As of January 1, 2018, we had $72,363.30 in our account to carry out the mission of fostering the growth of strong, resilient, hopeful children who are impacted by an incarcerated loved one in the Frederick County region. Starting 2019, we have raised our overall amount in our account to $94,562.50. We can attribute a lot of our financial success to the personal donations of: Nicholas Branic, the Roblin Family, the Joseph D. Baker Fund, Marlene England, Ann Walker, and the Network for Good.
We have also received tremendous support from our local community of stores in the Frederick area that include: Curious Iguana, Dancing Bear, The Delaplaine Arts Center, and McCutcheon’s Apple Products. In addition to this support we have also greatly benefitted from receiving grants to help us grow; this year we have received grants from: the Helen J. Serini Foundation, Ausherman Family Foundation, Frederick Community Partnership, the Frederick Women’s Giving Circle, Community Foundation of Frederick, The Arthur and Julane Anderson Gift Trust, and have had the help of the Mental Health Association.
COIPP saw major success with the Unity Campaign through the United Way this autumn, and our annual Silent Auction also helped us to raise our funds. Overall, we were able to bring in $88,624.20 to fund the programs that we have in place to support local children who are facing incarceration in their families. This is a significant move forward from our modest beginnings and we owe all of our success to the involvement that ranges from grants and donations to our dedicated volunteers and supportive community members.
COIPP was able to utilize these funds to provide programs to the community that have created a strong foundation for us to carry out our mission. Throughout 2018, we had expenditures that totaled $61,804.73. The most substantial expense we had in the past year were children’s books. We spent $10,031.58 on this portion of our budget and feel that the messages of resilience, love, hope, and understanding that the books bring to the children as well as comfort while visiting family members are worth every cent.
Other large expenses included the $7,111.36 spent on Coffee with COIPP supplies; this new program allows us to facilitate a connection between the child, caregiver, and recently released family members. This program has been greatly supported by the grants we have received. This year COIPP set $5,000 towards our scholarship program with Frederick Community College; this program allows families to build strong foundations for their children.
As a growing organization, we realized that we had many things to learn both about those that we help and how to help them and have had professional development expenditures of $4,925.00; these costs have also been aided by grants that we have received. Many of our other large expenses are programs that include our monthly activity for children, providing crisis outreach, parenting classes in detention facilities, and workshops to help caregivers understand how to support the children in their lives.
Looking forward we see that we are starting this year with more funds than we had available last year and are building up the programs that we have in place with this financial foundation. We have a new grant for strategic planning and will be spending 2019 evolving to be a strong resource in our community. As the treasurer of this wonderful organization, I can confidently say that we have spent our funds well to carry out our mission and I am personally touched by the generosity that I have seen this year through the community and volunteers.
Eliza Funk, Treasurer
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