“if we can recognize that change and uncertainty are basic ...under the skilled guidance of...

“If we can recognize that change and uncertainty are basic principles, we can greet the future and the transformation we are undergoing with the understanding that we do not know enough to be pessimistic.”

Hazel Henderson

transformation RMC Health 2011 Annual Report Page 1

When the RMC Health Board of Directors selected Sharon Murray as our new President in September 2008, we expected her to lead the organization through a comprehensive strategic planning process. What we did not anticipate was the depth of the economic crisis that befell our country at the start of her tenure. Since that time, RMC Health has experienced one funding setback after another. Thankfully, our organization has withstood these challenges and we have come to understand that our ability to thrive in the future is dependent on our ability to diversify our funding sources, create a sustainable and adaptable funding model, have a strong leadership team in place, and focus our services to meet the needs of our partners and clients.

In November 2010, the RMC Health Board of Directors and staff engaged in an important organizational development process that led our organization to analyze our core purpose and set the stage for the many changes that occurred in 2011. When we truly examined how we achieve our vision of Healthy Children and Youth, we concluded that our primary strategy was through professional development. We have an expert staff of content and process experts in school health, public health and health education, as well as in the practice of professional development. We deliver this expertise through the highest quality training, technical assistance, and resources. This clarity provided the impetus for our leadership and staff to make important structural changes in 2011.

With consensus on our strategic focus, our staff set forth to do the hard work, creating long-term strategic goals and actions to move our organization forward. In March 2011, our external facilitator, Nonprofit Impact, presented their organizational development recommendations to the Board of Directors. The suggestions were far-reaching and important for us to be sustainable and to continue to be a national and state leader in professional development and school health. The recommendations included a name change, a new mechanism to market our services to current and potential partners and clients, diversification of funding, and a streamlined organizational chart that eliminated our project-centered management structure for an overarching leadership team.

The Board of Directors took immediate action by shortening our name to RMC Health and approving the staff-created strategic goals that now guide our action as an organization.

Many on our Board have served RMC Health for a decade or more. While we are sensitive to preserving the strong history we have created, providing the highest quality professional development in Colorado and across the nation, the ongoing economic conditions have forced us to re-think how we execute our mission. We are confident our new direction will allow our great organization to continue to excel now and in the future. We are also confident that we have the leadership team in place to carry out our goals and achieve our vision.

Introduction from Dr. Audrey Hart Nora, ChairpersonRMC Health Board of Directors

On the following pages we will highlight a year filled with changes as well as profound accomplishments.


Change. It can be exciting, refreshing, and yes, terrifying. In 2011, the staff at RMC Health experienced all these emotions and more as we dealt with both planned and unplanned changes to our organization.

RMC Health is not alone in facing change. Nonprofits across the country have faced significant challenges in the past several years brought on by shrinking state and federal budgets and a sluggish economy. While RMC Health has weathered this financial crisis, we knew there was room for improvement in terms of efficiency and diversification.

Our organization has built a strong reputation by providing high-quality professional development, training, and consulting to our partners, clients, and constituents. Much of our work hinges on our clients’ willingness to change and improve, often at our encouragement and with our guidance. Once we recognized the need for change within RMC Health, we took our own advice and engaged Nonprofit Impact, a Denver nonprofit consulting group, to help us clarify our direction and develop a blueprint to create a more sustainable, financially stable, and influential organization. Beginning in late 2010 and into early 2011, Nonprofit Impact expertly facilitated our first steps to create and implement a new strategic direction.

At the same time we were undergoing this process, we faced unanticipated and significant changes to our federal funding. It quickly became clear that past sources of funding and grants were being eliminated and we did not envision these funds returning to levels that would support our strategic objectives. Facing this financial crisis accelerated our understanding that we could no longer continue to do “business as usual.” We set out to redefine an effective, long-term business model and structure that would ensure our continued ability to serve the education and health communities in the excellent manner we had in the past.

The results defined our transformation.

With our strategic direction in place, we began to make intentional changes that would reflect our newly defined focus. We developed a multi-year strategic plan to diversify

funding sources so we would not be heavily reliant on any single fund or grant. We also created a unique set of services, tools, and resources to develop a revenue stream for RMC Health that would supplement our funding from foundations and government grants. You will see throughout the 2011 Annual Report the great successes we have had even while undertaking these first steps in our new direction.

To support this work, we honed our mission statement to more accurately describe our purpose, we shortened our name to RMC Health to reinforce our work in Colorado and position ourselves as a national organization, and we moved from a siloed, project-centered structure to a cross-organizational structure that simplifies channels of communication, facilitates teamwork, and creates a straightforward leadership structure. We also debuted a new logo and tagline that visually represent our focused message and brand.

Looking ahead, these changes will allow us to thrive in the depressed federal and state budgetary environment, be more adaptable to change, and be a more effective organization once the budget and funding environment becomes more favorable.

The most critical aspect of our transformation was to forge our new direction while honoring our more than 35-year history of providing excellent services to our clients, partners, and community. Through our work, we have served more than 35,000 educators, administrators, and health professionals who have affected a proportionally larger number of students and youth. As we began to implement the strategic plan to build a more sustainable organization, we have worked diligently to integrate the new strategic direction with the “RMC Health Way” – that which makes us unique and effective. We feel strongly this has created a more effective organization while leveraging the strong foundation and reputation we have created over the years.

Challenges certainly lie ahead…for both RMC Health and the education community as a whole. However, we feel confident with our new focus, we will be better able to adapt to new environments and continue to work toward our vision…Healthy Children and Youth.

Introduction from Sharon Murray, President of RMC HealthEmbracing Change


Following an online, crowd-sourced competition, we selected the design that we felt perfectly captured our brand promise, and came close to our brand’s graphic visual style of “simple, colorful, playful, and modern.”

RMC Health’s design team then adjusted the color, sizing, and fonts to create the final version we debuted on August 15, 2011...Transformation Day! We believe the branding suits us perfectly, and accurately reflects our work both in Colorado and throughout the country.

As we embarked on our new strategic direction in 2011, it became clear we needed to update our logo, colors, and brand identity. Past RMC Health logos focused on mountains and represented our Colorado base.

Since RMC Health has long worked with partners and funders from outside of Colorado, we wanted our new look to reflect our national presence.

Under the skilled guidance of Pecanne Eby at Brand Mentoring, we developed a Visual Design Brief that included statements of brand positioning, our brand promise, and our brand’s graphic style. Key among these is our brand promise:

“We empower our clients to put pertinent skills and knowledge into practice and transform them into powerful champions of youth health and well-being.”

A New Look in 2011Branding for Our Future

1993-2005

2005-2011

June 2011

August 2011

Over the next few pages, we will review highlights of the professional development services and resources through which RMC Health had a profound impact.


Successes Across the NationRMC Health’s Professional Development Partnership (PDP) completed more than nine years of providing engaging and effective technical assistance and tools to assist programs funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health (CDC DASH), in implementing the Professional Development Practices.

RMC Health staff provided over 900 technical assistance interventions and made in-depth technical assistance visits to four education agencies: the Kentucky, Idaho, and Michigan Departments of Education, as well as the San Francisco Unified School District. The PDP’s resource-based website received more than 10,000 unique visits.

The 2011 PDP Institute, entitled Remarkable Results: Becoming a PD Superhero!, received high praise from the more than 80 participants from across the country. RMC Health staff facilitated skill-building training on Professional Development 101, Creating Change, and Advanced Professional Development. Following the Institute, the number of participants rating themselves “somewhat” or “very” skilled on each of the Institute objectives had increased by an average of 44 percent. The percentage of all participants rating themselves as either “somewhat” or “very” skilled on each of the objectives at the conclusion of their Institute training ranged from 94 to 100 percent. Nearly 98 percent reported their participation in the Institute would help them improve their professional development programs from a “moderate” to a “great” extent.

RMC Health’s Evaluation Technical Assistance program also wrapped up in 2011. Funded by CDC DASH, the program aimed to increase the capacity of their funded partner organizations to conduct program evaluation.

Working collaboratively with evaluators at CDC DASH, the RMC Health team was specifically charged with targeting 109 funded partners, including 81 programs within state and territorial education agencies and tribal governments and 28 programs within local education agencies.

To build evaluation capacity, RMC Health implemented several key strategies over the five-year period:

Provided technical assistance 991 times, reaching 101 of the 109 funded partners.

Facilitated 19 interactive webinars on evaluation topics, reaching 103 of the 109 funded partners.

Delivered two face-to-face trainings for CDC DASH Project Officers—one on strategic planning and one on using data for program improvement.

Developed more than 50 resources, reports, and tools, including online evaluation tutorials and The Strategic Planning Kit for School Health Programs.

Conducted ongoing evaluation of the Evaluation Technical Assistance program itself.

2011 Professional Development HighlightsA Year of Robust Activity

Percentage of PDP Institute participants who said they were “very likely to”......


To gain insight about aspects of the Evaluation Technical Assistance program that were most effective, RMC Health hired an external evaluator to conduct qualitative key informant interviews. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Every funded partner staff person interviewed indicated that their program had improved due to the technical assistance they received. CDC DASH Project Officers noted improvements in the skills and confidence of the staff, and in the quality of planning documents submitted.

In 2011, RMC Health was awarded funds from CDC DASH for a new national project to help 21 national organizations develop, deliver, and evaluate their professional development activities.

RMC Health conducted a comprehensive professional development needs assessment with each organization’s project director, using data gathered during the planning process to identify strategies, objectives, and year-one work plan activities. With input from both internal and external stakeholders, RMC Health completed a strategic plan to guide the five-year project. Two professional development events were approved for completion during the second six months of funding. Additionally, CDC DASH asked RMC Health to facilitate the process to gauge the readiness of state education agency and local education agency partners to work with the funded national organizations. RMC Health collected the assessment results and provided them to CDC DASH to match state education agencies and local education agencies with the funded national organizations.

Percentage of Healthy Schools Leadership Retreat participants who...

A new Health Education Standards Cadre of Trainers was recruited and developed in 2011 by RMC Health in partnership with the Colorado Department of Education and the Colorado Legacy Foundation. The cadre is tasked with providing effective trainings and resources to support the adoption and implementation of Colorado Comprehensive Health Education and Physical Education Standards. RMC Health staff contracted with five trainers and provided two, one-day Train the Trainer events focused on building the cadre’s capacity to deliver high quality training and work as a collaborative team of health education experts. Cadre members and RMC Health staff then developed a one-day training targeting teachers, school administrators, school nurses, and interested community members.

This training introduces the standards, identifies available tools, and provides participants with a deeper understanding of the unique skill-based focus embedded in the Standards. The Cadre completed 12 trainings across the state for over 200 participants from 46 Colorado school districts.

Successes Across ColoradoThe Healthy Schools Colorado project experienced many successes in 2011. RMC Health expanded its collaborative efforts with many statewide agencies engaged in healthy school initiatives, including the Colorado Department of Education, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the Colorado Legacy Foundation, and LiveWell Colorado. These agencies joined together to provide three professional development opportunities for over 100 coordinators and co-leaders who are implementing Coordinated School Health initiatives at the school, district, and regional levels.

The 2011 Healthy Schools Leadership Retreat was held in Keystone, Colorado, on June 10-11. Over 375 school health leaders participated in this two-day conference with a focus on building awareness of Colorado’s Coordinated School Health efforts; increasing skills to implement effective programs to benefit all students, staff, and parents; improving advocacy to sustain health programs; and offering approaches for using best practices and resources to enhance school health programs.

Now let’s look at an example of RMC Health’s work in our community.


Background:Faced with an elevated student obesity rate and a diverse student population at high risk for obesity, the staff at Adams County School Districts 14 and 50 was determined to implement wellness initiatives. With help from RMC Health, the two districts adopted a Coordinated School Health approach that has impacted three-quarters of their students.

Adams School District 14 serves nearly 7,000 students annually, of whom 24 percent currently live below the poverty line. Most students – 84 percent –meet the income guidelines for free or reduced-price lunches. There is also a 33 percent mobility rate among students, and more than 10 percent of students are classified as homeless. Neighboring Adams School District 50 serves more than 10,000 students annually, and close to 85 percent of these students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. Obesity rates in both districts are higher than the state average, with some schools reporting as much as 46 percent of the student population is overweight.

Through a grant from LiveWell Commerce City, Partnerships for Healthy Communities (now Community Enterprise) provided funds to Adams 14 to initiate wellness teams. In 2008, wellness teams were formed at one middle school and then at two elementary schools. The goal was to begin implementing healthy eating and active living initiatives. Partnerships for Healthy Communities saw great potential with this process.

The Challenge:The funding from LiveWell was vital to establishing the teams, but was limited and did not include funds for a full-time staff member. The representatives from Adams 14 and 50 realized that, to be successful, the wellness teams required a full-time coordinator to implement healthy eating and active living initiatives in the targeted 30 schools and to work with administrators on district-wide wellness policies. Without a full-time wellness coordinator, they lacked the

staffing, knowledge, resources, and training needed to implement a comprehensive wellness program. Due to budget cuts and holds, an ongoing issue, both Adams 14 and 50 also recognized the staff designated to coordinate the wellness initiatives would need professional development services in order to work within resource restrictions and essentially do more with less. Budget cuts, scarce funding, and lack of the proper skill set not only hindered compliance with regulations mandated by the Colorado Department of Education, but they also impeded the ability to implement a wellness program.

The Solution:Adams 14 and 50 clearly recognized the benefit of having adequately staffed wellness teams in all their schools and approached RMC Health to assist with their challenge in two areas. To support Coordinated School Health in their districts, Adams 14 and 50 applied for a grant from funds allocated to RMC Health by The Colorado Health Foundation. Board of Education members asked district administrators to require wellness teams in all schools and work on improving wellness policies. The Healthy Schools Colorado grant helped to meet this immediate need by funding a full-time regional coordinator as well as school wellness teams to implement the Coordinated School Health process. RMC Health also worked with the region to ensure the coordinator had the skill set needed to ably coordinate the wellness program. RMC Health provided training and technical assistance to the coordinator and school teams within Adams 14 and 50 in the areas of implementation of the Coordinated School Health model, facilitation skills, meeting management skills, and data collection.

The Results:Each school team received training, support, and professional development from RMC Health and the Regional Wellness Coordinator. This was done gradually over a three-year period. Year one of the Healthy Schools Colorado grant funded ten teams and training for 20 co-leaders in Coordinated School Health. An average of 60

Colorado School Districts Adams 14 and 50 Support Healthy School Initiatives with Assistance from RMC Health Success Story


people were part of the wellness teams working to improve their school’s health environment. Year two of the Healthy Schools Colorado grant funded an additional ten teams, and year three funded the final nine teams. After three years of support from RMC Health, roughly 58 co-leaders and 120 team members are working on CSH efforts in their schools, with an impact on 4,800 students–or 75 percent of the student population.

Each school team received training in the Roadmap to Healthy Schools: The Colorado Model, a step-by-step guide for schools implementing Coordinated School Health. To begin the process, teams complete the School Health Index and write School Health Improvement Plans. Over the three years of the Healthy Schools Colorado grant, teams completed 29 School Health Index assessments and roughly 60 School Health Improvement Plans were implemented and sustained at the school level.

Roadmap toHealthy Schools

The Colorado Model

Developed by:Center for Research StrategiesColorado Department of EducationColorado Department of Public Health and EnvironmentRocky Mountain Center for Health Promotion and Education

In addition to working at the school level, the Regional Wellness Coordinator also formed two district-level Health Advisory Committees made up of key administrators to strengthen and implement wellness policies across both districts. Roughly ten members in each district meet quarterly each year to work on district health initiatives and support school wellness teams. This work has involved working with community partners and families to fund sustained efforts for Coordinated School Health.

School districts are faced with budget crunches and shrinking staff, while at the same time being mandated to increase student achievement. Because of this, it is currently not feasible for districts to support and fund wellness programs through traditional channels. Through support from RMC Health and funding of the Healthy Schools Colorado grant, both Adams 14 and 50 have been able to support wellness efforts that have greatly impacted their students, families, staff, and community members.


Entering into its 18th year as an RMC Health project, The Prevention Information Center began the work of becoming the Health and Learning Resource Center at RMC Health (The Resource Center). The Resource Center is still grounded in its roots as a prevention library but over recent years has evolved into a more comprehensive health information service, connecting behavioral, school, and public health professionals with current, high quality, and research-based information.

The renaming of the library will better describe work undertaken in recent years, and help RMC Health increase awareness of behavioral health information among professionals in the public health and education sectors.

RMC Health created a new website funded by the Colorado Division of Behavioral Health to be a one-stop health information portal. RMC Health launched the website in November 2011 at http://trc.rmc.org. It helps users locate professional development trainings and events as well as access a wide variety of other information by topics of interest.

By continuing to broaden its disciplinary coverage on the website, while focusing its outreach and services on professionals, The Resource Center will better support services to RMC Health’s national audience while providing the same high quality, technologically sophisticated library services to Colorado-based professionals.

2011 Accomplishments:

Launched a one-stop health information portal for behavioral, school, and public health professionals.

Became part of the AspenCat shared library catalog, providing patrons of 32 academic, school, and public libraries across Colorado direct access to the collections.

Became a Cooperating Collection of the Foundation Center, joining a nationwide network of libraries providing access to grants directories, books on fundraising and nonprofit management, and the Foundation Center’s electronic databases.

2011 Library Statistics:

2011 Resource Center HighlightsUndergoing Transformation

We leverage our impact through our relationships, highlighted on the following page.


Working with the University of Colorado at Denver’s School of Education and Human Development to develop graduate-level courses focusing on school health education.

Implementing a new project providing training, technical assistance, and resources to build the capacity of national organizations funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health, to create, deliver, and evaluate their own professional development activities.

Throughout 2011, RMC Health maintained strong relationships with its key partners and expanded collaborative efforts with other agencies engaged in healthy school initiatives. Some of the noteworthy projects undertaken with our partners include:

Working with the Colorado Department of Education, through the Colorado Coalition for Healthy Schools, to create a system for streamlining the Coordinated School Health infrastructure in Colorado.

Furthering Healthy Schools Colorado project goals and objectives through synergistic collaboration with partners including the Colorado Department of Education, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and the Center for Research Strategies.

Participating on the School Policy Indicator workgroup with Colorado organizations such as LiveWell Colorado, the Colorado Legacy Foundation, the Colorado Department of Education, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Jefferson County Schools, and Denver Public Schools.

Collaborating with LiveWell Colorado at the state level to work with various Healthy Schools Colorado schools and districts on dissemination of resources and professional development opportunities.

Partnering with the Colorado Department of Education and the Colorado Legacy Foundation to create the Health Education Cadre to deliver trainings focused on new comprehensive health and physical education standards.

Teaming with the Colorado Department of Education, LiveWell Colorado, and the Colorado Legacy Foundation on coordinator meetings and professional development events.

2011 Partnership MilestonesProud Accomplishments

Next, let’s look at the audited financial statement, how we did “by the numbers,” and preview what’s coming up for us.


Audited Financial Statements2011

Rocky Mountain Center for Health Promotion and Education (dba RMC Health)

Statement of ActivitiesFor the Year Ended December 31, 2011

UnrestrictedTemporarily

Restricted 2011Support and RevenueContract for services - Federal $ 1,789,509 $ $ 1,789,509Contract for services - Colorado

Legacy Foundation 109,025 109,025Revenue from users 115,278 115,278

Contributions 275 1,545,980 1,546,255Investment income (loss) 1,510 118 1,628Net assets released from restrictions -

Satisfaction of program restrictions 1,556,455 (1,556,455)Total Support and Revenue 3,572,052 (10,357) 3,561,695

Expenses:Salaries and benefits 1,875,838 1,875,838Supporting services 416,852 416,852Travel 67,067 67,067Trainers/consultants 339,395 339,395Building costs 31,936 31,936Training supplies 12,089 12,089School district expenses 736,900 736,900Depreciation 28,215 28,215

Total Expenses 3,508,292 3,508,292

CHANGES IN NET ASSETS 63,760 (10,357) 53,403

Net Assets, Beginning of Year 882,670 640,375 1,523,045

NET ASSETS, END OF YEAR $ 946,430 $ 630,018 $ 1,576,448


As you can see, 2011 was a year of change as well as success. It was exciting, refreshing, and terrifying, yet RMC Health took the necessary steps to build a foundation for transformation. We leveraged our strong reputation, legacy, and expertise to continue to deliver critical services while implementing a new strategic direction—a direction that will help build a more sustainable organization where we can deliver on our vision of Healthy Children and Youth.

What’s in store for RMC Health in 2012? We anticipate the trend of shrinking federal, state, and local budgets will continue, and the unstable economy will challenge institutions serving children and youth. School-based communities will be asked to do more with less.

We will continue to use our unique set of services, tools, and resources to strengthen the effectiveness of health educators and other school-based professionals to improve the health of K-12 students.

A sincere Thank you! to the people who helped RMC Health execute our mission in 2011: “Strengthen the effectiveness of those working to improve the health and well-being of children and youth.”

2011 RMC Health Board of DirectorsBeverly BuckJoyce Fetro

Sharon HartmanAudrey Hart NoraPaul Rosengard

(October-Present)Susan K. Telljohann(January - October)

Bonnie Walters(January - June)

Jane WilsonSusan Wooley

(January - April)Anne Zanders

Moving Forward2012 and Beyond

2011 RMC Health StaffTeri Baugh

Natalie Boyer

Damon Brandt

Debra Christopher

Tessa Crume

Jill Elnicki

Carolyn Horcher

James Hurley

Taralyn Jensen-Jones

Kristy JonesVice-President, Professional Services

Keith KorthVice-President, Operations

Wendy Larsen

Pat Lauer

Dan Lawrence

Coreen Maas

Ali Maffey

Anne Milliken

Sharon MurrayPresident

Kathy Plomer

Paula Roseboom

Cindy Struck

Sheryl Tafoya

David Turner

Becky Van Buhler

Tracy Wright

7525 W. 10th Ave. • Lakewood, CO 80214-4493 • rmc.org

“if we can recognize that change and uncertainty are basic ...under the skilled guidance of...

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