Basic Organization Information
Community Voice Mail National Office
- Also Known As:
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CVM
- Physical Address:
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Seattle, WA
98121
- EIN:
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91-1609789
- Web URL:
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www.cvm.org
- Blog URL:
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communityvoicemail.b...
- NTEE Category:
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P Human Services
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P20 Human Service Organizations
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P Human Services
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P99 Human Services - Multipurpose and Other N.E.C.
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W Public, Society Benefit
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W50 Telephone, Telegraph and Telecommunication Services
- Year Founded:
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1993
- Ruling Year:
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1994
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Mission Statement
CVM helps those living in poverty, transition and homelessness rebuild their lives by connecting them to jobs, housing, information and hope. We do this by customizing and distributing communications technology via a national network of community-based services.
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Impact Statement from Nonprofit
Community Voice Mail (CVM) was born from a seemingly simple idea that had an unpredictably potent impact. A boilermaker entered the Seattle Worker Center looking for a job. There were no leads that day, but he was personable, qualified and friendly. Two weeks later, the Center got a call from an employer: “I need a good boilermaker.” Now they had a worker and a job. But there was a problem. Their boilermaker was qualified, but had no phone and could not be reached.
A big idea was born. Give unemployed and phoneless people a telephone number that stays constant even if they can’t. The theory: they’ll find work much faster.
Our founders brought this idea to a Seattle-based voice mail company called Active Voice in 1992. The company responded by donating a voice mail system. Staff distributed voice mail numbers to 145 phoneless, unemployed, mostly homeless people. An astounding 70% found jobs within two months.
It turned out that these extraordinary results were repeatable. Each year, CVM measures outcomes for CVM users – consistently, 70% of CVM users measured achieve one or more of their goals within 6 months.
Since its initial spark, and thanks to the transformational investments of telecommunications equipment and software, Community Voice Mail has grown into a national human and telecommunications network serving more than 41,000 people annually, plus an additional 11,000 dependents of CVM clients.
Revenue and Expenses
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Financial Statements
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Chief Executive
Ms. Jennifer Brandon
Term:
Since
Jan
1998
Chief Executive Profile:
Jennifer Brandon has served as Executive Director of Community Voice Mail's National Office since 1998. During her tenure, Community Voice Mail has expanded its presence across the country by negotiating national partnerships, advocating for improved telecommunications for low-income people, and promoting CVM within homeless and social services. Ms. Brandon has been a guest speaker for many national conferences, including Legal Service Corporation, Entrepreneurs Foundation, and the National Hurricane Conference. She also serves on the board of the Washington State Attorney General's Community Advisory Committee. In 2005, she was awarded a scholarship to attend Stanford University?s Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Wesleyan University.
CEO/Executive Director Statement:
Community Voice Mail has grown into a national network which today connects more than 41,000 phoneless people annually through a federation of 45 regional hubs to the resources, information and support they need to become self-sufficient. How does a phone line do all that?
Because of historic contributions of Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol (VOIP) communications technology, Community Voice Mail is much more than a voice mail box for low-income people and their families. It is a powerful network of local communication hubs – networks of social service agencies organized by a leading host agency. These hubs make it possible for local communities to connect information about resources, services and local opportunities with otherwise isolated people in a proactive way. In this way, Community Voice Mail is a lifeline to job opportunities, health care, family support, and more. In this way, help gets to those who need it faster and cheaper.
Communities are taking advantage of this extraordinary tool to address a variety of consequences of human dislocation and suffering. Our focus is to double the number of people connected to the network, and to engage partners to take advantage of the system as a tool in their response to joblessness, homelessness, health care access, information access, emergency response and more.
Officers for Fiscal Year
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Highest Paid Employees & Their Compensation
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Program:
Community Voice Mail
- Budget:
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$2,000,000
- Category:
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Human Services
- Population Served:
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Homeless
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Poor/Economically Disadvantaged, Indigent, General
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Military/Veterans
Program Description:
The CVM National Office in Seattle, WA launches Community Voice Mail in new communities, leads advocacy and public policy efforts, incorporate innovations in technology, and supports all existing CVM programs. We provide comprehensive program development services, discounted equipment and fundraising assistance.
The National Office also acts as the service hub to the growing number of Community Voice Mail sites. As such, we raise funds to cover the cost of new site training and ongoing technical assistance, as well as an annual national CVM Federation conference and a federation-wide web site. (All of these services are currently offered at no cost to the CVM sites.)
CVM annually serves more than 40,000 people in crisis and transition in 420 towns and cities nationwide. The goal of Community Voice Mail is to double the number of people served by the end of 2011.
Cisco Systems and the Cisco Systems Foundation support our 5 year plan through technology donations and a generous 5 year cash grant.
Program Long-Term Success:
CVM continues to be the only organization to provide thousands of people in need with a basic, reliable communication link.
Program Short-Term Success:
Launched 6 new CVM sites providing thousands more people in need with a basic, reliable communication link.
Program Success Monitored by:
We continuously evaluate our progress towards meeting our mission through collecting quantitative and qualitative data to indicate whether we are producing our desired outcomes. We will collect information via surveys, built-in feedback loops, advisory groups, key informant interviews and in-depth evaluation.
Our measurement activities include:
- • Collecting annual service outputs/outcomes from CVM sites
- • Administering annual site satisfaction survey to evaluate National Office’s fulfillment of roles and responsibilities outlined in MOA
- • Administering annual site self-assessment survey to evaluate local site’s fulfillment of roles and responsibilities outlined in MOA
- • Tracking policy changes
- • Track advocacy/education efforts
- • Administering service provider/end-user surveys to address such things as CVM usage and satisfaction
- • Administering in-depth evaluation projects to address specific evaluation questions
Program Success Examples:
While the data are important to evaluating our business, we were most clearly reminded of CVM's value-and what differentiates it from just any other voicemail-by this recent message from a CVM user in response to our recent public health broadcast campaign with the Centers for Disease Control:
“I’m just so happy to hear this message about the salmonella. Indeed, I didn’t know that CDC was in charge, that is awesome, and yes, this is very, very valuable. Once again, it’s this community—you’re just so awesome about it. The number one cause of homelessness, remember, is lack of community…” [CVM Client]
Funding Needs
We seek partnerships with organizations and leaders who want to solve community problems by connecting people to the resources they need faster and more efficiently. By 2012, we will double the number of people using Community Voice Mail across the nation.
Request for In-Kind Contributions