Choose DuPage

Having read a lot in the recent past about DuPage County Chairman Dan Cronin and the completed audits by Crowe Horwath on many board and commissions within DuPage, one entity that was not on the radar was Choose DuPage.  Choose DuPage is a private public entity,  the concept is based on economic development.  While we all recognize the importance of a strong business community and how this benefits DuPage,  should public dollars be given to this entity while DuPage is slowly cutting funds to human services.  The below story explains how Choose DuPage plans to educate non profits how to ween off public funding. Maybe Choose DuPage should follow their own advice and lead by example.

5/25/2012 10:56:00 AM Choose DuPage task force starts program to aid nonprofits Business Ledger Report LISLE --  Choose DuPage Human Services Task Force, in conjunction with the DuPage Federation on Human Service Reform, has initiated a pilot project to train key personnel and incorporate best business practices into the human services sector. The project, called New Tools for New Times, aims to help not-for-profits create a flexible plan that will encourage growth and respond to DuPage County’s changing demographics and financial needs. The project is jointly funded by the Choose DuPage Foundation and the DuPage Community Foundation, and the training will be delivered by the Business Innovation Services group at the University of Illinois in Naperville.  Financial demands, coupled with rapidly changing demographics and reduced state and federal funding, have required human service organizations to reevaluate its business practices in order to create sustainability and growth. An influx of low-income persons moving into DuPage County, along with existing residents suffering from a sluggish economy, have resulted in an increased demand for services in the human services sector. Therefore, organizations providing services must respond to this demand by implementing tools that will help them serve the community in an environment of declining resources by increasing efficiency, decreasing error, and eliminating tasks that do not directly help achieve the organization’s mission.  “Choose Dupage recognizes that for true change to take place, organizations must be innovative, have a flexible philosophy and be willing to welcome a culture shift at the ground level, including a change in existing behaviors and fundamental beliefs within the organization,” said Greg Bedalov, president & CEO of Choose DuPage.