Last week, #TeamYardi Dallas volunteered with the Texas Conservation Alliance. The group participated in a paramount environmental stewardship initiative and cleaned up litter from White Rock Creek in Dallas. In total, the group gathered 850 pounds of litter from the waterway! Their efforts benefit local and marine wildlife all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. In 2023, TCA planted nearly 10,000 native plants in North Texas to support pollinators like monarchs, removed over 13,000 pounds of litter from Texas waterways and planted 1,000 trees to mitigate the urban heat island effect. A few members of Yardi took home native plants. Thank you for opening up your yard space to pollinators. Monarchs and other pollinators face many challenges, so every plant makes a difference! Find future non-profit profiles...

Let’s splash over to the East Coast and introduce the New York Marine Rescue Center (NYMRC), founded in 1996 in Riverhead, NY. This nonprofit is dedicated to preserving and conserving marine mammals and sea turtles. NYMRC provides in-field rescue and rehabilitation for marine mammals and sea turtles throughout New York. In fact, it is the only permitted organization to rescue and rehabilitate marine mammals and sea turtles in the state of New York. With its focus on continuing to help these critical animals and provide them with a second chance at life, NYMRC plans to carry out research projects that examine the post-release movement pattern of rehabilitated animals and further understand their utilization of New York waters. Yardi funding helps with the overall costs associated with operating this organization, which ultimately helps preserve these charismatic and important species. “We are so thankful for Yardi’s continued support,” said Maxine Montello, executive director of NYMRC. Since NYMRC’s inception, it has rescued 5,929 animals, including 2,344 sea turtles, 2,650 seals, and 935 small whales and dolphins. Yardi Long Island Volunteers Last year, #TeamYardi members from the Long Island, NY office had 27 volunteers who visited Robert Moses Beach for a beach clean-up day. One group gathered over 21 pounds of debris. The employees enjoyed a day at the beach and made an incredible impact on the marine environment. In addition to two beach clean-up days, eight volunteers represented Yardi at the New York Marine Rescue Center’s Ocean of Hope event. Yardi contributed a charitable donation, and the volunteers enjoyed silent auctions, music and food. Volunteer Opportunities All Yardi employees can join NYMRC in the field with beach clean-ups, fairs, and other educational programming. Please contact Maxine Montello at [email protected] to learn more about how to help and join NYMRC. “The team is only comprised of eight female employees. Without the support of volunteers and interns, NYRMC would not be able to do the work we do,” shared Montello. Find future non-profit profiles...

Dignity Matters, founded in 2016 in Framingham, MA, provides a reliable supply of free menstrual care and undergarments to homeless and impoverished females. Menstrual care is expensive, rarely donated and can’t be purchased with SNAP/Food Stamps, WIC, or any other federal benefit programs – so tens of thousands of women in Massachusetts are going without these essential items. Dignity Matters supports 15,000 women and girls monthly through a network of shelters, food pantries, public schools, community colleges and medical clinics. “Being able to manage their period safely each month makes it possible for them to attend school consistently, work to support their families, and live with dignity and confidence,” said Meryl Glassman, development director for Dignity Matters. Dignity Matters supports 15,000 women monthly, using a wholesale contract to buy menstrual care in bulk. Unfortunately, these costs have increased with inflation, but Dignity Matters hopes to grow to 1,000 more women this year. Funding from Yardi helps Dignity Matters plan for the year ahead and ensures they can consistently be there for every woman who counts on them. Every three dollars helps a woman manage her period with dignity. Yardi has made it possible for 14,000 women to manage their periods with dignity over the last five years! “Your consistent support helps us ensure we can be there for these women and girls every month,” expressed Glassman. She continued, “We appreciate the trust you put in us to use the funds where they will make the biggest difference, and we are incredibly grateful for your partnership!” Families in Need Many of the women who support Dignity Matters care for young children, and they put the needs of the children first, so there is often no money left to purchase menstrual care for themselves. Every month, Dignity Matters hears of women who are so grateful they do not have to choose between buying food and clothes for their children and buying menstrual care. This is not just for moms and daughters. The entire household benefits when menstrual care is accessible and when it can be discussed openly. One parent sent Dignity Matters a note to let them know how much the support means to them: “I am a single dad with teenage daughters. The most important thing we get is those pads. Thank you so much!” Volunteer Opportunities Dignity Matters started as a volunteer organization and still relies on hundreds of active volunteers to continue its efforts. They have opportunities to volunteer in the warehouse, help deliver products, and create menstrual care kits. They always look for runners for charity teams at the Falmouth Road Race and Boston 10K for Women. Anyone, anywhere, can help by making a donation on its website or sending products directly to the warehouse through its Amazon Wishlist.  “You and Yardi have made it possible for thousands of women to learn, work, and live with dignity,” said Glassman. She continued, “Your support is helping us put this issue front and center where it belongs – the more people become aware of period poverty, the more resources we’ll have to fight it. THANK YOU!” Find future non-profit profiles...

OneGoal Metro Atlanta works with regional partner schools to develop their knowledge and capacity, resulting in more equitable and practical support for all students. Over the years, OneGoal has delivered real student impact. 2024 Atlanta Student Summit Conference Hosted at Clayton State University, OneGoal brought 850 high school juniors and seniors from ten schools around the Atlanta metro area for a college and career exploration day. The event was full of energy and excitement as students began to envision what a path to higher education could look like for them—the day included planning for the future, using tools to define the path to higher education and personal connections with the OneGoal community. It allows students to explore various career paths, and postsecondary options and engage with colleges and technical schools at an Opportunity Fair. #TeamYardi of the Atlanta Relief Team contributed significantly to this event by assisting with setup/organization, welcoming committees, lunch support, cleanup, and even featuring entrepreneurs who shared their experiences and lessons learned. “We successfully fulfilled every request made to us, contributing to the nonprofit cause and investing in the future workforce and our communities,” exclaimed Amy Mojica, relief suite team Atlanta case supervisor. The entrepreneurs who shared their experiences: Scott Mclean, Senior Manager for Yardi Relief Suite Robyn Woods Green Jacket, Yardi consultant   Ternisa Kirk, Black Jacket, Case Auditor Janice Wells, pink Jacket, Case Auditor The Yardi Relief Team is a Yardi group that assists states, counties, and cities in managing federal and state funds to help communities in need. This assistance encompasses mortgage, rental, and utility aid as well as other forms of support to facilitate Treasury, Department of Energy, and other community service block grants. Yardi looks forward to more events with OneGoal and future community events! Find future nonprofit profiles...

Yardi-supported Guiding Eyes for the Blind is a nonprofit founded in 1954 in Yorktown Heights, NY. Guiding Eyes for the Blind provides guide dogs to people with vision loss. This one-of-a-kind nonprofit organization is known worldwide as a center of excellence with a spirit of innovation. Since 1954, Guiding Eyes has graduated over 10,000 guide dog teams and is one of only two guide dog schools to serve people who are Deafblind. Guiding Eyes provides services, programs, and follow-up support to their clients at no cost and serves all 50 states, including Canada. Guiding Eyes also collaborates with guide dog organizations worldwide to share expertise and information on genetics, breeding and training. Guiding Eyes aims to graduate 150+ guide dog teams and support 1,000 active guide dog teams yearly. The journey of a guide dog takes about two-plus years and includes the following: Breeding and care: focus on the human-dog bond for up to eight weeks. Training with a skilled volunteer puppy raiser: eight weeks to 15 months. Formal harness training: hundreds of repetitions in various settings, five to 12 months. Training with blind people: on-site or in the student’s home area, 10-15 days. Follow-up Support: Throughout the partnerships, it averages eight years. Guiding Eyes is beginning to build a new Canine Wellness and Training Facility over the next three years to provide the best environment for guide dogs in training and enable its organization to grow and place more guide dog teams annually. “Guiding Eyes relies on the support of individuals, corporations and foundations to facilitate our work. We do not receive government grants. We also have a network of 1,700+ volunteers who make the mission possible every step of the way,” said Rebekah Cross, director of donor relations for Guiding Eyes. Funding from Yardi helps Guiding Eyes assist in training and placing a guide dog for someone blind in the local NY/CT/NJ area, directly impacting donors. “At Guiding Eyes for the Blind, we are incredibly grateful for the support received from Yardi over the past two years. Yardi’s support plays an integral role in enabling us to fulfill our mission of providing guide dogs to people with vision loss,” expressed Cross. Breeding, raising, and training a guide dog is resource intensive, both financially and through the hundreds of people involved in each guide dog, and costs up to $50,000 annually per dog. Yet, the ROI is priceless through the opportunities resulting from the increased independence and confidence partnering with a guide dog brings. Jaydene and Nita Every individual receiving a Guiding Eyes guide dog has a unique and diverse experience and vision loss journey. Still, the resounding sentiments from all graduates are the feelings of joy, freedom, safety and confidence provided by their four-legged partners. NYC native Jaydene lost her sight as a teenager and received services from a local agency that she now works for, providing technology support and training for those with vision loss. Before getting her first guide dog, Licorice, she realized how much more quickly friends with guide dogs walked. Living in the greater New York City area, Guiding Eyes is a household name she applied to and took that leap of faith. “I have a much greater sense of independence. I like to say that a guide dog is the fine wine of mobility and travel,” shared Jaydene. Nita is now Jaydene’s second guide dog, a yellow Labrador Retriever, “With Nita, I can get wherever I need to the fastest and safest way possible.” Read more about Jaydene’s journey at Guiding Eyes and more fun perks about Nita. Volunteer Opportunities Guiding Eyes has many volunteer opportunities, from home socialization of six to eight-week-old puppies to puppy raising and sitting to fostering a brood or stud in its breeding program. They also have opportunities on its campuses in Yorktown Heights, NY and Patterson, NY, ranging from administrative to dog care. Learn more and...

Each year, Yardi distributes philanthropic aid to organizations selected by its employees. Decatur, Ga. based Global Village Project (GVP), founded in 2009, is a one-of-a-kind, tuition-free middle school created to meet refugee girls’ unique and holistic needs. Refugees arriving in the U.S. often find their children facing obstacles to an equitable education or needing to catch up academically. New students are typically placed in classrooms according to their age. Girls — who often have additional family responsibilities inside the home and who may face cultural pressure to pursue paths other than education — are at further risk of dropping out of school. “In contrast to these typical odds, when given access to a school community that is deeply committed to understanding and meeting their unique needs, we see our students and alumni thriving within and beyond the classroom,” said Leah Kuenzi, senior grants manager for GVP. GVP’s mission is to reactivate the schooling of refugee girls so they can access all the benefits of an education. GVP is a dual-accredited (State of Georgia and Southern Association of Independent Schools) special-purpose middle school offering a three-year accelerated curriculum designed so that students can overcome gaps in their education and get caught up academically before moving on to high school and beyond. Typically, 45 students are enrolled yearly, the maximum capacity for the current space. Growing at a rapid pace In recent years, the Atlanta area has seen a 300% increase in refugee arrivals. Per this trend, since 2017, GVP has had to turn away, on average, 44% of the students applying each year due to the limited scale of operations and space constraints. GVP plans to relocate to a larger venue to accommodate its growing needs, with the intention of being able to accept 100 kids yearly. Luckily, a large donation was made, and GVP will be renovating a three-building campus with over 26,000 square feet of space just four miles away from its current location. Funding from Yardi has helped GVP respond with agility to areas of greatest need and support for their current operations. “While all grant funds are meaningful to our organization, it’s especially exciting to know that our work caught the attention and won the support of the entire team at the Atlanta Yardi office,” explained Kuenzi. “As our name implies, we know that “it takes a village” and are so grateful that Yardi Systems chooses to be a part of ours!” Mathematical Thinking Caroline Henry is a math teacher at Global Village Project. She teaches newcomers and intermediate students. Henry teaches math a bit differently than a typical math teacher would. Instead of students just showing a numerical answer, she invites the students to the board and has them explain their thinking of the problem and their strategy aloud and analyze as a group what the best strategies are. Henry always allows those to “pass” if they wish, but to her delight, most girls jump at the chance to share their mathematical thinking with their school sisters. Last year, one reserved student would clap with such enthusiasm that it quickly became a tradition. “If you feel safe and brave enough to stand in front of the class, show us your math and explain it in English, you deserve a round of applause!” This same student has carried this tradition forward to a new group of girls, and the classroom is full of shouts of encouragement, congratulations, clapping, and so much joy. Henry says this is the joy and great privilege of her work at GVP. “These seemingly small things that we celebrate each day at GVP really are not small things at all: a girl has survived, a girl has adapted and is beginning to thrive, a girl is getting an education,” said Henry. At GVP, refugee girls feel safe taking risks, trying new things, and honoring one another. “Thank you for your part in...

Daily Bread Food Bank, a nonprofit suported by Yardi Canada, was founded in 1983 in Etobicoke, Ontario. Unlike other food banks, Daily Bread is a member organization and delivers food to 207 meal programs at 132 agencies across Toronto, Etobicoke and Scarborough. One in ten people in Toronto rely on food banks, twice as much as in 2022. Daily Bread distributed nearly 28 million pounds of food in 2022-2023, a 50% increase from the previous year. Clients have doubled over the years since the pandemic, and in December 2023, Daily Bread had over 284,000 clients, surpassing previous records. “Before COVID, we spent $1.5 million yearly on purchased food.  Now, we are spending that each month. This past year, we spent $22 million on food, 14 times more than pre-COVID,” said Carol Eby, senior manager for corporate partnerships. Daily Bread hopes the Canada Disability Benefit Law will be approved in the federal government’s March budget. Since many of Daily Bread’s clients rely on the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), this will help them out of deep poverty and be less reliant on food banks over time. Daily Bread ensures they have enough food to provide for those in need. “Our food budget is presently $22 million, and we anticipate this will increase this year to $29 million based on economic factors remaining status quo and the impact these have on an increase in food bank clients,” Eby shares. Funding from Yardi helps Daily Bread purchase food needed to manage the consistent increase in food bank clients it is experiencing. It also helps with research and advocacy efforts to provide foundational research from clients as to why they need to use a food bank. For food bank clients to decrease, Daily Bread strives for systemic change. “This important research is used to inform and educate the various levels of government on policies that need to be created to manage the various economic issues that are impacting the citizens of Toronto,” explained Eby. As poverty rates soar and the hunger crisis worsens in Toronto, Daily Bread recognizes donors like Yardi Canada, “We are so appreciative of the very generous support from Yardi Canada. We do not receive any government funding; we rely solely on corporate donations and individual giving,” expressed Eby. Elena’s Story Many clients of Daily Bread have had compounding medical issues, leaving them unable to work. Elena, a Daily Bread Food Bank client, was in this challenging situation. Health complications forced her to shut down her sales agency, and today, Elena survives on the limited income she receives from the ODSP and support from her local food bank. She is thankful for the food bank’s having fruits, vegetables, and proteins like meats and lentils so she can keep a balanced diet to help aid her health issues. “I see more and more people using the food bank every time I go,” says Elena. “The volunteers and staff are working hard to keep up. I know it is tiring, but I want to remind everyone what a difference they are making in people’s lives, people who are struggling to have food in their cupboards.” At Daily Bread, they are committed to supporting Elena and thousands just like her today who are facing extreme challenges to meet their essential needs. Volunteer Opportunities The Daily Bread Food Bank offers shifts on Thursday and Friday mornings from 8:30 am to 11:30 am and afternoons from 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm. A maximum of 20 Yardi team members can join them for the morning or afternoon food sorting. Please get in touch with Carol Eby at [email protected] to organize volunteer shifts. Find future non-profit profiles...

Yardi is committed to supporting the community in every city where our offices are housed. Each year, the company distributes philanthropic aid to organizations selected by its employees. SafeHaven of Tarrant County, founded in 1976 in Arlington, Texas, is the only state-designated center for family violence in the county. Throughout SafeHaven’s history, they have never strayed from a mission to end domestic violence. SafeHaven creates a custom service plan for every family who walks through its doors. SafeHaven is the only 24/7 domestic violence hotline in Tarrant County and connects families to robust resources, including emergency shelters, transitional housing, counseling, legal aid and more. SafeHaven’s Prevention Department focuses on preventing and decreasing dating violence and bullying by implementing evidence-based school programs. Its Partner Abuse Intervention and Prevention Department works with domestic violence offenders to end violence in their relationships. “We will not stop until EVERY woman in Tarrant County feels safe in her relationship,” expressed Kendra Balod, director of development for SafeHaven. SafeHaven is collaborating with RAND Corporation to develop a nationally recognized tool to help the criminal justice system and others in the work of domestic violence to determine the dominant aggressor in an abusive intimate partner relationship. “We are proud to announce the tool will begin testing at law enforcement agencies nationwide in 2024. In addition to survivor resources, our goal is to emphasize research and continue bettering the systems survivors count on daily to survive,” said Balod. Funding from Yardi is vital in keeping survivors and their children safe and holding offenders accountable. When a woman gets the courage to call the hotline, she must count on a secure room in the shelter. Yardi’s contribution makes that safety possible and funds vital work in bettering the system for those who depend on it to survive. “We were thrilled to receive such a generous gift from Yardi! Domestic violence affects everyone, and it’s vital to have such supportive community partners on our team. Partnering with new organizations like Yardi in this important work is always exciting. This gift is truly life-changing for women and children in our county,” Balod shared.Carrie’s Venture Carrie arrived at the shelter after finding herself in a familiar but painful situation: returning to her abuser after once again being charmed by him. But this time would be different – Carrie was determined to provide her children with a better and safer environment. Their home life was no longer acceptable.SafeHaven’s team helped Carrie find employment just two weeks into her stay, and the shelter’s children’s team provided free daycare so Carrie wouldn’t have to worry about her kids’ safety while she was at work. Despite her former partner intentionally damaging her car, Carrie’s support network helped her acquire new transportation for her family.Finding affordable housing after shelter can be tricky. Still, Carrie was determined, and SafeHaven helped her find a new apartment close to work and provided the essentials for her new home. Carrie left the shelter and moved into her home in a much-improved state of mind. She felt safe and independent and was proud of the life she created for her children.Carrie has continued participating in SafeHaven’s domestic violence group sessions to learn more about warning signs and establishing boundaries and communication in new relationships. “Carrie showed that with determination and life-saving community resources, freedom from domestic violence IS possible,” expressed Balod. Volunteer Opportunities There are multiple volunteer opportunities at SafeHaven. To learn more, please email SafeHaven’s volunteer manager, Katy Pirot, at [email protected]. In Tarrant County, one in three women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. “The number one rule of being an ally to a victim of domestic violence is to believe her. Often, abusers can be charming, and it can be hard to believe that someone you know can do such bad things to their partner. It’s not your role to investigate for abuse – your role is to...