Our Story

UBH was founded in 1990 in response to the affordable housing crisis on the Westside of Los Angeles and its impact on homeless families with children. UBH’s program initially consisted of a small shelter program operated out of a four-unit apartment building. It has since expanded to a 21-unit apartment complex in Santa Monica, an 18-unit converted motel in Culver City, and 6 duplexes that serve 50 families in South Los Angeles. UBH and its service models have evolved over time to meet the changing needs of the population it serves. Since its inception, UBH has helped over 3,023 families – including more than 5,590 children – transition from homelessness into permanent housing, with over 90% of families remaining stably housed more than one year later.

2022 IMPACT

• UBH served 390 families experiencing homelessness, which included 572 children.

• 85% of exiting families were placed into permanent housing.

• 149 adults obtained employment or increased their income through UBH’s Career Connect Employment program.

• 158 adults participated in job readiness services such as resume writing, job search and application workshops, and interviewing techniques.

Every homeless family has the potential to succeed.
Upward Bound House helps make that success a reality.

That’s why at Upward Bound House, they provide homeless families with housing and supportive services to suit their specific needs. Their programs are designed to empower homeless parents and their children to obtain housing stability, build healthy relationships, and enjoy emotional and financial well-being. A team of professional staff offers an array of services in housing, employment, and evidence-based, trauma-informed care to over 300 families annually. UBH provides program services in Santa Monica, Culver City, Compton, and South Los Angeles.

Leadership

Led by President & CEO, Christine Mirasy-Glasco, for the past decade, UBH has grown from a small neighborhood nonprofit to an expanded organization providing services across greater Los Angeles. Mirasy-Glasco is a thought leader in the homeless space, having previously worked at Beyond Shelter and PATH. She and the UBH team are leading the charge of disrupting intergenerational homelessness and centering financial stability for families. With this focus and through increased funding in the rapid re-housing space, UBH’s revenue has grown from $7 million last year to $10 million annually. It also has a healthy financial reserve and holds $12 million in assets.

Strategic Plan 2022 to 2023

In 2022, and in partnership with the Center for Nonprofit Management, the Board of Directors adopted a new strategic plan for 2023 through 2025. The Plan identified two north stars that are woven into the initiatives that flow from the plan:

• Disrupting intergenerational homelessness

• Centering financial sustainability for families

Study patterns show that intergenerational homelessness is on the rise. This occurs when two generations of a family experience homelessness: either together (i.e., family homelessness) or separately. The widening economic, social, and health disparities created over the last decades have exacerbated this trend, and we now see sequential generations of families experiencing homelessness. In order to end family homelessness, it is critical to develop and implement solutions for the entire family unit and not just the head of the household. UBH’s approach involves working directly with children within the family because data shows that generational poverty is a key driver of intergenerational homelessness. Children who grow up with housing insecurity and a lack of resources and opportunities are 3 to 4 times more likely to experience homelessness. Intentionally embracing children as central beneficiaries and participants in stabilizing families will be a game changer in ending family homelessness. Leveling the playing field for these children means access to educational, social, and health resources which will give them a chance to compete for opportunities that will lead to self-sufficiency.

The majority of homeless families cite economic reasons as the primary cause of their homelessness. Addressing this root cause is the key to ensuring housing stability. In centering financial sustainability as a lifestyle practice, UBH’s approach is to empower each family to articulate what a sustainability practice looks like for them and then chart a pathway to achieve it.

Fund Development

One of the key objectives in UBH’s Strategic Plan is to expand its philanthropic program, by growing revenue and diversifying its funding streams. To date, UBH has employed a tactical approach to fundraising as well as leveraging a generous Board of Directors who has, impressively, committed to a $2,500 give and $2,500 get policy, resulting in $1.5 million in gifts annually. With the addition of $3 million in new public funding, UBH is ready to invest in a more sophisticated, long-term, strategic approach to fund development.

Traditionally UBH has had two major annual events (one of which was paused during COVID), an annual appeal, and ad hoc initiatives that have driven individual, corporate and foundation funding. One of their recent successes in individual giving, which has not been leveraged yet, is their ongoing partnership with a very exclusive restauranter in Los Angeles. UBH is the restauranter’s charity of choice, and they have created a unique giving program which attracts and engages their high net-worth clientele. Through this effort, not only is a donor prospect pipeline created, but significant major gifts have been secured. UBH believes that upon wealth-screening their donors, there is great opportunity for a successful and seasoned development professional to continue to build that pipeline, secure additional major gifts, and create a major gift and stewardship program to grow and significantly expand major giving. With UBH’s “North Star” focus on addressing family homelessness and the data that supports its programs’ achievements, the organization provides extraordinary success stories for the VP of Development to share with donors and donor prospects.

UBH is now ready to hire a Vice President of Development who will be a thought-leader and partner with the President & CEO to help lead the vision and strategy for all of UBH’s fundraising. They will be charged with developing a robust, diversified fundraising program and a culture of philanthropy that runs deep throughout the whole organization, with a goal of taking the annual fundraising to $3 million a year.

This is a phenomenal opportunity for an accomplished fund development leader who is both a strategic thinker and “hands on” fundraiser. UBH is looking for a fundraising professional who has had success in building out an individual giving program for a nonprofit organization. Mirasy-Glasco and her Board of Directors view fund development as a key pillar of its investment, especially at a time where social justice is such a local and national topic of concern.