Shoes That Fit

Note: The organization did not respond to this question.

Note: The organization did not respond to this question.

Shoes That Fit provides professional development opportunities for all staff members. We received scholarship funding for the Center for Nonprofit Management from generous donors. Staff members have recently participated in sessions such as Successful Facilitation Skills, Storytelling for Fundraising, and Leadership for Nonprofits, as well as a two-day conference that explored the question, “What is our purpose and our power?” In addition, Shoes That Fit has invested in professional development to improve fundraising strategy. We have been working with a consultant specializing in growth strategies for nonprofits. This has equipped our development team with new tools to grow strategic corporate and brand partnerships, enhance engagements with individual donors, and initiate organizational growth.

Shoes That Fit engages in strategic partnerships with individuals, groups, and public and private sector organizations across the nation to provide shoes for kids. Our partners give through our proven model to help even more kids receive brand-new shoes. They do this by purchasing shoes themselves, providing funding for Shoes That Fit to purchase shoes, or investing in the organization’s growth. Shoes That Fit works with a PR firm to raise awareness of the mission and highlight the incredible stories of life-change that happen when kids have properly fitting shoes. We are active on all social media platforms and are regularly featured in the news with our partners for shoe donation events.

Even with schools closed across the United States, teachers and administrators continued to work with families that were disproportionately affected by the pandemic, delivering food, school supplies, hot spots, and laptops to children in need. Shoes That Fit adapted proven strategies to this new reality, replacing the physical measurement of students by school staff with processes that empowered families to send that information directly to school leads. In the cases of larger deliveries, size runs were sent to schools based on thirty years of internal data compiled on size ranges based on age. Both models required more exchanges of shoes, but kept the mission moving forward for children most in need. For the organization, the challenge of innovating and adapting with our educational partners came alongside the significant organizational challenge of creating remote work procedures and culture. Grants were secured to invest in the hardware and software needed to support newly remote teams. A nimble staff created new COVID safety protocols for warehouse processing at our emergency warehouse in Claremont, CA, ensuring that existing commitments to school and nonprofit partners continued to be fulfilled. In response to the new supply chain challenges of the last two years, new staff were recruited to join the organization with significant supply chain expertise. With their support, supplies of shoes to children across the United States remained uninterrupted.