Page 4 - October 2023

JSF RETREAT 2023: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF OUR SCOPE
OCTOBER 12, 2023
Bobby Krause, CEO
The JSF 2023 retreat in December will include discussions of mission, scope and strategy. There are two topics that could result in broadening our scope: funding programs that serve individuals with intellectual disabilities and funding career training. Before we consider topics that would broaden our scope, we will discuss the GPC’s satisfaction with the current scope. We will then discuss the merits of increasing or decreasing our scope. By “scope,” I mean the people we serve and the outcomes we aim to achieve.
I’d like to offer three thoughts for discussion:
1. JSF scope: wide & shallow VS narrow & deep
2. Creating a target that is consistent across all 3 program areas
3. If the GPC commits to narrow and deep, item #2 is attainable by eliminating “employment” from our mission statement.
HISTORY OF OUR MISSION
1991 JSF did not have a mission statement.
2002 Missionstatementdrafted:“Ourfoundationexiststoservedeservingpeoplebyassistingthemtoobtaineducation.”
Core values identified:
Mandate Education Strategy Programs Partnership Risk Taking Stewardship
2004 Mission statement revised: “Our foundation exists to serve disadvantaged people by assisting them to obtain education.”
2006 Board revisited mission statement and core values; no change.
2011 Mission statement revised: “Our foundation exists to serve disadvantaged people by assisting them to obtain
education and employment.”
*The Board would review the mission statement in 2014 and again in 2017 with no change.
In 1991, the JSF scope was narrow. Our target was clearly post-secondary education: PBAU, Gallaudet University, SUSF program and UPS scholarships. FSDB was one grantee of depth. FSDB seeks to mainstream young students with disabilities to prepare them for a post-secondary education.
Since 1991, JSF has grown significantly wider in our scope. When we added Canada, we got wider. When we added Alaska, we got wider. When we added research grants, we got wider. If we approve career training, we will get wider. If we add intellectual disabilities, we will get wider.
Since 1991, we have also gone deeper. We now serve students as young as pre-K to high school. After trying to fish people out of the river for 20+ years, we decided we should go upstream and find out why they are falling in. We have learned that many of the challenges in post-secondary education are more effectively managed before a student is of post-secondary age. When we added Weingarten, MFI, Take Stock/Johnson Scholars program, Clarke, Providence St. Mel and others, we got deeper.
Page 2 October Report