News:

Frequent (edited) updates from the IINCC Executive Director to the IINCC Board of Directors.

May 10, 2006

The Strategic Planning meeting to make recommendations on the future of IINCC is set for next Wednesday, May 17th. Our facilitator has been working with me to make this meeting very worthwhile. The direction of IINCC is very important and your participation is vital.

The newly formed Fund Raising Committee headed by Elizabeth Burdick had a very successful meeting with some excellent plans over the next few months. In addition, one major grant went out this week and I met with two Sarasota area foundations.

There are twelve volunteers working this week plus the five Mennonites.

May 3, 2006

Our only volunteers this week are the Mennonite group who are finishing up two projects. We have a group scheduled next week and the calendar of volunteers is busy through August. We need to do heavy recruiting for the fall which is a typical slow time for mission groups to come to Florida.

Several grants are going out the next two weeks to secure funding for operations and professional services.

We are working closely with FEMA trying to secure some mobile homes that can go to families that had their mobile home destroyed.

I had a good meeting with Bob Hebert on Monday to discuss our potential lease for offices at the Youth and Family Center, our $500,000 Home Depot construction material grant and IINCC’s potential involvement with the county in mitigation.

April 12, 2006

This will be a short update. I just returned from a two day meeting in Jacksonville regarding funding opportunities and a chance to network with potential funding sources. The meetings went well.

On Wednesday 42 volunteers arrived and will work with us through next Tuesday (with Sunday off). We have them working on three different projects. More volunteers arrive on Monday.

We are very busy at this time.

April 5, 2006

Much information is being gathered on Mitigation as well as grant opportunities. 

Hopefully I will come back with good information to complete our initial mission next week at the White House Conference on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in Jacksonville.

Our brochure has been reprinted with updated changes from the previous brochure. 

Several foundations have been identified through our research that are being written and delivered.

This week we have twelve volunteers from Maine, two from Minnesota, plus the five Mennonites.

March 29, 2006

There are twelve skilled volunteers from Maine arriving Thursday for one week. At this point, volunteers are scheduled regularly through August. There are over thirty houses in need of repair including three complete rebuilds.

Bob Hebert, with Charlotte County, said that a rental agreement for the youth center on Gibraltar St. should be available to us this week and approval will go to the county commission on April 11th. If all goes well, I am hopeful to be in new offices by May 1st.

Foundation grants are being written by Kristy and me. They are being submitted regularly as we find opportunities through our research. Plans are underway for a Golf Tournament.

I will be attending the White House Conference on Faith-based and Community Initiatives held in Jacksonville in April. This one day conference will be preceded by a training workshop “Search Funds and Resources for Disasters.”

March 15, 2006

Due to the injury (not on the job) to Chuck Brown, we have employed a new Project Coordinator. Charles Sigafoose has a varied background in construction work in Maryland and Florida. He began on Monday and has several repair jobs going on this week.

There are 45 volunteers working this week coming from all parts of the country including as far away as North Dakota.

The accounting firm is expected to finish our audit and 990 [form] by next Monday.

March 1, 2006

Two grant requests have been completed requesting operational funds plus a grant for mitigation.

This week there are 20 volunteers working on repair of three homes. Next week we expect more than 40 volunteers. 

January 18, 2006

This week we have 13 volunteers from two states plus the Mennonite Group working on three different home projects and making good progress.

IINCC was officially approved by VISTA to fund a VISTA Volunteer for one year to do public relations and fund raising at no cost to our agency. Kristy O’Conner begins with us on February 6th. Her training takes place the week previous in Atlanta.

I just finished a grant to fund two current positions in our office and expect to hear something back by March 1st.

January 11, 2006

Lutheran Services Florida has renewed our agreement to fund the salary of our Volunteer Coordinator through December 31. I am working on two other grant proposals to fund operations.

On Tuesday, IINCC received a proclamation along with South Seas Island Resort from the Charlotte County Commission for the donation and distribution of more than two thousand items of furniture that benefited 106 families.

This week four construction projects are being worked on by three volunteer groups from Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

MLK Day, January 16th, is an IINCC holiday, but part of the staff will be working because of construction work with new volunteer groups that must be coordinated.

January 4, 2006 Update

We hope you had a pleasant holiday. I am looking forward to the year ahead for IINCC as we continue to help Charlotte County recover from the hurricanes.

In December we added 115 new cases, but of this number 106 were families receiving furniture as a result of our gift from South Seas Resort. We added 9 new families in December who need major repair or rebuilds.

As reported IINCC received $50,000 from Church World Service in November for rebuild of a home. Additional funds have become available to Church World Services and we have applied for an additional $50,000 to help several families, plus a grant is being written to United Methodist Conference for financial assistance for case management.

Final details have been worked out and IINCC is now drawing from funds administered by the county for building materials.

On Tuesday, January 10, the County Commission and IINCC will make a special presentation to South Seas Island Resort at the commission meeting at 9:00 A.M. in recognition for the donation of the furniture that helped over 100 families.

December 21, 2005 Update

This week the Mennonite Volunteers are finishing some small projects…next week a group of volunteers arrive to work on some major projects. We have twenty homeowners waiting at the present time.

The large Phase 3 Grant funded through Charlotte County is underway and we have worked out all details. We will draw from the fund this week on a ramp project.

The office will be closed Friday, December 23 and Monday, December 26 for Christmas. If there is an urgent matter during this time, please call my cell phone.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

December 14, 2005 Update

The furniture is about gone. We plan to wrap-up our furniture giving program where we have helped over 100 families who lost their furniture in the hurricane. We will give you exact numbers next week.

“Extreme Makeover – Home Edition” that airs on ABC on Sunday evenings were visiting with IINCC and others about doing a Hurricane Special in February. I will keep you informed.

There was a great article in the Herald Tribune on Wednesday about the great work the Mennonite volunteers are doing and IINCC was mentioned.

Ron Thomas still needs your help this Saturday to lay sod at the Volunteer Center and IINCC’s future home…if you can help, please contact him.

December 7, 2005 Update

Our first “Celebration” was a great success. Thanks to those who came and thanks to the many volunteers and dedicated staff to make the Annual Meeting and Banquet possible. Next year, we will plan this event in November so more people will be able to attend.

Interviews are taking place for the public relations/fundraising position funded by AmericorpVISTA. The monthly stipend is just $840 which narrows down our choices. If you know of someone who may be interested have them contact me. 

Final arrangements are taking place for funding of building materials through a grant administered by Charlotte County. We expect to be drawing from the account next week.

November 30, 2005 Update

Looking forward to seeing you at the Annual Meeting and Banquet (celebration of what IINCC has done) this Friday, December 2 at 6:30 P.M. There is still space available. If you invite others to come, let us know. It will be a fun evening.

All of the donated furniture has arrived and is being distributed to needy families whose furniture was damaged in the 2004 hurricanes. More than 80 families have their furniture and we expect to serve over 125 families. Our special thanks to South Seas Resort for donating the furniture and Charlotte County for making warehouse space available.

The Mennonite volunteers continue to do great work. We have more than 150 volunteers scheduled beginning in late December and more are contacting us each week.

Craig Brown and I are working on the Personnel Policies for presentation to the board in January.

November 9, 2005

We just got word that Church World Service has approved a grant request for $50,000 to be used for building materials and supplies plus professional services such as plumbers and electricians.

The Charlotte County Commission approved the Volunteer Center request that the county pay the $95,000 assessment to connect to utilities. This huge bill was not budgeted in the building cost and could have delayed the opening of the center.

Truck loads of furniture continue to arrive at the temporary storage space and will for at least another week. We have over 100 families seeking eligibility to secure some furniture because their furniture was damaged in the 2004 hurricanes.

The recruitment for faith- based volunteers is making good progress. Fifteen groups have signed up to help beginning December, 2005, through June, 2006. The total volunteer count is estimated at over 300.

November 2, 2005 Update

The donation of used furniture from South Seas Resort on Captiva is arriving and being distributed to families who had their furniture damaged during the 2004 hurricane. Over 60 families have responded that qualify and will be distributed over the next few weeks. A truckload is arriving daily from Fort Myers. We have had three loads and expect twelve more.

IINCC is continuing to receive calls daily for repair of their homes. The waiting list is over twenty.

The Mennonite volunteers are presently working on a rebuild that will take another two weeks. We are pleased with the volunteer response beginning on December 26 through June 2006, but only have the five Mennonite volunteers working this week.

Over 120 invitations have been mailed for the IINCC “Celebration Dinner” to be held Friday, December 2. You should have received your invitation by now…if not please contact me. 

October 19, 2005 Update

The Policy Review Committee met last week to review the eligibility criteria for families to receive services from IINCC. The committee will meet next week and a report will be given to the Board of Directors with recommendations.

Staff continues to finalize the DRAFT 2006 budget that will be reviewed by the Finance Committee next week.

Volunteer groups continue to sign up for late December through March. We have eight repair jobs waiting to be completed. The Mennonite Group is continuing to work on a major rebuild.

October 12, 2005 Update

Thanks to the work of Craig Brown, our website has been updated. There are a few more things to be added, but it is much more professional and informative than our first attempt. Please take a look at it.

We are in final stages of arranging transportation for the donated furniture from South Seas Resort (Captiva Island, FL). We have 24 families that have already requested furniture because their furniture was damaged in the hurricane.

The team from Mennonite Disaster Relief has arrived. They have been at work on one of our major projects and plan to volunteer for about one year.

About 150 invitations will be mailed next week for “The Celebration.” This annual meeting dinner will be held on Friday, December 2nd at 6:30 P.M.

September 21, 2005 Update

Just got word that IINCC will be receiving a grant of $100,000 from the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund, established by Governor Jeb Bush and managed by the Volunteer Florida Foundation, to be used over two years for staff salaries. Working on another grant to Church World Services for $100,000.

There are three good leads on warehouse space for the furniture being donated by South Seas Resort, but nothing final yet. Bob Hebert with the County is a great help in finding space.

Several large volunteer faith based groups are notifying us they are coming, but not until after the beginning of next year.  The Mennonite group is arriving next week and will be here one year.

September 14, 2005 Update

Approximately 5,000 furniture items has been donated to us that came from Captiva Island. We are arranging transportation and storage which has been difficult. Items include appliances, dining room sets, couches and small miscellaneous items. I will have more information in a few days.

The first Annual Meeting Dinner for IINCC has been set for Friday, December 2 at the Port Charlotte United Methodist Church. We are looking for a volunteer committee to assist in planning this event. If willing to help, please let me know.

The Mennonite Team will arrive October 1 to volunteer with us for about one year.

September 7, 2005 Update

We have been notified that the Mennonite Disaster Organization is sending a team in a few weeks to work with IINCC for about one year on rebuild and repair of homes. The group of four workers has good building skills and can be of great help at this time.

The Herald Tribune printed an excellent story Monday on our need for volunteers. We have got some reaction as a result of the story.

We are still waiting to hear about:

1. Our grant application for funding of case management staff from the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund, established by Governor Jeb Bush and managed by the Volunteer Florida Foundation.
2. AmeriCorp for a team to complete survey of homes.
3. VISTA for fundraising/public relations support.

August 31, 2005 Update

This week we received notification that IINCC is receiving $500,000 as a result of a grant we submitted to the Charlotte County Unmet Needs Committee. This money is to be used for building materials. This grant will be very helpful in the major rebuilds that we will need to accomplish.

IINCC also submitted another grant for $50,000 per year for two years to be used for capacity building including personnel.

We were interviewed by the Herald Tribune and by SNN this past week regarding our activities and our need for volunteers.

Our staff and volunteers had a very good meeting with leadership of the Mennonite Disaster Services this week and expect word on whether they will have a volunteer group with us for one year.

The office will be closed Monday, September 5 for Labor Day.

August 17, 2005 Update

It has been officially announced that IINCC will soon become [Charlotte] county’s lead agency for identifying and repairing or rebuilding home for the county’s NEEDIEST HOMEOWNERS. The county is purchasing $500,000 in building materials and IINCC will be responsible for qualifying and prioritizing applicants. This grant will certainly be very helpful in meeting our mission.

Speaking of grants…IINCC is applying for two grants. Charlotte County Unmet Needs Committee has received $1.3 million and will disburse these funds to various groups including Faith Based and Non-Profit organizations involved in rebuilding homes due to the hurricanes. That grant request needs to be delivered by August 22. The other grant is for Long-term Recovery Organizations such as IINCC. The RFP is for a maximum of $50,000 per year for two years to provide funds for such items as management and support of volunteers, office supplies, mail, personnel and other expenses from the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund, established by Governor Jeb Bush and managed by the Volunteer Florida Foundation.

This is a slow time of year for volunteers. Heavy recruitment is taking place and we are talking to two groups about long-term stays for 6 months to a year.

IINCC received two excellent articles in the local press this past week.

Lieutenant Governor Jennings visited one of the homes we are working on last week. At this site, she announced the grant opportunities as mentioned above. She was very impressed with the work of our volunteers and also spoke with the homeowners who are living in a FEMA trailer in their back yard.

IINCC had a booth at the Spirit of Punta Gorda last Saturday. We made some friends and some money.

August 3, 2005 Update

As promised, I will be sending you an update on our activities.

This week a volunteer mission group from the Presbyterians is working on two rebuilds. One is nearing completion and the other has several weeks to go. At this point, we are doing heavy recruitment for volunteers because this fall we have few groups scheduled. I am confident this will improve soon.

Our staff met with the Director of Recovery for Lee County this week and are now coordinating and working closely together. In addition, GeeDee Kerr, formerly with the Tri-County recovery group, has gone to work for FIND and is assigned 8 counties in our immediate area to help with services including coordination and funding. She and I met this week to determine how FIND can help us. Because we are more organized than some groups, she asked for some materials that I provided her so she can share with others. She will be at our next board meeting to explain her duties in this new position.

Project Hope ends on September 2, but will be followed by Project Recovery. I spent some time with the Director and we are working out details of coordination with this new organization working with adults and children who have suffered emotional problems due to the hurricanes.

The Unmet Needs Committee has decided to begin meeting immediately after C-3 on Thursday afternoon at 3 P.M. We are temporarily facilitating this group until it gets organized and it will then be led by people more knowledgeable of case management.

May 17, 2005 Update

The dedication of the two double-wide units now being used as a Hospitality Center for Volunteers workers will be dedicated on Sunday, [May 22, 2005] at 4:00 PM.

May 10, 2005 Update

Today we officially received our 501 (c ) (3) nonprofit status from the Internal Revenue Service. It became effective on November 9, 2004. We can now move forward on several items as a result of our exemption and thank the other non-profit agencies for their assistance while we waited for this status.