June Member Feature: JASA

June Member Feature: JASA

Welcome to our new Member Feature series! For the month of May, Wayne Francis of JASA told us their story and about how their Nonprofit New York membership has benefitted them.

Whether you are a new member or have been a member for many years, we want to get to know you! Introduce yourself to the Nonprofit New York community by participating in our Member Feature series! Submit your response here.

Brief Introduction to the Organization

JASA is the go-to non-profit serving older New Yorkers. Our goal is to keep seniors living safely in their own homes and communities, connected to the people and places that give them meaning. Founded 50+ years ago, JASA is a leading expert and innovator in aging services that recognizes the diversity among the aging population and honors older adults as vital members of society.

What is your organization's mission?

JASA is the go-to agency serving older adults in New York City, providing critical services to over 40,000  people annually. Founded 50+ years ago, JASA is a leading expert and innovator in aging services that recognizes the diversity among the aging population and honors older adults as vital members of society.

JASA’s life-changing support services, interventions and partnerships promote aging with a purpose and provide autonomy for older adults to remain in their homes and communities. JASA operates ten affordable housing properties, is a licensed home care agency and offers a breadth of integrative services citywide spanning free legal services, health and mental health services, home-delivered meals, social programming at senior centers and community trainings on elder abuse, peer health support, caregiver assistance and more.

What do you like the most about being a Nonprofit New York member?

NPNY offers multiple, relevant and cutting edge resources, information and strategies to keep non profits on top of the issues of the day that all sizes and types of nonprofits are facing every day.  From your Half/Full Day Conferences to your Learning Cohorts, NPNY is a valuable resource to the community.

Have you read or listened to any sector or sub-sector-related publications, podcasts, or books that you would recommend to the community?

Harvard Business Review generally has good information and resources that nonprofits can benefit from, albeit a (for profit) business oriented publication.

Have you made relationships with other Nonprofit New York members? If so, what has come out of building those connections? If not, is there any organization you'd like to partner with? 

Yes, I moderated a panel of small/new organizations who were in the Spring Learning Cohort last year as part of NPNY's Conference in December and this past Fall to the present, I've been participating in the Operations Leaders' Learning Cohort with Darby Masland over the past few months where I've had an opportunity to collaborate and network with multiple other members monthly. 

During this time together, we've had a wealth of resources shared with us from top consultants who are helping my fellow COO-types and I to be able to deal with scaling for growth, contraction, strategic planning in uncertain times, etc. as well as we get partnered up with one another so that like sized/mission organizations could work together on developing Action Plans that will help advance our respective organizations. My own Action Plan is almost complete and I intend to share it with my Executive Team and direct reports as examples of things that we can do going forward, by applying the lessons learned during my time spent involved with this Cohort.

Tell Us a Fun Fact About Your Organization.

JASA services over 40,000 older adults a year from every walk of life and we just recently held an Art Exhibition where our members were able to sell their original artwork, jewelry, etc. to patrons, staff and Board members in a packed community room in one of our buildings. Each artist was given a white lapel flower to distinguish them in the crowd and an opportunity to speak about their creations which helped to raise money that would go right back towards servicing their needs in their respective JASA Older Adult Centers.

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