Non-Profit Looks to Business Coaching to Better Serve Community

Las Vegas, NV, October 30, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Child abuse, including sexual exploitation, has reached epidemic proportions throughout the United Sates –and Boulder County Colorado is no exception.

It is estimated that in Boulder County, two new children are sexually abused every day, indicating a grave threat to the mental and physical welfare and safety of its most valuable resource.

In the middle of this frightening statistic, Blue Sky Bridge stands as the only victim assistance agency in Boulder County providing forensic services to children for whom abuse or neglect is reported as well as counseling and other support services for non-offending family members.

Born in the mid-1990s, Blue Sky Bridge was the result of a partnership between two groups that approached the problem of childhood sexual abuse from different directions.

The two groups joined forces in late 1994 and Boulder County's Child and Family Advocacy Program was formed.

“The agency was unique among Child Advocacy Centers for having a strong commitment to education and training in addition to improving the investigative interviewing and support for non-offending family members,” Executive Director Greg Flett said. “Within a few years, the Board changed the name of the organization to Blue Sky Bridge.”

In 2005, Blue Sky Bridge was awarded, full accreditation by the National Children’s Alliance (NCA) for ensuring operation according to the best practice standards, which makes it a shining example of a Child Advocacy Center.

Yet, according to Flett, while it would be easy for them to stay where they are, their clients clearly need more.

“Finding a way to fill these needs is always a challenge,” he said. “My hope is to help this agency grow in a way that is smart, strong and sustainable to meet all the needs of the children and families we serve, while never failing to provide the same great services we do day in and day out.”

Like many non-profit organizations of late, Blue Sky Bridge worries about funding issues.

“With the downturn in the economy impacting everyone, non-profits are certainly feeling the pinch, except we are already working with very limited resources,” he said. “Unlike a for-profit business, which grows business and makes more money by pleasing a customer, the reverse is true for us; the better we do our job in helping clients, the more we deplete our resources.”

Since October 2009, the Blue Sky Bridge has been better able to face this crisis thanks to ActionCOACH Business Coach Phil Barton who is offering business coaching services to Flett on a pro bono basis for a global cause-related marketing initiative, Coaching for a Cause.

Launched by ActionCOACH, the world’s leading business and executive coaching firm, Coaching for a Cause is a global pro bono coaching program, which is helping non-profits and charities from all walks of life raise at least an additional $2.5 million in donations over a six-month period from October 1, 2009 through March 31, 2010.

The brainchild of the company’s founder and CEO Brad Sugars, top ActionCOACH Business Coaches have pledged to donate coaching hours to accomplish the overall goal of the program; the combined value of this service is $1.8 million.

By enlisting it into the program, Barton is now helping Blue Sky Bridge increase donations by $20,000, with the main goal of raising its level of performance and efficiency.

“We are working on the structure of the agency from a team standpoint and expect to put in place Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each position, as well as set a clear vision statement for the agency,” he said. “We also want to build more strategic partnerships and tell our story more effectively to the community we serve.”

Barton is passionate about the cause of helping children through child abuse and will be donating an average of 5-8 coaching hours per month.

“I believe child abuse is one of the worst forms of exploitation ever,” Barton said. “Innocent children deserve protection from abuse and we as a society need to be vigilant to make sure they are secure.”

Flett believes many of the ways in which for-profits deal with their problems is applicable to the non-profit sector.

“Having always worked in the non-profit world, I've quickly noticed how charitable agencies would greatly benefit from this type of coaching. While I would not like to see any non-profit turn into a business, there is a good deal to gain from becoming more business-like,” he said.

“Many of the ways in which for-profit organizations tackle their problems is entirely applicable and extremely useful for a non-profit agency, and yet many of us in leadership roles at non-profits have never had exposure to these types of approaches and techniques.”

Flett further stated how non-profit leaders have limited funding to support such coaching and training.

“This organization is providing a great service, which many non-profits and charities all over the world stand to benefit from,” he said. “I am extremely grateful to Phil Barton and ActionCOACH for this opportunity.”

Coaching for a Cause is an innovative new program from ActionCOACH, the world’s number one business and executive coaching firm, making pro-bono coaching available to charities and non-profits worldwide. To learn more, go to coachingforacause.org or subscribe to RSS news feeds at news.actioncoach.com.

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