Tax Exempt Status
Public Supported Charity
Organization Does Business As (DBA) Name(s)
Mission Statement
Our mission is educating homeless children and their families to break the cycle of poverty.
It is our goal to prepare children living in chaos with the academic and social skills to succeed in public education once they leave our school.
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Contact Information
Contact Name
Margaret Creighton
Contact email
mcreighton@positivetomorrows.org
Address
P.O. Box 61190
Oklahoma City, OK 73146 1190
Phone
(405) 556-5082
Fax
405-556-5085
County
Oklahoma County
How to Give
Donate to Endowment
http://occf.org/pt/
Other ways to donate, support or volunteer
Donations may be made by check or credit card to our PO Box, by our secure website, or by phone. In-kind donations can be made to our school by calling for directions. Our website lists general volunteer opportunities as well as contact information for more specific details.
Financial Summary
Projected Revenue
$1,524,500.00
Projected Expenses
$1,522,975.18
History and Background
Year Founded
1989
IRS Ruling Year
1992
State Registration Expiration
Feb 2016
Statements
Mission
Our mission is educating homeless children and their families to break the cycle of poverty.
It is our goal to prepare children living in chaos with the academic and social skills to succeed in public education once they leave our school.
Background
Since 1989, Positive Tomorrows has helped homeless children overcome obstacles to full academic and social development by providing classroom education, support services, food, clothing, school supplies and all of the necessary supplies and services for being successful in school.
Positive Tomorrows began in 1989 as a collaborative effort among a group of community organizations which recognized the educational needs of homeless children were not being met. Founding partners included Oklahoma City Public Schools, the State Department of Education, CampFire USA, Neighborhood Services Organization and the YWCA.
As an affiliate of the Oklahoma City Public Schools System, our purpose was to help homeless families collect needed documentation to enroll their children into a public school. From our founding until 2006, that was what we did. Then, a change in the Federal Grant guidelines caused us to became ineligible for government funding. While many of our students still came from the Oklahoma City Public Schools, we were no longer formally affiliated with the school district.
Today, Positive Tomorrows is a private, tuition-free elementary school meeting the educational and social service needs of homeless children and their families. We serve approximately 100 homeless children each year with school, day camps during school breaks and family services year-round.
Impact
Positive Tomorrows is an accredited private school and social services organization focusing on the unique needs of homeless children. In addition to school, we provide deep family support services aimed at helping the child find stability in and out of school.
In the past year, we have initiated an afterschool program, partnering with Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Camp Fire and other organizations to provide enrichment experiences so desperately needed by children living in deep poverty.
The goal of our board of directors for the near future is a comprehensive review of our business model and educational delivery systems. We are about to embark on a period of growth, both in terms of facility expansion and numbers of clients served. In order to accomplish those tasks effectively, we will first make certain our model of service is the best fit for the task at hand.
Needs
According to the Oklahoma City Public Schools, there are 3,200 homeless children in that school district. Due to our building size and financial limitations, we are only able to serve approximately 100 children each year.
Positive Tomorrows operates on donations from individuals, businesses and organizations in the community. These contributions ensure teachers are highly qualified and available for all of the needs of our children, children are fed a nutritious diet, a safe, reliable bus provides transporation, counseling is available and parents receive support too. We must raise approximately $1 million each year to meet our operating needs.
Volunteers are needed to mentor children, provide birthday parties and other activities, and assist with building maintenance and special events.
In-kind gifts, such as gently-used children's clothing, tissues, wet wipes, toilet paper, etc., are also welcomed. Groups willing to hold drives to collect necessary items are greatly appreciated.
CEO/Executive Director Statement
Positive Tomorrows fills a unique niche. According to our research, we are the only accredited private school for homeless children in the country with afterschool and day camp programs during school breaks. We have found a handful of schools receiving public funds in Arizona and in California; however, they do not have the extensive family support and out-of-school programs that we provide. We have also discovered a couple of private schools in other parts of the country, but they are not accredited or have the breadth of services we provide.
Positive Tomorrows also creatively collaborates with other organizations to provide comprehensive educational services to our students. For example, PE is taught in the Boys and Girls Club gym, music is taught by music education students at Oklahoma City University, and media use is learned at the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Library with the assistance of the children's librarian there. Advanced psychological and educational testing is done through the educational psychology department at the University of Central Oklahoma. We believe that effective use of community resources is imperative in order for us to provide as many services as possible to children who are already so far behind.
Area Served
We primarily serve homeless children in the central section of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. However, sometimes student families will obtain housing in other parts of the city and we will stretch our transportation resources as much as possible in order to continue their enrollment in our school.
Service Categories
Secondary Organizational Category
Human Services/Children's and Youth Services
CEO/Executive Director
CEO/Executive Director
Susan Agel
Start Date
Apr 2009
Email
sagel@positivetomorrows.org
Experience
Susan Agel, President of Positive Tomorrows, has worked to advance the mission of nonprofit organizations nearly all her professional life.
Employed at Positive Tomorrows since early 2009, Susan has led the nonprofit to accreditation by the North Central Association, increased enrollment and increased contributions.
In 2012, Agel was named one of “Fifty Making a Difference,” part of the Journal Record’s Woman of the Year program. She was also an honoree in the Journal Record’s Most Admired CEO recognition as a finalist in the nonprofit division. Recently, Susan was awarded the 2011 FBI Director's Community Leadership Award for Oklahoma, given each year by FBI Director Robert Mueller. She accepted the award in ceremonies at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Susan served as founder and executive director of the Deaconess Hospital Foundation for 10 years, 1993-2003. More recently, Susan raised funds for City Rescue Mission, developed the grants program for Butterfield Memorial Foundation, and assisted in communications and marketing efforts at The Children’s Center.
Earlier in her career, she was director of public relations for HeartSpring School (for children with disabilities) in Wichita, receiving an M.A. in communications from Wichita State University in 1993.
Staff
Number of Full-time Staff
19
Number of Part-time Staff
5
Number of Contract Staff
2
Number of Volunteers
637
Staff Retention Rate
76
Are professional development opportunities provided?
Yes
Does CEO/Executive Director have formal evaluations?
Yes
Management reports to board?
Yes
Staff Demographics - Ethnicity
African American/Black
6
Caucasian
14
Hispanic/Latino
0
Native American/American Indian
2
Staff Demographics - Gender
Male
3
Female
19
Organizational Plans
Fundraising Plan
Yes
Policy against commission-based compensation for fundraising consultant
Yes
Communication Plan
Under Development
Strategic Plan
Yes
Number of Years Strategic Plan Considers
5
Date Strategic Plan Adopted
Aug 2010
Management Succession Plan
Yes
Organization Policies and Procedures
Yes
Policies
Nondiscrimination Policy
Yes
Directors and Officers Insurance Policy
Yes
Collaborations
We collaborate closely with a number of agencies who provide services to people living in deep poverty. Homeless shelters include City Rescue Mission, Salvation Army Family Shelter, and Passageways Domestic Violence Shelter. We partner with agencies providing transitional living arrangements such as Neighborhood Services Organization and ReMerge. Healing Hands provides medical care to students at our site. Specialty classes are offered to our students by music education students from Oklahoma City University, a volunteer PE teacher in the gym at Boys and Girls Club, and with the children's librarian at the downtown library (Metropolitan Library System). Academic and psychological testing is done through the ed psych lab at the University of Central Oklahoma. We also have work study students from UCO.
We participate in the coordinated case management program offered at the Homeless Alliance and are a United Way partner agency. We collaborate with several mental health agencies, such as Northcare. We have an arrangement with Goodwill, where we share in-kind gifts with them that we cannot use and in turn, they provide vouchers for our adults to purchase clothing in the Goodwill stores.
Several organizations assist with our after-school and day camp programs. Camp Fire, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Leadership students at OCU, and other organizations are vital partners in providing after-school program activities.
We are always open to developing new collaborations and constantly seek new and creative ways to work with other organizations.
External Assessments and Accreditations
Government Licenses
Is your organization licensed by the government (federal, state and/or local)?
No
Board Chair
Name
Todd Lechtenberger
Company Affiliation
First Med Urgent Care
Term
July 2014 to June 2017
Email
tlechtenberger@firstmedok.com
Board of Directors
List Current as of
July 01, 2016
Board Demographics - Ethnicity
African American/Black
1
Caucasian
12
Native American/American Indian
1
Board Demographics - Gender
Male
8
Female
6
Governance
Board Term Lengths
3 years
Percentage of Board Making Monetary Contributions to the Organization
100 %
Percentage of Board Making In-Kind Contributions to the Organization
100 %
Board Orientation
Yes
Constituency Includes Client Representation
No
Written Board Selection Criteria?
Under Development
Comments on Board & Governance
Current Fiscal Year
Fiscal Year
July 01, 2016-June 30, 2017
Current Year Budgeted Total Income
$1,524,500
Current Year Budgeted Total Expenses
$1,522,975
IRS Letter of Determination
Prior Three Years' Financial History
Solvency
Short Term Solvency
Endowment?
Yes
Endowment Spending Policy
Percentage
Endowment Spending Policy Percentage (if selected)
5 %
Credit Line?
No
Reserve Fund?
No
Capital Campaign
Currently in a Capital Campaign?
No
Capital Campaign Anticipated in Next Five Years?
No