LIFT-UP, a local nonprofit that provides equitable food security for individuals and families from Parachute to Aspen, recently launched a plan to address the increased need in food assistance and improve the organization’s financial security in the face of staffing changes.
In the last few months of 2024, three senior LIFT-UP leaders stepped down from their roles amid a growing need for services from the community.
This includes former executive director Ivan Jackson, who came into his role in August 2021.
Over the last three years, there has been a 138% increase in demand for services.However, there has been a 27.4% reduction in donations.
The number of community members served has increased almost five times, from 38,304 guests in 2021 to 188,060 guests in 2024.
Philanthropic donations to LIFT-UP have declined since 2022. The organization received $873,000 in 2022, $814,000 in 2023, and $634,000 in 2024.
“We moved from roughly 40,000 bellies that we were putting food into to almost 200,000 bellies, in this most recent year,” said John Dougherty, owner of Human Service Innovations. “That growth caused us to say how are we keeping up with that in recognizing that we were seeing a different relationship happen through funding, raising and support.”
This includes dollars that come into the organization to purchase the food, pay staff, support volunteers, move the food and drive the trucks.
Human Service Innovations works with nonprofits in the Roaring Fork Valley. Dougherty will work with LIFT-UP to put new leadership in place and continue to meet the needs of the community since there is no indication the demand for services is going to change.
The plan includes three major initiatives: bring in Human Services Innovations, evaluate all programs and services to identify opportunities to improve efficiencies, while not denying services to the community, and be transparent and engaged with communities.
As a result, some services will be limited, including a decrease in targeted programming that originated during the COVID-19 pandemic, but is less urgent today. Dougherty noted these changes will not affect the ability to provide food assistance to those in need.
Updates on these initiatives will be announced by Feb. 14, and the board will determine the next steps to address changes in staffing by the end of the first quarter.