My Nonprofit Reviews

KenLinda
Review for COTS, Petaluma, CA, USA
We have just returned from COTS annual fundraising breakfast where over 600 people from the community came to hear about the important work COTS does to put homeless and vulnerable adults and children back on their feet, in a safe environment, restoring their self-esteem and self-confidence. The results are so positive and so powerful that there isn't a big enough meeting hall in the city to accommodate all the people that want to be part of helping COTS address this critical human need. They come to pledge funds not just for one year or two years, but five years so that COTS can develop longer term plans to help their many clients.
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I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
In our daily lives we have encountered and come to know quite well a number of adults who have found a way to reconnect with society and become positive, contributing citizens after falling so far that they had no longer believed such an outcome to be possible. It is extraordinarily inspiring to see men and women and children, too, who had given up hope and then found they had capacities they didn't know existed...capacity to help themselves and, perhaps even more importantly, to help others as well.
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
We would try to find more ways to leverage the success they have achieved in Petaluma and Sonoma County, California. To our knowledge, no other similar organization has been more successful in moving clients back into the community as successful, independent persons. We would so like to see this capacity effectively transferred to other organizations addressing the issues of hunger and homelessness.
Was your donation impactful?
Definitely
How likely is it that you would recommend that a friend donate to this group?
Definitely
How likely are you to donate to this group again?
Definitely
What specific problem, purpose, priority, or project prompted your gift?
It began with small gifts...an entree cooked once a month for COTS clients. Over time as the positive results were more and more apparent our contributions increased so that now we give as much as we can afford each year.
Why did you make your donation at this time?
Because the need is always there, we reaffirmed our 5-year pledge.
What would you tell others about this organization?
We try very hard to donate to non-profits that will make good, efficient use of the donation. Of all the organizations we contribute to, we believe that none makes better use of the money they have to work with.
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2010