Nonprofit Spotlight: Jericho Road Pasadena
Have you ever thought there needs to be an organization out there that matches skill-based volunteers with nonprofit organizations? Well, you are in luck! Such an organization exists in the Pasadena area called Jericho Road Pasadena. They consider themselves the modern-day matchmaker, except for volunteers and nonprofit organizations. Jericho Road Pasadena’s roots run deep in the Pasadena area. Jericho Road Pasadena is very connected with local nonprofits and community organizations. They seem to have their finger on the pulse of what is needed around town. I think this is such a neat business model, and I am so happy to have found them and have the ability to volunteer my time and energy with them.
What is Jericho Road Pasadena’s Mission Statement?
In order to understand the heart of the organization, it is best to first observe their mission statement. Jericho Road Pasadena’s mission statement, listed on their website says;
Jericho Road Pasadena's mission is to bridge communities by matching the professional talents of volunteers with the needs of community-based nonprofit organizations to promote community development, strengthen social services, and enrich the lives of volunteers.
What programs does Jericho Road Pasadena offer?
Jericho Road Pasadena has a couple of different program offerings. The programs they offer are listed on their website, and below...
Skills-based volunteering: We connect volunteer experts with nonprofits that offer critical services to underserved residents in their communities. By meeting the internal needs of these nonprofits free of charge – from strategic planning to marketing and IT – nonprofit staff can focus on stronger delivery of services, thereby building better communities. The value of these pro bono services in any given year is about $200,000.
Board Training and Matching/Placement: We offer board training through a series of quarterly Effective Board workshops and we offer matching services to both workshop attendees and to community members who are looking for a new nonprofit board to join.
Professional Development: We organize and serve as the fiscal sponsor for the Pasadena Executive Roundtable.
These programs have well-thought out processes that assist in providing insightful and meaningful work. Jericho Road Pasadena interviews the skill-based volunteer to understand their skill-level in order to pair the volunteer with the very specific needs of the local nonprofit organization requesting the service. The nonprofit would have already filled out a Project Scope of Work or a Nonprofit Request for Board Members. Once the introductions have been made, then the newly paired individuals start tackling the to-do list.
What is my involvement with Jericho Road Pasadena?
This is the exciting part of my story… I was referred to Jericho Road Pasadena in 2018 by a friend of mine who had been volunteering with them for a while. I heard really great things, researched their website and was instantly sold by their business model. The former executive director, Melanie Goodyear, interviewed me to see if she could find a match for nonprofit accounting work. During this interview she mentioned a board training program called The Leadership Connection that Jericho Road Pasadena puts together, and she wanted me to consider attending.
I went through the training program they offer called The Leadership Connection (TLC) since it was perfect timing for The Leadership Connection to begin. Then I spent some time volunteering with a nonprofit in Pasadena called Elizabeth House. Read my post about them here! What a lovely group of people to work with.
It was around this same time that Melanie wanted to connect me with a nonprofit as far as board services are concerned. To be quite frank with you, I was not actually thinking I would be on a board as early as 2018! I always had thought that it would be something that I would want to do in my future, but once I had more life experience and wisdom under my belt. As it turns out, we found a match in volunteering my time as a board member with Ten Thousand Villages in Pasadena. Read my post about them here!
Roll forward to 2021, I termed off the board of Ten Thousand Villages in early 2021 just as I was asked to consider becoming a board member with Jericho Road Pasadena. Of course I had to say “yes!” because I already believed so much in their mission. What a fun journey!
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