Project for Pride in Living and Loring
Nicollet-Bethlehem Community Centers
to
Merge
Project for Pride in Living
(PPL) and Loring Nicollet-Bethlehem Community Centers (LNB), two essential Twin
Cities nonprofits, announced today that the organizations will merge to better
serve low income individuals and families. In separate meetings, the boards of both organizations
approved the merger, which will go into effect January 1, 2008.
Together as one, PPL and LNB
will be able to assist more people with enhanced programming and a broader
range of services. The merged
organization will retain the Project for Pride in Living name while the two LNB
sites will continue to be known as Loring Nicollet Community Center and
Bethlehem Community Center, although under the PPL banner.
PPL and LNB share a common
history and mission of helping individuals and families achieve
self-sufficiency. For more than 50
years, LNB has offered high quality educational and employment services in
partnership with the community, including Adult Basic Education, Loring
Nicollet Alternative School, MERC Alternative School, Elementary Enrichment and
Early Learning. These programs
will complement PPLŐs 35 years of work in affordable housing and development,
employment and job training and support services.
ŇThis is a positive step for
both organizations, but more importantly for the people we serve,Ó said PPL
Executive Director Steve Cramer, who will lead the merged organization. ŇAs we stay focused on helping people
help themselves, we believe that the blending of our programs and services will
result in more opportunities and better access for our clients.Ó
LNBŐs Executive Director
Brad Englund will retire after 12 years with the organization, completing a nearly
40-year social service career. The
plan calls for all other employees to be retained as long as current funding
remains stable.
The combined organization
will have a budget of $14 million with nearly 130 employees in six service
centers. Last year, the two
organizations served nearly 16,000 people.
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Will the mission of the
organization change?
What are the benefits of
the merger?
When will the merger take
effect?
What is the name of the
new organization?
Who will lead the new
organization?
Will any staff be laid
off? Will any buildings close?
What would LNB have done if not merged?
How will this merger
affect participant services?Â
First and
foremost, Loring Nicollet-Bethlehem Community Centers (LNB) and Project for
Pride in Living, Inc. (PPL) are joining forces to better serve the
community. Nearly a year ago, they
began thoroughly examining the idea of a possible joint future. For LNB, working under the auspices of
a larger organization meant preserving and enhancing successful community
programs. For PPL, there was the
potential of integrating a wider range of quality programs into its current
service menu. For both
organizations, which share a common mission of working to increase
self-sufficiency, it meant better serving low-income individuals and families,
and having greater community impact.
Will the mission of the
organization change?
The mission
will remain focused on helping people achieve self-sufficiency.
What are the benefits of
the merger?
Together as
one, PPL and LNB will be able to assist more people with a broader range of
services, and offer additional programming that would be difficult for either
organization to start from the ground up.
For example:
When will the merger take
effect?
The merger will
take effect on January 1, 2008.
What is the name of the
new organization?
The merged
organization will be known as Project for Pride in Living, Inc. (PPL). The two LNB centers will retain their names (The Loring
Nicollet Community Center and The Bethlehem Community Center) under the PPL
banner.
Who will lead the new
organization?
Steve
Cramer, the current PPL executive director, will be at the helm of the new
organization. Brad Englund, LNBŐs
executive director for 12 years, will retire at the end of 2007, completing a
nearly 40-year social service career.
PPLŐs
current Board of 37 Directors will be augmented by the addition of 5 LNB Board
members. Other members of the LNB
board will be invited to join PPL subcommittees.
Will any staff be laid
off? Will any buildings close?
Currently,
we arenŐt anticipating the loss or addition of any staff as a result of the
merger. Staff changes over time
will occur based on program needs and funding availability. Our primary building portfolio (two LNB
sites, four PPL sites) should remain the same.
LNB
experienced reductions in staffing and budget over the years. However, the agency was not close to
folding. The merger with PPL will
help preserve the LNB legacy and only adds to its long history of combining
with others to expand and enhance services.
How will this merger
affect participant services?
Participants
and participants will see Ňbusiness as usualÓ with programs and services
remaining intact as PPL and LNB work toward a seamless transition and
organization integration. The
merger will broaden service for existing participants, and in the future,
provide greater access to enhanced programs.
LNB offers
a strong Adult Basic Education (ABE) focus at the Loring Nicollet Center, which
can enhance the ABE services at PPLŐs Learning Center. This is an area of high need for many
of the people served by both agencies.
In other ways, the services differ. PPLŐs direct employment training programs (PPL Industries
and PPL SHOP) and employer-focused classroom training are different from the
assessment and placement service offered by LNB. Program staff has begun to explore how this comprehensive
set of services can be managed in a way to create a continuum of services for
adults facing a range of employment-related barriers.
Currently,
we are working on organization integration and creating a continuum of services,
which will result in fewer gaps in the range of programs and services offered
to participants. The increased
capacity of the organization means we may be able to respond to new programs or
initiatives that previously we were unable to do alone.
How will the merger
affect fundraising? Where will LNB
contributions go and how will the money be used?
We see this
as a positive step for both organizations. PPL and LNB have solid fundraising histories based on our proven
track records of meeting community needs.
Our capacity to serve the community will be enhanced by the merger,
which helps us make a stronger case for support.
Before
entering into merger negotiations, leaders from both organizations met with area
funders to discuss the potential alliance and to hear feedback and
concerns. Because the message we
heard was one of encouragement, the decision was made to continue the merger
process.
Until the
merger is complete and in effect, and PPL and LNBŐs finances are legally
combined, contributions to either organization will be recorded and deposited
in each agencyŐs separate bank account.
Donations will be used for daily operations or for whatever other
purposes specified by the donor.
more information for
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FUNDERS/DONORS
VOLUNTEERS