Tag: Executive Director

Government Funding Gap

Posted on by Beth

“The shelter gave me a place and helped with doctors, food, and clothes.
The team helped me with everything.”

– Sheila found refuge, training, employment, and permanent housing while at CCO

Dear CCO Supporter,

Each year, Cornerstone Community Outreach faces a gap in government funding for direct services, and this year is no exception. In 2024, we supported 592 individuals, offering safe refuge and wrap-around services to help reduce the devastating impact of poverty on the lives of CCO guests. While we continue to welcome and assist each person who comes through our doors, we need your support to extend our efforts during this ongoing funding delay.

This year the need is immediate for unique reasons.  While we always rely on your gifts to close the gap in government funding, we are facing both a cash flow issue and a larger-than-normal budget deficit. Payments from the city and state have been delayed, and we have not yet been fully reimbursed for 2024 services.  On top of that, city reimbursement rates have not kept pace with inflation. Recent political uncertainty in Washington, DC has put our current state and federal grant applications at risk.

Please consider making a gift in support of CCO’s critical work. Your partnership is vital to our efforts to address the urgent barriers unhoused people encounter. In order to ensure continuity of services for our population experiencing homelessness, we have set an ambitious goal to raise $500,000 by July 1. Your financial gift directly improves the lives of CCO residents like Sheila (pictured above), who found a safe place and strong support so her employment and housing dreams could become a reality.  

Below is an example of the impact you can make with a gap-bridging gift to CCO:

$26 1 day’s housing, meals, and care for an individual (total cost: $52

$364 Two weeks’ housing, meals, and care for an individual (total cost: $728)

$1092 Two weeks’ housing, meals, and care for a family (total cost: $2,184)

$2,400 Average quarterly cost for one person at CCO (total cost: $4,800)

$4,400 Average quarterly cost for a family at CCO (total cost: $8,800)

Your gift will allow us to continue our mission of meeting unhoused people where they are, assisting with comprehensive support, and helping them find a home. Thank you in advance for your contribution.

If you would like to make a gift, below are the ways you can donate. Please reach out to me personally if you would like to discuss CCO and other ways to support our work. 

  • Donate online by clicking the Donate button above
  • Call us at (872) 246-5324
  • Send a check to: Cornerstone Community Outreach, 4615 N. Clifton Ave., Chicago, IL 60640

Thank you again!

Sincerely,

Andrew Winter, Executive Director
Cornerstone Community Outreach
awinter@ccolife.org

Fund Forward Campaign Letter

Posted on by Beth

$2,400 will cover the cost of one person for an entire shelter stay.

$520 will cover the cost of one person for 20 days and nights of shelter and care. 

$260 will cover the cost of one person for 10 days and nights of shelter and care

$130 will cover the cost of one person for 5 days and nights of shelter and care.

$26 will cover the cost of one person for 24 hours of shelter and care.

Click the button below to donate to provide shelter and transform lives!

Download the 2024 FU

Letter from the Executive Director

Posted on by Beth

Dear CCO Supporter,

Merry Christmas from all of us at Cornerstone Community Outreach! I am so grateful that you have partnered with us in the past. CCO’s shelter guests need your support more than ever. Safe shelter remains a critical need. At Cornerstone, families and single adults experiencing homelessness receive holistic care and wrap-around services as they journey toward permanent housing.

I would like to ask you to continue to be a financial partner with Cornerstone Community Outreach. Our objective is to disrupt the cycle of poverty by providing safe shelter while exploring long-term housing solutions for our clients. Through donations, Cornerstone can offer residents a higher quality of life through professional, compassionate care, helping them progress on the road to permanent housing.

I hope you’ll take a moment and read Sandra’s story. Her path to peace has been a long one. Sandra and her 11-year-old daughter arrived at Cornerstone in a courageous move to escape the cycle of abuse in her life. She described the time before arriving at Cornerstone as the “lowest point in my life.” Thankfully, while with us, she found the support, care, and renewal that she needed. Today, she’s housed and employed using her lived experience to help other families who are homeless. I’m grateful that Sandra dared to escape her harmful past and found a new start at Cornerstone!
Click here to read about Sandra’s Path to Peace.

CCO is one of Chicago’s largest homeless shelters committed to providing immediate safe shelter and pathways to permanent housing for families and individuals from all walks of life. We welcome over 325 households each year in collaboration with the City of Chicago and a team of nonprofit partners. CCO prioritizes inclusivity, accepting clients from difficult circumstances by supporting many household structures, including intact families, single adults, LGBTQ+ families, and more. Ultimately, our goal is to ensure everyone has access to safe housing, nutritious food, and, most importantly, dignity, no matter their plight.

I would like to invite you to be part of more success stories like Sandra’s by financially supporting our vital work with a 100% tax-deductible donation. Have a wonderful holiday season! Best wishes in the coming year from all of us at CCO!

Andrew Winter

Executive Director

Cornerstone Community Outreach (EIN 36-3670992) is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization and contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

ED Sandy Ramsey Announces Retirement

Posted on by Beth

“Dear CCO Staff, Shelter Guests, Volunteers, and Supporters,

To say that I have enjoyed working at CCO would be such an understatement.  It has been a thrill, an adventure, and a great ride.  I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.  Working at CCO with wonderful families and single people has made me a better person and I am thankful for each and every story I have been privileged to be a part of.  

The CCO staff has worked tirelessly alongside me and I am grateful to them for their faithfulness to our important work.  I could not have done this for over 30 years without them.

My successor as Executive Director will be Andrew Winter, who has been working alongside me for many years as Chief Financial Officer and has already been leading the way for the last couple of years. He has exhibited great capability and compassion.

I will miss CCO, the staff, and all our residents more than I can express.  It is bittersweet to be retiring, but I am also excited about this new chapter in my life. Thank you for your support after all these years.”

  • Sandy Ramsey

CCO staff, shelter guests, volunteers, and supporters wish Sandy all the best as she embarks on the next phase of her life. She will be truly missed. Stay tuned for an upcoming tribute to Sandy and her many incredible years at CCO.

Letter From the Executive Director

Posted on by Beth

Dear Friends:

Greetings from Cornerstone Community Outreach (CCO)! As another adventurous year comes to a close, we are deeply grateful for your support in making it all possible. This year, we’ve seen continued success in housing our shelter participants, thanks to new housing initiatives offered by the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services and All Chicago.

A senior Vietnam vet, homeless for over 40 years, finally secured permanent housing. Another story involves a woman who lived on a park bench for months, resistant to help. Through patient conversations and trust-building, she not only moved into her own apartment but also reunited with her daughters, who had been searching for her. Thank you for helping us create life-changing stories like these!

Read More