Advisory Council Meeting

July 9, 2009

Minutes

Held at 2573 Midpoint Drive, Ste. 108

Fort Collins, Colorado  80525

 

Members Present:	Nancy Arthur	David Born	Peggy Bowers
	Cassie Castleberry	Caryll Cram	Helen Davis
	Valerie DiBenedetto	Carolyn Funk	Marcy Greenslit
	Judy Jones	Ellen Pihlstrom	Gail Reader
	Kristina Seth	Mary Shultz	Stan Ulrich
Members Absent :	Manfred Diehl	Tim Dolan	Howard Hay
	Bill Prather	Earl Stevens	Sharon Zamora
Staff Present:	Tina Barker	Tina Corrigan-Hugo	Steve Johnson
	Margaret Long	Katy Mason	Lynette McGowan
	Glen Rathgeber	Laura Sutherlin
Guests Present:	Elaine Boni

CALL TO ORDER

Marcy Greenslit called the meeting to order at 1:36 p.m.

INTRODUCTIONS

Council members introduced themselves to new members:  Kristina Seth, Valerie DiBenedetto and Carolyn Funk. 

CONSIDERATION OF TODAY’S AGENDA AND MINUTES OF June 11, 2009

Helen Davis recommended a change at the top of page 2.  Co-chairperson should be vice chairperson.  Minutes were accepted with the amendment.  

CHAIR REPORT

Marcy Greenslit announced that it is time to select a committee on which to serve.  Existing members are encouraged to try a different committee.  Katy stated that new members are encouraged to attend meetings before they select a committee.  Members can serve on more than one committee, but it is required to serve on at least one.

 

Helen Davis reported that the Executive Committee wrapped up council interviews for new members and discussed partner presentations for the rest of the year. 

UPDATE ON OFFICE ON AGING

Margaret Long reported that Laura Sutherlin is in the process of finishing up a grant application.  Margaret will be attending a meeting regarding the evidence-based program “A Matter of Balance” in Boulder on Monday.  Laura’s 2-day training will start on Tuesday.

PARTNER PRESENTATION:  Mary Atchison, Senior Vice President, Community Investment, United Way

Mary Atchison gave an overview of what the United Way funding models look like.  United Way has been in Larimer County for 51 years.  Mary stated that about ten to fifteen years ago they started seeing some changing trends in contributing to the United Way.  With onset of the Internet, giving has become worldwide competition for donor dollars.  Donors do not want to see their contributions as a band-aid on a problem, but they want to see the results of their donations.  The United Way is looking at funding models that can provide measurements and outcomes.  They have decided to fund in two categories: Bridging the Gap and Solid Foundations Fund. 

 

Bridging the Gap funds are set aside under the Pathways Past Poverty programs.  These programs were created to see if we can lower, or at least slow, the rate of increase of people going into poverty.  The United Way had several volunteers who prioritized the goals in this category to ensure there is a path from poverty to self-sufficiency.  The volunteers shared these strategies with organizations who are working on implementing these strategies.    

 

The Solid Foundations is a second way to obtain United Way funds.  These funds are allocated to agencies with the knowledge that some people, such as the elderly, mentally ill, or people with physical disabilities, will not be able to get out of poverty.  This funding is to make sure that individuals have their basic needs met.  The United Way recruited people who had knowledge in their fields to be on allocation panels.  Mary stated that Margaret Long was a participant in the adult care panel. 

 

Mary reported that the United Way received $2.1 million in designations last year.  This prevented the allocation of money to the areas of greatest need.  This year the United Way set aside 20% of the general donations for Bridging the Gap proposals.  Designations were down mainly because they did not have a box on the pledge form to allocate money to an individual agency.  Announcements of the agency allocations will be made on August 1. 

COUNCIL MEMBER BIOGRAPHY

Katy Mason gave a brief autobiography.

SENIOR ADVISORY REPORTS

Fort Collins Senior Advisory Board Report

Stan Ulrich announced that he resigned from this Board.  They will have to appoint a new liaison.

 

Loveland Senior Advisory Board

Judy Jones reported that the Board attended the summit meeting with Loveland Boards & Commissions.  They will now have a representative from the Disability Board attending their meetings. 

 

Foundation on Aging

Mary Shultz reported that the Foundation on Aging is working on a survey for the Town Hall meeting.  This survey will help determine what the needs of seniors are in Larimer County.  The Foundation on Aging will build the Town Hall meeting around these themes.

 

Larimer County Commissioner

Steve Johnson reported on the interviews for the council.  He feels that we had enthusiastic candidates. 

 

Human Relations Commission 

No report given.

 

Commission on Aging

No report given.

COMMITTEE & STAFF REPORTS

Community Outreach & Education Committee

No report given.

 

Media & Public Relations Committee

Marcy Greenslit reported that Jenne Snelling from United Way 211 attended their meeting to discuss the marketing of United Way 211.  Marcy discovered that if someone from Larimer County calls 211 on his/her cell phone, the call will be forwarded to a call center in Denver.  To get a local 211 representative from a cell phone, one should call 407-7066.  The Denver call center can re-route a call, but it may take several transfers.  The committee decided to focus on advertising the Office on Aging programs or the Answers on Aging Resource Guides instead of United Way 211.  The committee also discussed reviving the Speaker’s Bureau.    

 

Planning, Funding & Partnership Development Committee

No report given.

 

Public Policy & Advocacy Committee

Stan Ulrich reported that Rene DeMattei stated that the Larimer County Housing Coalition will be applying for funds through the United Way Pathways Past Poverty.  The committee has started working on the Legislative Breakfast.  Stan discussed the 2020 Project.  There are three pieces of the project; Evidence-based programs, access to information and referral and helping people who want to be out of long term care facilities. 

 

Staff Reports

Tina Barker reported the Ombudsmen are working with CSU to create training for long term care facilities which deal with residents with mental health issues.  A survey last year determined the need for this training.  CSU applied for a grant through the Hartford Foundation to fund this training.  The grant was not funded.  Tina added that the Ombudsmen are working with CSU to pilot this training in four assisted living facilities. 

 

Laura Sutherlin reported working on a Colorado Health Foundation grant.  This grant will to help fund ARCH and a ˝ time eligibility technician position in the Benefits Planning Department.  This person will work with medical facilities to help residents get all the documentation they need to qualify for Medicaid.  The grant will be submitted by July 15.  Laura stated that she will be attending the evidence-based training for “A Matter of Balance”. 

 

Katy Mason distributed a Soap Box article written by Marcy in the Coloradoan and  a flyer on a Cardiovascular Research Study at CSU. 

 

Lynette distributed a listing of caregiver support groups in Larimer County, an information flyer about a Baby Boomer group, a Caring Conversations flyer and a Senior Law Day flyer.   

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

There were no announcements.

 

ADJOURNMENT                                                     

Helen adjourned the meeting at 3:23 p.m.