The Glasser/Schoenbaum Human Services Center empowers non-profits to closely network with other agencies and create synergistic energy towards the life changing opportunities we all want for our clients and those in our community.
Human need is complex. Where a person or family has one need, there are invariably multiple needs. The work force residing on the campus contains resources that can address many needs for clients seeking help. Connecting the campus tenant partners to each other unlocks that network.
In 2017 and 2021 studies of our local network, “Strong relationships with other organizations” has remained among the greatest factors impacting human service agencies’ ability to provide and sustain services for their clients. With a built-in community of nonprofits, the Center provides a hub where collaborations are convenient, and actively facilitates networking and relationship building.
The community’s greatest asset in delivering human services is the dedicated staff working to help those in need. Our program for their professional development and self-care elevates the care they can provide and abates long-term burnout.
As a hub for human services, and because we are not funded by federal or state dollars, we are in a rare position of neutrality and centrality for the local human services sector.
That "Switzerland" position means that the Center provides connective tissue for our region's social safety net. The examples below illustrate our role in community connectivity.
211 is a free, confidential information and referral service that any individual may call, email, text or search when they aren't sure where to find help for financial assistance, health programs, crisis support and more.
Glasser/Schoenbaum staff member Christina Russi is the Community Liaison for Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto County's 211 service, providing the connection between the 211 call center and the resources available to those in need.
The Community Alliance of Sarasota County is a group comprised of organizations in Sarasota's human services community. It is a meeting of minds for the sector, making connections and setting priorities for the social services delivery system as a whole. As a voluntary, unincorporated alliance, the logistical and organizational functions are also voluntary. Glasser/Schoenbaum COO, Charlene Altenhain, provides the administrative functions necessary to keep the Alliance operating and moving forward.
EFSP/FEMA (Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program, overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency) distributes funding to human service agencies in communities across the country. Legislation for the program calls for "sensitivity to the transition from temporary shelter to permanent homes and attention to the specialized needs of homeless individuals with mental and physical disabilities and illness and to facilitate access for homeless individuals to other sources of services and benefits." Glasser/Schoenbaum is the local administrator for this board, helping to ensure that this vital funding reaches our community.
Season of Sharing, an initiative of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County and Herald-Tribune Media Group, helps individuals and families who are on the verge of homelessness regain stability and stay in their homes. Funds may be used for rental/mortgage assistance, utility bills, child care, transportation, emergency food and clothes/tools for work to eligible applicants. As one of six Fiscal Agents for Season of Sharing, Glasser/Schoenbaum processed over 1,400 requests in the 2020-21 fiscal year, amounting to $987,000 in emergency funding distributed to people in need.
Publix Last Resort Emergency Assistance Funds (Publix Last Resort Funds) are used to assist employed persons who have experienced an un-budgeted and unexpected expense, a lay-off, an unexpected loss of income, or a financial hardship due to a catastrophic event or declared disaster. In a collaborative effort with the United Way Suncoast, Glasser/Schoenbaum acts as a fiscal agent for the distribution of funding to Publix associates in need, as well as community members qualifying for assistance. Glasser/Schoenbaum distributed $27,000 of Publix Last Resort funds to individuals and families in fiscal year 2020-21.
In our annual agency survey, tenant partners consistently rank "affordability" as the top reason they appreciate their position at the Center. As local commercial real estate costs skyrocket, rent on the campus of caring has held steady, with only one rent increase since 2007.
By providing overhead resources, Glasser/Schoenbaum is a partner in sustainability for our agencies; we help to keep their lights on and their doors open.
We provide over 48,000 sqft of air-conditioned office space and subsidize operational expenses for our nonprofit tenant partners, ensuring their resources can be used to deliver more services to people in need.
We charge our tenant partner agencies $8.50 per square foot per year, which covers approximately 41% of our annual expenses to run the Center, and is only 33% of the current comparable market rate, collectively saving them well over $500,000/year in expenses. We pay agencies' electricity, water, security, grounds-keeping, cleaning, and building maintenance.
Since opening the Center's doors in 1990, rent subsidy alone has saved tenant partners an estimated $8 million in overhead expenses as of 2020.
The Nonprofit Centers Network analyzes the value of shared services, saying "Shared services leverage the economies of scale that are created when multiple organizations access services from the same service providers. Shared services also allow service providers and participating organizations
to create positive impacts beyond the direct services provided." (Rethinking Overhead: Daring to Share Resources).
Some of our favorite shared services and amenities include:
The Glasser/Schoenbaum Human Services Center empowers non-profits to closely network with other agencies and create synergistic energy towards the life changing opportunities we all want for our clients and those in our community.
Real estate is one of the greatest costs in a business budget. Our partnership with the Glasser Schoenbaum Human Services Center allows more money to go towards our mission. And what better place to house our office than on a campus with nineteen other outreach agencies.
We are a small and young organization and having the ability to network and partner with other community organizations is key to the quality and impact of our work. In addition to the affordable space that The Glasser/Schoenbaum Human Services Center provides to all of us, it inspires us to use this collaborative model as we work to empower our students and their families.
I can't fully express how wonderful it is to take a client by the hand and walk them no more than a couple hundred feet from our office to another agency that can help them when they are in crisis.
As a small organization with a staff of two, employee safety was a big consideration when we were looking for office space. We did not want our employees to be in a place where they were alone. Being on the GSHSC campus has been great because there is a whole community of like-minded professionals.
