Annual Report 2015
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Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project, Inc. Annual Report 2015 Created by: Lauren A. Mason, Planning & Development Manager 347 Campbell Ave. Roanoke, VA 24016 www.sercap.org
“SERCAP’s mission is to improve the quality of life of low-income individuals by promoting affordable water and wastewater facilities, community development, environmental health, and economic self-sufficiency.”
Table of Contents 2015 Water Is Life! 5 SERCAP’s Impact in 2015
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Housing Department 8 A Message from SERCAP’s President & CEO
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SERCAP’s Staff & Board
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SERCAP’s Financials 11 Regional Department 12 Water/Wastewater Operator Training 16 VFC Alternative Break 17 Photo Gallery 18
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2015 Water Is Life! Conference & Luncheon Johnny Georges of Tree T-Pee Delivers Keynote Address
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very year, SERCAP hosts the Water Is Life! Conference & Luncheon to celebrate the past year’s accomplishments and to encourage support of SERCAP’s programs, services, and mission. The event strives to highlight SERCAP’s goal of providing access to clean, safe drinking water and all the myriad ways in which this goal can be accomplished. On April 22, 2015, SERCAP hosted its Annual Water Is Life! Conference & Luncheon in Roanoke, VA in celebration of Earth Day and the past year’s accomplishments in water, wastewater, and community development projects. Approximately 180 guests from around the Commonwealth of Virginia and SERCAP’s seven state service region attended the event to hear speakers including Virginia Delegate Sam Rasoul and Shark Tank Alumni, Johnny Georges of Tree T-Pee, who delivered the Keynote Address. While SERCAP serves a seven state region, the Water Is Life! Conference & Luncheon has always taken place in Roanoke, VA. The event significantly contributes to the economic self-sufficiency of the Roanoke Valley and the Commonwealth of Virginia through the use of locally operated businesses and an increase in sales tax and prepared food tax revenues from the attendees of the event and the event itself. SERCAP also passed out Dogwood tree saplings to all attendees which will promote environmental health for the Commonwealth of Virginia through the encouragement of tree planting and increased oxygen production in all areas where the trees are planted. SERCAP’s dedication to the Commonwealth of Virginia and the entire southeast region of the United States, support of local businesses, and positive environmental practices have been contributing to the longterm economic stability and environmental health of its service region for many years and will continue to do so in the future.
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SERCAP’s Impact in 2015
Short-Term Outputs Assistance Category
# of Projects
# of Households Served
# of People Assisted
Project Investment Cost
Technical Assistance Community & Leadership Development
6
1,470
5,193
$57,522
Compliance & Environmental Health
24
53,578
128,116
$345,132
Facilities Development
17
35,126
90,260
$258,849
Operations & Maintenance
10
15,039
40,641
$172,566
Planning & Development
3
22,251
50,681
$86,283
Source Water Protection
2
16,627
41,232
$38,348
Capacity Building
1
124
282
$28,761
Management & Finance
17
8,018
22,290
$182,153
RCAP Loan Fund
1
165
676
$9,587
Short-Term Projects
8
1,737
4,031
$76,696
Other
66
97,959
273,169
$632,742
Individual Loans
18
18
27
$122,980
Community Development Loans
3
580
1,135
$133,000
Miscellaneous Grants
17
17
18
$16,262
Facilities Development Grants
16
Housing Rehabilitation
13
13
27
$417,655
Project Totals
222
252,738+
657,794+
$3,123,536
Grants & Loans
Served 16 Communities
Short-Term Outputs as Defined by SERCAP’s Program Logic Models • Completed 222 Projects. • Provided Technical Assistance to 155 Active Projects. • Disbursed 21 Loans. • Disbursed 17 Miscellaneous Grants. • Committed $545,000 in funds to 16 Facilities Development Projects. • Built / Rehabbed 13 Houses. • Recruited 300+ Volunteers. • Served 657,794+ Clients. • Invested over $3 Million. • Improved Quality of Life for Rural Communities and Low-Income Individuals through the Delivery of SERCAP’s Mission.
$545,000
Volunteers # of Volunteers
# of Hours
$ In-Kind Investment
Student Volunteers
292
8,700
$196,185
Community Volunteers
56
588
$13,259.40
Cash Donation by Volunteers to Community Projects (19 Projects in 2014/2015) Volunteer Total
348
$43,800 9,636
$253,244.40
Total Program Impact
All Clients
241 Projects
$3,376,780.40 6
SERCAP’s Impact in 2015 Long-Term Outcomes as Defined by SERCAP’s Mission Statement • Improved Quality of Life through improved: local community resources, adequate housing, environmental health, local economic state, and overall comfort. • Improved Environmental Health through adequate access to clean, safe drinking water and decreased contamination to local ground water. • Improved Economic Self-Sufficiency through increased property values. • Improved Environmental Health through acquisition of HQS approved housing that is Warm, Safe, and Dry. • Improved Economic Self-sufficiency through acquisition of a valuable asset, improved credit, and improved financial literacy. • Improved Local Economy through additional property tax collection. • Improved Environmental Health through properly maintained Water/ Wastewater Facilities.
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Long-Term Outcomes # of People Assisted
Investment Cost
Promoted Affordable Water & Wastewater Facilities through Technical Assistance to Small Water Systems
593,049
$1,668,138
Improved the Income Flow of Small Communities
22,290
$182,153
Increased Home Values of Clients
72
$556,897
Allowed Clients to Remain at Home through Aging in Place Program
1
N/A
Prevented Clients from Becoming Homeless
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N/A
Instilled Community Members with Life Long Commitment to Service
56
$13,259.40
Improved Drinking Water Quality
41,232
$38,348
Improved Sanitation & Health of Clients
1,151+
$678,000
Increased Client Knowledge about Financing
84
N/A
Empowered Clients with Increased Knowledge & Job Skills
292
$196,185
19 Communities
$43,800
658,235+
$3,376,780.40
Long Term Impact / Outcome Affordable Water / Wastewater Facilities
Community Development
Environmental Health
Economic Self-Sufficiency
Instilled Volunteers with Life Long Commitment to Charitable Contributions & Understanding of the Economic Benefits Improved Quality of Life All Clients
SERCAP’s Housing Department
SERCAP Completes CDBG Housing Rehabilitation Project in Roanoke, VA Back in 2014, SERCAP’s Housing Department was awarded a Roanoke City Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) contract to provide owner-occupied housing rehabilitation to eligible homeowners in Roanoke City, giving SERCAP one of its first opportunities to work in the city the agency calls home. In the summer of 2015, through this program, SERCAP’s Housing staff worked with four (4) low-income homeowners in Roanoke City to complete a variety of home improvements, including: • • • • • •
Window Repair Roof Repair Installation of a New Water Heater Repairs to Porch Siding Repairs to the Soffit New Doors
As it turned out, the project focused on Senior Citizen’s living in older homes and overall, SERCAP and Roanoke City invested over $33,000 to assist the four (4) low-income homeowners assisted by the project. In the long-term, this project will improve the overall quality of life for the client by providing a warm, safe, and dry house that will improve both the client’s environmental health, through the prevention of environment based illnesses, and their economic self-sufficiency through an increase in their property value. The project will also impact the economic self-sufficiency of the community from an increase in the community’s property tax base and provide evidence of the community’s commitment to neighborhood revitalization projects. 8
SERCAP’s Housing Department
SERCAP Builds IPR House in Buckingham County, VA In 2015, SERCAP worked with a gentleman in Dillwyn in Buckingham County, VA to get him a new home though the Indoor Plumbing & Rehabilitation program. He was living in a very unstable, decrepit house that was falling apart and needed both a new well and a new septic system. SERCAP began construction on the new house in March of 2015 and construction was completed in early summer. Now that construction is complete and the client is settled in his new home,
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“He was living in a very unstable, decrepit house that was falling apart and needed both a new well and a new septic system.”
SERCAP anticipates that his overall physical, emotional, and environmental health will be improved by having a home that is warm, safe, and dry, and by having adequate access to clean drinking water. This project will also positively impact the overall community by improving the environmental health of the neighborhood through the elimination of possible groundwater contaminants and by improving economic self-sufficiency through an increased property tax base.
A Message from SERCAP’s President & CEO
SERCAP Sta
Dear Friends, SERCAP has assisted over 600,000 individuals with community development services and products. SERCAP offers over 15 programs and services to our clients who are the most vulnerable. As we look back, SERCAP’s founder, Cabell Brand, believed that one sure way to bring communities and individuals out of poverty was to ensure that water and sewer infrastructure was accessible. We know that water and sewer infrastructure will definitely spawn economic development and growth. SERCAP’s mission is to improve the quality of life for low-income individuals by promoting affordable water and wastewater facilities, community development, environmental health, and economic self –sufficiency. Funding for infrastructure projects has not increased; nonprofits are forced to do more with less however the need for increased funding for infrastructure projects is a growing un-met need. Please donate to our Water Is Life Fund to provide us the needed support to help those without a voice.! As you read through our annual report please note the following highlights: • Provided over $122,000 in loans to 18 families (for Well Replacement & repairs) • Provided 19 communities with over 9,600 hours of volunteer service • Provided 155 communities with over $ 1.8 Million in Training & TA • Provided $417,655 for 13 housing rehabilitation projects • Leveraged over $2 Million to support water, wastewater, and community development projects In conclusion, please know that there is still a great deal of work to be done as it relates to infrastructure funding development. It is important that we continue to invest in the infrastructure of our country to insure continued growth. I encourage you to support our efforts by donating to the Water Is Life Fund. You can learn more at www.sercap.org. Sincerely, Hope F. Cupit President & CEO
Hope F. Cupit President & CEO Beth T. Pusha V. Russell Rice, Jr. Joan E. Douglas Bob Cole Lisa Banks Veronica Bitting Joseph Brown Russell Catron Rick Crews Andy Crocker John Crowder Ashton Fallen Joe Fields Val Green Michael Haas Corey Hill Lauren Mason Allen McEntire Kim Overton Paul Parker Randolph Phillips Aisha Quarles Kenneth Rodgers Andre Saunders Rachel Silver Ellen Smith Janice Tatum LaJuan C. Thomas Pat Walker Angela Whitfield
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aff & Board
Terry D. Lewis Chairman
“SERCAP wants to thank its service partners and clients who joined SERCAP to fulfill our primary mission. We ask that you continue to work with us.” Walter Fleming, Vice Chairman Carmela Moore-Orr, Secretary George M. Fitz-Hugh, Jr., Treasurer Bertha Armstrong Keith Ashby Kevin Belcher James Brunswick Willard Douglas, Jr. Swynice Hawkins Rev. James Johnson Clarence E. Martin Wilma McKay Freddy Mitchell Winfred E. Owens Claude Thomas Shawn Utts Marie E. Watson
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SERCAP’s Financials SUPPORT AND REVENUE Grants $3,815,245 Other Income $514,441 Total Revenue $4,329,686 EXPENDITURES Personnel $1,194,074 Fringe Benefits $399,203 Contractual $669,806 Travel $304,736 Space Costs $140,637 Interest Expense $19,852 Consumable Supplies $78,482 Rental, Lease or Purchase of Equipment $78,796 Other direct costs $82,682 Project Development $549,700 Allocated Indirect Costs $629,598 Total Expenditures $4,147,566 Change in Net Assets $182,120 Net Assets-beginning $3,842,482 Net Assets-ending $4,024,602
SERCAP’s Regional Department SERCAP Continues Efforts on Tangier Island
$122,980 in Loans to 18 Households
fluoride, and provide residents suitable drinking water, however, these units have had issues of instability due in part to the harsh environment of the salt air, volume of use, and age. SERCAP has taken steps to fix one of the two units and is currently planning a phased project to send both units back to the mainland to be renovated one at a time.
for Well Replacement and Repairs.
320 Students Provided 9,600 Hours of Service to 19 Communities
Throughout 2015, SERCAP’s Regional Department has assisted Tangier Island in Accomack County, VA with its water and the stringent discharge limits of wastewater into the Chesapeake Bay. The local water system uses two reverse osmosis water treatment units to minimize the levels of sodium and
In the long-term, this project will improve the overall quality of life for the community by establishing a long-term sustainable water infrastructure system that will improve the community’s health through reliable access to clean, safe drinking water and will improve the community’s economic self-sufficiency by providing infrastructure that will support local businesses.
as Part of the VFC Alternative Break Program.
GA RCAP Assists City of Rayle, GA
$1.8 Million+ to 155 Communities for Training & Technical Assistance.
GA RCAP’s association with the City of Rayle, GA, began in 2002. Since that time, GA RCAP has assisted them with obtaining a new water tank, new lines, new meters, and most recently, a private well for several low income families. The City of Rayle now needs to construct a new well as a secondary water supply, replace old distribution lines, and add additional hydrants. With fewer than 70 customers on the public water system, funding the project will be difficult . USDA uses the 2010 Cen-
sus data in which Rayle had a Median Household Income (MHI) of almost $43,000 which makes them ineligible for a USDA Search Grant. Like so many small rural towns, in 2011 Rayle lost two large businesses and the current MHI is $33,000. This is well within the range for grant funding but the current guidelines mandate that USDA use the higher amount. GA RCAP is working with Rayle on finding ways to overcome this obstacle and get the funding needed to complete the project. 12
SERCAP’s Regional Department
Recording Oral Histories to Fight Environmental Injustices in North Carolina On Thursday, May 14, 2015 at the and will begin with recording the Rogers Road Community Center oral histories of ten Rogers Eubanks in Chapel Hill, NC, SERCAP TAP, Neighborhood residents. Veronica Bitting and the Roger Eubanks Neighborhood Associations’s Program Director, David Caldwell, met to finalize plans with UNC-CH Graduate “Bitting has Summer Fellow, Solomon Weiner, for committed to a project to record oral histories as additional efforts to address the Rogers ‘training’ and Eubanks neighbor’s environmental and nurturing Weiner in water issues. Weiner is a second year graduate student interested in research, recording & documenting the ‘Environmental Injustice’ history of the Rogers Eubanks area residents, while pursuing a Master’s Degree from the Department of American Studies in Folklore. Weiner has a broad appreciation of the discipline of Folklore and seeking to build his knowledge in the historical inequities in American society, specific to environmental justice. Weiner was awarded $1,500 to work primarily with RENA during the summer months 13
the areas of research, documentation, and fund development.”
SERCAP staff member, Bitting, has committed to ‘training’ and nurturing Weiner in the areas of research, documentation, and fund development. Weiner plans to assume research and small, local grant writing responsibilities relative to environmental science and
history at Rogers Eubanks as a continual UNC-CH fellow. Bitting also has plans to introduce Weiner to Dr. Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson and students who will partner with SERCAP and RENA, to provide environmental science research within Orange County and other disenfranchised areas of North Carolina. Bitting asserts the importance of documentation with projected and expected outcomes and accomplishments. Future focus of RENA and Rogers Road Community Center include more programs relative to 1) Advocacy, 2) Environmental Science and affects of the local landfill, and 3) Recording the history of Rogers Eubanks.
SERCAP’s Regional Department $678,000 to 19 Communities for Water & Wastewater Projects.
$139,242 to 35 Households for Emergency Water and Wastewater System Repairs.
$417,655 to 13 Housing Projects which leveraged additional program funds.
SMART Solid Waste Management in Clarendon County, SC SERCAP works in Pee Dee Region to assist with the Management of Electronics Waste The SMART Solid Waste Management Project is designed to provide technical assistance and training to counties and communities regarding the operation and maintenance of solid waste management programs and facilities. Clarendon County is one of nine counties assisted through the grant and is located in the lower Pee Dee region of South Carolina. One of the major issues facing the county involved managing “Electronics Waste”. Electronics waste has been banned from disposal in South Carolina landfills since 2011. This resulted in rural counties like Clarendon County having to manage large volumes of electronics waste coming into their solid waste facilities for “recycling”. Clarendon County generated significantly larger amounts of electronics waste than anticipated and needed a place for storage. An un-utilized transfer station at the landfill provided the answer. The transfer station was converted to store and process electronics waste coming from throughout the county, but the volume overwhelmed the facility. An effort was initially made to palletize the waste for shipping and processing, but a shortage of staff at the landfill and the sheer volume prevented this from being accomplished. To catch-up, a decision was made to crush the existing waste
and load into roll-off containers for shipment and disposal. In the interim, a staffing and operational plan for the facility was revised and implemented with assistance from Southeast RCAP to provide for the routine palletizing, wrapping and shipping of waste for further processing. The county is now successfully managing electronics waste at the converted transfer station in a timely and environmentally protective manner.
*Funding for SERCAP’s Solid Waste Program is made possible by a grant from USDA RD and is additionally leveraged by funding from the Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of Community Services. 14
SERCAP’s Regional Department
SERCAP Recycling Program Kicks Off at Niblack Elementary School in Florida!
From left to right: Sam Dube with USDA Area 3 Office in Lake City, FL, Students at Niblack Elementary School, and SERCAP TAP, Rachel Silver.
Over the past three years, SERCAP TAP, Rachel Silver, has been working to introduce school-wide recycling programs in a number of Florida public schools in order to: teach students to be good stewards of the environment, save the schools money, and help the counties to reach the state goal of increasing the recycling rate to 75% by the year 2020.
of recycling and showed them the steps they can take to start making responsible choices.
In the long-term, this project will improve the Environmental Health of the schools and the communities by reducing the amount of trash going into the local landfills. The project will also promote the Economic Self-sufficiency of the school district and the county by actively saving money that can In 2015, Silver facilitated a Recycling Kick Off at be used for other public programs and community Niblack Elementary School in Columbia County, improvements. Florida. Silver educated 289 students on the benefits *Funding for SERCAP’s Solid Waste Program is made possible by a grant from USDA RD and is additionally leveraged by funding from the Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of Community Services. 15
Water / Wastewater Operator Training
SERCAP’s Water / Wastewater Operator Training Program Targets TANF Participants!
On Thursday, December 17, 2015 Jodi Caldwell, SERCAP’s first successful candidate in the Water/ Wastewater Operator Training Program, sat for her last exam and completed her program at Virginia Western Community College. At it’s offices in Roanoke, VA, SERCAP celebrated the completion of this first monumental step of the Water/Wastewater Operator Training Program and major accomplishment with Caldwell. However, now that the initial coursework has been completed, Caldwell will continue to work with SERCAP as she prepares for her state certification exam, and SERCAP will assist in placing her in a paid or unpaid internship/apprenticeship at a wastewater facility once she passes her exam, so that she can acquire the field experience required by the state to complete her certification. In the long-term, the successful completion of this program will improve the overall quality of life for Caldwell by improving her economic self-sufficiency through the acquisition of a marketable skill in a recession proof field, since regardless of any event that may occur, people will always need clean, safe drinking water and environmentally sound wastewater treatment facilities. Caldwell’s successful completion of the program will also benefit the community in which she works as an operator and the Commonwealth of Virginia as a whole by maintaining and/or improving the environmental health of the community through the proper treatment, maintenance, and care of local drinking water systems and wastewater treatment facilities. The program also benefits the Commonwealth of Virginia’s economic status by transitioning individuals off of TANF and into livable wage jobs. *Funding for SERCAP’s Water/Wastewater Operator Training Program is made possible by a grant from the Virginia Department of Social Services (DSS) and additional funding is leveraged by a Budget Appropriation from the Virginia General Assembly, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing & Community Development (DHCD). 16
VFC Alternative Break SERCAP’s VFC Alternative Break Program Embraces Spring Break in 2015! SERCAP’s VFC Alternative Break Program offers college students an alternative to traditional Spring Break activities by bringing them into low-income communities to participate in service learning projects and engage in a cultural exchange experience. During the month of March in 2015, VFC hosted over 300 college student volunteers who engaged in a variety of service learning activities including: assisting local boards of health, volunteering at homeless shelters, painting/repairing community facilities, and mentoring kids at local after school programs. SERCAP’s VFC Alternative Break Program positively impacts the communities that host the students by improving those communities’ environmental health, economic self-sufficiency, and overall quality of life. The student volunteers work with local clinics and health organizations to assist in the provision of health services to low-income community members and health education activities. The student volunteers also make a financial contribution to the host communities’ as an essential part of the program which, in turn impacts the economic self-sufficiency of the communities’ by providing funds that can be used towards community development and civic engagement projects. *SERCAP’s VFC Alternative Break Program is made possible through the programs fees and is additionally leveraged by a Budget Appropriation from the Virginia General Assembly, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing & Community Development (DHCD).
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SERCAP Photo Gallery
SERCAP Photo Gallery
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SERCAP 347 Campbell Avenue Roanoke, VA 24016 540-345-1184 vwp@sercap.org
www.sercap.org