Five-Minute Interview

So, we may have to respond very quickly to an emerging need or a change in behavior. For instance, we’ve seen a gradual increase in the number of immigrants we see at The Door, so we’ve integrated into all of our programs some bilingual staffing, programs that address the social and cultural and educational needs of immigrant young people. Catch up from the funding end is something that is sometimes very challenging.

FS: How does your organization address that challenge?
KG: We use it as a strength. It’s something that we are prepared to do institutionally and programmatically. The staff expects it [and] is, I would say, always poised to respond to this kind of changing need. What we’re very apt to do is to assess the situation and approach a funder, and say we’re seeing this change and it is undoubtedly affecting other youth agencies. We apply for funding based on our strengths and our capacity to address needs, and by the time we are really quantifying a change, such as an influx of a certain type of population, we’re able to demonstrate our understanding of that population by making some very specific observations and program design ideas to funders that can support our leadership in the field. And that has been a pretty successful strategy. Just to turn it into a strength and say, “This is what we’re seeing, this is what we’re doing about it, and this is why we need your support.”