BOARD Meeting Agenda – September 25, 2025, 10:00 AM – NOON, Zoom Link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89263725469?pwd=Zc8zuaTjlbnGaC1MgpDQpKhoDWT4nG.1
Meeting Call-In Number: 1 929 205 6099 Meeting ID: 892 6372 5469 Passcode: 161383
Directors are reminded that all Able Trust Board and Committee meeting are open and publicly noticed. Under Florida Sunshine Law, any meeting of 2 or more Able Trust Directors must be publicly noticed. Directors are prohibited from discussing Able Trust business outside of official meetings of the organization. Directors are reminded of conflict-of-interest provisions. In declaring a conflict, please refrain from voting or discussion and declare the following information: 1) Your name and position on the Board, 2) The nature of the conflict, and 3) Who will gain or lose as a result of the conflict.
I. II. III. Call to Order (5 Minutes) Roll Call and Establishment of Quorum Approval of Agenda – Action
IV. Consent Agenda – Action (5 Minutes)
a. Acceptance of May Meeting Minutes
b. FY 2025-26 HSHT Grant Recommendations
V. Financial Reports – Action (15 Minutes)
a. FY 2024 – 2025 4th Quarter Finance Reports
i. Profit & Loss Sheet
ii. Balance Sheet
b. Annual Audit
VII. Regular Business – (1 Hour)
a. FY 2024-2025 Strategic Outcomes and FY 2025-2026 Strategic Work
a. Development
b. Programs
c. Communications
b. Legislative Update
c. CEO Annual Evaluation
VIII. Presentations (30 Minutes)
a. VR Report
IX. New Business Public Comment Adjourn
NEXT Board Meeting: January 21-22, Tallahassee More details to come.
Pg. 1 – 7
Pg. 8
Laurie Sallarulo, Chair
Chip Byers, Secretary
Laurie Sallarulo
Laurie Sallarulo
Pg. 9 – 12
Pg. 13-14
Pg. 15-16
Doug Hilliard, Treasurer
Delia Finnerty, Law, Redd, Crona & Monroe
Pg. 17-19 Allison Chase, President & CEO TAT Leadership Team
Todd Jennings, Legislative Committee Chair
Alan Suskey, Shumaker
Laurie Sallarulo, Chair
Kelly Rogers, VR Director
Laurie Sallarulo, Chair
Please Note: Agenda subject to revisions and additions per the discretion of the Chair of the Board of Directors. Notification will be sent of any such revisions or changes. Members of the Public: Please notify Arnaldo Ramos at Arnaldo@AbleTrust.org if you wish to make public comment on particular agenda items no later than 1-hour prior to beginning of the meeting.
Florida Endowment Foundation for Vocational Rehabilitation, dba The Able Trust DRAFT - Meeting Minutes
Board of Directors Meeting – May 22, 2025, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Virtual Meeting
Members in Attendance
James “Chip” Byers; Lori Fahey; Doug Hilliard; Todd Jennings; Dr. Mavara Agrawal; Stephanie Westerman; Alexis Doyle; Kelly Rogers;
Members Absent Laurie Sallarulo;
Staff in Attendance
Allison Chase, President; Arnaldo Ramos, Office Administrator and Executive Assistant to the President; Donna Wright, Vice President of Development & Marketing; Joseph D’Souza, Sr. Vice President; Tracey Low, Vice President of Strategic Communications; Justin Adams, Communications Manager; Coleen Agner, State Director of HSHT; Leanne Rexford, Director of Partner Relations
Others in Attendance Steve Hogan, Esq., Ausley McMullen
Item Action/Discussion
I. Call to Order President Chase called the meeting to order at 10:06a m
II. Roll Call and Establishment of Quorum Chip Byers, Board Secretary completed roll call and a quorum was established at 10:13a.m.
III. Approval of Agenda –Action
IV. Approval of Consent Agenda – Action
a. Acceptance of January & March Meeting Minutes
b. FY24-25 Quarter 3 Balance Sheet
Motion made to approve the agenda as stated by Director Hilliard and seconded by Director Jennings. Motion carried.
Motion made to approve the consent agenda by Director Jennings, seconded by Director Hilliard. Motion carried.
Balance Sheet
• Bank Transition: Migration from The First to Capital City Bank to be completed by June 30, 2025. Both account balances currently appear on the balance sheet. The First accounts will be removed after final reconciliation (accounts: 109.300, 109.003, 109.002, 109.004, 108.000, 109.000, 109.200).
• Assets & Endowments: Down slightly (1%) compared to Q3 last year.
• Unearned Revenue (line 321.000): Reflects remaining ArtCIE funds. Final reconciliation and return of unused funds to FDOE/VR will occur at fiscal year-end.
c. FY24-25 Quarter 3 Profit & Loss Statement
V. Action Items
a. Pensacola Cares, Inc.
Profit & Loss Sheet
• HSHT Futures in Focus (line 606.600): Final deliverable submitted May 15; final payment of $605,000 pending.
• ArtCIE Project (lines 606.900 and 782.000): Income and expenditures significantly reduced due to FDOE/VR’s decision not to contract with four subgrantees. No financial impact to The Able Trust, as these are pass-through funds. FDOE/VR is discontinuing the federal grant. TAT staff are finalizing deliverables and closing subgrantee contracts with VR.
President Chase updated the board on news related to a 501(c)3 organization that is closing named Pensacola Cares, Inc. and their board identified The Able Trust as an awardee of their disbursement.
Steve Hogan, Esq. from Ausley McMullen provided legal consultant services regarding accepting these funds.
b. Pettengill Endowment Update
c. FY2025-2026 Budget
Mr. Hogan also provided an update on the Pettingill estate case to the board. The estate is in probate, which may take up to six months. Ausley McMullen, a Tallahassee firm with estate law expertise, is handling the process on our behalf. No family objections have been raised. The estate is valued at $6.6 million. The Able Trust will receive a 1.5% annual management fee (approximately $100,000), with interest and earnings distributed to estate-designated charities.
Director Hilliard and President Chase provided an overview regarding the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
• Lines 8 & 18: ArtCIE federal grant removed from revenue and expenses.
• Line 10: Includes $300,000 for Futures in Focus and $300,000 for HSHT internal operations pending legislative and gubernatorial approval.
• Line 24: Increase reflects addition of three new HSHT sites.
• Lines 25, 26, 29: Increases reflect Helios-funded project activities.
• Line 32: Increase in Research Funds for expanded research on Pre-ETS, HSHT return on investment, and a study of student trajectory from HSHT to VR general services, post-secondary education and employment.
• Line 34: Decrease due to ending contract with NANOE.
• Line 35: Increase for expanding donor events from one to up to ten locations statewide.
• Line 36: Significant decrease in HSHT Ambassadors funding due to reduced need for travel and discontinued plans for
Helios Grant
d. Officer Elections
leadership training and student events that would supplant site services.
• Line 62: Savings from switching to nonprofit-specific insurance coverage.
• Line 83: Significant increase in legal fees due to Pettengill endowment settlement.
Motion to approve the draft budget made by Director Byers and seconded by Director Jennings, motion carried.
Sr. Vice President D’Souza shared an overview regarding the Helios grant which will further support the following aspects of our youth programs:
• Student Support
• Teacher Support
• Data Collection
• Program Growth
• All current officers have agreed to serve a third and final term:
o Chair: Laurie Sallarulo
o Vice Chair: Mavara Agrawal
o Treasurer: Doug Hilliard
o Secretary: Chip Byers
Motion to approve the office elections made by Director Hilliard and seconded by Director Westerman, motion carried.
VI.
Regular Business
a. President’s Report ▪ Legislative Update
▪ FY 2025 – 2026 Strategic Priorities and KPIs
• Recurring funds for HSHT ($1,018,000) and nonrecurring funds for HSHT operations ($300,000) are in both the Senate and House budgets.
• Nonrecurring funds for HSHT Operations ($300,000) are in the Senate budget. Our lobbyist is hopeful that these funds will be included in both budgets during the conferencing process.
• Strategic Priorities and KPIs, presented to the board in January 2025, remain unchanged. Staff are aligning operational plans to meet the following goals:
o Expand youth programs to serve 5,000 students annually by FY 2027–2028.
o Diversify funding to raise $12 million over four years and strengthen organizational sustainability.
o Invest $260,000 in targeted VR support in FY 2026.
▪ FY 2024 – 2025
Program Reports
i. Programs
ii. Fundraising
• Detailed KPIs are included in board materials
iii. Communications & Research
High School High Tech
• 1,226 students participated in High School High Tech as of April 17, 2025, a slight decrease of the total number of students served in FY24
• This was due to an unexpected loss of four programs (Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist and Union counties) due to organization partner switch over.
• The four contracts were replaced in Q4 with programs in Dixie, Okeechobee, Flagler and Martin Counties.
• The Program Evaluation project was successfully completed. The year end analysis will occur in July.
• The annual professional development conference for HSHT program staff was held successfully in Orlando.
• Site of the Year was Abilities of Florida which serves students in Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.
Futures in Focus (HSHT 2.0)
• 610 students participated in Futures in Focus as of May 13, 2025.
• 100% of participants met with DVR Counselors.
• 63% of participants had an increased interest, as indicated in pre and post surveys, in participating in postsecondary education opportunities.
• A main takeaway from many projects was the need for parents to be educated alongside the students – to learn possible ways their students can engage in life after high school.
• Futures in Focus sites: Alachua, Brevard, Desoto, Hernando, Lake, Martin, Orange, Putnam, Seminole counties.
Vice President of Marketing & Development, Wright, explained regarding fundraising up to the current date and focusing in on the trajectory for the organization.
• Partnership with AT&T committing $40,000
• Pensacola Care, Inc $845,000
• Major Gifts Ramp Up – Fundraising $130,000
Communications and Research – Update on Meeting Strategic Priorities
In addition to The Able Trust communications efforts to increase brand awareness and inform stakeholders about our purpose, programs and successes, communications tools are used across all KPIs within the three strategic priorities.
Expanding The Able Trust Youth Programs
• The 30th anniversary of High School High Tech (HSHT) presented an opportunity to help raise awareness. Working with local media, we were successful in having radio and television news spots that focused on the anniversary.
• During the 2025 Legislative Session we distributed an annual report that illustrated the success of HSHT, in support of continued Legislative funding.
• HSHT information was also distributed to legislators and included regional snapshots and a local student story, illustrating the local impact.
• New student success stories were developed to use on the website, in social media and in meetings with legislators and prospective donors.
• Engagement with communication tools:
o Social media engagement: Our social media engagement rate from July 2024 to May 2025 is an average of 10.46%– compared to typical nonprofit engagement of between 1% and 3.5%.
o Website engagement – area for improvement: Our engagement rate is 43.6% with a goal of increasing to between 60% and 70%.
Develop Research Plan for Youth Programs
• A research plan was developed and includes the following components:
o Identify best practices for Pre-ETS to inform our efforts to expand HSHT in more school districts in Florida.
o Work with consultants to determine what information is needed to measure the return on investment and economic impact of HSHT.
o Identify data available through DOE to better understand the population of students with disabilities and graduation rates by disability.
o Work with VR to learn more about the trajectory of (PreETS) students with disabilities who become clients, determining what their employment outcomes are.
Diversify Funding
• New student success stories, HSHT coordinator testimonials, a new Case for Support and local radio advertising were used
VII. VR Update
a. VR Report
to support both the awareness event in 2024 and the 2025 fundraising event.
• Other communications messaging and tools continue to be updated to better meet the needs of development efforts.
Support VR
• Support VR through highlighting their efforts with students in communications tools.
• Work with VR staff to identify opportunities for partnering on webinars.
• Include VR logo in all communications tools.
For over 30 years, The Able Trust has delivered high-quality programs with fiscal responsibility. The HSHT program has a 99% graduation rate and a 54% postsecondary enrollment rate. A scalable HSHT/Pre-ETS model will include:
• Collaboration with VR and BEESS to clearly define responsibilities between LEAs and VR, ensuring HSHT/PreETS supplements (not supplants) IDEA-mandated services.
• Identification of service gaps and overlaps between FAPE/IDEA and WIOA.
• A comprehensive delivery model featuring:
o Guideposts for Success-based curriculum
o Compliance with federal and state policies
o Defined fees and budgets
o Clear reporting roles for The Able Trust, VR, and local partners
o In-school delivery for accessibility and continuity
o A revolving fund from The Able Trust endowment for local startup costs
o A formal agreement with FLDOE/VR detailing the service model.
Director Rogers shared that she has now completed six months as the agency head. Rogers focuses are the following:
• Compliance within the program, operations and reporting.
• Ensuring quality services are provided based on individual needs and strengths.
• Partnership with The Able Trust and jointly reviewing the Pre-ETS system.
• Policy decisions, current providers are no longer allowed to pay students to participate in career camp services. However, there are reimbursements for hands on work-based learning experiences.
• First state program to integrate with Florida Win.
Information Items N/A
New Business N/A
Next Board Meeting
Adjourn
Respectfully submitted,
Date: September 25, 2025 at 10:00a.m.
Location: Virtual meeting via Zoom
Motion to adjourn made by Director Jennings. Meeting adjourned at 11:52a.m.
James “Chip” William Byers IV, Secretary
Meeting of The Able Trust Grant Committee, August 28, 2025
Grants approved at August 28 meeting:
1. FY26 High School High Tech grants.
a. $22,000.00 grant award per contract
b. Total amount $1.034M for 47 programs
c. HSHT served 1250 students in FY25
2. Grant #26-01 to the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations for Futures in Focus FY26
a. One grant totaling $210,000.00
b. This is final year of a three-year pilot of Futures in Focus
c. Futures in Focus served 610 students in FY25
