Uncertain Tomorrow
Sparks Tribune, June 30, 2010, by Jessica Garcia
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jun 30, 2010
Contact: Karen Hruby
775-323-1518
info@truckeemeadowstomorrow.org
Despite being “incredibly frugal,” executive director Karen Hruby told the Sparks Tribune on Tuesday that a poor economy has affected the amount of support local businesses and foundations can provide to the organization.
“During this whole time period, there was a very conscious effort not to compete with other local nonprofits for local grant money,” Hruby said. “We’re not direct service providers … so we didn’t want to compete with direct providers who are really doing the hardcore work to improve the community.”
According to a May financial report, TMT’s total assets were just less than $55,000. About 42 percent of its expenses, making up the largest portion, is s pent on the updating of indicators. Through surveying of its members, TMT evaluates those areas that the community considers essential for a positive quality of life, Hruby said. Included in that percentage, as well, is the adopt-an-indicator program, the collection of more current information and its posting to TMT’s website.
Truckee Meadows Tomorrow was founded as a grassroots nonprofit in 1993 collecting input from organizations, businesses and individuals on those areas they felt needed attention to make Truckee Meadows an attractive region, including educational, economic and lifestyle factors. TMT uses the data from the surveys to understand perceptions about those indicators.
In its early years, TMT found 180 indicators that were being used by various entities. Members whittled those down to 66. By 2000, TMT consolidated the 66 into 30 for relevance and convenience.
The group relies partially on memberships, which cost $50 a year per person. Currently, Hruby said there are about 300 members.
The organization experienced financial setbacks from the start until Washoe Medical Center, today known as Renown Health, provided an initial grant of $750,000 in 1996, but TMT never directly gained from that funding.
“There was really no benefit to TMT other than we got organizations, primarily nonprofits, to adopt the indicators and we granted out the money to nonprofits that worked collaboratively to improve the indicators,” Hruby said.
Elaine Lancaster, TMT president and executive director of the Washoe Education Association, one of TMT’s founding partners, said despite national and international recognition, it has been difficult to maintain consistent support among community organizations, especially in the economic downturn. The education association continues its work with TMT because of its ability to tap into its network of school district staff and parents.
“That’s the whole point of what we do as an educator — the enhancing of quality of life in the Truckee Meadows,” Lancaster said of the association. “Our world-class educational system is affected.”
One of Truckee Meadows Tomorrow’s current activities is the formation of a youth risk behavioral task force that grew out of a response to the results of the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey the Washoe County School District released in November. Zanny Marsh, a TMT member, is taking the lead on an ambitious agenda to solicit input from stakeholders in the area that will eventually get into the hands of politicians to take actions on negative behaviors by teens.
“We’re going to identify a very broad pool of stakeholders: grandparents who are raising grandchildren to business owners to parents and people in health care, people who work directly with students and the broader community,” Marsh said. “We’re going to ask them some questions … and once we ask those questions, we’ll crunch the data a little bit, account for all the responses so everybody’s voices get heard … and vote on what the top five or top three suggestions are and provide them to the school district and elected officials.”
For the organization to survive, TMT has applied for various grants from local foundations. Lancaster said the members are also beseeching the help of Sens. John Ensign and Harry Reid to find out if any state assistance might be available. Hruby said $15,000 could be enough to operate for another year. A sum of $50,000 or more would be enough to put out another community survey, collect more current data on trends and compare the Truckee Meadows to similar geographical regions, such as Boise or elsewhere in the United States. It could also pay for software to post that data on the website.
One company that has heeded the cry for help is NV Energy. Community relations manager Karen Ross, wh o attended last week’s meeting, was moved by the need and said she examined her department budget and decided to sponsor five indicators for $1,000 each.
One of those indicators is individual and family well-being, she said.
“In the last couple of years, we’ve really stepped up our effort to help individuals and families that are struggling,” Ross said. “We’ve been partnering with community agencies in the last couple of years and we’re doing that again this year by trying to reach people who are nearly unemployed or chronically unemployed when possible and deliver to them the resources that might be available to not only pay their utility bill but for overall financial stability.”
Ross said she was motivated by her desire for the Silver State to no longer be consistently at the bottom of most lists in the country for quality.
“We’re really trying to listen to what people have to say in our region and to see thi s organization go away because we’re in a tough economic time would be just disastrous, I think,” Ross said.
Hruby said Truckee Meadows Tomorrow has an important place among nonprofits and in the community.
“I think the community is a better place today,” she said. “You can look around and you hear jokingly that Nevada is at the bottom of all the lists you don’t want to be at the bottom of. … The county has to be in tune with what’s important to citizens and one way to do that is through the indicators because this is what the citizens say is important.”
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