The Overcomer Foundation
In Ohio, single parents pay nearly 44% of their income for an infant in a daycare center and nearly 80% for two children (Child Care Aware of America, 2018). The Overcomer Foundation is trying to address that financial burden. This week, Sarah Perez, co-founder and president of the newly formed non-profit discusses their mission and the importance of companies in Columbus giving back.
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Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Confluence Cast presented by Columbus Underground. We are a weekly Columbus-centric podcast focusing on the civics, lifestyle, entertainment, and people of our city. I'm your host, Tim Fulton. This week, I sat down with Sarah Perez, the head of the newly formed Overcomer Foundation. We talked about that organization, their mission, how their quote unquote "simple solution" can promote economic development, and the importance of companies giving back. You can get more information on what we discussed today in the show notes for this episode at theconfluencecast.com. Also, the Confluence Cast is on Patreon. Find out how to support this podcast on our website, theconfluencecast.com, or at patreon.com/confluence. Enjoy the interview. Sitting down here with Sarah Perez, the co-founder, chair, and president of the Overcomer Foundation. Sarah, how are you? Great. How are you? I'm great. Tell us about the Overcomer Foundation. What is it? Who, who, who does it benefit? How, how does it work? Absolutely. I'd love to. So the foundation, um, is something that we started, um, from just a seed of an idea at the end of about 2017 when I started to take on a leadership role at our law firm-
Okay ... which is Perez and Morris, a business law firm here in Columbus. Okay. Um, and I was really trying to f- sort of find my way and my own ground and what my purpose was gonna be and how I was gonna lead the firm. And this sort of idea struck me and really pulled at my heart that there were, um, women out there in my position, or essentially working women, single women, who may not have had the opportunities that I had, um, education-wise, and certainly may not have the opportunity to send their children to a childcare center where they're in, feel like they're enriched, they're safe.
Mm-hmm. Um, and it just, it, I was really burdened by it, quite honestly, and became sort of very passionate about it and, um, had this seed of an idea. You know, what if we could fill in a gap for these women? Um, what would it look like to give childcare scholarships to get these, um, these children in a safe place so that mom could then be freed up economically and from a timing per- time perspective- Mm-hmm ... to go and, um, further her education, whatever that next step may be? And as we sort of unpacked this idea, we realized there were so many other opportunities there. From a economic development perspective for our community, uh, we were fostering safe and healthy families and economic stability for these families. Um, the idea would be that we ultimately are benefiting businesses because we're getting these single moms who may be, uh, relying at this point either on public assistance-
Mm-hmm ... or are on that benefits cliff where they're unable to take the next step in their, uh, careers because they may lose some public assistance that's really critical to keeping their family stable. Um, and so we saw a great opportunity there to help all of, in all of these areas, and so it was like why, well, how could we not? You know? Right. Well, and it, so it's one of those things where you identified a gap, and you're like, "This is a very easy problem to solve- Yeah
... with money." I mean, you need money- Correct ... in order to do it, right? Yes. Correct.
So talk to me sort of, it's, from the research I've done on you guys, there's, there's two problems you're solving, right? Mm-hmm. There's the education aspect and the- Mm
... workforce aspect of it. Correct. Do you believe that beneficiaries, or rather do you want beneficiaries as you get going? You haven't given any... Are we calling them scholarships? What are we calling them? Yeah, I think w- right now we're going with scholarships.
Let's, let's call them, for the purpose of this episode, we'll call them scholarships. Okay. Uh, as you do that first round of scholarships for the kids- Mm-hmm
... and the moms, um, are you looking for folks who need some sort of formal education in order to enter the workforce? Do you believe that maybe you can help folks that don't, that have that education and are quote unquote "ready to work"? Mm-hmm. How, what, what are the goals there? Yeah, I think it kind of runs the gamut. The big goal is identifying women who are at that benefits cliff-
Okay ... where they're, they're really have a ceiling placed on them. Um, they're unable to take the next step, so they're never quite able to reach independence and economic stability and, um, you know, leave public assistance behind and really flourish and be able to be promoted and grow and develop. We, uh, you know, when I think about it, I see this just sort of untapped pool. Unfortunately or fortunately, it just kind of is the reality that more often we have single moms than we have single dads. Right. So, so we have sort of a, um, w- we look at it too from a pay equity perspective and a wealth gap perspective.
Mm-hmm. And this is an opportunity to get more women actively participating in the workforce. And, um, so that was one of the drivers. I mean, certainly there's this economic component and economic development component. And then the educational side is, uh, we see as well, and I think the research supports when mom's able to get an associate's degree or a bachelor's degree or whatever that next step may be- Mm-hmm ... there's a greater percentage, uh, or a greater chance that her children are then gonna see that as an opportunity.
Okay. And so I don't imagine that- From the outset, you want to be supporting folk- have to continue to support folks. Correct. You know what I mean? Mm-hmm. That's a- you're absolutely correct. So the goal would be to see them through... And so the advisory board right now is kinda talking through whether we need to at least at first put some sort of limitation on that. But the ultimate goal would be to see the family through the educational program-
Mm-hmm ... whatever that may be, use and leverage our connections in the community, which, you know, our law firm has been so privileged to serve some of the s- great companies around Columbus. And that was one of the intangibles we thought we could provide. You know, when we look to our left and right, if you will, we're like, "These are, these are employers that are eager for good talent," and if we can help foster that relationship, that's something that doesn't cost us anything. Right. And it's something that's taken years to build up, and that we are more than happy to, um, you know, help facilitate. And so it helps the companies, it helps the families, um, and just kinda connect those dots. But yes, and so once the, uh, person hopefully finds a role-
Mm-hmm ... our goal is to just stair-step them down slowly until they are, you know, fully economically sufficient on their own. So it's not funding forever. Right. The goal is to get through an educational program, get placed in a job where you're earning a wage that you're able to, um, support your family, and then to sort of stair-step down from our program and have these families say, you know, "Look what I've achieved, and here I am." You know?
Right. That's, that's the goal. Well, and so you've referenced it a couple of times. In the l- the medium term, you're trying to serve both ends of the pipeline, right? Mm-hmm.
You're trying to service, uh, the women, the, the single moms- Mm-hmm ... and you're also trying to service the employer to an extent- Yep
... and provide them a more adequate workforce. Mm-hmm. S- talk about how, and I don't know if you have all the kinks worked out- ... of like, how to find, how to identify the needs on the other end of the pipeline, the employer end- Uh-huh
... and how to then identify candidates. Okay. Absolutely. So, um, we have had a lot of discussion about this. So we've been, the th- one of the things that's been so cool about this process is I've realized, um, what an awesome network of professionals we have in Columbus, and how ex- Mm-hmm ... how excited they are to, like, get involved in a cause like this. So our advisory board is probably getting close to about 20 people.
Okay. And they're business leaders from a lot of our clients and a lot of, um, community organizations who've said, "You know, regardless of whether my company steps in, like, this is a cause I'm passionate about, I'm all for it." And so we have representatives from companies like, um, Huntington, Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, National Church Residences, Nationwide, Big Lots, all on the advisory board. Okay. And so they're kind of speaking into what their business needs are, too. And the cool thing is we've got people from HR, we've got former grant writers, we've got attorneys, which, you know, of course I'm one, too. But-
Right ... um, we have all these different perspectives about what their business needs are, um, how their companies can help support this effort in a, in a really tangible and sort of business-focused way, which I think is really cool, 'cause we have the opportunity to do a ton of good. But we're really hoping that we provide some good to our, our clients and to the businesses around central Ohio. Yeah. And they have a voice around the table, so they're able to say, um, "This is what we're looking for. This is where we see a gap in the, in terms of the pool of applicants. Um, can we get some women in the program-
Right ... that may be able to fill that gap?" And then we will reach out to community partners. So our first community partner that's, um, we're working with is the Center for Healthy Families, that serves pregnant and parenting teens. Okay. And they seemed like a really great fit and a natural sort of demographic for us because, but for the fact that they're parenting, they very well may have considered college or some other-
Right ... you know, had different, they would've had a different outlook on what their next step may be. So if we can fill in the childcare gap for them and they're able to fund their education, you know, we kind of, we make that possible. Our goal is to eliminate what seem like these mountains for women that are insurmountable, and kinda take some of the barriers away so that they can go ahead and take that next step. And so as far as identifying a woman that would be, um, great for our program, we're really gonna leverage our community partners. Like, who's ready for the opportunity? Who's economically at the right spot where they just need this extra boost to get them- Right ... over the line? Um, and we talk with them about that. We talk with them about the, the data points, the tracking, the case management, and that's something that we're trying to get from our, um, community partners, so.
Right, because at the end of the day, you wanna be able to demonstrate, like, here are the, you know, for lack of a better term, here are the KPIs that we accomplished- Exactly. Mm-hmm ... it with... You know, 'cause I imagine the advisory board has some, not direct financial stake, but most of them have given, right? Yes. Mm-hmm.
Yeah. Yep. So they want to see that their money is, is- Mm-hmm
... going to good. Yeah. And I think a really cool thing for us as a business, you know, forward-thinking, we... I love the fact that our clients probably don't even realize it, but some of what they're paying when they pay a legal bill on litigation is getting directly reinvested into the community- Mm-hmm ... and that, that's something that I think is really cool. And so having our, several representatives from our clients around the table, um, helps facilitate that sort of business model and that s- that way of thinking. And you know, it, I think it just enriched and deepened our partnerships with our existing clients who are sitting around the table, so.
Just to go back to a previous point, we ta- you know, you don't want to be, you're not providing childcare for, you know, five years- Mm-hmm ... or for, well, so, uh, my question is, is how long do you think- Yeah
... and I know maybe you don't know that yet because the, you haven't had beneficiaries yet, but how long do you think it'll take to provide child- adequate childcare for folks, and then for them to be able to be stepped down, like you said? Mm-hmm. So at first we're really targeting those who would like to pursue some sort of an associate's- Okay ... level degree. So we're looking at roughly a two-year program.
Mm-hmm Uh, there are a lot of opportunities to partner with Columbus State and local universities. Otterbein, we're starting to have conversations about how we might be able to partner. I mean, we've had some really great feedback from educational institutions that they too would like to get involved 'cause it's something that they're identifying that their students really need, right? So, um, we also see in the data that, um, the difference between a woman with a high school diploma and an associate's degree, the woman with the associate's degree can earn on average 175% of what- Okay ... someone with just a high school diploma. So we still see a very big bang for your buck, if you will-
Yeah ... in terms of closing that wealth gap. And that's something that we feel like is probably the most manageable course just to get started. We're certainly not foreclosing, and we're dreaming big and hoping that we can help people with bachelor's degrees and beyond. But we're also aware of programs like, for example, with Mount Carmel College of Nursing, where, you know, if they can get through the first two years, then they can w- they can work and, you know, have a scholarship from that organization actually to complete a bachelor's degree. Okay. So there may be some opportunities there where maybe we assist, get them working at a wage that can support their family, afford their apartment, afford food, afford childcare. Um, and then we have other organizations or colleges stepping in and getting them even further along. It's just opening that first door-
Mm-hmm ... and kinda removing that barrier to get them moving is what we're trying to do, so. And so do you imagine those partnerships with educational institutions, those partnerships may help... I, I guess I'm thinking, well, you've solved the childcare problem, right? Mm-hmm.
But how are you solving the, you know- Yeah ... cost of education problem? Absolutely. And I don't think that that's actually something that we're gonna solve for-
Okay ... at least not yet. I mean, that would be another area where we're gonna need to partner with, um, at, at least of right, right now, we're gonna need to partner with other organizations or the educational institutions on what the scholarship opportunities may be. And again, I think that that's where we rely upon the case management of our partner organizations too, like the, you know, the social workers that are working with these families day in and day out are also identifying those types of opportunities and helping the women, um, apply and get what they need. And so it's really once they have an opportunity identified, they're in a program, they need this extra boost to make it work- Mm-hmm ... we're gonna close that gap for them. So that's when they reach out to us, and then we kinda take it from there on the childcare side, so.
Gotcha. And I think the only stakeholder that I haven't addressed here- ... or is the, is the actual daycare. Yeah. Do you, do you guys... Are you gonna be stepping in in terms of qualifying what the daycare is or, like, the level of quality there? Yeah.
Like, I know as a semi-new parent, like, there's, there's a- ... there's a range- Absolutely ... of, of what's available. And I think the other challenge is the range of need.
Mm-hmm. So, like, whether it's night care or part-time or, you know- Oh, okay. Yeah ... there's quite a variation in what we're anticipating that some of these families are gonna need. Um, so this is really cool, but, um, Action for Children has stepped in as another organizational partner.
Okay. And they know, I mean, everything about childcare. They kind of are childcare. They know the quality centers. They know the different types of care that are provided across the state really. And so our hope is that we are gonna be able to work with them. So once we've identified a mother, she's in our program, she's getting ready to go. She'll give us preferences on what, or what her needs are geographically- Mm ... you know, whatever else. Um, we'll be able to connect then with Action for Children to identify some centers that might be interested.
Okay. And so then, um, our plan currently is that the center will invoice us directly. We'll pay the childcare costs. Um, and through that process with Action for Children, we'll know what the quality of the center is. And so it's gonna have to be, for our program at least, it's gonna have to be a top quality center to be involved in, so. Gotcha. How do you imagine the sort of eval- Like, I've sat on boards where we evaluate grant applications, right? Mm-hmm.
And so what do you guys think is gonna be the process for... Is somebody gonna s- Mm ... hand you guys a slate of, here's half a dozen folks, here's a narrative surrounding them, here's their plan- Mm-hmm
... for what they're gonna do when they have this childcare? H- how do you think that's gonna work? Yeah, I think it's... We, we have some great support in developing that process from, uh, the Columbus Women's Commission, so they're, somebody's also on our, um, sitting on our- Great ... advisory board. And so that is, that generally what you just described is probably what's going to happen.
Mm-hmm. You know, the details we're still working out with people who are far more experienced in that than I am. But, but yes, um, that we, we just talked about this again at our last advisory board meeting is kinda what do we, what are we gonna look for from these organizations as far as information that we need to be able to term- determine, um, who the best candidates may be for this funding, so. Gotcha. What is the ask that you guys have? Is the goal here... I mean, you're- Mm
... you know, you're here today for a reason. What, uh, how... Is it funding that you're looking for? Are there volunteer opportunities? Mm-hmm. Like, I know the Women's Commission has their Grant Readers program. What, what's the ask? Yeah, the ask right now is funding, honestly.
Okay. Um, I think we, we know, um, that it costs, for one infant in a full-time childcare center in Ohio, it costs over $9,000 a year. Mm-hmm. And so we have metrics around that. We have metrics around, um, multiple children. And, um, we need to hit those numbers. And so-
Okay ... the, the higher we go, the more we can take, you know, the more people we can assist. And it's gonna vary, uh, depending on the family and what the family's needs are, how much we're gonna need to contribute. So someone might just need a gap filled, and someone might need a full, full funding for a period of time. Um- So it's, it's gonna vary, but right now the big ask is funding. There will, we do definitely envision volunteer opportunities though. I mean, we really wanna wrap around these women and these families and be there for them, like more than just someone who's paying a childcare bill, you know? Right. We wanna help with resume writing or interview prep or connecting-
Yeah ... them with Dress for Success. I mean, these are all things that are so easy for us as women who've, who are already in professional jobs with a network and, and men too. I mean, we've got several male advocates on our advisory board, which is really awesome 'cause it's a, it's really a community issue. You know, it's building up, um, building up these families that it feels stuck right now, you know? Right. What's your timeline for how, like do you envision having sort of like classes or cohorts of women? Mm-hmm.
Like, and how many folks do you believe that'll be? And when does that first, when do you hit the ground? Yeah, that's a great question. So we believe that by the fall we, like as of today- Okay ... we believe that we can assist, um, two families.
Okay. Um, but we would love to get to the point where yes, we have like cohorts of women and then they form a network together. I mean, it's a, that would be the dream, right? And so it's just, it really comes down to the dollars, you know? And so we're looking at, um, grant opportunities that we can apply to- Mm-hmm ... individual funding. Um, certainly we're live on the website. We can take donations anytime. But yeah.
And we will link that in the show notes indeed. But yeah, that's the, that's the big ask right now because we really can't make any of this go until we reach the level that we can commit. Mm-hmm. And we don't, you know, the last thing we would ever wanna do is commit to a family and then not be able to deliver, and so.
Do you think it's probably gonna end up being an annual thing where you say, "This fall we're doing this- Mm-hmm ... and obviously we have a goal of it increasing the number of families that we're assisting next year." Like that's probably how your cycle's gonna go. I would imagine. Yeah, I would imagine that's the case. There's, I suppose there's a chance that it could run on like the school semester, so like a-
Right ... fall push and then maybe a January, like start of the next semester type of push. But- Yeah ... um, yeah, at least annually, so.
What I imagine as the organiz- this is sort of a sidetrack, but- ... as the organization progresses, you're gonna s- you know, formalize an onboarding process and you're gonna, you know, talk about- Mm-hmm ... sort of providing some of those other soft skills basically. Absolutely. Absolutely.
Yeah. Yep. That's absolutely right. That's- It's on the roadmap. Yeah. It, it's definitely on the roadmap. It's just been really cool to see this thing grow. It was like a, just this small idea that we thought was a little bit crazy at first and I'm like, "Eh, we'll go for it. We'll have some conversations." And to see the community support and people come out and, um, jump in and give their time and talents and, um, really bring aspects that I certainly could not provide. I mean, some, I, I look back and sometimes I say like, you know, when I look at what we, what's going, you know-
Yeah ... the momentum that's building, I'm like, I just feel like I had this idea that I put in the universe and all these people swooped in and made it happen, you know? Right. Which is so cool.
It takes a village. And such a great- Truly. It so does, and I, I definitely love my village a lot. They're great.
And so does large companies, large corporations have, you know, sort of their signature nonprofit or their signature cause? Yeah. Is this what, is this what it's gonna be for Perez and Morris? I think it could be. I mean, so, uh, I guess a little bit-
I mean, it's no, like you can easily see on the website- ... that it's a Perez, a Perez, and a Perez- ... as the, uh, you know, your husband- The founding ... then your father-in-law. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The founding board members.
Yeah. Yeah. So the, the, like, I guess a little bit about it, we've always been very heavily involved in philanthropy. Okay. And I know even like five, 10 years ago when I would talk with my father-in-law who founded our law firm about 20 years ago-
Mm-hmm ... you know, he would say that his legacy's not about the legal work, it's about how, what he's been able to do with the, this vehicle that is our, like revenue generating law firm. You know, all the ministry he's been able to support. His passion is around, uh, the homeless community and digging water wells. Okay. And so we've heavily invested in both of those areas, um, throughout the course of his leadership, and this is sort of my spin on it, I guess-
Okay ... I would say. So, um, as our firm transitions over the next however many years, and he sort of steps back and I step in- Mm-hmm ... um, this is sort of my, my take on a foundation or my building upon a foundation that was laid long before me. So, um, yeah, we've, it just kinda is taking the, it's like version 2.0.
Yeah. It's taking flight. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.
Well, Sarah, thank you so much for your time. Absolutely. And best of luck. Thank you very much for the opportunity.
Thank you for listening to The Confluence Cast presented by Columbus Underground. Again, you can get more information on what we discussed today in the show notes for this episode at theconfluencecast.com. Please rate, subscribe, share this episode of The Confluence Cast with your friends, family, contacts, enemies, your mother. If you're interested in sponsoring The Confluence Cast, get in touch with us. We can be reached by email at info@theconfluencecast.com. Our theme music was composed by Benji Robinson. Our producer is Philip Cogley. I'm your host, Tim Fulton. Have a great week.
Transcript4,504 words
Tim Fulton Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Confluence Cast presented by Columbus Underground. We are a weekly Columbus-centric podcast focusing on the civics, lifestyle, entertainment, and people of our city. I'm your host, Tim Fulton. This week, I sat down with Sarah Perez, the head of the newly formed Overcomer Foundation. We talked about that organization, their mission, how their quote unquote "simple solution" can promote economic development, and the importance of companies giving back. You can get more information on what we discussed today in the show notes for this episode at theconfluencecast.com. Also, the Confluence Cast is on Patreon. Find out how to support this podcast on our website, theconfluencecast.com, or at patreon.com/confluence. Enjoy the interview. Sitting down here with Sarah Perez, the co-founder, chair, and president of the Overcomer Foundation. Sarah, how are you?
Sarah Perez Great. How are you?
Tim Fulton I'm great. Tell us about the Overcomer Foundation. What is it? Who, who, who does it benefit? How, how does it work?
Sarah Perez Absolutely. I'd love to. So the foundation, um, is something that we started, um, from just a seed of an idea at the end of about 2017 when I started to take on a leadership role at our law firm-
Tim Fulton Okay
Sarah Perez ... which is Perez and Morris, a business law firm here in Columbus.
Tim Fulton Okay.
Sarah Perez Um, and I was really trying to f- sort of find my way and my own ground and what my purpose was gonna be and how I was gonna lead the firm. And this sort of idea struck me and really pulled at my heart that there were, um, women out there in my position, or essentially working women, single women, who may not have had the opportunities that I had, um, education-wise, and certainly may not have the opportunity to send their children to a childcare center where they're in, feel like they're enriched, they're safe.
Tim Fulton Mm-hmm.
Sarah Perez Um, and it just, it, I was really burdened by it, quite honestly, and became sort of very passionate about it and, um, had this seed of an idea. You know, what if we could fill in a gap for these women? Um, what would it look like to give childcare scholarships to get these, um, these children in a safe place so that mom could then be freed up economically and from a timing per- time perspective-
Tim Fulton Mm-hmm
Sarah Perez ... to go and, um, further her education, whatever that next step may be? And as we sort of unpacked this idea, we realized there were so many other opportunities there. From a economic development perspective for our community, uh, we were fostering safe and healthy families and economic stability for these families. Um, the idea would be that we ultimately are benefiting businesses because we're getting these single moms who may be, uh, relying at this point either on public assistance-
Tim Fulton Mm-hmm
Sarah Perez ... or are on that benefits cliff where they're unable to take the next step in their, uh, careers because they may lose some public assistance that's really critical to keeping their family stable. Um, and so we saw a great opportunity there to help all of, in all of these areas, and so it was like why, well, how could we not? You know?
Tim Fulton Right. Well, and it, so it's one of those things where you identified a gap, and you're like, "This is a very easy problem to solve-
Sarah Perez Yeah
Tim Fulton ... with money." I mean, you need money-
Sarah Perez Correct
Tim Fulton ... in order to do it, right?
Sarah Perez Yes. Correct.
Tim Fulton So talk to me sort of, it's, from the research I've done on you guys, there's, there's two problems you're solving, right?
Sarah Perez Mm-hmm.
Tim Fulton There's the education aspect and the-
Sarah Perez Mm
Tim Fulton ... workforce aspect of it.
Sarah Perez Correct.
Tim Fulton Do you believe that beneficiaries, or rather do you want beneficiaries as you get going? You haven't given any... Are we calling them scholarships? What are we calling them?
Sarah Perez Yeah, I think w- right now we're going with scholarships.
Tim Fulton Let's, let's call them, for the purpose of this episode, we'll call them scholarships.
Sarah Perez Okay.
Tim Fulton Uh, as you do that first round of scholarships for the kids-
Sarah Perez Mm-hmm
Tim Fulton ... and the moms, um, are you looking for folks who need some sort of formal education in order to enter the workforce? Do you believe that maybe you can help folks that don't, that have that education and are quote unquote "ready to work"?
Sarah Perez Mm-hmm.
Tim Fulton How, what, what are the goals there?
Sarah Perez Yeah, I think it kind of runs the gamut. The big goal is identifying women who are at that benefits cliff-
Tim Fulton Okay
Sarah Perez ... where they're, they're really have a ceiling placed on them. Um, they're unable to take the next step, so they're never quite able to reach independence and economic stability and, um, you know, leave public assistance behind and really flourish and be able to be promoted and grow and develop. We, uh, you know, when I think about it, I see this just sort of untapped pool. Unfortunately or fortunately, it just kind of is the reality that more often we have single moms than we have single dads.
Tim Fulton Right.
Sarah Perez So, so we have sort of a, um, w- we look at it too from a pay equity perspective and a wealth gap perspective.
Tim Fulton Mm-hmm.
Sarah Perez And this is an opportunity to get more women actively participating in the workforce. And, um, so that was one of the drivers. I mean, certainly there's this economic component and economic development component. And then the educational side is, uh, we see as well, and I think the research supports when mom's able to get an associate's degree or a bachelor's degree or whatever that next step may be-
Tim Fulton Mm-hmm
Sarah Perez ... there's a greater percentage, uh, or a greater chance that her children are then gonna see that as an opportunity.
Tim Fulton Okay. And so I don't imagine that- From the outset, you want to be supporting folk- have to continue to support folks.
Sarah Perez Correct.
Tim Fulton You know what I mean?
Sarah Perez Mm-hmm. That's a- you're absolutely correct. So the goal would be to see them through... And so the advisory board right now is kinda talking through whether we need to at least at first put some sort of limitation on that. But the ultimate goal would be to see the family through the educational program-
Tim Fulton Mm-hmm
Sarah Perez ... whatever that may be, use and leverage our connections in the community, which, you know, our law firm has been so privileged to serve some of the s- great companies around Columbus. And that was one of the intangibles we thought we could provide. You know, when we look to our left and right, if you will, we're like, "These are, these are employers that are eager for good talent," and if we can help foster that relationship, that's something that doesn't cost us anything.
Tim Fulton Right.
Sarah Perez And it's something that's taken years to build up, and that we are more than happy to, um, you know, help facilitate. And so it helps the companies, it helps the families, um, and just kinda connect those dots. But yes, and so once the, uh, person hopefully finds a role-
Tim Fulton Mm-hmm
Sarah Perez ... our goal is to just stair-step them down slowly until they are, you know, fully economically sufficient on their own. So it's not funding forever.
Tim Fulton Right.
Sarah Perez The goal is to get through an educational program, get placed in a job where you're earning a wage that you're able to, um, support your family, and then to sort of stair-step down from our program and have these families say, you know, "Look what I've achieved, and here I am." You know?
Tim Fulton Right.
Sarah Perez That's, that's the goal.
Tim Fulton Well, and so you've referenced it a couple of times. In the l- the medium term, you're trying to serve both ends of the pipeline, right?
Sarah Perez Mm-hmm.
Tim Fulton You're trying to service, uh, the women, the, the single moms-
Sarah Perez Mm-hmm
Tim Fulton ... and you're also trying to service the employer to an extent-
Sarah Perez Yep
Tim Fulton ... and provide them a more adequate workforce.
Sarah Perez Mm-hmm.
Tim Fulton S- talk about how, and I don't know if you have all the kinks worked out- ... of like, how to find, how to identify the needs on the other end of the pipeline, the employer end-
Sarah Perez Uh-huh
Tim Fulton ... and how to then identify candidates.
Sarah Perez Okay. Absolutely. So, um, we have had a lot of discussion about this. So we've been, the th- one of the things that's been so cool about this process is I've realized, um, what an awesome network of professionals we have in Columbus, and how ex-
Tim Fulton Mm-hmm
Sarah Perez ... how excited they are to, like, get involved in a cause like this. So our advisory board is probably getting close to about 20 people.
Tim Fulton Okay.
Sarah Perez And they're business leaders from a lot of our clients and a lot of, um, community organizations who've said, "You know, regardless of whether my company steps in, like, this is a cause I'm passionate about, I'm all for it." And so we have representatives from companies like, um, Huntington, Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, National Church Residences, Nationwide, Big Lots, all on the advisory board.
Tim Fulton Okay.
Sarah Perez And so they're kind of speaking into what their business needs are, too. And the cool thing is we've got people from HR, we've got former grant writers, we've got attorneys, which, you know, of course I'm one, too. But-
Tim Fulton Right
Sarah Perez ... um, we have all these different perspectives about what their business needs are, um, how their companies can help support this effort in a, in a really tangible and sort of business-focused way, which I think is really cool, 'cause we have the opportunity to do a ton of good. But we're really hoping that we provide some good to our, our clients and to the businesses around central Ohio.
Tim Fulton Yeah.
Sarah Perez And they have a voice around the table, so they're able to say, um, "This is what we're looking for. This is where we see a gap in the, in terms of the pool of applicants. Um, can we get some women in the program-
Tim Fulton Right
Sarah Perez ... that may be able to fill that gap?" And then we will reach out to community partners. So our first community partner that's, um, we're working with is the Center for Healthy Families, that serves pregnant and parenting teens.
Tim Fulton Okay.
Sarah Perez And they seemed like a really great fit and a natural sort of demographic for us because, but for the fact that they're parenting, they very well may have considered college or some other-
Tim Fulton Right
Sarah Perez ... you know, had different, they would've had a different outlook on what their next step may be. So if we can fill in the childcare gap for them and they're able to fund their education, you know, we kind of, we make that possible. Our goal is to eliminate what seem like these mountains for women that are insurmountable, and kinda take some of the barriers away so that they can go ahead and take that next step. And so as far as identifying a woman that would be, um, great for our program, we're really gonna leverage our community partners. Like, who's ready for the opportunity? Who's economically at the right spot where they just need this extra boost to get them-
Tim Fulton Right
Sarah Perez ... over the line? Um, and we talk with them about that. We talk with them about the, the data points, the tracking, the case management, and that's something that we're trying to get from our, um, community partners, so.
Tim Fulton Right, because at the end of the day, you wanna be able to demonstrate, like, here are the, you know, for lack of a better term, here are the KPIs that we accomplished-
Sarah Perez Exactly. Mm-hmm
Tim Fulton ... it with... You know, 'cause I imagine the advisory board has some, not direct financial stake, but most of them have given, right?
Sarah Perez Yes. Mm-hmm.
Tim Fulton Yeah.
Sarah Perez Yep.
Tim Fulton So they want to see that their money is, is-
Sarah Perez Mm-hmm
Tim Fulton ... going to good.
Sarah Perez Yeah. And I think a really cool thing for us as a business, you know, forward-thinking, we... I love the fact that our clients probably don't even realize it, but some of what they're paying when they pay a legal bill on litigation is getting directly reinvested into the community-
Tim Fulton Mm-hmm
Sarah Perez ... and that, that's something that I think is really cool. And so having our, several representatives from our clients around the table, um, helps facilitate that sort of business model and that s- that way of thinking. And you know, it, I think it just enriched and deepened our partnerships with our existing clients who are sitting around the table, so.
Tim Fulton Just to go back to a previous point, we ta- you know, you don't want to be, you're not providing childcare for, you know, five years-
Sarah Perez Mm-hmm
Tim Fulton ... or for, well, so, uh, my question is, is how long do you think-
Sarah Perez Yeah
Tim Fulton ... and I know maybe you don't know that yet because the, you haven't had beneficiaries yet, but how long do you think it'll take to provide child- adequate childcare for folks, and then for them to be able to be stepped down, like you said?
Sarah Perez Mm-hmm. So at first we're really targeting those who would like to pursue some sort of an associate's-
Tim Fulton Okay
Sarah Perez ... level degree. So we're looking at roughly a two-year program.
Tim Fulton Mm-hmm
Sarah Perez Uh, there are a lot of opportunities to partner with Columbus State and local universities. Otterbein, we're starting to have conversations about how we might be able to partner. I mean, we've had some really great feedback from educational institutions that they too would like to get involved 'cause it's something that they're identifying that their students really need, right? So, um, we also see in the data that, um, the difference between a woman with a high school diploma and an associate's degree, the woman with the associate's degree can earn on average 175% of what-
Tim Fulton Okay
Sarah Perez ... someone with just a high school diploma. So we still see a very big bang for your buck, if you will-
Tim Fulton Yeah
Sarah Perez ... in terms of closing that wealth gap. And that's something that we feel like is probably the most manageable course just to get started. We're certainly not foreclosing, and we're dreaming big and hoping that we can help people with bachelor's degrees and beyond. But we're also aware of programs like, for example, with Mount Carmel College of Nursing, where, you know, if they can get through the first two years, then they can w- they can work and, you know, have a scholarship from that organization actually to complete a bachelor's degree.
Tim Fulton Okay.
Sarah Perez So there may be some opportunities there where maybe we assist, get them working at a wage that can support their family, afford their apartment, afford food, afford childcare. Um, and then we have other organizations or colleges stepping in and getting them even further along. It's just opening that first door-
Tim Fulton Mm-hmm
Sarah Perez ... and kinda removing that barrier to get them moving is what we're trying to do, so.
Tim Fulton And so do you imagine those partnerships with educational institutions, those partnerships may help... I, I guess I'm thinking, well, you've solved the childcare problem, right?
Sarah Perez Mm-hmm.
Tim Fulton But how are you solving the, you know-
Sarah Perez Yeah
Tim Fulton ... cost of education problem?
Sarah Perez Absolutely. And I don't think that that's actually something that we're gonna solve for-
Tim Fulton Okay
Sarah Perez ... at least not yet. I mean, that would be another area where we're gonna need to partner with, um, at, at least of right, right now, we're gonna need to partner with other organizations or the educational institutions on what the scholarship opportunities may be. And again, I think that that's where we rely upon the case management of our partner organizations too, like the, you know, the social workers that are working with these families day in and day out are also identifying those types of opportunities and helping the women, um, apply and get what they need. And so it's really once they have an opportunity identified, they're in a program, they need this extra boost to make it work-
Tim Fulton Mm-hmm
Sarah Perez ... we're gonna close that gap for them. So that's when they reach out to us, and then we kinda take it from there on the childcare side, so.
Tim Fulton Gotcha. And I think the only stakeholder that I haven't addressed here- ... or is the, is the actual daycare.
Sarah Perez Yeah.
Tim Fulton Do you, do you guys... Are you gonna be stepping in in terms of qualifying what the daycare is or, like, the level of quality there?
Sarah Perez Yeah.
Tim Fulton Like, I know as a semi-new parent, like, there's, there's a- ... there's a range-
Sarah Perez Absolutely
Tim Fulton ... of, of what's available.
Sarah Perez And I think the other challenge is the range of need.
Tim Fulton Mm-hmm.
Sarah Perez So, like, whether it's night care or part-time or, you know-
Tim Fulton Oh, okay. Yeah
Sarah Perez ... there's quite a variation in what we're anticipating that some of these families are gonna need. Um, so this is really cool, but, um, Action for Children has stepped in as another organizational partner.
Tim Fulton Okay.
Sarah Perez And they know, I mean, everything about childcare. They kind of are childcare. They know the quality centers. They know the different types of care that are provided across the state really. And so our hope is that we are gonna be able to work with them. So once we've identified a mother, she's in our program, she's getting ready to go. She'll give us preferences on what, or what her needs are geographically-
Tim Fulton Mm
Sarah Perez ... you know, whatever else. Um, we'll be able to connect then with Action for Children to identify some centers that might be interested.
Tim Fulton Okay.
Sarah Perez And so then, um, our plan currently is that the center will invoice us directly. We'll pay the childcare costs. Um, and through that process with Action for Children, we'll know what the quality of the center is. And so it's gonna have to be, for our program at least, it's gonna have to be a top quality center to be involved in, so.
Tim Fulton Gotcha. How do you imagine the sort of eval- Like, I've sat on boards where we evaluate grant applications, right?
Sarah Perez Mm-hmm.
Tim Fulton And so what do you guys think is gonna be the process for... Is somebody gonna s-
Sarah Perez Mm
Tim Fulton ... hand you guys a slate of, here's half a dozen folks, here's a narrative surrounding them, here's their plan-
Sarah Perez Mm-hmm
Tim Fulton ... for what they're gonna do when they have this childcare? H- how do you think that's gonna work?
Sarah Perez Yeah, I think it's... We, we have some great support in developing that process from, uh, the Columbus Women's Commission, so they're, somebody's also on our, um, sitting on our-
Tim Fulton Great
Sarah Perez ... advisory board. And so that is, that generally what you just described is probably what's going to happen.
Tim Fulton Mm-hmm.
Sarah Perez You know, the details we're still working out with people who are far more experienced in that than I am. But, but yes, um, that we, we just talked about this again at our last advisory board meeting is kinda what do we, what are we gonna look for from these organizations as far as information that we need to be able to term- determine, um, who the best candidates may be for this funding, so.
Tim Fulton Gotcha. What is the ask that you guys have? Is the goal here... I mean, you're-
Sarah Perez Mm
Tim Fulton ... you know, you're here today for a reason. What, uh, how... Is it funding that you're looking for? Are there volunteer opportunities?
Sarah Perez Mm-hmm.
Tim Fulton Like, I know the Women's Commission has their Grant Readers program. What, what's the ask?
Sarah Perez Yeah, the ask right now is funding, honestly.
Tim Fulton Okay.
Sarah Perez Um, I think we, we know, um, that it costs, for one infant in a full-time childcare center in Ohio, it costs over $9,000 a year.
Tim Fulton Mm-hmm.
Sarah Perez And so we have metrics around that. We have metrics around, um, multiple children. And, um, we need to hit those numbers. And so-
Tim Fulton Okay
Sarah Perez ... the, the higher we go, the more we can take, you know, the more people we can assist. And it's gonna vary, uh, depending on the family and what the family's needs are, how much we're gonna need to contribute. So someone might just need a gap filled, and someone might need a full, full funding for a period of time. Um- So it's, it's gonna vary, but right now the big ask is funding. There will, we do definitely envision volunteer opportunities though. I mean, we really wanna wrap around these women and these families and be there for them, like more than just someone who's paying a childcare bill, you know?
Tim Fulton Right.
Sarah Perez We wanna help with resume writing or interview prep or connecting-
Tim Fulton Yeah
Sarah Perez ... them with Dress for Success. I mean, these are all things that are so easy for us as women who've, who are already in professional jobs with a network and, and men too. I mean, we've got several male advocates on our advisory board, which is really awesome 'cause it's a, it's really a community issue. You know, it's building up, um, building up these families that it feels stuck right now, you know?
Tim Fulton Right. What's your timeline for how, like do you envision having sort of like classes or cohorts of women?
Sarah Perez Mm-hmm.
Tim Fulton Like, and how many folks do you believe that'll be? And when does that first, when do you hit the ground?
Sarah Perez Yeah, that's a great question. So we believe that by the fall we, like as of today-
Tim Fulton Okay
Sarah Perez ... we believe that we can assist, um, two families.
Tim Fulton Okay.
Sarah Perez Um, but we would love to get to the point where yes, we have like cohorts of women and then they form a network together. I mean, it's a, that would be the dream, right? And so it's just, it really comes down to the dollars, you know? And so we're looking at, um, grant opportunities that we can apply to-
Tim Fulton Mm-hmm
Sarah Perez ... individual funding. Um, certainly we're live on the website. We can take donations anytime. But yeah.
Tim Fulton And we will link that in the show notes indeed.
Sarah Perez But yeah, that's the, that's the big ask right now because we really can't make any of this go until we reach the level that we can commit.
Tim Fulton Mm-hmm.
Sarah Perez And we don't, you know, the last thing we would ever wanna do is commit to a family and then not be able to deliver, and so.
Tim Fulton Do you think it's probably gonna end up being an annual thing where you say, "This fall we're doing this-
Sarah Perez Mm-hmm
Tim Fulton ... and obviously we have a goal of it increasing the number of families that we're assisting next year." Like that's probably how your cycle's gonna go.
Sarah Perez I would imagine. Yeah, I would imagine that's the case. There's, I suppose there's a chance that it could run on like the school semester, so like a-
Tim Fulton Right
Sarah Perez ... fall push and then maybe a January, like start of the next semester type of push. But-
Tim Fulton Yeah
Sarah Perez ... um, yeah, at least annually, so.
Tim Fulton What I imagine as the organiz- this is sort of a sidetrack, but- ... as the organization progresses, you're gonna s- you know, formalize an onboarding process and you're gonna, you know, talk about-
Sarah Perez Mm-hmm
Tim Fulton ... sort of providing some of those other soft skills basically.
Sarah Perez Absolutely. Absolutely.
Tim Fulton Yeah.
Sarah Perez Yep. That's absolutely right. That's-
Tim Fulton It's on the roadmap.
Sarah Perez Yeah. It, it's definitely on the roadmap. It's just been really cool to see this thing grow. It was like a, just this small idea that we thought was a little bit crazy at first and I'm like, "Eh, we'll go for it. We'll have some conversations." And to see the community support and people come out and, um, jump in and give their time and talents and, um, really bring aspects that I certainly could not provide. I mean, some, I, I look back and sometimes I say like, you know, when I look at what we, what's going, you know-
Tim Fulton Yeah
Sarah Perez ... the momentum that's building, I'm like, I just feel like I had this idea that I put in the universe and all these people swooped in and made it happen, you know?
Tim Fulton Right.
Sarah Perez Which is so cool.
Tim Fulton It takes a village.
Sarah Perez And such a great-
Tim Fulton Truly.
Sarah Perez It so does, and I, I definitely love my village a lot. They're great.
Tim Fulton And so does large companies, large corporations have, you know, sort of their signature nonprofit or their signature cause?
Sarah Perez Yeah.
Tim Fulton Is this what, is this what it's gonna be for Perez and Morris?
Sarah Perez I think it could be. I mean, so, uh, I guess a little bit-
Tim Fulton I mean, it's no, like you can easily see on the website- ... that it's a Perez, a Perez, and a Perez- ... as the, uh, you know, your husband-
Sarah Perez The founding
Tim Fulton ... then your father-in-law.
Sarah Perez Yeah, yeah, yeah. The founding board members.
Tim Fulton Yeah.
Sarah Perez Yeah. So the, the, like, I guess a little bit about it, we've always been very heavily involved in philanthropy.
Tim Fulton Okay.
Sarah Perez And I know even like five, 10 years ago when I would talk with my father-in-law who founded our law firm about 20 years ago-
Tim Fulton Mm-hmm
Sarah Perez ... you know, he would say that his legacy's not about the legal work, it's about how, what he's been able to do with the, this vehicle that is our, like revenue generating law firm. You know, all the ministry he's been able to support. His passion is around, uh, the homeless community and digging water wells.
Tim Fulton Okay.
Sarah Perez And so we've heavily invested in both of those areas, um, throughout the course of his leadership, and this is sort of my spin on it, I guess-
Tim Fulton Okay
Sarah Perez ... I would say. So, um, as our firm transitions over the next however many years, and he sort of steps back and I step in-
Tim Fulton Mm-hmm
Sarah Perez ... um, this is sort of my, my take on a foundation or my building upon a foundation that was laid long before me. So, um, yeah, we've, it just kinda is taking the, it's like version 2.0.
Tim Fulton Yeah. It's taking flight.
Sarah Perez Yeah.
Tim Fulton Absolutely.
Sarah Perez Yeah.
Tim Fulton Well, Sarah, thank you so much for your time.
Sarah Perez Absolutely.
Tim Fulton And best of luck.
Sarah Perez Thank you very much for the opportunity.
Tim Fulton Thank you for listening to The Confluence Cast presented by Columbus Underground. Again, you can get more information on what we discussed today in the show notes for this episode at theconfluencecast.com. Please rate, subscribe, share this episode of The Confluence Cast with your friends, family, contacts, enemies, your mother. If you're interested in sponsoring The Confluence Cast, get in touch with us. We can be reached by email at info@theconfluencecast.com. Our theme music was composed by Benji Robinson. Our producer is Philip Cogley. I'm your host, Tim Fulton. Have a great week.