Welcome to our
annual publication!
Board of Directors
ANDREA MITCHEL
AM Development Group
CHRISTOPHER B. LINDSAY
Starfox Financial Services
MARK HUTCHASON
Merrill Lynch
MATTHEW COUGHLIN
Moses House Ministries
RYAN MCEACHRON
ISU Insurance Services - ARMAC
SHIRLI DRIZ
Wells Fargo
VALERIE SMITH
In this issue you will learn
about our organization and
the services we provide to
strengthen nonprofits and
communities. You will learn about some of
the wonderful organizations we work with
and you will get to see who the great donors
are who make our work possible.
But what you might now see outright,
is why we do what we do … work to
strengthen our region’s social service
sector. So let me tell you …
In 2013, the US Census reported that
the Inland Empire had the highest poverty
rate among the nation’s 25 largest
metropolitan areas. Yikes! If ever there was
a region that needed its nonprofit sector
desperately, it is the Inland Empire! With
high levels of unemployment and poor
health, low education levels and more than
60% of the population considered low to
moderate income, we direly need strong
nonprofits that can help families be healthy,
safe, and prosperous.
We need strong organization that:
• Can serve vast numbers of people in need
• Are willing and able to work with others
so resources are used most efficiently
and effectively
• Are able to attract the kind of financial
investments that will bring untapped
billions of dollars to the region
• Provide top-notch services that
deliver solutions to our communities’
critical issues
Yucca Loma School
But currently our nonprofits are not strong!
Paul Swick Family Center
While there are indeed great, effective
organizations in the Inland Empire, the vast
majority are small and lack the resources
required to support ever-increasing
numbers of families who need help.
VICI NAGEL
Academy for Grassroots Organizations
www.AcademyGO.com
Vici Nagel is President/CEO of Academy for
Grassroots Organizations Grassroots Organizations.
During her 30+ year career she has worked for a
variety of charitable organizations, helped create
a new nonprofit agency and merge two nonprofits,
received “Certified Fund Raising Executive” credential,
Improving quality of life is why we work to
strengthen nonprofits. To do so, we share
our own expertise in nonprofit management
and fundraising by training hundreds of
nonprofit professionals and volunteers each
year. We also multiply the effect of our own
funding by providing training scholarships
and resources to organizations that are
unable to lift themselves by their bootstraps.
Unlike other programs, “AcademyGO” does
not depend on the nonprofits that need help
to pay for the help they need.
At AcademyGO we have a vision of
communities where the spirit of cooperation
thrives, the social service sector is strong,
and critical needs are met. We want the
Inland Empire to be a great place to live,
work, do business, and raise a family.
Personally I also do this work because
I have a special place in my heart for the
people who work in nonprofit organizations;
both the volunteers who freely contribute
their time and hard-earned dollars
and step up to lead, and the nonprofit
professionals who are oft times underpaid
and overburdened with the responsibilities
of helping so many people in need. Years
ago I coined one of our taglines “Helping
Amazing People Change Lives” because I
think nonprofit professionals and volunteers
are truly amazing and the unsung heroes
of our communities.
So please read on to learn about all the
amazing people doing good work in your
community. And as the year-end giving
season approaches, I encourage you
to GIVE LOCAL to help them make our
communities strong and our quality of life
the best it can be.
Please visit us soon!
and planned and implemented many successful
projects, fundraising campaigns, and events. She
has trained hundreds of nonprofit professionals in the
art of fundraising and loves to mentor new fundraisers
and nonprofit executives. Her life’s goal is “To glorify
God with my life.”