Nonprofit: Linda Cavaioli
Cavaioli goes beyond the basics in her post at YWCA
When the United Way of Central Massachusetts needs to raise money, some of its most prominent volunteers gather around a table and divvy up the names of potential big donors to call. The volunteers willingly take the names of those they know well, but there are usually others left over.
"You can count on Linda to say 'I'll take them,'" said Alicia Lenahan, the United Way's senior vice president of resource development, "So if everybody else has taken five names, Linda will probably have taken 15."
That Linda is Linda Cavaioli. And the fact that she is willing to take on the unpleasant task of calling strangers and asking them for bundles of money is especially impressive given that, as executive director of the YWCA of Central Massachusetts, she already spends a good part of her day job doing the same thing.
Cavaioli, 53, has led the local YWCA chapter for 15 years. Today, she oversees a staff of 230 and an annual budget of $5.6 million at an organization whose mission includes everything from providing child care and helping young mothers get their GEDs to advocating for tough domestic violence laws. In talking to people who know her, the word that crops up again and again is "tireless."
Helping The Helpers
But to hear Cavaioli talk about her work, the long hours, budget headaches and entrenched social problems are just part of a job that was simply the right fit for her. Cavaioli grew up in Leominster with a mother who was an active volunteer, and always knew she wanted to do social work. But as she did the field work to get a degree in sociology and social work from the University of New Hampshire, she found one-on-one service was not the best path for her.
"I wasn't really good at direct service," she said. "I didn't have good boundaries."
So Cavaioli began supporting those who do direct service, taking a job in fundraising and marketing at the United Way of Central Massachusetts, where she stayed for 18 years.
"I was able to have my career and my family," she said, adding that the YWCA has family-friendly policies for all employees. "There's an understanding of what's important."
The importance of family is visible all over Cavaioli's office. Her granddaughters' drawings are posted by the door, and pages from a grandson's Spider Man coloring book are prominently displayed on the desk. Shelves are lined with all kinds of nick-knacks traceable to the grandkids.
"I have their special rocks in my jewelry box," she said.
Charlene Nemeth, the president-elect of the YWCA board and director of alumni and parent relations for UMass Memorial Foundation, said Cavaioli's personal warmth extends to the clients and members her organization serves.
"She's absolutely someone who they go to, as a mentor, as a friend," Nemeth said. "The teen mothers embrace her. She knows all of the people in our transitional housing program and helps them along. She really is a tremendous force."
At the same time, Cavaioli has a firm grasp of the financial and political realities of the nonprofit world. The YWCA keeps close track of its child care enrollment, fitness center membership, and the occupancy levels in its transitional housing and domestic violence shelters, and all managers and board members have access to the data. The organization also works hard to maintain diverse sources of income, including program fees, government funding and private grants. Cavaioli said that helped the organization avoid closing any programs when it lost half a million dollars in government funding during the state budget crisis at the start of the decade.
Results Driven
Cavaioli said one of the things that first drew her to the YWCA was the way it combines direct services with advocacy work. Over the years, one of the biggest community issues the organization has taken on is domestic violence.
In 1992, Cavaioli said, efforts to stop abuse were still evolving from the "underground network" of safe houses and hotlines that began in the 1970s. Today, the YWCA's anti-domestic violence programs have offices in the area's courts and police stations, and police are trained to understand the dynamics of abusive relationships.
Whether the issue is domestic violence, equal pay for women or fighting racism, Cavaioli is known for making sure she does not just speak for her client base but helps them speak for themselves.
"Linda is very results-based, but also highly inclusive, so the process to arrive at a goal is just as important as getting to the goal," said Martha Breunig, regional resource coordinator for New England's YWCAs. "She always ensures that the most relevant voices are at the table."
For that reason, Cavaioli said, the YWCA makes sure to recruit members of its board from the women who take part in its programs. Staff and senior board members then help the new recruits - often women in their 20s - get the skills they need to take on more responsibility.
That, Cavaioli said, is the same model she uses herself when deciding whether to join one of the many community boards she is often asked to be part of. She chooses to take part when she sees a chance either to advocate for the goals of the YWCA or to learn new skills she can put to work at the job.
"I put myself into situations that are not always comfortable because I have something to learn," she said.
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