Palatine group hoping for-profit will help nonprofit
Wayne Kulick grew tired of the roller coaster of state funding and the emotional toll it took on families already facing enough hardships.
In 2010, Kulick, the executive director of Palatine-based Countryside Association for People with Disabilities, had to notify 160 families that its In-Home Respite program would be cut way back due to a loss in state funding, only for Springfield to come through at the last minute.
Similar notices went out again last summer, only for the state to again change course at the eleventh hour.
“I thought, ‘This is no way to treat a family,'” Kulick said. “I knew we had to try to find ways to diversify our funding sources so we didn't have to do that to people.”
Leaders at the nonprofit organization decided to do just that, venturing into the for-profit realm with Parkside Homecare Services Inc., with hopes of maintaining Countryside's level of service during tough economic times.
The five-month-old subsidiary of Countryside, which has served individuals in Lake County and northern Cook County with developmental, intellectual and physical disabilities since 1954, provides nonmedical, in-home services to anyone who needs assistance. It is licensed through the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Parkside workers can take someone to a doctor's appointment, prepare meals or simply offer peace of mind and companionship while family members take a break or run errands.
All profit generated by the new company will support the In-Home Respite program that risks folding each year at Countryside, which in fiscal year 2011 received about 70 percent of its $5.9 million in revenue from state agencies.
“How we'll use the profits, putting it back into a program that helps people with disabilities, we do consider it being consistent with our mission,” Kulick said.
Parkside isn't expected to actually turn a profit for about 18 months due to startup costs, building up a client base and marketing expenses. But Kulick believes the company will be successful considering the organization has been offering similar services for 30 years.
“We know something about assisting people to be as independent as possible in their homes,” he said.
Kulick said another advantage is that more than 100 employees are trained to work for both Countryside and Parkside. And the company will accept private insurance and cash as opposed to Medicaid.
Like many social service agencies that support people with disabilities, Countryside has struggled to adjust and thrive under a fee-for-service reimbursement system.
The organization is limited in the number of hours it can bill, and the state is six months behind in payments, forcing it to borrow money to meet operating costs. The system also is funded largely through federal Medicaid dollars, for which Countryside's In-Home Respite services don't qualify.
For-profit ventures by nonprofit groups such as Parkside aren't unheard of, Northwest Suburban United Way Chief Professional Officer Marcia McMahon said.
Palatine-based domestic violence agency WINGS, or Women In Need Growing Stronger, pioneered the concept in the suburbs, she said, with three successful resale shops boosting revenue. Its former Palatine store did $500,000 in annual sales until a June 2010 fire forced its relocation to a less visible facility.
Other ventures have closed, including similar resale shops run by CEDA Northwest and the Greater Wheeling Area Youth Outreach (GWAYO).
McMahon said one business still going strong is operated by Northbrook-based Glenkirk, which acquired a paper shredding company that employs people with disabilities.
“Everyone recognizes how difficult it is given the downturn in state funding,” McMahon said. “These are interesting and creative ways for nonprofits to try to diversify their revenue.”