It’s about
Grooming, Love & Hope. 2019 Annual Report
2 | The Grooming Project
“In 2019, we adopted a comprehensive vision to serve as a daily reminder of why we do what we do here at The Grooming Project. It’s my hope that you, as a supporter, will find this message as motivating and impactful as I do.“ - Natasha Kirsch, Founding CEO
Vision Empowering the Parent to Empower the Child (EPEC) believes that families stuck in the poverty cycle are strengthened when both generations—the parents and the children—receive the support they need in an integrated, concurrent manner. We see generational poverty as a systemic issue composed of distinct problems that, over time, become so entangled that they cannot be solved in silos.
The problems connect and compound each other. The web they create can ensnare families for generations. In order to break this cycle of poverty—to give children hope that their life can be different—EPEC thinks we must start with their parents. If we want a child to value education, stay off drugs, and find a meaningful career, those things must first be modeled in the home. If a mom is working nights and weekends in a minimum-wage job, she is likely leaving children home alone, often with a young child watching an even younger child. But regardless of how hard she works and regardless of the sacrifices she makes to do that work, the money earned is often a net-loss for the children— their mom is giving up critical parenting time for income that won’t benefit the family in any significant way. Money and time—these are two of the key insufficiencies that can set a child off on the wrong path.
EPEC believes that the most influential way we can better the lives of struggling families is to train parents in a living-wage, family-friendly trade that leads to industryrecognized credentials.
We teach our students the art of pet grooming because they can earn living-wage pay after only six months of training. Our program is intense, but also quick, allowing a family’s life to change drastically in under one year. Graduates earn statecertified credentials, which give them the legitimacy needed to confidently enter the workforce and build a career. At EPEC, we also know there is transformative power in simply giving people a second chance. Those who have been left out of upwardly mobile careers can find a sense of belonging and relief from systemic barriers in our program. The grooming trade is an uncritical one, allowing entry to those without a high school diploma or with a criminal record. The forgiving nature of the grooming industry is mirrored in our organization’s adoption of the growth mindset—we believe that we are all always learning and growing. At EPEC, we understand that a life of poverty is often synonymous with a life of trauma and toxic stress. Chronic exposure to scarcity and instability makes it difficult for cognitive processes such as critical thinking, decision making, and emotional regulation to operate smoothly, if at all. In childhood this can manifest as behavior problems; in adulthood, this often looks like chronic unemployment, unhealthy relationships, and/or substance abuse.
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Our program is designed to not only teach students a trade, but also promote healing. The human-animal connection is an intangible force powerful enough to make human stress hormones drop within minutes. Students quickly discover that if they approach a dog with anything other than calmness and patience, that dog will be difficult to groom. Every interaction with a dog in our program is an immediate lesson in self-regulation. Over time, these lessons and the cumulative reduction in stress hormones can translate into reduced anxiety and a calmer presence at home. Animals, we have found, can provide adults with a history of anxiety or unstable employment a reason to show up to work each day. They can also help them become better parents. If our program only offered job training, though, we would fail. EPEC provides comprehensive wrap-around services in order to simplify our students’ efforts to stabilize their lives. We offer classes in parenting, financial literacy, and interpersonal skills to give each family a stable foundation from which to grow. We have built strong partnerships with other local organizations to provide our families necessities like safe housing and quality childcare. We aim to help the entire family intensively from the moment they’re accepted into our program and serve as a continued support-system as they work toward self-sufficiency. At EPEC, success is not merely getting families out of survival mode; it’s helping each family thrive so that successive generations are better off than the last. █
Year in Review
2019 Outcomes
The Salon Opens in Lee’s Summit
19 students
In the spring of 2019, The Salon – A Grooming Project opened in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. The Salon is the next phase of our core training program and reserved for graduates interested in salon management and business ownership. After completing their training and working as a groomer full-time for at least one year, graduates can apply for one of two management internships at The Salon. Interns not only continue to groom pets daily, but they also learn business management skills, such as staff management, marketing, customer service, and business financial literacy, all under the guidance of Grooming Project staff. Since opening in May of 2019, The Salon has gained hundreds of new clients. Additionally, our first interns, Lindsey and Christine, are in the process of finalizing their business plans, with hopes to open their own salons later this year.
graduated the core training program.
100% job placement within 60 days of graduation
83% of graduates have retained employment at 6 months post-graduation.
50% of 2018 graduates are off public assistance and able to support their families.
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Stand Together
Institute for Human-Animal Connection
Dorm Capital Campaign
In early 2019, EPEC was selected to participate in the Stand Together Foundation’s Catalyst Program, which offers intensive training to select nonprofits who are working to combat generational poverty. As Catalyst members, Natasha Kirsch, Founding CEO, and Betty Jean Curran, Director of Student Services, attended three multi-day training sessions to learn management principles, network with likeminded nonprofits, and receive extensive, individualized goal planning assistance. While Catalyst training is now complete, EPEC will continue to receive individualized assistance from Stand Together in the years to come. As a Catalyst Member, we are also eligible to apply for grants through the Stand Together Foundation.
In the summer and spring of 2019, the University of Denver’s Institute for HumanAnimal Connection (IHAC) completed the first phase of a long-term evaluation of The Grooming Project. Their first goal was to look for common experiences of the participants of our program and discover the degree to which working with animals affected those experiences. IHAC used qualitative and quantitative methods to examine programmatic outcomes, ultimately finding that The Grooming Project changes the trajectory of participants’ lives. Going forward, IHAC plans to complete additional studies to look for the exact mechanisms that lead to improved outcomes, as well as social and economic impacts of the program on the broader community.
In 2019, EPEC began a capital campaign to fund the construction of a family dorm two block from The Grooming Project. These dorms will house six mothers from our program, as well as their young children. These dorms will serve our homeless students who often fall behind in our program due to issues related to their housing instability. Located only 1 block from a bus stop and one block from an elementary school, these dorms will also offer convenience to the single mothers in our program. Each family will have its own bedroom, bathroom, and laundry spaces, with kitchens and living rooms being shared spaces. After graduation, each mother will receive assistance from our staff in finding permanent housing. We anticipate breaking ground on this project by Summer 2020! █
Visit our website thegroomingproject.org to read the full report
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Amy's Story This New Face is No Stranger to the Grooming Project Amy Hall, the new Assistant Grooming Instructor at The Grooming Project, is no stranger to this place. A graduate of the school herself, Amy knows exactly how the students feel every day. “The job is extremely spiritually rewarding,” Amy says. “I know where I was before my training, and where I am now, and I get so excited when I see students because of the good opportunities they have ahead.”
Amy will fill many roles in her new job, from helping students groom dogs to training them in customer service. Before joining The Grooming Project staff, Amy worked as a groomer at the Rockhill Pet Clinic in Brookside—a job she started in early 2019. “I loved working as a groomer in a vet’s office,” she says. “I learned the medical side of dog care, and because I was the only groomer, it helped to build my confidence.” That strong work ethic is serving her well at The Grooming Project. With its booked grooming calendar, Amy has had to hit the ground running since day one. It helps that she knows her coworkers well.
“I love the entire staff,” Amy says. “They were all part of improving my future, so to be able to come back and work with them is humbling.” So is being a single working mom in recovery. She welcomes the humility and the work, both vital elements of success in her new life, which is indescribably better than a few years ago when she was living the life of an IV drug user trying to support three kids.
A seed was planted Amy spent more than half her life as a practicing addict. She started using at the age of 13 and cycled through jail, probation, rehab, relapse, and jail again for the next 18 years. “I spent my adolescence in jail,” she says. “I didn’t know what it was like to be sober. I had no life skills or social skills to help me function.” All this made earning a living wage extremely difficult. Whenever she was trying to get clean, she had to work two jobs and still needed public assistance to support her family. She tried every job you can think of—waitress , warehouse worker, medical assistant—but relapses, probation violations, and jail made it impossible to stay employed. Then her turning point came. One day Amy went to church and heard a story similar to hers, but this woman was clean and sober. It happened to be Barbie Daniels, Case Manager for The Grooming Project.
“It changed my life forever,” she says. “That’s what started me on the path to change. The seed had been planted.” Amy had to suffer another relapse before hitting rock bottom. While at detox, the woman in the church came to talk to her about The Grooming Project again. Amy then went to a transitional treatment center and surrendered her kids to her mother for everyone’s benefit.
Left page: Amy Hall (l) with Barbie Daniels (r), Case Manager. Above: Amy Hall and client.
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“God took 18 years of drug use and turned it into something positive” “When I first heard about The Grooming Project, I thought, ‘I could get paid to play with dogs all day and sustain my family!’” Amy says. As a bonus, Amy discovered that working with animals—especially dogs—calms her and gives her serenity. And the increasingly high demand for groomers means it is a promising job market for anyone with the right training, which she now has. “It’s a lucrative business. People are always going to want dogs. They are our best friends,” she says. Best of all, Amy has hope for her kids’ futures. Today Amy’s oldest daughter and son are adults living on their own, and her 13-year-old daughter lives with her. Amy wants the life skills she’s learned from The Grooming Project to set a good example for all of her kids—and break the cycle in her family. “I’m excited that my youngest daughter sees me as clear-minded and spiritual so I can teach her to live differently,” Amy says. “I was raised by a single mother in poverty. Having a trained skill enables me to be around for all my kids’ activities instead of rushing to get to my two jobs.” Being dedicated to a new skill has enhanced her sobriety, boosted her confidence, and placed her in a position to help other women. “I come from the same background as many of the students, so I can relate to them,” Amy says. “If I hadn’t had this experience I wouldn’t be able to help women going through this today. God had me walk through this so I could help. God works everything out for good.”
Case Management Services
While our mission is to empower parents to become financially stable through job training in the living-wage trade of dog grooming, we recognize that successful outcomes are intrinsically tied to increased stabilization through intensive case management and advocacy, wrap-around services, and the development of basic soft skills that ensure job retention. Students actively engage with our case managers to address any barriers they encounter or foresee, like housing, transportation, childcare or mental health issues. Students also participate in three hours of life skills classes per week. Overall, these classes cover topics in parenting, financial literacy, work readiness, and social and emotional skills. Because these skills are foundational to the development of soft skills, students participate in a series of classes grounded in five competencies put forth by The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL): self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making. These interlacing competencies anchor our life skills classes within a broader trajectory that promotes the development of adaptive and prosocial behaviors.
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Some notable things on the case management side: } In 2019, approximately 100 student
warrants were lifted, and many were given new court dates. } The seven lawyers we work with provide
consultation and take on cases pro bono through our legal clinic. } We have 22 dentists who partner with us
to provide free dental care for our students and graduates. In 2019, 28 students were able to receive comprehensive dental care through this program. On average, our students visit their assigned dentist four times for intensive dental work. The goal of this program is to establish comfort, health, and ensure that dental issues will not interfere with their employment. Students often need to have teeth removed, infections treated, root canals performed, and sometimes full reconstructive work (dentures or implants). â–ˆ
self-
Experiential Learning
The grooming room provides a unique opportunity for experiential learning—a space where students can hone their social and emotional skills through interactions with the dogs, each other, their teachers, and the customers. With histories of toxic stress and trauma, students who enter the program struggle with basic emotional regulation and relationship skills. This toxic stress can become a learning barrier, because the parts of the brain that are associated with learning are overwhelmed by lingering threat—ingrained fight, flight or freeze response patterns. The therapeutic nature of the human-animal bond is thus an essential factor in our students’ learning environment, as they report significant improvements in emotional regulation and elevated mood just from interacting with the dogs. Moreover, dogs are powerful teachers who genuinely reflect back to students what they are projecting.
Our students groomed 4,600 dogs at The Grooming Project School, earning $100,000 in revenue.
-awareness 2019 Annual Report | 9
Through this unique bond, students are able to incrementally reflect on their experience and practice important soft skills, like mindfulness, conflict resolution, perspective-taking and distress tolerance. The intra-and interpersonal skills that students gain in the grooming room translate to some of the most important relationships in our students’ lives: their relationships with their children. █
Financials
17%
Our increased fundraising expenses reflect our quick expansion from a small nonprofit with a budget of $300,000 in 2016 to a medium-sized nonprofit in 2020 with a core training program, graduate salon, and new family dorms.
20%
2019 Income = $1.24M
1%
Earned Income . . . . . . . . . . . . $206,926 Individual/Corporate Donations . . . $114,434 Annual Fundraiser . . . . . . . . . . . $319,882 Grants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$460,776 Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,063
17%
* Rounded to nearest 1,000
26%
37%
76%
2019 Expenses = $1,106,188 7%
Fundraising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $189,701 Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $843,042 Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . $73,445 * Rounded to nearest 1,000
Housing Project Project Goal: Goal: $1,414,000 $1,414,000 Housing
Funded: $914,000 0
300,000
600,000
Unfunded: $500,000 900,000
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1.2M
1.5M
Donors $100,000 and Above
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation The McDonnell Foundation Sherman Family Foundation Sunderland Foundation
$50,000 to $99,999
The Hall Family Foundation Leslie Pfriem and John Palone
$20,000 to $49,999
Ina Calkins Foundation The Dunn Family Foundation William T. Kemper Foundation Jack F. and Glenna Y. Wylie Charitable Foundation
$10,000 to $19,999
Bank of Blue Valley The George K. Baum Family Foundation Becky Blades and Cary Phillips Pat and Janet Curran Curry Family Foundation Terry Garberg Arvin Gottlieb Charitable Foundation Impact KC The Kemper Family Foundations - UMB Bank The Harold and Marilyn Melcher Foundation Jon and Kathy Miller Oppenstein Brothers Foundation - Commerce Bank, Trustee Rosnet Technology SkillBuilders Fund Tom and Jill Turner
$5,000 to $9,999
Andis Foundation Arvest Bank Foundation Jon and Sarah Baum Jane Bell Rachel Brown C3 Capital Clore Automotive Nick Douthat Dave and Candi Fogleman Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City Donald and Linda Keith Kirk Foundation Lockton Companies Bruce and Liz Pendleton Fred and Jami Pryor Vivian & Hymie J. Sosland Charitable Trust SpecChem Van Swaay Charitable Foundation John and Debby Walker Laura Welch
$1,000 to $4,999
Adriana Albors Majid and Elizabeth Amirahmadi Thane and Tara Bernbeck Helen S. Boylan Foundation Jason and Jamie Buchanan Tom and Joyce Buchanan John and Glaukia Cavalcanti Ayca Cil
Joan Cohen Commerce Bank Community America Credit Union DCWG2 Tim and Ali DeSett Heather Dillon and Brad Poos Melissa Eichman Erik And Beverly Elving Francis Family Foundation Freightquote by C.H. Robinson Jeremy Fry Gastinger and Walker Architects, Inc. Beckie Graham Stephanie and Larry Guerin Hallmark Carol Hallquist Tammy Ham Pat and Shannon Healy Brian and Kristie-Lyn Hensley Jeff and Laurie Horn Rachel Janes Jason and Diana Kander Bill and Ashley Keith Nancy Kenner Charles & Lynette Koester Ted and Kathee Kramm Kutak Rock LLP IAA Chris and Emily Lang Jennifer and Chuck Laue David Machens Linda Marcusen Mark One Electric Teresa Martin McCownGordon Construction McCullough Family Foundation Jill McGee Susan McGee Sam and Julie Meers Denise Minet MMC Contractors National, Inc. Mobank/BOK Financial Mark and Stephanie Moody Judge Cleveland F. Moulton Christmas Poor Fund Trust New Horizons LLC Richard and Cherron Oakley Roshann Parris Cynthia Petrie PetSmart Charities Reed Family Foundation Eric and Jane Piper Mark Reichle Jon and Jill Schram Mary and Dave Schulte Pete & Anne Seidlitz SFS Architecture Shor-Line Bob Sight Ford Cyprienne Simchowitz and Jerry White Ralph L. Smith Foundation Rebecca and Phil Smith Valerie Main Smith
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State Line Rug Hookers Veracity Consulting Julie Wellner Ethan and Heidi Whitehill Woof’s Play and Stay Doc and Libby Worley Julie Yoakum
$500 to $999
Dana Abraham Bruce and Jennifer Balke Bruce and Gerry Barker Bob Best Cynthia Carlson Katey Chamblin Core First Bank Betty Jean Curran Kristopher Dabner Patricia Davison Kim Deveney John and Carol Dobies Katy Dodd Michael and Kathy Dodd Spencer Farris Michael Fields Ed & Sandi Fried Barbara Haden Jennifer Haile Tony and Tricia Halford Chelsea Hodges Tiffany Huddleston Jerry Kolb Larry and Shannon Lovetinsky Amber and Chris Manning Martha Means Tom Mentzer David Michael Terry Miller Sherryl Nens Sean O’Brien Dwight Orr Robert Riccardi Gerean Rudnick and Nat and Jean Robin Fund Jorge and Janette Santizo Erin Singleton Sean and Angelique Staggs Amber Steinbeck Zach Stokes John and Tara Swartz Steven Swartzman Julia Thomas The Upper Crust George Venegas Liz Wade Mark Ward Joan Wells Debbie Westlund Frank and Helen Wewers Patricia Whitmer
Under $500
And many, many friends
Board Eric Bosch President Kathy Miller Vice President Susan McGee Secretary John Cavalcanti Treasurer Jason Buchanan Katy Dodd Kevin Flattery Terry Garberg
Advisory Tom McDonnell Bruce Pendleton Tom Turner Bill “Doc” Worley
5829 Troost Ave. Suite B Kansas City, MO 64110-3143
TheGroomingProject.org 816.214.5376