The Good Shepherd School for Children is a community leader in providing inclusive education and pediatric therapy services to children with special needs.  It serves as a model for other agencies with 80 percent of its revenue going directly to support its clients. Highly respected for its fiscal management, Good Shepherd searches for ways to continually improve its financial position.

In November, 2007, Good Shepherd was at a key development turning point with program operations and donor support.  Typical to non-profits, it had been managing the school with a “break-even” financial goal each year.  “A long-term solution was needed - one that will provide consistent, positive cash flow for daily operations and build cash reserves,” said Corinne Esnault, former Executive Director of Good Shepherd.  Thus began the endowment-building partnership with YouthBridge.

Within seven months of beginning the campaign, Good Shepherd’s endowment reached $600,000, almost one-third of its $2,000,000 goal.  “YouthBridge is an invaluable resource to the small guys,” Esnault said of YouthBridge.  “It is committed to helping the children’s organizations that wish to achieve financial sustainability.  With YouthBridge’s leadership, we are on target to reaching our goal within two years.  Without its skills, we would not have had the resources to begin such an endeavor.”

To visit the website of the Good Shepherd School, click on their icon above or go to www.goodss.org.