Read. Think. Act.

Catherine Read

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NVFS CARE Awards with Stephanie Berkowitz and George Lane

(Oct. 31, 2018) Catherine Read interviews Stephanie Berkowitz, Executive Director of Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS) along with George Lane, chair of the NVFS CARE Awards Advisory Committee. They discuss the 23 year history of the NVFS Care Awards, what makes an employer eligible for an award, along with the upcoming awards event in November.

George Lane NVFS CARE AwardsDating back to 1992, the NVFS Care Awards have been given to employers in the Northern Virginia region who demonstrate a great deal of emphasis on investment in employees, as well as best practices regarding making work “family friendly”.  NVFS noticed an increased level of work related stress, and wanted to raise awareness amongst employers that their work policies could have a direct impact on employees and their families. NVFS also had the goal of promoting the fact that it is more profitable to invest in employees and retain them, as high employee turnover can be costly to the bottom line.

When the awards were established, many of the policies revolved around flexible work schedules and telecommuting, which was new thanks to the advent of the Internet. Over the years other goals have been added, such as low cost health insurance, flexible work schedules, strong work/life balance, and new this year corporate social responsibility. Studies have shown that employees really want their employers to be good corporate citizens, and give back to the community and are socially engaged.

Additionally, now that the workforce employs people from multiple generations, a flexible work schedule can mean more than just working from home. A millennial might want to leverage technology to get their work done remotely, a baby boomer might want to work four, ten hour days and have an extra day off and a Gen X-er might need more flexibility to come in late or leave early for their children’s activities at school, or to accompany an elderly parent to the doctor. It is important for employers to remain flexible and understanding to their employees’ needs, while still maintaining business and ensuring that work is able to get done in a timely manner.

In order to be eligible for an NVFS Care Award, an employer must go through a rigorous 3-part process. First they must submit a written application, then their employees take a survey, and finally someone from the NVFS Care Awards advisory committee will do a site visit. Where they used to only award one winner to each category of business, the awards have evolved over time and NVFS now grants awards to all employers who meet the objectives.

NVFS CARE Awards 2018This year there are 23 companies receiving awards, and the winners will be recognized at the NVFS Care Awards Breakfast on November 8th at the Sheraton Premier in Tysons Corner. The morning will begin at 7:30am with a networking opportunity for businesses, where they can talk and discuss best practices. They will then get down to business with the recognitions. Berkowitz and Lane are thrilled to award 13-time winner National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and 10-time winners Custom Ink and Consumer Technology Association their awards, along with the other 20 companies who will be getting called up. They will also host an Community Engagement Panel discussion moderated by Charlie Niebauer of the Washington Business Journal, and featuring Charles Kuhn of JK Moving and Storage, Sheila Murphy of Flex Professionals, and Darcy Smith of Custom Ink.

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Non-Profit Advocacy: Impacting Public Policy – Inside Scoop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Jan. 23, 2017) Catherine read speaks with three Northern Virginia non-profit leaders about the importance of advocacy work to the mission of non-profits focused on human services. In the first segment she is joined by Mary Agee, the former President & CEO of Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS) which grew substantially in the 40 years she was there. Mary discusses the importance of advocacy and speaks to a widely held misconception that 501(c)3 organizations are prohibited from this activity because it is “lobbying.” Advocacy at its core is an educational activity designed to inform policy makers from town councils to Capitol Hill. Without the work of non-profits who are on the front lines, there is often little awareness of complex issues that require regulation or resources from the government.

Virginia Housing AllianceIn the second segment, Lisa Whetzel, Executive Director of Britepaths (formerly Our Daily Bread, Inc. – Fairfax) talks about advocacy as one of six identified pillars of change in the book Forces for Good. Britepaths only recently adopted an “advocacy policy” and the journey of their board of directors to address advocacy after 30 years of direct service delivery is instructive. Lisa explains that in the face of disappearing housing where our clients live in Fairfax City, she felt that Britepaths must take a stand in advocating for affordable housing. In focusing on which issues are support the core mission of the organization, Britepaths is able to join forces with other groups such as VOICE and the Virginia Housing Alliance to make a real impact on policy makers from Fairfax City to Richmond Virginia.

In the third segment, Kerrie Wilson, CEO of Cornerstones (formerly Reston Interfaith) talks about coming from a position where she worked in government relations for a national organization to taking the helm of a regionally based non-profit in 2001. Kerri talks about the efforts to build coalitions around issues like affordable housing which impact low income working families here in Northern Virginia and how their organization has evolved over their four decades of serving the Reston area.

Mary Agee Inside ScoopThe final segment with Mary Agee addresses the importance of cultivating relationships over the long term with elected leaders. She also discusses the importance of having human services organizations include advocacy as a major pillar of their efforts and how boards need to take a leadership role in shaping an advocacy policy. There is also discussion about how to find people in our communities who have the skills, the time and the motivation to help solve some of the many problems people in our community face. How does need connect with resources and what can we do to be more efficient in finding volunteers, supporters and advocates?

This show aired as the 2017 Legislative Session in the Commonwealth of Virginia was just underway. For 45 days, Richmond, Virginia, is the destination for people from around the state doing advocacy work around specific issues related to human services. This process is repeated every year where thousands of proposed bills are introduced and the majority of them don’t ever make it to the Governor’s desk. Going forward, it is imperative for non-profits to focus energy and resources on moving the needle forward on policies that improve the quality of life for Virginians in every community.