Shop Talk: Jill C. Dagilis, Worcester Community Action Council
PHOT/LIVIA GERSHON
Jill C. Dagilis, Executive Director, Worcester Community Action Council.
Jill Dagilis, a former long-time employee of the City of Worcester who held a number of management positions at City Hall, became executive director of the Worcester Community Action Council in 2006. Since then, the group has embarked on a three-year plan to expand its efforts to help people in need in Central Massachusetts. WCAC’s mission is a broad one, with 21 programs whose goals range from helping families weatherize their homes to supporting young parents. In one of its most recent new developments, this year the group has drastically expanded its summer jobs program for young people using federal stimulus money.
>> You worked for the City of Worcester for 25 years before starting at the WCAC in 2006. How difficult was the transition, and how different is working for a nonprofit?
I loved my job with the city and climbed the career ladder there and was proud of my work with the city. But I sort of reached an intersection where I said maybe it’s time for me to think about what’s next. And I am loving it, really enjoying it. I feel it is the perfect fit for me. I find I really thrive in a team-centered environment, a people centered environment, and that’s what this is.
>> How much has the recession changed demand for your services?
We have seen more people coming, a change in the types of people coming and more elderly people coming in than ever before. They used to be able to afford their expenses on their limited income and they’re really having a hard time with that now. More young families working two or three jobs just to try to stay afloat, lots of people on the edge of homelessness or eviction or just not being able to pay their bills.
>> How have your funding sources been affected by the economy? What are you doing to address any funding gaps?
We’re fortunate to be very well-funded at this time. Being federally mandated, we do administer several pools of federal dollars, but we also receive state and local dollars and we do private fundraising. We’re now at about a $25 million-plus budget. We’ve worked hard over the past three years to really position and reposition the agency to be a key economic development partner. We work hand-in-hand with the city on many contracts and grants, many partnerships. We also have several pools of stimulus funds that we’re fortunate to receive.
>> Many nonprofits are seeing private donations down and cuts in state funding. Are you seeing any of that at all?
We’ve certainly seen that. We have several programs that receive state funds that were cut. So the programs have not been eliminated, but they certainly have been cut, from mediation to our Healthy Families program in Southbridge to the Community Partnership for Children. Those are programs that really help families stay stabilized. We continue to do our private fundraising and that has stayed pretty steady. We’ve been working hard for three years to build our fund development program and it’s going well. I won’t tell you that it’s well over and above last year, but we’ve maintained the course.
>> WCAC is working on a very ambitious summer jobs program funded partly with federal stimulus money. How is recruitment of youth workers and employers going?
It’s going really well. We’re about at the mark for the Worcester area. We have a little more work to do in South County and Blackstone Valley, but overall it’s going really well. The jobs range from clerical and office work to manufacturing to stonework, construction, green jobs, weatherization, hospitals, nonprofits, school-based projects. The mandate upon us is to get those stimulus dollars out and spent with the highest level of accountability and get it done pretty quickly.
>> What kind of a relationship does WCAC have with businesses in the area?
Part of our recent three-year effort has been to strengthen bridges to businesses and build partnerships. We do reach out to businesses when we need help. We’re not afraid to ask for help. For example, National Grid was closing one of its big offices in Rhode Island, and we asked if they had good used furniture to donate. This whole office is all donated furniture.
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