Head of Social-Services Group Embraces Fun -- and Creative Fund Raising

Joyce Keller smiles sheepishly as she recalls her old teaching days. Although she loved the students she served as a special-education instructor in Michigan schools in the mid-1970s, she grew unhappy with the rigidity of her schedule. It got to the point, she says, that she sometimes dragged herself to work late, after the school doors had been locked. Her students had to open a side door so she could sneak in. She often wished she were a waitress.

On this Wednesday morning, though, it doesn't seem as though there is anyplace she would rather be. Her enthusiasm belies the fact that she has spent more than a quarter-century in the same job -- and a demanding one at that. Ms. Keller, 52, is executive director of JARC (formerly the Jewish Association for Residential Care), a nonprofit organization near Detroit whose mission is to provide residential and independent-living services to people with developmental disabilities. The group also helps Jewish clients observe their religious traditions, offers support to clients' family members, and educates the public about people with disabilities.

Although this 9 a.m. meeting of the charity's seven department heads -- a monthly three-hour session -- will take up serious issues of money and client needs, Ms. Keller's mood is light. She jokingly refers to the meeting's purpose as "high-level management and secret planning," and the participants are warm and congenial. They know one another well -- the combined tenure of those in the room is well over 140 years, an average of about 18 years per person.

Health-Care Needs

Much of the meeting is spent reviewing a report that Randy Baxter, the group's financial officer, has produced on the charity's funds. The organization's budget is $8-million, up from $40,000 when Ms. Keller joined the charity in 1978. Today, about one-fourth of the group's funds for its 20 residences and independent-living and family-support services comes from private sources. Three-fourths comes from government funds, including Medicaid and the state's Department of Community Health. However, like many social-services charities dependent on government grants, JARC has seen its funds from those sources significantly cut over the past two years -- while the need for its services remains urgent, with more than 150 people currently waiting for JARC's help.

Recent changes in Medicaid coverage -- eliminating payments for dental services, podiatric care, and hearing aids -- will result, Ms. Keller says, in more clients relying on JARC's Medical Needs Fund, which this meeting reveals contains $6,300.

Dental costs for JARC clients range from $140 annually for those who only need biannual cleanings and exams to well into the thousands for crowns and bridges and other reconstructive work, the consequences of poor dental care provided in the state institutions in which many of her clients resided for years before moving into a JARC home. "As if there's not enough stigma already," says Ms. Keller. "Having rotted teeth just reinforces stereotypes. That's a really big thing for us -- we don't want our folks to have any more things that put them at a disadvantage."

Five or six clients use hearing aids, which cost about $1,300 per pair. While they don't need to be replaced annually, "we have our share that get lost or accidentally flushed down the toilet," Ms. Keller says. Podiatric care, too, is especially crucial for clients with diabetes, she adds. To compensate for the cuts, Ms. Keller has contacted a society of Jewish dentists, which is working to find dentists in the area who will provide free or reduced-cost care. Two board members have ties to local podiatrists, she says, and they are doing the same.

The review of funds at this morning's meeting leads to a brief discussion of program evaluation. The grant for a pilot program called Cheers just ran out and is not renewable. Cheers was designed to make the difference for a client between being "at the party versus of the party, where everyone is glad you're there," says Ms. Keller.

Staff members worked intensively to get five clients involved in community activities. One man was interested in animals, so he started working at an animal-rescue center, feeding and grooming horses. (He's now a regular part of the center's volunteer corps.) Another client joined the area garden club, another the sisterhood of a local synagogue, yet another a group at her church. The program is labor-intensive and costly ($13,600 for its first full year of operation), with success almost entirely dependent on the amount of staff time devoted to it. "You can't ask, 'How many people did it reach?'" says Norman Wachler, a co-founder of JARC. "You'd come up short if you looked at it that way. For these people, it was very effective."

JARC plans to integrate the Cheers program into its regular services, Ms. Keller says, but without outside funds, very few clients will be able to participate.

Time for Fun

As the meeting creeps well past its scheduled noon stop time, Ms. Keller suggests that the remaining speakers give their updates quickly. Speedily, John McCaffrey, who oversees many of JARC's homes, says that the organization will likely receive $10,000 in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds to make up for expenses incurred during the electricity blackout in August 2003 that affected parts of the Midwest, including southeastern Michigan. Ms. Keller praises his work on the grant application, which required not only an extremely fast turnaround -- the initial proposal was due two days after JARC learned about the grant -- but also a detailed accounting of all costs associated with the blackout, including overtime and extra staffing needs, transportation to visit clients living independently, emergency food, and supplies.

Rena Friedberg, the charity's director of development, discusses her current direct-mail effort: She recently sent 6,000 personalized letters about the spring fund-raising event that supports JARC's Merle and Shirley Harris Children and Family Division, the branch that provides support services to more than 300 families who have a child with developmental disabilities. In the past, bulk mailings have been ineffective, she says, but the customized letters are already bringing in donations.

A few minutes before 12:30, the meeting wraps up and Ms. Keller gets her lunch out of the refrigerator. She returns with it to the conference room, already filled for another meeting. The five people on JARC's Fun Committee have a combined tenure of 41 years, not including Ms. Keller's 25. Her staff members, she says, "are either here a very short time -- they realize quickly that it's not for them -- or a very long time." (The organization has twice been recognized as one of "Metropolitan Detroit's 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For" by the Michigan Business & Professional Association.)

And now the construction-paper fish taped to the room's dry-erase board and the bowls of Goldfish crackers on the table begin to make sense.

The four-year-old committee, charged with infusing the organization with some playfulness to foster a positive work attitude and customer responsiveness, recently attended a training in the FISH! Philosophy. FISH! was inspired by the fish sellers at Pike Place Fish Market, in Seattle, who, despite demanding jobs, pride themselves on taking a lighthearted approach and serving customers well. The philosophy has made its way into many industries, and Ms. Keller wants to see what it can do for her organization. "I believe that no matter how good you are, you can always be better," she says.

The agenda of today's meeting is to brainstorm ways to share FISH!'s tenets with the rest of the charity, including the 30 office staff members and the 180 employees who work in JARC homes. Ideas range from designating a "Crazy Hat Day" to listening more intently to co-workers and clients. While eating her lunch, Ms. Keller stands up and writes the obstacles to adopting FISH! methods on the dry-erase board as committee members call them out.

She reminds them that "we'll have a lot of things fall on their face; that's how we learn what our culture will go for." She volunteers for a project and then leaves for her next appointment.

Dreaming of Houses

Ms. Keller wasn't always so certain of what she needed to do next. Back when she was teaching, she sought guidance from a vocational counselor.

"I had a master's from Harvard, and I wanted to waitress -- I knew that wasn't a good fit," Ms. Keller recalls. The counselor referred her to a county agency that was looking for someone to oversee the spending of a federal grant to help adults with developmental disabilities who had spent time in health-care institutions. While in that position, she served on a county mental-health committee with a JARC trustee, who told her that the charity was seeking an executive director and suggested she apply.

"I knew right away it was for me," says Ms. Keller. "It just felt right. You know how some people have a theme in their dreams? For my whole life, the theme has been houses: redesigning them, knocking down walls, going street to street, looking for houses."

After the Fun Committee meeting, Ms. Keller has 10 minutes to herself, which she uses to take photographs with a digital camera of some collectible items that JARC supporters have donated. She uploads the photos, captions, and descriptions to the eBay Web site. "With all kinds of cuts," she says, "we've said to ourselves, 'We're going to have to fund raise more creatively.'"

A staff member had heard of other organizations raising money by selling items on the auction site, and JARC decided to give it a try. It sent postcards to its donors, asking for items to sell. One woman donated about 50 boxes of goods. Among the earliest sales were a pinball machine and a jukebox, which "gave us all a charge and that initial fire," says Ms. Keller. It has been a learning experience, she adds, one that has netted $15,000 since January 2003. "Our goal is $2,000 per week," she says. "We haven't hit that yet, but we know it has potential."

At 2 p.m. a new employee of the Nonprofit Facilities Center arrives to introduce herself to Ms. Keller and Mr. McCaffrey, JARC's community supports director. The center is a joint venture of United Way Community Services, which serves the Detroit area, and the Nonprofit Finance Fund, in New York. It was formed in 2002 to assist Detroit-area charities with planning and management of facilities projects that support their missions.

Everyone gathers at the conference table in Ms. Keller's office, which is adorned with a small plaque that reads, "Don't worry, it's donated."

JARC does not receive money from United Way, but the Nonprofit Facilities Center contacted Ms. Keller to inquire about her group's capital needs. After an introductory meeting, she realized the center was developing several programs that were a fit with JARC's mission and needs.

JARC applied for all of the relevant grants -- promptly. "Decisions to pursue grant opportunities are made by me and reported to the board," Ms. Keller says. "We don't get bogged down in a lengthy committee or approval process as happens at some agencies -- we have almost none of that here."

The relationship has proved fruitful: The organization has been awarded several grants from the Nonprofit Facilities Center, including a $10,000 grant to improve energy efficiency in one of JARC's homes; a larger matching grant for $50,000 to install a geothermal heating system in one home and numerous upgrades such as new insulation, windows, and water heaters in others; and a $250,000 capital-campaign contribution toward the future purchase of JARC's headquarters. Two years and $4-million -- the goal of the current capital campaign -- from now, Ms. Keller says JARC will purchase the three-story, 34,500-square-foot building where it currently has its offices.

The purchase will mean an additional $350,000 per year in rent savings and rental income from tenants who will occupy its unused suites. Ms. Keller believes JARC will also be awarded a Building for the Future grant, which means a National Facilities Center contribution of up to $100,000 in matching funds over 10 years. "It's been an incredibly wonderful relationship," she says.

Visiting Donors

When the meeting ends, Ms. Keller takes more eBay photos, then grabs her coat and meets Mr. Wachler, who will accompany her to the home of Sam and Jean Frankel, two longtime and generous donors.

Recently the couple, who earned their wealth through the now-retired Mr. Frankel's work as real-estate developer, gave JARC a $250,000 capital-campaign gift. They declined to have any part of the building JARC is planning to buy named in their honor but have agreed to a namesake garden.

Today, Ms. Keller and Mr. Wachler arrive with blueprints in hand to show them the landscape plan, and to ask their permission to place a small plaque with the Frankels' names on it. After much good-natured arguing, the couple finally acquiesces -- as long as it is small and unobtrusive.

Ms. Keller sits on the floor near the pair. They ask after each other's families, as they've known each other for more than 25 years. The Frankels provided money for the purchase of JARC's first home in 1972. A few years later, a developmentally disabled relative moved into another JARC residence from a state institution. "Oh, how she improved," Ms. Frankel says. "It was the greatest thing in the world, a blessing, when she first became involved with JARC."

Over the years, they have contributed more than $1-million in endowment funds, donations for additional homes, and capital-campaign gifts. Ms. Keller reminds them that it is not only their financial contributions that have helped JARC, but their inspiration to others to give generously.

After about an hour, Ms. Keller and Mr. Wachler head back to the office. On the way, they stop at one of the residences to see about the feasibility of a geothermal heating system there.

The house is meticulously maintained, inside and out, just like the rest of the houses in this quiet, upper-middle class suburban neighborhood. Some residents are gathered in the kitchen helping staff members prepare dinner while others relax in the living room after work. When they hear Ms. Keller's voice, they come to greet her. She knows everyone by name, and has something to say to each person that is individually tailored.

The mutual respect and admiration are clear. And that, Ms. Keller says when she arrives back at the office close to 6 p.m., is what has fueled her drive over the years. It's what she feels good about at the end of each day: "Taking people with mental retardation and developmental disabilities out of the shadows, out of the closet, and helping them be part of this community just like you and I are. That they're not ashamed, that they have names and faces, that's the greatest legacy we leave."