The Gathering Place a Refuge for Rebuilding Lives

“The audit and finance committee reviews a draft copy of the form 990. Upon this committee's approval, the form is presented to the full board of directors for review. Once reviewed, the form 990 is filed.”

“The board self-monitors the conflict of interest policy. The board members attest to compliance with the policy annually. Any board members with a conflict of interest recuse themselves from voting on any matters pertaining to the conflict.”

“The president/ceo's compensation is set by the governing board and reviewed annually as part of the president/ceo's annual performance evaluation conducted by the governing board. The salary range for the president/ceo is given to the chair of the governing board by the human resources manager, based on the colorado nonprofit association salary survey and the employer's council nonprofit salary survey at the time the board of directors is working on the president/ceo's performance appraisal. The performance appraisal is discussed by the board and is based on the successful completion of the business plan and the ceo core compentencies. The performance appraisal and any recommendations are put in the president/ceo's personnel file.”

“The organization documents general information on compensation decisions; the current salary range, the percent/amount of the increase that was given, the percent of increase still needed to get the employee into their range (if applicable) and information regarding our priorities for salaries that year.”

“The annual report and audited financial statements are posted to the organization's website.”

“We are community of safety and hope where positive relationships, choice, and essential resources transform lives. Guiding principles: we serve women, children and transgender individuals who are experiencing poverty or homelessness. We believe in hope as an important change agent and hold that hope for everyone. We believe deeply in the power of community and continue working develop it. Our key values include recognizing individual strengths, building respect and trust, and offering acceptance unconditionally. Instead of client, tgp uses the term member to refer to the people who seek out and benefit from out services and programs.”

“4a: meet basic needs: resource advocates on the community access team (cat) respond to members' immediate needs with services that include showers, laundry, naps, mail service, locker storage, telephone access, and an extensive array of resources and referrals. Similar to the cat response, tgp's family program provides support to families in a safe, nurturing, and developmentally rich environment and the team is available to care for children while mothers/guardians utilize or participate in other tgp services and programs. In our community dining room, the food services program serves freshly prepared meals (breakfast, lunch, and early dinner) that include healthy and delicious options, which accommodate most dietary needs and preferences. For example, vegetarian options are available for meals. Our food pantries (betsy's cupboard and family program) provide healthy groceries, baby food/formula, toiletries, and diapers. Bridget's boutique, tgp's clothing bank, distributes clothing to members who have an emergency need for replacement clothes or need clothes for employment reasons. Tgp worked closely with the city and county of denver and other shelter- providing agencies to establish and operate a new, 24/7 auxiliary shelter for women and transgender adults at the denver coliseum, which opened april 20, 2020. On august 4, 2020, guests were moved from this shelter to a former motel property owned by denver housing authority. Tgp is solely responsible for operating daytime services at the motel shelter location, and continued to provide daytime staffing and services at this facility through the end of 2022. 4b: supporting stability: tgp's education and job readiness program helps members reach their goals, advance their education, improve their employment potential, and increase their income. Educational opportunities for adult members at tgp include high school equivalency program, skills development classes, and writers group. In august 2020, the high school equivalency program provided in collaboration with community college of denver's foundation skills institute ended. Job readiness opportunities include job search assistance, onsite job fairs, and private appointments. Job search assistance sessions, held twice per week, include dedicated time in the computer lab to complete online job applications, help from volunteers on resume and cover letter building, and assistance with conducting online job searches. At least once a month, a job fair is hosted onsite and can either be a practice event with human resource volunteers or an actual hiring fair with an employer. Private appointments with the job readiness program manager also provide members a chance to discuss their job or education related needs and get referrals, assistance, and advice. Tgp's computer lab provides access to technology, including internet access, which is increasingly vital for social connection and opportunity in modern society. Volunteers run the lab and are available to help members learn computer software and programs, supporting increased computer literacy. The physical and mental health program promotes wellness and growth by increasing access to health care information, services, and referrals. Bringing partner agencies and pro bono health professionals onsite to serve members relieves various barriers to care (e.g., transportation) for members who are already at tgp for other reasons. Additionally, by building trusting and collaborative relationships with both members and partner agencies, tgp is able to provide "warm hand-off" referrals where members are introduced personally to outside partner agencies, improving the success rate of such referrals. The program also provides assistance to pay for prescriptions or pharmacy gift cards for minor medical supplies and over the counter medications. Tgp's case management program supports members in obtaining housing and overcoming other barriers to exiting homelessness and achieving long-term stabil”