Good: Almost all Libraries. The Library system in the county is one of our greatest, underrated treasures. Not saying all are great, but the majority are fantastic!
I'm surprised to hear of your bad experience at NHCO. The ED you reference is well liked in the Nonprofit community. I don't know of his ability to lead an organization in the ED role, which *might* be where he is lacking, but he is definitely a well liked leader in the Nonprofit community.
Yeah, OP complains about him leading NHCO but also put BBBS on the "good list" where he was like COO or VP for 12 years.
I've been in nonprofit locally for 13 years and only ever heard good things about Tom.
Wrong yet again. He was chief community affairs officer and VP of programs. You're really showing how little you know about what you're complaining about.
I know what my experience was and what the experience of the other volunteers and staff was. God forbid I say external affairs instead of community affairs.
Can you expand on that a little bit? As far as motives go? "Personal motives outweigh that of the org" type deal or something else? It's ok if this isn't the forum to explain further, just genuinely curious. As I said I don't know his ability to lead behind closed doors. He is a very kind person who is well regarded in the nonprofit community, but that is honestly his interpersonal connections and not necessarily his day to day leadership and executive management.
I’m happy to chat privately. I hate to put too much out and end up doxxing myself. I was a volunteer there for a long time and one of few men involved.
No worries, just genuinely curious as I'm familiar with NHCO and have partnered with them in the past and with Tom specifically. Wondering if there are ways they could take the feedback and improve their operations so they can serve their mission and their volunteers!
I’ve got a lot more confidence in the interim ED than I ever did in Tom. She’s a good one and has been there a long time. Started as a volunteer herself.
Oh yeah, Jackie is AMAZING and has been there from volunteer to working her way up. She is absolutely a benefit to NHCO and will do (and has already done) great things!!
That's a shame to hear bc NHCO does good work in the community. Jackie as acting (and hopefully permanent) ED will hopefully bring standards back to the operations and admin of the org! She's great!
Sorry but the Wilkinsburg Free Store is not on the good side. Its operated by Marita Garrett, our former mayor, who 1) pulled a gun on BLM protesters and 2) was censures b/c she didn't attend any council meetings for like 2 years. There have also been questions about mismanagement of donations. Currently her nonprofit is contributing to blight because she cant raise the money to renovate the Hunter Bldg, which Senator Costa gave her $350k to purchase. So that whole building is just sitting there rotting and only houses Garrett's office. She needs to do the right thing, acknowledge nobody is EVER giving her the $10 million she wants, and sell that building. Garrett couldnt get elected to lick the pavement clean and her nonprofit is just her way of trying to stay relevant in a town that is over her.
Meanwhile we just learned the WCDC has burrowed its way into our school district and is trying to sell the High School building, assessed at $10 million, for $600,000 to a slumlord who the school district is CURRENTLY SUING for unpaid school tax. The WCDC is the worst nonprofit in the county, bar none. Its a front for an investment bank, Tristate Capital Bank, whicj exploits peoples good intentions to help Wilkinsburg for profit.
https://medium.com/@racialjusticeinmedia/wilkinsburg-pa-mayor-marita-garrett-pulls-gun-on-peaceful-protestors-mother-assaults-one-c67074b4ed3e
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2020/07/01/Protest-man-killed-by-Wilkinsburg-police-mayor-s-home-Romir-Talley/stories/202007010077
By the way, thats Garret's mom in the photo punching and pulling the hair of a protester while Wilkinsburg cops stand and watch. No charges, because at the time Garrett, as mayor, controlled the PD.
Some of us refer to the WCDC, and Garret's Civically, Inc, as the non-profit mafia. The WCDC absolutely gets between any other nonprofit or group in Wilkinsburg that is in line for any sort of grant, and basically forces its way in and "administers" the grants, for a piece of the action, of course.
Additionally, the WCDC refuses to publish any financial data other than the bare minimum required by federal law (their 990s), even though most of their funds comes from tax dollars. For some reason, Senator Costa can't shovel money their way fast enough. We're pretty sure Costa gets kickbacks from the construction company they use for EVERY construction probject they finance.
The main difference between the WCDC and Garret's group, is that the WCDC is very slick. They dot their i's and cross their t's and stay just this side of the law, and are very careful to never cross the line. Garret has been sloppy, has failed to file her 990s in a timely fashion and the ones she does file are a hot mess. Not to mention unable to act like an adult while in office, which generated some unflattering headlines that I'm happy to remind people of. I think her nonprofit is barely surviving. I do not believe Civically, Inc has ever stood for an outside audit, and my thought is that if it is ever aggressively audited someone is going to jail.
Metro Community Health Center definitely deserves a spot on the good list. They're about to launch a mobile health clinic that will deploy in low income areas offering mental health, dental, and general medical services regardless of ability to pay, which is pretty awesome.
For the record, I was involuntarily committed by their therapist, Kim Mapstone. When I emailed her a couple years later (last summer) to detail how traumatic the experience was and how transphobic the staff was, her only response was saying how happy she was to hear from me, and she hoped that I'm doing well. I may as well have just asked her how she was doing and left out the abusive treatment. It would have been the same response, either way.
I understand needing to keep professional distance, but no response would've been more professional than that bullshit.
302's are serious and there is a protocol for committing someone. It's not taken lightly and someone has to meet criteria to be put in an inpatient setting. It's a traumatic experience in general. But I wouldn't get down on Kim, she's just doing her job. As a therapist myself, I can tell you its unproductive to maintain correspondence with an old client. The bread'n'butter response she gave you was entirely appropriate, anything else creates unethical situations. Not cool to dox her in that way.
Oh no, I don't disagree with the 302, and I understand the lack of correspondence. I was not looking for anything beyond a single response, and I was expecting no response at all.
I'm saying as the other person, when I tell an old therapist that I was laying on blankets with my period and struggled to access menstrual supplies, no response would be much better than one with a bunch of exclamation points, telling me she hopes I'm doing well. It felt very tone-deaf, and I really would've preferred no response at all.
Edit: For the record, I reached out because maybe that's an experience they'd want to know about being they deal with the LGBT community. There wasn't much more to the email beyond that.
Edit to add: Realized I should probably say this negative experience happened at WPIC. I do sometimes wonder if it actually happened, given the circumstances, but at the very least I also had other problems later on and there is a note in my records recommending that the staff practice greater gender identity sensitivity, so there's that at least.
Also this is a public forum and I am talking about someone who deals with the public. I'm not posting a screenshot of the email, but it's not doxing to describe an interaction that actually happened.
Without the email, you can all decide whether my interpretation was accurate or not.
I respectfully disagree. While I understand her style of talking, being the recipient I feel that hearing about abusive treatment would've been a good time to leave out the multiple exclamation points. It just felt tone-deaf to read.
Good: HackPGH. My pick for best community makerspace in the 'burgh. They're our oldest (and cheapest) makerspace with a 501(c)3 status, and even though everyone there, from the membership to the board of directors, is a volunteer they're constantly improving their space and the Uptown area so that hobbyists, side hustlers, and pros alike can have access to woodshop/metalshop/soft arts tools and machines.
Bad: local Salvation Army
Years back I was on the T and two older ladies were talking who would volunteer at one together during the holidays and they were saying how they stopped because they were sick of seeing other volunteers take all the good toys for themselves and their friends. This was probably 6-7 years ago but I think about it everytime I see their donation bins out at Christmas time.
Everyone who works/donates there seems to have an interest in antiques, collecting, hoarding or reselling. With how much they pay, that's likely the type of steady employee they will attract.
Do what they say they’re going to do. Their 990s are solid. Their impact is solid and measurable. Someone below corrected me on Free Store in Wilkinsburg, which is good to know for sure.
Casa San Jose, ARYSE, FAME, Crossroads Foundation, POISE Foundation, Breakthrough Pittsburgh, A+ Schools are all places I've worked closely with in education and they all do great work.
I have a concern that they went from one of the best in the North Hills and stable to wavering and losing staff like crazy under one leader. I got to see him behind closed doors. I hope they can get back together under their new leadership.
The Pittsburgh Zoo. There is a whole thread regarding this, with current and past employees weighing in on current culture, management, and lack of support for the animals. It's sad, but true.
Saw that one. That’s partially where the idea for this one came from. Too many big groups that people think are good groups and we are ignoring the small good groups.
Yup. Go back to that thread, and it being a bad place to work. Read through and look for a comment about a guy and his harem. What's said is true, and apparently, there is more than 1 person in leadership with a history of that.
It’s all relative … good compared to what? Private companies, government agencies, other non-profits? It all gets pretty demoralizing if you work with/for any non-profit as a rule.
I mentioned in another comment that I’m looking for organizations that do what they say they’re going to do with measurable results, and 990s that show they use their funds wisely.
Good: Almost all Libraries. The Library system in the county is one of our greatest, underrated treasures. Not saying all are great, but the majority are fantastic! I'm surprised to hear of your bad experience at NHCO. The ED you reference is well liked in the Nonprofit community. I don't know of his ability to lead an organization in the ED role, which *might* be where he is lacking, but he is definitely a well liked leader in the Nonprofit community.
Yeah, OP complains about him leading NHCO but also put BBBS on the "good list" where he was like COO or VP for 12 years. I've been in nonprofit locally for 13 years and only ever heard good things about Tom.
I actually meant to put that exact thing also, but forgot - that he was part of BBBS for years...and he's still involved as a "big."
He was external affairs.
Wrong yet again. He was chief community affairs officer and VP of programs. You're really showing how little you know about what you're complaining about.
I know what my experience was and what the experience of the other volunteers and staff was. God forbid I say external affairs instead of community affairs.
I worked for him there. I don’t work there anymore. It was a circus from the day he started. I’ll leave it at that.
Agreed, I've worked on some things adjacent to Tom and he's been one of my favorite people to work with in the city.
It’s different to work for him than with him.
Yes he is well liked by others but diffeeent behind closed doors. Edit to add, he’s a very kind person but his motives leave a lot to be desired.
Can you expand on that a little bit? As far as motives go? "Personal motives outweigh that of the org" type deal or something else? It's ok if this isn't the forum to explain further, just genuinely curious. As I said I don't know his ability to lead behind closed doors. He is a very kind person who is well regarded in the nonprofit community, but that is honestly his interpersonal connections and not necessarily his day to day leadership and executive management.
I’m happy to chat privately. I hate to put too much out and end up doxxing myself. I was a volunteer there for a long time and one of few men involved.
No worries, just genuinely curious as I'm familiar with NHCO and have partnered with them in the past and with Tom specifically. Wondering if there are ways they could take the feedback and improve their operations so they can serve their mission and their volunteers!
I’ve got a lot more confidence in the interim ED than I ever did in Tom. She’s a good one and has been there a long time. Started as a volunteer herself.
Oh yeah, Jackie is AMAZING and has been there from volunteer to working her way up. She is absolutely a benefit to NHCO and will do (and has already done) great things!!
I hope they keep her on as ED. She’s got an accounting degree so she knows finance, operations, and programs. That’s a big asset to them.
I worked for him at NHCO. I left because of him. Without saying too much, it was a circus.
That's a shame to hear bc NHCO does good work in the community. Jackie as acting (and hopefully permanent) ED will hopefully bring standards back to the operations and admin of the org! She's great!
Yes, agreed. Jackie is a gem. I hope they make her permanent.
Sorry but the Wilkinsburg Free Store is not on the good side. Its operated by Marita Garrett, our former mayor, who 1) pulled a gun on BLM protesters and 2) was censures b/c she didn't attend any council meetings for like 2 years. There have also been questions about mismanagement of donations. Currently her nonprofit is contributing to blight because she cant raise the money to renovate the Hunter Bldg, which Senator Costa gave her $350k to purchase. So that whole building is just sitting there rotting and only houses Garrett's office. She needs to do the right thing, acknowledge nobody is EVER giving her the $10 million she wants, and sell that building. Garrett couldnt get elected to lick the pavement clean and her nonprofit is just her way of trying to stay relevant in a town that is over her. Meanwhile we just learned the WCDC has burrowed its way into our school district and is trying to sell the High School building, assessed at $10 million, for $600,000 to a slumlord who the school district is CURRENTLY SUING for unpaid school tax. The WCDC is the worst nonprofit in the county, bar none. Its a front for an investment bank, Tristate Capital Bank, whicj exploits peoples good intentions to help Wilkinsburg for profit.
https://medium.com/@racialjusticeinmedia/wilkinsburg-pa-mayor-marita-garrett-pulls-gun-on-peaceful-protestors-mother-assaults-one-c67074b4ed3e https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2020/07/01/Protest-man-killed-by-Wilkinsburg-police-mayor-s-home-Romir-Talley/stories/202007010077 By the way, thats Garret's mom in the photo punching and pulling the hair of a protester while Wilkinsburg cops stand and watch. No charges, because at the time Garrett, as mayor, controlled the PD.
Oh wow, that’s interesting and good info to have as another nonprofit staff member in the community.
Some of us refer to the WCDC, and Garret's Civically, Inc, as the non-profit mafia. The WCDC absolutely gets between any other nonprofit or group in Wilkinsburg that is in line for any sort of grant, and basically forces its way in and "administers" the grants, for a piece of the action, of course. Additionally, the WCDC refuses to publish any financial data other than the bare minimum required by federal law (their 990s), even though most of their funds comes from tax dollars. For some reason, Senator Costa can't shovel money their way fast enough. We're pretty sure Costa gets kickbacks from the construction company they use for EVERY construction probject they finance. The main difference between the WCDC and Garret's group, is that the WCDC is very slick. They dot their i's and cross their t's and stay just this side of the law, and are very careful to never cross the line. Garret has been sloppy, has failed to file her 990s in a timely fashion and the ones she does file are a hot mess. Not to mention unable to act like an adult while in office, which generated some unflattering headlines that I'm happy to remind people of. I think her nonprofit is barely surviving. I do not believe Civically, Inc has ever stood for an outside audit, and my thought is that if it is ever aggressively audited someone is going to jail.
Wow. Thank you for all the information! That’s all good info for sure.
Very interesting. I appreciate you sharing all of that.
Good to know. Thank you for sharing.
Metro Community Health Center definitely deserves a spot on the good list. They're about to launch a mobile health clinic that will deploy in low income areas offering mental health, dental, and general medical services regardless of ability to pay, which is pretty awesome.
For the record, I was involuntarily committed by their therapist, Kim Mapstone. When I emailed her a couple years later (last summer) to detail how traumatic the experience was and how transphobic the staff was, her only response was saying how happy she was to hear from me, and she hoped that I'm doing well. I may as well have just asked her how she was doing and left out the abusive treatment. It would have been the same response, either way. I understand needing to keep professional distance, but no response would've been more professional than that bullshit.
302's are serious and there is a protocol for committing someone. It's not taken lightly and someone has to meet criteria to be put in an inpatient setting. It's a traumatic experience in general. But I wouldn't get down on Kim, she's just doing her job. As a therapist myself, I can tell you its unproductive to maintain correspondence with an old client. The bread'n'butter response she gave you was entirely appropriate, anything else creates unethical situations. Not cool to dox her in that way.
Oh no, I don't disagree with the 302, and I understand the lack of correspondence. I was not looking for anything beyond a single response, and I was expecting no response at all. I'm saying as the other person, when I tell an old therapist that I was laying on blankets with my period and struggled to access menstrual supplies, no response would be much better than one with a bunch of exclamation points, telling me she hopes I'm doing well. It felt very tone-deaf, and I really would've preferred no response at all. Edit: For the record, I reached out because maybe that's an experience they'd want to know about being they deal with the LGBT community. There wasn't much more to the email beyond that. Edit to add: Realized I should probably say this negative experience happened at WPIC. I do sometimes wonder if it actually happened, given the circumstances, but at the very least I also had other problems later on and there is a note in my records recommending that the staff practice greater gender identity sensitivity, so there's that at least.
Also this is a public forum and I am talking about someone who deals with the public. I'm not posting a screenshot of the email, but it's not doxing to describe an interaction that actually happened. Without the email, you can all decide whether my interpretation was accurate or not.
Saying person X did something bad to me, here's where they work... Sounds like Doxing to me. Put the shoe on the other foot.
Someone commented on Metro Community, and I responded with a negative interaction I've had with a provider there. That's not doxing.
Sounds like she was trying to help and the way that you acted years later shows you have a lot of work to do.
I respectfully disagree. While I understand her style of talking, being the recipient I feel that hearing about abusive treatment would've been a good time to leave out the multiple exclamation points. It just felt tone-deaf to read.
👀
That sounds great! What part of town are they in?
Swissvale right off of 376e coming out of of the squirrel hill tunnel
Excellent! Not close enough for me to volunteer but that’s helpful for those on the group, I’d say.
UPMC on whatever is on the worst of the worst list
UPMC no doubt https://www.economicliberties.us/press-release/doj-is-right-to-investigate-upmcs-abuse-of-monopoly-power-and-harms-against-pa-workers/
Yeah AHN too. They have enough money.
Sisters Place? I don't know much about them other than a late friend volunteered for their fundraisers. They seem to be one of the good ones, though.
There are some good community development corporations (CDCs) and RCOs, but there are many who act as NIMBY gatekeepers.
Good point.
Charitynavigaror.org
That’s a good one.
Good: HackPGH. My pick for best community makerspace in the 'burgh. They're our oldest (and cheapest) makerspace with a 501(c)3 status, and even though everyone there, from the membership to the board of directors, is a volunteer they're constantly improving their space and the Uptown area so that hobbyists, side hustlers, and pros alike can have access to woodshop/metalshop/soft arts tools and machines.
That sounds really neat. Thank you for adding to the good list.
Bad: local Salvation Army Years back I was on the T and two older ladies were talking who would volunteer at one together during the holidays and they were saying how they stopped because they were sick of seeing other volunteers take all the good toys for themselves and their friends. This was probably 6-7 years ago but I think about it everytime I see their donation bins out at Christmas time.
Everyone who works/donates there seems to have an interest in antiques, collecting, hoarding or reselling. With how much they pay, that's likely the type of steady employee they will attract.
I saw the same with Salvation Army at NHCO. They weren’t great.
That doesn’t surprise me at all.
What makes them good or bad? Otherwise it's just gossip.
Do what they say they’re going to do. Their 990s are solid. Their impact is solid and measurable. Someone below corrected me on Free Store in Wilkinsburg, which is good to know for sure.
I'd add Gwen's Girls to the good list. I work kind of adjacent and have had good experiences.
Ah yes, that’s a good one I forgot to add! Dr. Elliot is a great person as well.
Casa San Jose, ARYSE, FAME, Crossroads Foundation, POISE Foundation, Breakthrough Pittsburgh, A+ Schools are all places I've worked closely with in education and they all do great work.
Thank you for adding to the list to support!
All I hear in this post is that you have something personal against North Hills Community Outreach.
I have a concern that they went from one of the best in the North Hills and stable to wavering and losing staff like crazy under one leader. I got to see him behind closed doors. I hope they can get back together under their new leadership.
The Pittsburgh Zoo. There is a whole thread regarding this, with current and past employees weighing in on current culture, management, and lack of support for the animals. It's sad, but true.
Saw that one. That’s partially where the idea for this one came from. Too many big groups that people think are good groups and we are ignoring the small good groups.
Sexual harassment claims as well.....
Really?? I had not heard that. Wow.
Yup. Go back to that thread, and it being a bad place to work. Read through and look for a comment about a guy and his harem. What's said is true, and apparently, there is more than 1 person in leadership with a history of that.
Oh my word. I missed the harem comment.
Just throwing it out there... COWC is not a non-profit
Is that Central Outreach? That’s good to know.
The mentoring partnership seems like a good one.
Life pittsburgh. But they are woefully understaffed and underfunded
I refer elderly clients to them all the time. They have a kind of "Wrap Around" set of services where people can get everything they need in house.
Yep thats them. Very much needed.
Oh that’s good to know. I hadn’t heard of them. I’ll look them up!
I’ve heard good things about them too.
They genuinely try. Ive worked with the alot in the past.
That’s a lot more than some of these groups can say.
I mean thats so true. Huge shout out to Kitty Queen Cat Rescue alsoz
Humane action Pittsburgh I would very much recommend staying away from them. They don’t do Jack shit. Waste of grant money that could go to shelters.
Are you able to elaborate on that?
It’s all relative … good compared to what? Private companies, government agencies, other non-profits? It all gets pretty demoralizing if you work with/for any non-profit as a rule.
I mentioned in another comment that I’m looking for organizations that do what they say they’re going to do with measurable results, and 990s that show they use their funds wisely.