2008 Annual Report

7
Street Roots
street roots
2008
Jan. 23, 2009
Annual Report
A new
year
And new
friends
W
elcome to the 2008 Street Roots annual report. The past
year has been an exciting year full of growth at Street Roots.
The
organization has reached out to more individuals experiencing homelessness
and poverty than ever before. The publication’s readership has increased significantly and
the
organization is working on building the groundwork for expansion and continuing to fulfill our mission.
In 2008, Street Roots increased the circulation of the Rose City Resource guide from 40,000 to 80,000 annually, while
introducing the first Spanish resource guide to the region. We now work with more than 150 nonprofits, private companies
and government institutions to deliver more resource guides to those in need in Multnomah,Washington and Clackamas
counties.
Street Roots was given three awards in 2008. The Portland Trail Blazers and Hands on Great Portland gave the
organization a “Volunteer Innovation Award,” for the work done with dozens of volunteers throughout the community. The
Oregon Coalition of Housing and Homelessness gave Street Roots an award for its work on the homeless front statewide.
Lastly, the city of Portland awarded Street Roots the “Spirit of Portland” award for nonprofits for the work we do in the
community.
One of Street Roots’ more popular vendors, Roger Gates, died of natural causes this year. Roger is missed.
More than two dozen individuals experiencing homelessness became housed while with Street Roots in 2008.
The organization endured six months of construction while the Musolf Manor was being rehabilitated. Thanks to
Innovative Housing, Street Roots now has a brand-new storefront and interior lighting along with a brand new counter top and
interior flooring. During that time, Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl and the entire editorial team were relocated to an
alternative office provided by the Julia West House. Thank you.
Street Roots revisited its three-year strategic plan and is in the process of developing a business plan that will take us into
2012.
Some highlights for the new year include opening a satellite office for vendors in outer Northeast Portland. The new office
is scheduled to open this summer and will be a centralized location for individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty in
East Portland. The new office will also open up a series of new sales locations from Northeast and Southeast Portland from
the Willamette to I-205, SE Powell to NE Broadway. A new vendor coordinator will be hired to oversee the new office.
Street Roots has also hired a part-time reporter, Mara Grunbaum, to support the newspaper, and brought on a
development director, Kate Cox. All of this will ensure that Street Roots is able continue to fulfill its mission to create income
opportunities for people experiencing homelessness and poverty by publishing a newspaper that is a catalyst for individual
and social change.
We thank you all for your support throughout 2008, and look forward to spending 2009 with you.
Sincerely,
Israel Bayer
Street Roots
Executive Director
Rose City Resource provides independence, answers
T
he Rose City Resource is a
publication of Street Roots and
is Portland’s most
comprehensive, updated list of
services for people experiencing
homelessness and poverty. The
104-page booklet serves people who
may not otherwise have access to a
computer or social-service agency,
and allows individuals the opportunity
to be independent in their search for
services that fit specific needs. The
resource is free to individuals and
organizations working with people
experiencing poverty. The Rose City
Resource Guide is also available in
Spanish.
The pocket-size resource is made
possible in cooperation with the City
of Portland, United Way of ColombiaWillamette, 211 Info and Street Roots.
The guide is published quarterly and
is also available online at www.
streetroots.org.
For more information on the
resources, call Eddy Barbosa at 503228-5657.
Network
Affiliations
Street Roots is part of an international
movement of Street Papers. We are active
members of both the North American Street
Newspaper Association and the International
Network of Street Papers.
The North American Street Newspaper
Association exists to support and build
effective, self-sustaining street newspapers
that promote power and opportunity for
people living in
poverty. NASNA
offers technical
assistance to new
and growing street
newspapers, content sharing with the Street
News Service, and an annual conference
featuring skills-building workshops and other
topics of common interest. Learn more about
NASNA at www.nasna.org
The International Network of Street Papers is
a global organization set up to promote the
concept of the street paper as a means to
address homelessness, social exclusion and
poverty in our society.
INSP is a network of 80
street paper members
situated across 27
countries. INSP's head
office is in Glasgow,
Scotland. INSP offers
support and
developmental opportunities to its members
and provides advice to individuals or projects
seeking to develop street papers. Learn more
about the INSP at www.street-papers.org
The Western Regional Advocacy Project
(WRAP). The organization is made up of
organizations up and down the West Coast.
WRAP exists to expose and eliminate the root
causes of civil-and human-rights abuses of
people experiencing poverty and
homelessness in our communities. WRAP was
founded with the belief that social change
comes through building power, and that
poor and homeless people are part of the
solution. We are dedicated to exposing the
roots of the housing crisis, building pressure
for more just federal priorities, and defending
the human and civil rights of
low-income people.
The Oregon Opportunity Network. The
network is made up of more than 90
organizations and
members in Oregon
dedicated to
creating and
preserving low-income housing throughout
Oregon.
"We love the Rose City
Resource guide and our
clients find them to be very
helpful and always ask for
them. Many of our clients
are losing their jobs right
now in this economy and
are not aware of what kind
of resources there are out
there."
— Sue Gano,
Volunteers of America
8
Street Roots
2008
street roots
Jan. 23, 2009
Annual Report
Vendors are at the core
of Street Roots’ mission
O
ur vendors, those men and women out selling the paper, rain or shine, are at the
heart of Street Roots' mission. The relationships built with the broader community
and more than 70 active vendors who sell Street Roots in the Portland
metropolitan area and Vancouver are at the heart of the program. Over the course of a
year more than 250 individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty sell Street Roots.
Last year, more than two dozen individuals gained housing while with the organization.
Through them, approximately 14,000 copies of Street Roots are sold or distributed every
month.
Vendors purchase papers for 25
cents each and sell them for $1.
The 75 cents that a vendor nets
from each paper sold helps him or
her meet basic housing, food,
clothing and hygiene needs. Many
vendors support themselves
primarily through the sales of the
paper. The 25 cents from each
paper that remains with Street
Roots is used to cover printing
costs of the paper itself.
Vendor applicants must attend a
one-hour training orientation to
earn a badge certifying them as a
Street Roots vendor. The
orientation outlines the rules and
regulations of Street Roots, while
Above, vendor
offering vendors sales techniques and empowerment tools through a sales Vicky Sittinghawk
training video for getting involved in the organization. We are a low-barrier heads out into the
organization, giving new vendors the opportunity to start from scratch and snow to her sales
spot, Powell’s City
develop their own sales schedule. New vendors receive 10 free papers to
of Books.
sell to kick-start sales.
To help our vendors, we work to provide an engaging newspaper every
two weeks. Vendors are a key part of the process, offering suggestions and
support for the continued improvement of the newspaper’s presentation, as
well as the operation of the vendor program itself.
The popularity of our vendors has created many new friendships within and beyond
our community. Many have made connections that have led to employment, housing and
new opportunities. And on a day-to-day basis, they are changing the paralyzing
stereotypes directed at the streets.
So the next time you see a vendor, say hello and buy a paper — and stop and chat if you
have the time. You can find vendors selling the paper 365 days a year, in all kinds of
weather, waiting for you to come along.
Vendor Millard Gulledge with a friend
"I always look forward to
reading Street Roots. It helps
keeps me in touch with what
homeless people and
advocates are saying about
day-to-day, real conditions on
the streets. We are in earnest
about our efforts to change
the homeless system, bring
homeless people into housing
and end homelessness. I
appreciate Street Roots so
much for its fair reporting and
critique of these efforts."
Left, vendors fill
the office on a
Friday morning
when the paper
arrives. The first
Friday of a new
edition is always a
busy event, with
vendors unloading
the truck, stocking
the bundles, buying
their papers for the
day and then
reading and
catching up. It is
one of the most fun
times to be in the
office.
— Paul Carlson,
U.S. INteragency Council
on Homelessness
Saying goodbye to an old friend
R
oger Gates captured the hearts and minds of
Portland’s Northwest neighborhood where he sold the
paper for seven years. In the two days leading up to
Street Roots finding out about his death in July of 2008,
nearly a dozen customers called the office asking where
Roger was. In the days after his death Street Roots recieved
more than 200 cards and phone calls requesting information
about Roger’s life and asking when a memorial would be
held.
At a memorial held in Northwest Portland more than 200
of Roger’s family, friends and customers paid tribute to
Roger’s life.
Roger embodied what it meant to be a Street Roots vendor
and why the organization matters. In 2009, Street Roots will
be creating a Roger Gates Memorial Fund for the Street
Roots vendor program. Any donations received for the fund
will go directly to the vendor program to help individuals
experiencing homelessness and poverty with daily supplies
meant to improve the lives of our vendors. For more
information, contact Israel Bayer at 503.228.5657, or e-mail
him at [email protected], or make a donation to
Street Roots, 211 NW Davis, Portland, OR 97209, noting that
the money donated is for the Roger Gates Memorial Fund.
9
Street Roots
street roots
2008
Jan. 23, 2009
Annual Report
Dear readers,
T
here’s no doubt about it — there have been better times to be a newspaper. But then, we’re not just any
newspaper.
For 10 years now, Street Roots has held to the principle that people want to learn from the individuals and
events around them, and readers have responded with their increased attention to our vendors and our content. It is
that simple equation that is at the foundation of our organization — with the support of our readers comes the support
of our vendors.
For years, Street Roots had been tagged as "the homeless paper," a moniker that was entirely fitting in our early
years, but one that has not kept up with the times. Today, we have to look at the bigger pictures, still keeping an eye
focused on our community, but put in the context of issues affecting all of our lives.
Our editorial team now boasts about 40 volunteer writers, columnists, artists,
poets and photographers from on and off the streets, and reaching beyond Portland.
Locally, we’re bringing you coverage on important issues that effect not just the
streets, but all of us as a community. When people on the streets protested City
Hall, no one provided more comprehensive coverage on the
history behind the street movement to end the criminalization
"The best journalism
of the homeless. We brought you the frank and stirring series
from Tye Doudy, chronicling his life under addiction on
always combines
Portland’s streets. And we introduced you to some wonderful
in-depth reporting with
people, many of them our own vendors, and said goodbye to
a commitment to public
Roger Gates, who’s passing brought to the surface the impact
one man on a corner can have.
service. That's Street
It is important to us not only to provide engaging articles
Roots."
and photography, but also to educate. In our recent special
— Anna Griffin
edition on affordable housing, we hope we helped sort out the
The Oregonian
complex and often confounding world of affordable housing
development and all the strings attached.
In the year to come, we hope to infuse the paper with more culture, including
inspiring interviews with creative and intriguing personalities. And we have a world
of sister papers in partnership to deliver more news and commentary to our
Portland neighbors.
We will also be publishing our first poetry anthology. To keep up the pace with
all that’s going on, we’ve hired our first part-time reporter, Mara Grunbaum, and
launched a blog, www.streetroots.wordpress.com, to provide sneak peaks into new
editions, keep you posted on events, and generate a wider dialogue on the topics
important to our community.
We send out a special thanks to everyone who help make Street Roots a great
newspaper and a publication like no other in the Portland area. Because of your
support, as writers and readers, 2008 was a great year, and with all the changes
upon us, here in Portland and across the nation, stay posted in 2009.
Sincerely,
Joanne Zuhl
Managing Editor
“Street Roots has covered the
affordable housing crisis in a more
comprehensive and understandable
manner than any other media outlet in
town. You have done a great service
to Portland in making clear the link
between the severe shortage of
affordable housing and
homelessness.”
— Bobby Weinstock
NOrthwest Pilot Project
Some members of our editorial team gather on production day. Pictured, left to right, are Vendor
Coordinator Art Garcia, copy editor Mary Pacios (seated),writer Ruth Kovacs, Staff Writer Mara
Grunbaum, Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl, writer and copy editor Cassandra Koslen, columnist John
Thompson, and Rose City Resource Specialist Eddy Barbosa.
Sign up for weekly e-mail alerts from Street Roots at
www.streetroots.org. Check out our blog at www.streetroots.wordpress.com
10
Street Roots
street roots
2008
Jan. 23, 2009
Annual Report
Up to $99
Constance San Juan & Gabriel
Leavitt
David Nochumson
James & Mary Ziegler
Bobby Weinstock
Rami Grunbaum & Galy Diment
Harold & Bernice Hurwitz
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Leah Hollingsworth
Tangela Purdom
Cheryl Hollatz-Wisely
Laura Russo ($50)
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John Fenker
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Norman Diamond
Laura Fritsch
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Annie Jesperson
John Nasello
Amit Bohara
Kara Stutz
Brad Taylor & Jennifer Villarreal (50)
Orion Lumiere (50)
Kathryn Holt
David & Melissa Shaw
Bruce & Susan Bayer
Molly Zeigler & Zach Brown
Lisa & Maher Hawash
Lucy Allen
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Steve Kassel
Julie Masse
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Ken McCormack
Winfield Greene
Dan Raphael
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St. Vincent Depaul Society
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Jean Morrison
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$200-499
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Margaret Padian
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Professional Business Solutions
Helen Burlingham
Steven Houze
Greg Mueller
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Dalene Neville
Norma Kribs
Robert Fojtasek
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Ken & Jane Gravel
Nanette & Joseph Niski
$500 and up
Bruce Anderson
Ugo & Jean Pezzi
Chrissy & Don Washburn
Starseed Foundation
Wells Family Foundation
O’Callaghan Family Foundation
Penelope Harold
Matt Salerno
CC Slaughters
Street Roots also received more
than 150 donations totalling more
than $10,000 from individuals who
wished to remain anonymous or
gave through the Willamette Week
Give! Guide. Thank you. If your
name was left off this list in error,
we sincerely apologize.
Board of Directors
Officers
Bruce Anderson, chairman
Heather Staddick, treasurer
Chelsea Clark-James, secretary
Members:
Ruth Kovacs
Eddy Barbosa
Marvin Mitchell
Brad Taylor
Advisory Panel
Amy Dudley
Bryan Pollard
Michael Anderson
Chris Lydgate
Martha Gies
Kieth Vann
Adam Arms
Monica Goracke
Artis the Spoonman
Jay Thiemeyer
Genny Nelson
Financial Summary
Total income: $231,765
Advertising & Subscriptions: 3.6%
Foundation
support:
46.1%
Newspaper sales: 13%
Government
support (Rose City
Resources/eastside
expansion): 17%
Individual donations: 20.3%
Total Expense: $193,939
Administrative: 11.5%
Foundations supporting Street Roots
Newspaper &
Vendor program:
59.5%
In 2008, Street Roots got the word out to a host of local foundations. We received funds from some foundations who have
supported Street Roots for years, and many who are giving for the first time. We're grateful for both new and ongoing
foundation support. We'd also like to thank the City of Portland for a $10,000 Vision Into Action grant and their ongoing support
of our Rose City Resource Guide for $30,000.
Larson Legacy: $14,000
Catholic Campaign for Human Development: $10,000
Autzen Foundation: $10,000
Trust Management Services: $10,000
McKenzie River Gathering: $8,500
United Way of Columbia-Willamette: $55,000
Charis Fund: $5,000
Kinsman Foundation: $5,000
Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust: $1500
Street Roots also received $10,000 from the Hillman
Foundation and $3,000 from Providence Medical Center in
January of 2009 through proposals submitted in 2008.
Every month more than 70 vendors experiencing
homelessness and poverty earn money they need while
helping build a better community we all live and work in.
Our biweekly newspaper brings you community voices you
can't find anywhere else, and professional journalism on the
issues Portland cares about. We offer you the information
you need to take action, and make a difference in the world.
Street Roots is reader-supported. Last year, thousands of
people helped make Street Roots a better paper by supporting
the work we do.
Won't you join us?
Rose City
Resources:
29%
PLEDGE
YOUR
SUPPORT
For additional information on Street Roots’ financial reports, or anything about our
organization, please call Director Israel Bayer, 503-228-5657.
Street Roots is a 501(c)3, nonprofit organization. All donations are greatly appreciated and tax
deductible.
I would like to contribute: $10 $20 $50 $100 $250 $_________
TO SUBScRIBE
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Address:______________________________________________________
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www.streetroots.org