#SPICares x Vogel Alcove:2022 Fundraiser Results + Q&A with CDO, Greg Brinkley
Written by Lily Turner, Marketing Manager
December 9th, 2022
SPI Advisory Raised $30,000+ to support Vogel Alcove, an Organization helping Children & Families recover from Homeless in Dallas, TX
In November of this year, SPI Advisory launched a fundraiser in an effort to show continued support for our #SPICares initiative partner, Vogel Alcove.
If you didn't already know, Vogel Alcove is a one-of-a-kind nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization located in Dallas, TX operating with the mission to provide refuge, rehabilitation services, and basic necessities to the children and families facing the traumatic effects of homelessness within the metroplex. Since its doors opened in 1987, the organization has served well over 17,000 homeless children and their families in DFW, providing them with food, employment, education, transportation, mental and health care, and a safe environment to thrive and grow. The detrimental effects of homelessness can last a lifetime, and that's why Vogel Alcove strives to provide services to "help families heal their trauma, empower parents to build stability, and let kids just be kids." (Read Vogel Alcove's "Our Stories").
SPI Advisory donates both our times and money to Vogel Alcove, because we believe they truly make a difference in the lives of the most vulnerable population in our community. But, this year, we wanted to do even more. Especially as we watched the number of homeless Dallas youth jump from 3,000 in 2021 to 4,500 in 2022.
The main objectives of this fundraiser were to introduce our Dallas investors to Vogel Alcove, educate them on some of the remarkable things the nonprofit accomplishes in the city where SPI’s main office is located, and, finally, inspire them to pledge a donation to go toward the operations of the organization and all of its incredible staff and volunteers.
The fundraiser launched in early November, with SPI’s initial pledge of $10,000 along with our promise to match up to $10,000 in additional funds raised by the generosity of our investors who were moved to donate in support of the one-of-a-kind organization.
By the end of the fundraiser, SPI Advisory and its investors raised a total of $30,072.60 to support Vogel Alcove.
We met with Greg BrinkleyGreg Brinkley joined Vogel Alcove 10 years and 1 month ago. Before joining, Greg worked in the corporate world as a Business Development Account Executive and had never even heard of the organization. One day, a close friend of his who’d recently become Vogel Alcove’s Chief of Marketing reached out to Greg to invite him to apply for a position as the Director of Corporate Relationships where he would assist in fundraising for the organization on the corporate side. At the time, Greg admits that he had no intentions of changing careers, nor did he ever envision himself working for a charity. Once he visited their main location and met with the President and CEO, Karen Hughes, he realized that it was the job for him, despite having no prior experience in nonprofit fundraising. Today, he serves as Vogel Alcove’s Chief Development Officer and oversees an operating budget of roughly $8MM per year that funds the organization’s operations.
, Vogel Alcove's Chief Development Officer, to learn more about the organization, its current priorities, and how individuals and other companies can get involved.
Q: "What makes Vogel Alcove so Unique?"
GB: “There’s a ‘handful’ of similar nonprofits across the nation, but we’re unaware of anyone else whose mission centers on the rehabilitation of both children and families overcoming homelessness like at Vogel Alcove. Vogel Alcove also maintains a prestigious accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), distinguishing us as one of the top 10% of childcare education facility providers in the country and the top 3% in Texas. So, in addition to the comprehensive services we provide to children and families recovering from homelessness, we also provide some of the best early education that money can buy, free of cost.”
Q: “In 2021, the reported number of homeless Dallas youth was 3,000. Now, in 2022, it's 4,500. How is this estimated & what contributed to such a significant increase?”
GB: “These data are disclosed yearly by the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) based on the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act's definition of homeless children and youth. These criteria include children of families doubled or tripled up in small apartments, sleeping in cars, hopping from couch to couch, or from motel to motel. Of course, it's hard to know the true count, as it's not an exact science, but we know that these numbers aren't far off, in fact, we believe they’re an underestimate. There’s not one clear reason for the increase…It's likely a variety of circumstances such as the rising inflation rate, the lasting effects of the COVID pandemic to the conflicts we hear about every day on the news. What we know for certain is that the leading cause of homelessness is poverty accompanied by the growing shortage of affordable housing nationwide.”
Q: “Why does Dallas have the highest homeless rate out of all other major Texas cities?”
GB: "Each year, Dallas ranks in the top 5 out of all major cities in America for child poverty; it’s astounding just how many families live in poverty within this metroplex. And while all major cities struggle with chronic homelessness, family homelessness is another story. It's not the folks you see on the side of the road...in DFW, in particular, it’s young, single mothers simply lacking the added support of a partner’s income. For the families that we care for, it takes time and effort to teach them the skills needed to find a job with a livable wage. Then, it’s one thing to retain that job, and another to reach self-sufficiency…we know that these families won’t escape their struggle with homelessness if they don’t also escape poverty.”
Q: “How have Vogel Alcove’s priorities changed since you initially joined in 2012?”
GB: “The foundation of our services has always centered around serving children affected by homelessness, to do our best to set them up for the rest of their lives. But, in the past decade, we've emphasized expanding our services to help the entire family unit move from crisis to stability, to thriving. We realized that these families really needed someone to walk beside them on the path of progress, and found that the best way to tackle this is to take a "two-generational approach," or, work with both the parent and child. So, we’ve increased our family support team, implemented mental health programs, parenting classes, professional development and financial literacy classes, and even built a computer lab for parents to use. We’ve seen so much success from these changes and continue searching for any additional outside resources we can bring in to help. Vogel Alcove isn’t solving poverty in DFW, but we do take responsibility for the families who come to us and give them love, safety, and a chance to leave homelessness behind.”
Q: “Vogel Alcove is opening a 2nd location in 2023 . . . can you tell us more about that?"
GB: "Sure. So, in collaboration with Family Gateway Shelter, Vogel Alcove will open, "Vogel Alcove North," in March of 2023. This satellite facility is located off of Preston Rd and George Bush turnpike in the former hotel rented by Family Gateway and serves as an emergency shelter for houseless families. At this new location, our staff will occupy the entire 1st floor to provide care for infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children, in addition to before and after-school care for school-age students. We expect to care for up to 100 kids a year. Family homelessness isn't just a Downtown Dallas thing, so we hope that this new facility will help spread our message and mission to more people. And, we believe that the more that we can share what’s happening in our Metroplex, the more we can do to help solve the problem. We're very excited."
Q: “What value do companies bring when they raise awareness/funds for Vogel Alcove?”
GB: "When it comes down to advocacy, it's not about 'who you know,' it's all about 'who knows you.' The work we do at Vogel Alcove isn’t cheap and it took an army of support just for us to get where we are today. We simply would not be able to operate without the generosity of donations which allow us to pay our specialized teachers and staff and help us replenish the resources we need to provide our services. For this reason, we’re so fortunate and grateful to have relationships with companies like SPI Advisory that support us and our mission. Companies like SPI Advisory that spread our mission and encourage others to get involved are necessary for the work that we do. SPI has been a role model and my message is for other companies to 'be like SPI.'"
Q: “What does Vogel Alcove plan to do with the funds SPI raised?”
GB: “Unless a company or individual identifies a specific operation of Vogel Alcove’s in which they would like their donation to fund, donations go towards funding everything such as the early childhood education program, the family service program, the mental health program, the health clinic, the summer programs, our second location expansion…We try to get as much general operating as we can so we can have the flexibility to cover all of our expenses.”
Q: “How can other companies support Vogel Alcove?”
GB: “For a company to show its support, it doesn’t require them to cut a big check... But we like that too! If a company wants to support us, they can do so by throwing a fundraiser, inviting clients and vendors to raise funds collectively, making an afternoon to come out on-site as a team to volunteer, running seasonal clothing or toy drives at the office, or simply sharing our mission and inspiring other people to get involved. For Vogel Alcove to be able to grow to meet the rising demand of family homelessness in DFW, we need as many companies and individuals engaged with our organization as possible. We don’t need to work with companies that want to write a check and never see us again. We want to build a synergistic relationship with companies so that their donations of time and money are gifts, not just a transaction. When we work with companies, our hope is that it turns into a long-term partnership from which we can both benefit.”
Q: “How can an individual reading this article show their support for Vogel Alcove?”
GB: “There are many ways both companies and individuals can get involved from volunteering, fundraising, and advocacy. If you’re reading this and thinking 'Gosh, I wonder if I could get involved,' please reach out, and we can share with you just how easy it is to engage with us. Every month on our website, we update our Urgent Needs list of items you can donate. Additionally, with the holidays coming up, we’re in need of some toys to give to the kids. You can check out our Amazon wish list if you’d like to donate a gift to a kid today.”
