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PRESIDENT'S REPORT
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By Kaye Schmitz
Dear FPP Members and Friends,
'Twas the month of December and all thru' the state,
The work was still constant - so much on our plate...
Bank On was expanding and still going great...
The Regional Meetings were hosted first-rate...
Yet work piled on work - would it never abate?
But just when we think too much working's our fate,
Come reminders of why our work days go so late,
For we hear from a client, or maybe his mate,
Of a program that helped them to not liquidate,
And courses that taught them to keep checkbooks straight,
So their kids got well-cared for with no need to wait
For insurance, or medicine, or clothes that elate.
Then we take a deep breath, and we smile, and we slate
Even more time come next year to work and donate
Renewed zeal and great effort to coordinate
Dot connecting with partners who really would hate
To miss opportunities to participate
With each others' programs for refund or rebate
That empower their clients and re-educate.
Let's resolve in the New Year - and then punctuate
This vow with a wish that our effort create
A Florida where people will want to locate
As we all work together and collaborate.
And when we are done, then let's all celebrate.
Happy Holidays!! The Florida Prosperity Partnership has made great strides in 2011 and we have terrific plans for 2012. As we near the end of the year, however, and reflect back on the things that have happened, it becomes very apparent that we need to say "Thank You" to many people. First, thank all of you so much for your participation during this year. As a member driven organization, our goal is to do the best job possible to carry out the kinds of tasks you have requested and to bring information to you that you may not have run into previously.
We definitely want to thank the entire FPP Executive Committee and Board of Directors - please see the sidebar for a list of their names and organizations. Many of you have heard me say that they are the most hands on, active board I've ever had the privilege to work with - and it's absolutely true. Sadly, some of our long time members are rotating off the board at the end of this year, so a special thank you goes out to Sokoya Finch, from the Florida Family Network and the FABC; Karen Landry, from the War on Poverty and the FABC; Michael Roush, from the National Disability Institute; and Erbi Blanco-True, from Great Florida Bank. We will miss these individuals as board members, but look forward to continuing to work with them as participating FPP partners and friends.
As we announced to you last month, the new FPP Board Members who will take office in January are:
- Roger Mercado, Southwest Florida, United Way of Lee, Hendry, and Glades Counties
- Katie Metz, nationwide, National Disability Institute
- Joan Nelson, Central Florida, Heart of Florida United Way
- Ron Sharpe, Florida Panhandle, United Way of Northwest Florida
- Amber Tynan, statewide, League of Southeast Credit Unions
- Jeff Winkler, Northeast Florida, Real$ense Prosperity Campaign (an initiative of United Way of Northeast Florida)
So...a heartfelt thank you to all of the FPP Board Members - current, retiring, and incoming - for their willingness to spend their valuable time and talent with us and for their part in contributing to the FPP Success.
Thank You for Grant Funds Presented in November
November was a big month for grants and we participated in two check presentation events. The first took place at one of the Bank of America Centers on Thomasville Road in Tallahassee on November 2 when Bank of America Florida Market President Mike Fields presented a check for $25,000 to me and several FPP Board members (please see picture). With that commitment of $25,000, Bank of America remains the largest funder for the FPP. According to Mike Fields, "We chose to fund the FPP at this level to help advance its commitment to efficiently supporting key financially focused initiatives across the state's many nonprofit organizations. We have been involved with the FPP since its inception in 2009, and have seen great progress."
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Shown in the picture from left to right are: Bobby Dick, Merrill Lynch; Kristin Harrison, Bank of America; Mike Fields, Bank of America Florida President; Michael Williams, Consumer Marketing Manager, North Central Florida; Kaye Schmitz, President of FPP; Amanda Clements, V. P. at United Way of the Big Bend and an FPP Board Member; Janet Hamer, Sr. Community Development Manager, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Jacksonville Branch and Chair of the FPP Board; and Ted Granger, President of United Way of Florida and the FPP Board Treasurer.
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The second grant presentation took place in Jacksonville, FL on November 14, when the FPP received a $5,000 check from Pat Nelms, also from Bank of America and longtime FPP member. Pat received the honor from Bank of America for being its employee Volunteer of the Year and her award was a $5,000 check for the non-profit of her choice. We are very fortunate that Pat chose the FPP as her recipient. Pat has been very active in the FPP since its inception and for years has both prepared free income tax returns and taught the FDIC's MoneySmart curriculum for the Real$ense Prosperity Campaign in Northeast Florida. In addition, Pat even volunteered to teach a Money Smart "Train the Trainer" class for the FPP at Stetson University in Deland and will be doing a follow up class in 2012.
We heartily thank Bank of America and one of its employees, Pat Nelms, for their continued membership and participation in the Florida Prosperity Partnership and for these wonderful gifts to help us continue our work.
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Pat Nelms
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Thank You to all of the FPP Funders
We also want to thank all of the FPP Funders that have made it possible for us to continue to do the statewide work we are doing. Ever since we began with the seed funding from United Way of Tampa Bay and Allegany Franciscan Ministries in 2009, we have been able to steadily grow our funding sources and amounts. We send a huge thank you out to all of our funding organizations, both those that have been with us for a while-Allegany Franciscan Ministries, United Way of Tampa Bay, Bank Of America, the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, SunTrust Bank, the National Disability Institute, and Wells Fargo (formerly funding as Wachovia)-and those that are new in 2011-Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, TD Bank, BB&T Bank, Fifth Third Bank, the University of Florida (through a joint grant from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund), and Catalyst Miami (through a grant from the Ford Foundation). Thank you to all of these great organizations. We are thrilled to work with you and look forward to continuing that work for many years to come.
Thank You to the FPP Staff
One of the biggest differences in the FPP during 2011 was the addition of a number of staff members-both full-time and part-time. It has been a real pleasure to work with the group we have assembled and they are all doing a fantastic job, so I would personally like to express sincere thanks to these FPP staff members:
- Bill Mills- Director of Strategic Initiatives; Bill is responsible for all of the FPP's major programs and initiatives-Bank On Florida, Ways to Work Florida, and the Financial Information Network in conjunction with the University of Florida. One of my favorite things that Bill has done since coming on board is that he has handled all of our technology needs, saving our budget a bundle and keeping from having to hire an additional resource. Bill has even had his twelve-year-old son and his seven-year-old twins volunteer for the FPP-to help with technology issues and to star in the videos he has produced. They are quite a remarkable family.
- Penny Zaphel - Special Projects Coordinator; Penny is responsible for handling all of our social media work on Facebook and Twitter-so please make certain you "Friend" us on Facebook. She also makes certain that our distribution lists remain up-to-date, takes RSVPs for most FPP meetings and events, and most importantly, coordinates the publication of this monthly newsletter. Penny is currently working on, in addition to all of those things, a list of companies that will offer discounts to all FPP members-you'll hear more about that next year.
- Jennifer Cooper - Graphics Designer; Jennifer is the artist behind both these monthly newsletters and all of the printed materials you see from time to time, including the FPP and Bank on Florida brochures and all of the signage, banners, promotional material designs, and the conference agenda book for the annual conference. Jennifer is also working with me on the design for the upcoming Annual Report/Report to the Community.
- Lynn Gill - Bookkeeper; Lynn is responsible for handling and tracking all of the FPP income and disbursements. She has also been instrumental in helping with financial documents that were created for various grant applications. In 2012, Lynn will be getting the FPP ready for its first financial audit.
When you have a moment, I hope you, too, will express your gratitude to the folks listed above-they are doing what they do mostly out of love, since our budget has been so limited. We are very lucky to have all of them with us and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts for jobs well done.
FPP Regional Meetings Now Complete
We also need to say thank you to the hosts of the FPP Regional Meetings. There were two sets of Regional Meetings completed in 2011-one in March/April and the other in October/November. In each set of these meetings, we came face-to-face with around 200 of our members-affiliates, partners, and friends-to talk about the FPP initiatives currently under way, to hear local updates about regional programs, and to enlighten our members about national trends and strategies. It is always so heartwarming to see the interaction and enthusiasm that occurs when we all get together in a room and discuss what the members are working on.
So, a special thank you goes out to the following FPP Regional Meeting hosts:
- Ellen Stoffer - West Central Region (Tampa Bay area)
- Roger Mercado - Southwest Region (Ft. Myers area)
- Amanda Clements - North Central Region (Tallahassee/Big Bend area)
- Bill Robinson - Northwest Region (Panhandle area)
- Jeff Winkler - Northeast Region (Jacksonville area)
- Joan Nelson - East Central Region (Orlando area)
- Daniella Levine, Sandra Bernard-Bastien, and Kasha Owers - Southeast Florida (Miami, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties)
We will slightly change our format for the Regional Meetings in 2012. We will only have Regional Meetings in the fall, out of consideration for all of the tax coalition initiatives going on in the spring, and we will revamp the format to make the meetings more interactive. In addition, we plan to do special convening around specific topics of your choice. So stay tuned for further updates in the coming year.
Sponsorships are now available for The Fourth Annual FPP Statewide Conference
Make sure you save the date for the Fourth Annual Florida Prosperity Partnership Statewide Conference to be held at Universal's Portofino Hotel, in Orlando, FL from May 30-June 1, 2012. The room rate is $109 per night, with a reduced self-parking rate of $6 and free in-room Internet. Please click here for a sponsorship form.
Client Stories
As already mentioned, the FPP will be publishing our first Annual Report/Report to the Community at the end of this year. We would love to feature your organization and one of your successful clients in the Report. Please send stories and pictures to me at kayedschmitz@bellsouth.net as soon as possible.
We are also collecting stories to go in the client section on the FPP website. Please send us whatever you may already have and then collect additional stories throughout the year so we can build a Florida client story showcase.
Thank You to All!!
In closing, we, at the FPP, want to thank all of you again for your continued participation in our collective statewide effort. Together, there's no limit to the things we can accomplish. Please accept our sincere wish that your upcoming holiday-Christmas, Hanukkah (Chanukah), Kwanza, and any other December holiday you might observe-will be your best ever.
Kaye D. Schmitz
President /CEO
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