Page 9 - FoC 2024 Summer Newsletter
P. 9

FoC Development Director


      Todd Mickelson



      “I thought you retired” is a common refrain I’ve heard over the past 6
      months. While I have not retired, we were very successful in finding and
      hiring my replacement as Executive Director. Mike Smith with his wife,
      Katie, have enthusiastically and successfully joined our Mission. It was
      our plan to hire a new E.D. so I could step back into development work
      to share our story and secure more resources to transform lives.
      We have had a very successful transition beyond the parish boundaries
      of  our  founders,  adding  community  development  to  our  legacy  of
      transforming  individual  lives.  Mission  visitors,  long-time  donors,  new
      donors, clergy, FoC Board Members past and present, staff and leaders in
      Peru are all inspired by our community development model and results
      in Cambio Puente. This has only been possible  with the support and
      confidence of our donors in both general funds for our operations and designated funds for projects.

      The donations to Friends of Chimbote that do not have a designated use, which we call “general funds”, are used for our day-
      to-day operations. Most importantly, these funds are used to pay the salaries of our eighty-two ACAF Staff members who
      serve the poor every day. Our staff includes an attorney, engineer, architect, carpenters, electricians, social workers, health
      professionals, accountants, human resource specialists, educators, logisticians, marketers and many key support staff. They
      operate and manage our programs in education, housing, counseling, legal services, medical, health, social services, soup
      kitchens, government program coordination, training, logistics, container, emergency services and mission visitors. We are
      relieving suffering and transforming the lives of thousands of our brothers and sisters we have shared with you like Catalina,
      Domitila, Florcita and Olga with our dedicated, professional team!

      One of the keys to our successful transition to community development is the expanded and diverse training, education,
      experience and professionalism of our staff. When I started over 11 years ago, 25% of the ACAF Staff had University or Technical
      degrees. Currently, 51% of ACAF staff are degreed! To continue and expand our exemplary work, we need to add professional
      staff and offer a more competitive wage to keep our current leaders. We are so grateful for our dedicated and generous donors
      who make this possible, with a special shout out to our monthly donors who are so important to balancing our cashflow.

      We have been so pleased to share with you all the transformational projects in community development we have completed in
      the past few years with designated donations: house building, furniture making, soup kitchens, learning center, daycare, social
      worker offices, parish renovations, mission visit accommodations, water projects, parks and vehicles.  Designated donations
                                                  have more than doubled over the past few years from individuals, mission
                                                  visit  groups,  parishes  and  service  clubs  like  Rotary.  These  projects  are
                                                  executed by our staff with the participation of visitors, all above and beyond
                                                  our annual budgeted programs and services funded by the general fund.

                                                  It continues to be an honor, blessing, privilege and wonderful challenge to
                                                  work for you and with you to change lives. With our new, replicable model of
                                                  community development, outstanding staffs, dedicated Board members and
                                                  generous, motivated donors, it’s time to also focus on a viable, bright future.
                                                  In this issue, we share with you ways you can help us change lives far into
                                                  the future with estate gifts, endowment funds and a reserve fund to weather
                                                  storms like the pandemic.
                                                                              In Service & Gratitude,








      friendsofchimbote.org                                                                                     PAGE 9
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