2008 Dirigo Award for Nonprofit Excellence Winners

1st Place - Large Division
Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice in Lewiston

Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice (AHCH) submitted an application that showed the organization is innovative in all eleven management categories and is proactive in their approach employee retention, program and constituent evaluation, strategic planning and financial management. They exhibit the utmost transparency, adaptability and cultural sensitivity. Here are a few highlights from their application:

• AHCH boasted a 5% turnover rate in 2007, which is one-half the national average. The practices that contributed to this outcome include: strategic staff recruitment by the Health Care Action Team, a coalition of three major hospitals, three local nursing schools and AHCH; annual salary surveying and adjustment; generous employee benefits (including end-of-life leave and no-interest car loans); early and regular interviews with staff to gauge satisfaction and receive suggestions; and the hard work of the board’s Employee Human Resources Committee.

• AHCH is extraordinarily nimble when it comes to financial management, policy setting, and program consideration. Their ability to adapt is of utmost importance in light of the tenuous funding environment in which they operate. Consider, for instance, that, in 2008, a .01 cent increase in the price of gasoline resulted in a $20,000 increase in expenditures for the organization. Their nimbleness derives from constant analysis and discussion of financial performance against specific benchmarks that can be compared to other home health and hospice (both national and New England based) that participate in the same benchmarking project; consistent quality improvement and program scrutiny; quality endowment management and growth; proactive advocacy and public policy lobbying; and thorough customer service and performance measurement.

• AHCH operates with an “open book” policy and regularly communicates internal and external successes and challenges with all staff levels and the health care community as a whole via the Health Care Action Team. These practices have been critical in keeping their geographically disparate staff on the same page, as well in identifying future challenges in the health care community. Outcomes of these practices include: the creation of a staffing action plan to address the impact of MaineCare case management changes; the reduction of incidences of staff voicing concerns that they did not hear about trends and updates; and the enhancement of staff expertise to accommodate the increased presence of early-release hospital patients.

1st Place - Medium Division
Tedford Housing in Brunswick, Maine

Tedford Housing submitted an application that displayed their ability to innovate and adapt in a difficult funding environment. The organization changed its mission in 2003, which shifted their focus from providing shelter to ending homelessness, and they have undergone a positive transformation over the six years since. They have implemented successful supportive housing and homeless prevention programs, diversified funding sources, and greatly enhanced community outreach and strategic alliances with other similarly-aligned organizations. Here are a few highlights from their application:

• Tedford has worked hard to diversify funding sources in order to secure their future viability. They devote significant time to developing their individual donor program and annual fund donations; they collect rent from their supportive housing facilities, generating significant earned income; and they completed a successful capital campaign that raised over $800,000.

• Tedford operationalizes their mission of advocacy for constituents by being a part of key coalitions and partnerships, reexamining their current relationships, and seeking new partnerships that are suggested during strategic planning sessions. They host a chapter of Homeless Voices for Justice, a consumer-led advocacy organization, and participate in the Statewide Homeless Council. They seek strategic partners for all of their programs, and have created strong relationships with the chamber of commerce, neighborhood organizations, and many other nonprofits and businesses.

• Tedford has used MANP’s Guiding Principles and Practices for Nonprofit Excellence in Maine to greatly improve their organizational practices, policies and strategy. They are a great example of a learning organization.

1st Place - Small Division
Gibbs Library in Washington, Maine

Gibbs Library is a flourishing center for learning and community life in the small town of Washington, Maine. This is true despite the fact they do not have a single paid employee and receive no funding from the Town of Washington. Their beautiful facility, which is housed in the same building as the town office and fire department, is accompanied by a dynamic up-to-date website, diverse programming, excellent transparency, savvy technological problem solving, and a healthy endowment to make Gibbs Library a very worthy recipient of the 2008 Dirigo Award. Here are a few highlights from their application:

• Gibbs has two (and this year three) teens on their Board of Directors. One of several successful programs that the teens have organized is the state-sponsored Chickadee Book Awards program for kindergarteners to third grade students. This is an after school literacy program in which the library collaborates with the local Prescott Elementary School as well as home schooled children and the Maine State Chickadee Award group. The teens read book award nominees to the children, and the children act out the stories by singing, dancing, and drawing. At the end of the six-week program, the children vote on their candidate books for the awards.

• Starting in 2007, Gibbs Library staff spearheaded a very successful fundraising effort for the entire town of Washington. The President and Vice President, who are knowledgeable in computer graphics and technology, and an artist from the Downtown Art Gallery have created a unique joint fundraising effort with other nonprofits by selling a wide array of cookbooks and sharing profits.

• Since inception in 1993, Gibbs Library has held Board of Trustee meetings every month that are completely open to the public and visitors are often invited to speak about current library issues. The board membership includes: a certified public accountant, a town selectman, a computer graphics expert, a broadcast electronic engineer/farmer, a clinical social worker, a registered nurse/massage therapist, a lawyer, a psychotherapist, several teachers, three high school honor students, a state lobbyist, and representatives from five community partner organizations.