many partners in the process: business, government, community service agencies, churches, foundations

and neighborhoods. This partnership keeps us focused on poverty issues as we all chip away at the barriers:

education and training, healthcare, affordable housing, child and senior care, transportation and nancial

literacy. Any one of these barriers has an impact on a person’s ability to get out and stay out of poverty. Two or

more barriers can be overwhelming.

I am proud of the work that Step Up and its partners do every day to help individuals and families helpthemselves and create a better future for them and for Savannah. I am thankful to live in a community that cares about others.

Jim Stevenson, Board Chairman

33.4%

of Savannah’s children live

in poverty

26%

of Savannahians live in poverty

$23,475Median annual earnings for

workers in Savannah

$35,838Median household income

in Savannah

28.1%of Whites

live below poverty level in Savannah

58.8% of African Americans

live below poverty level in Savannah

9.6% of Hispanics live below poverty level in Savannah



Step Up Savannah | 2

Savannah is one beautiful place to

live and in 2015 was ranked as the“most romantic city” in the U.S. But we

have our share of prickly problems and

chief among them is a stubbornly high

rate of poverty.

Our city’s 26 percent poverty rate

is one of the lingering effects of the

recession, making the year of Step Up’s

10th anniversary a time of reection rather than celebration.

We were charged from the start to not duplicate services and

Step Up has remained true to that vision. You’ll read in this report

some impressive accomplishments by Step Up and its partners.

Additional highlights for 2015 include:

K Our Bank On Savannah initiative held a June breakfast with

speaker Janet Gordon of the Federal Deposit Insurance

Corp., who presented ndings from the national survey of

the unbanked and underbanked. We now have 10 Bank On

Savannah partners; in the last year BankSouth and First

Chatham have joined. With a 19.8% unbanked rate in

Savannah, we still have work to do.

K We organized mobile Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Sites

at these employers: DIRTT, Derst Bakery, Westin Savannah

Harbor, Memorial Hospital and the Department of Family

and Children Services.

K Through a grant from Gulfstream, we’ve provided 70

scholarships for General Education Diploma (GED) fees

for adults studying at Savannah Technical College over the

last year.

K The Campaign for Healthy Kids & Families, which we

manage with the Chatham County Safety Net Planning

Council, has enrolled 1,283 children in public health

insurance programs since the start of the campaign. Our

enrollment assistance partners help families sign up online so

their children have access to quality healthcare.

K Our Neighborhood Leadership Academy at Savannah

State University welcomed 19 new emerging leaders in

September, and we’ll be offering the NLA mini-grants again.

K Our partnership for public benets has screened 1,162

individuals for public benets at various community centersand at worksites.

K With Georgia Heritage Federal Credit Union and Consumer

Credit Counseling Service, we launched the new Life Line

Loan, a no-questions-asked small-dollar loan offered through

employers, which competes directly with car title loans. Small

and large employers have signed on and we’re ready to bring

on more.

K With Savannah Graduates and the Workforce Action Team,

we’re producing an online directory of workforce trainingprograms.

K Our VISTA Associates were dedicated to assisting in the

Healthy Kids Campaign, CAP, the VITA Coalition, and

have created a Step Up presence on social media. (We’re still

providing VISTAs to partner organizations as well.)

K We’ll end 2015 by hosting the Cities for Financial

Empowerment, a national network of creative municipal

leaders working to embed nancial literacy into every

conceivable entry-point for their lower-income residents.Fourteen cities will bring their top leaders and thinkers

to Savannah Dec. 1-3; the meeting is sponsored by the

FINRA Foundation.

Meanwhile, we’ve done this while launching Step Up’s rst

Annual Campaign, organizing our 10th Anniversary events, and

conducting strategic planning with input from our partners,

community leaders and the board. We are proud to share the

new mission statement that came out of this process: Step

Up engages all sectors of the community to improve theeconomic mobility and nancial stability of families in

Savannah and Chatham County.

We need to commit to creating the “infrastructure of

opportunity” that MDC President David Dodson talks about.

And we need to remain focused on policy and supporting strong

neighborhood-grounded voices to sustain efforts toward long-term

change.

Suzanne Donovan, Executive Director

2015: A Year of Reection




A Year in Review June 2014 to June 2015

2 6 % o f S a v a n n a h i a n s l i v e b e l o

w

p o v e r t y l e v e l

12,103individuals servedby the Step Upcollaborative

196individuals went

through a poverty

simulation

110adults trained through theChatham ApprenticeProgram

5,617individuals attended CCCS/

Step Up fnancial education

workshops, counseling

sessions, or public education

events regarding fnancialliteracy

641Bank On Savannah

accounts opened

$213,114in revolving loans through

the Savannah Affordable

Housing Fund

20individuals trainedin our NeighborhoodLeadership Academy

68individuals volunteered

for a poverty

simulation

$10,308in grants through the Savannah

Affordable Housing Fund, administered

by CHSA, Inc.



736adults trained through

the Chatham Apprentice

Program (CAP) since

2006

24.1%

In Our Ten Years of Creating Opportunity

32,100individuals participated

in nancial education

sessions since 2009

6,203Bank On Savannah

accounts have been

opened since 2009

58 emerging leaders

trained through our

Neighborhood Leadership

Academy to sharpen their

skills to effect change in

their neighborhoods

individuals participated

in poverty simulations

since 2005

In 2009, our Resident Team

successfully advocated for

a Chatham Area Transit

TRANSFER PASS, eliminating

full fare for every leg of a trip

3,584

$516,288to our non-prot partners

to build capacity or to

work on joint initiatives

70,414individuals served by and

through Step Up and its

partners

$

average wage

increase for CAP

participants

after graduation





It has been another active year for the Chatham Apprentice

Program (CAP). We hosted six E3 job-readiness classes at variouslocations throughout the community, including Moses Jackson

Community Center, the Housing Authority of Savannah, West

Broad Street YMCA, the Coastal Georgia Center, Frank Cal-

len Boys and Girls Club, and St. Mary’s Community Center. In

addition, we reached special populations by partnering with the

Coastal Workforce Investment Board and the Coastal Transitional

Center to hold a class specically for returning citizens as well as

a partnership with Wesley Community Center for a class for single

parents. CAP provided childcare for participants through a gener-

ous grant from Zonta Club of Savannah Service Fund, Inc. In the last year, 83 individuals completed the E3 program with

a 55.5 percent job placement rate and an average hourly pay of $9.

Our graduates secured employment with Chatham County, The

Flying Monk, NRS Warehousing and other local companies as well

as many of our partner agencies including the United Way, West

Broad Street YMCA, and Goodwill of the Coastal Empire.

In addition to our E3 job training class, CAP added two new

components: individual “case management” and hard-skills train-

ing.Case management is for low-income individuals who are inter-

ested in a career change or advancement but are unable to attend

the E3 class due to schedule conicts. Many clients are working,

but are motivated to make a change. They receive one-on-one

assistance, which includes resume review and revision, specic

job search guidance, interview techniques, and other job-readiness

counseling.

Our new hard skills training class was delivered by Savannah

Technical College, which provided forklift safety certication, in

addition to CAP’s employability training. Thirty individuals went

through training at the Georgia Department of Labor. Over 40

percent of program graduates were placed in jobs with an average

pay rate of $10.16 an hour.

This year, Step Up and Consumer Credit Counseling Service

partnered with Georgia Heritage Federal Credit Union (GHFCU)on a new employer-based loan program called the Life Line Loan.

This new product provides employees access to an affordable

small dollar loan ($300-$1500) through their employer to meet

emergency needs. The program is coupled with on-site nancial

education which helps employees develop a better understanding

of how to manage credit and debt.

How it works: Employers sign an agreement with GHFCU

to offer the program to employees. Employees access the loan

through human resources staff, who verify the employee has

worked for the company for at least 6 months and is in goodstanding. GHFCU then quickly processes the loan, which is repaid

through payroll deduction. Credit score is not a concern in loan

determination, though the employee’s ability to repay is assessed.

GHFCU reports loan payments to the credit bureaus to establisha positive credit history, which works to improve the employ-

ee’s credit score. Once the loan is paid in full, the loan payment

amount continues to be withdrawn from payroll and deposited

into the employee’s savings account until they opt out. This feature

of the program allows employees to build up an emergency

savings fund after they have become accustomed to the payroll

deduction.

Five employers have signed on to participate thus far including

Chatham County, Chatham Area Transit, Goose Feathers Café,

Hospice Savannah and Senior Citizens, Inc. In its rst few months,the program has helped 75 employees to access loans totaling over

$96,550.

Chatham Apprentice Program

Life Line Loan Program




Tank you to our tenth anniversary sponsors

Memorial Health Hussey Gay Bell

2015 Board of Directors

Arthur Best, Workforce Development Director, EOAScott Center, President, National Ofce Systems Inc.Curtis Victor Cooper, President, Cloverdale Neighborhood Assoc.

Tabatha Crawford Roberts, Right Track Consulting Services & NLA GraduateStephanie Cutter, City Manager, City of SavannahDr. Cheryl Davenport Dozier, DSW, President, Savannah State UniversityEarline Davis, Director, Housing Authority of SavannahBishop Willie Ferrell, Pastor, Royal Church of ChristErma Fulcher, Hudson Hill Neighborhood Assoc. & NLA GraduateAlethea Frazier-Raynor, Director, African American Male AchievementHolden Hayes, Regional President, South State BankCathy Hill, Vice President, Georgia Power Coastal RegionDiane Jackson, Founder/Director, Young Men of HonorMayor Edna Jackson, City of Savannah

Dr. Otis Johnson, Former Mayor, City of SavannahBetty Jones, President, Feilier Park Neighborhood Assoc., NLA GraduateDr. Thomas Lockamy, Superintendent, Savannah Chatham County Public SchoolsTerry Lemmons, Director of Development, Optim HealthBetty Lloyd, West Savannah Neighborhood Assoc.Patricia Lyons, President, Senior Citizens, Inc.Frank Macgill, Attorney at Law, HunterMacleanMaureen McFadden, Director, Department of Family & Children ServicesJohn Neely, Principal/Savannah, Colliers InternationalReverend James Nelson, Pastor, Holy Spirit Lutheran ChurchSister Pauline O’Brien, Pastoral Assistant, Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Diane Pinckney, NLA GraduatePastor Samuel Rodriguez, First Hispanic Baptist ChurchChairman Al Scott, Chatham County Board of CommissionersPat Shay, President, Gunn Meyerhoff ShayJim Stevenson, Former VP of Marketing, Savannah ElectricBrent Stubbs, Dean of General Studies, Savannah Technical CollegeTrip Tollison, President and CEO, Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA)Frances Tukes, Eastside Concerned Citizens & NLA GraduateGloria Williams, President, Cuyler Brownsville Neighborhood Assoc. & NLA GraduateJohn Wills, President, Consumer Credit Counseling ServiceDr. Diane Weems, District Health Director, Coastal Health District

Step Up Savannah Staff

Suzanne Donovan, Executive DirectorKate Blair, Development & Communications DirectorTalisha Crooks, CAP CoordinatorIsaac Felton, CAP ManagerJaneene Johnson, Ofce AdministratorNate Saraceno, Support Staff Robyn Wainner, Asset Building/Financial Empowerment Director

We Love our AmeriCorps VISTAs

Janice Johannsen, Campaign for Healthy KidsAlly Jones, Chatham Apprentice ProgramCaTyra Polland, Wealth Building

A special thank you to



United Way

of the Coastal Empire

Our founding partners

Step Up Savannah, Inc. | 428 Bull Street, Suite 208 | Savannah, GA 31401 | Phone: 912.232.6747 | Fax: 912.401.0341www.stepupsavannah.org | facebook.com/stepup.support

Bank of America FoundationBB&T Bank

Carver State Bank

Charles A. Frueauff Foundation

Chatham County

City of Savannah

Colony Bank

James & Carol Fallon

FINRA Investor Education Foundation

First Citizens Bank

Georgia PowerGulfstream Aerospace

Jeff & LeeAnn Kole

Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation Inc.

National League of Cities/Atlantic PhilanthropiesDr. Mickey & Dr. Kristin Ott

Sea Island Bank

Savannah Economic Development Authority

South State Bank

St. James Catholic Church

Jim & Janet Stevenson

SunTrust Bank

United Community Bank

United Way of the Coastal Empire

Wells Fargo FoundationDr. David & Dr. Diane Weems

Whole Foods, Inc.

A special thank you to Step Up’s 2015 major supporters

step up savannah 2015 annual report

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