Sanctuary Palm Springs Merger with oak Grove Center
The boards of directors of Sanctuary Palm Springs
and Oak Grove Center are pleased to announce that effective ____(date)___, Sanctuary will become a program of Oak Grove Center. The people behind Sanctuary Palm Springs and Oak Grove Center both envision a world where every child has an opportunity to realize their greatest potential toward becoming a self-sufficient and productive member of their community.
Learn More About Oak Grove Here
Q: Will Sanctuary continue to provide housing and supportive services to LGBTQ+ youth aging out of the foster care system?
Yes, nothing about Sanctuary's mission to serve LGBTQ+ transition age foster youth will change. We will continue to operate our Transitional Housing Program for Non-Minor Dependents (THP-NMD) for LGBTQ+ foster youth. The program will be called Oak Grove Sanctuary Palm Springs in order to be consistent with the current branding and identity that SPS has, while accurately reflecting the merger. We will continue to stay true to our mission to prepare LGBTQ+ foster youth for a happy, productive, successful adulthood. Sanctuary Palm Springs will simply operate as a program of Oak Grove Center under Oak Grove's California Department of Social Service's license within Oak Grove's 501©(3) corporate structure.​ INSERT OAK GROVE EIN #
Video's of Tammy saying that we will continue
Q: Why Oak Grove Center?
Video's of Rob Taking about Oak Grove
Video's of Rob
Oak Grove Center has cared for thousands of children, youth, and families since it was established more than 30 years ago. With offices and programs throughout Riverside County, Oak Grove Center is one of the largest and most respected treatment centers and agency with Residential, 2 Nonpublic Schools, Wraparound and Independent Living Skills Training Program (THRIVE) in Southern California. Oak Grove Center serves more than 1,500 children, youth and families each year, including more than 350 transition-age youth, through more than a dozen programs.
Q: Why should I continue to give to Sanctuary?
This arrangement means that many of our administrative expenses will be absorbed by Oak Grove Center, which in turn means that more of your contribution will go directly to the services we offer LGBTQ+ youth in Palm Springs.
Being part of Oak Grove Center makes Sanctuary stronger and increases our capabilities to continue our mission to prepare LGBTQ+ foster youth for a happy, successful adulthood. Without the need to dedicate so much of the funds we raise to cover administrative expenses, donations to Sanctuary Palm Springs will allow us to expand our programming beyond the current THPP-NMD
Video's of Ellen why give
Future expansion will include the development of Scattered Sites with Supervised Independent Living Placements (SILP), apartments into which Sanctuary's residents may transition once they have learned essential life skills while living in the THP Single Site Home or who may be transitioning from another placement and are already able to function more independently. The goal is to increase services that match the needs of LGBTQ+ young adults in need of housing with the appropriate level of support.
Sanctuary employees have never received health insurance or other benefits simply because we have not been able to afford to offer them. Sanctuary staff will become employees of Oak Grove Center where they will receive full health insurance coverage, paid time off, retirement savings, and other benefits. However, these benefits come with their own costs, which are typically 30% over an employee's salary and are not covered by the reimbursements Sanctuary receives from the state. Therefore, supplemental funding will continue to be needed to ensure that staff who work in the Sanctuary Palm Springs THP and other programs will receive the health care and other benefits they need and deserve.
Q: What are some of the other benefits that will result from this merger?
A: There are many benefits to Sanctuary's association with Oak Grove Center:
It has proven to be extremely difficult for Sanctuary to receive the types of large foundation grants we need to support our programs and services because foundations are reluctant to award large grants ($50,000 to $100,000 and above) to a small organization that only serves 6-11 residents, leaving the burden on our local donor community to raise funds beyond the reimbursements we receive from the state. Being a part of an organization that serves more than 1,500 children and youth each year will make Sanctuary much more attractive to larger foundations than it could ever be on its own.
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Even though Sanctuary only has two administrative staff and one consultant whose salaries are well below industry standards, the cost to support these administrative positions represents nearly 30% of our total annual operating budget. By contrast, Oak Grove Center only spends less than 10% of their operating expenses on administration (2019 it was 8.725% and 2018 was 8.826%) which then leaves more than 91% of their revenue for programs.
Oak Grove Center has been in continuous operation for more than 30 years, so they are an extremely stable organization.
Oak Grove Center intends to pursue the HRC All Children All Families seal of recognition as a leader among non-profit agencies that serve LGBTQ+ youth and families.
Sanctuary residents will have access to Oak Grove Center's broad range of supportive programs and services including arts and music programs, their THRIVE Independent Living Skills Program, some support for sports programming, and access to behavioral health services whether direct or by referral. These are services that Sanctuary cannot provide on its own.
Sanctuary will become a part of an enormously influential human services treatment organization that will have the power to inform and improve the care that LGBTQ+ foster youth receive at the local, county, statewide, and national levels. Oak Grove Center is part of the California Alliance which advocates for the needs of
foster youth, education, LGBTQ+ population and at-risk special needs population throughout California and provides support on political representation and equity issues.