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1 A C ase for Support w w w. m c s a t l a n t a. o r g

2 T h e e m o t i o n a l f a l l i n t o d e p r e s s i o n i s f r i g h t e n i n g, d e b i l i t a t i n g a n d p a i n f u l. W i t h o u t t h e h e l p o f o r g a n i z a t i o n s l i k e M C S, t h e r e t u r n j o u r n e y m i g h t n e v e r t a k e p l a c e. Mr. Tom Johnson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, CNN News Group (Retired)

3 Metropolitan counseling services helping adults create positive change in their lives through affordable psychotherapy and counseling A C ase for Support For too many people, the emotional challenge of facing another day is almost overwhelming. Burdened with depression, anxiety or a trauma too painful to process, their ability to function erodes. Their relationships and jobs suffer. They know they need help, but are sure they cannot afford it. They have little money sometimes none at all and the struggle of dealing with it all compounds, as their lives slowly deteriorate. Imagine the difficulty of being in such a situation. What would you do? Where would you go? How would you get through another day... or would you? For those adults in the metro Atlanta area faced with such a challenge, Metropolitan Counseling Services (MCS) is there to help. MCS is a non-profit organization that offers quality, affordable counseling and psychotherapy to adults who otherwise could not afford such services. In a warm, safe and supportive environment, experienced and dedicated mental health professionals provide individual, couples, and group psychotherapy on a low-cost, sliding fee scale. Services are offered for a wide variety of mental health concerns, including depression, anxiety, stress, childhood abuse and trauma, family and relationship issues, grief and loss, gay and lesbian concerns, eating disorders, and addiction recovery. The process fosters balance, self-respect and healthy relationships. Self-esteem is renewed, relationships healed, and families saved. In an increasingly troubled world, MCS provides a rare safe haven for those with mental and emotional concerns and limited financial means, strengthening the community and benefiting all. Now in its second decade, MCS was created in 1995 by a group of psychotherapists in private practice who recognized the need for affordable, long-term psychotherapy for people with limited financial means. These therapists began offering supervision and training to postgraduate therapists, who, in turn, provided low cost services to adults in need. MCS emerged as a successful formula for helping troubled adults, who also have financial pressures, create positive change in their lives. The organization gained its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status in 2000, retroactive to its inception, and operates entirely on modest client fees and private support. With the advent of managed care, rising health costs and a volatile economy, MCS is a critical resource for those with mental and emotional concerns and limited financial means. Indeed, it has become one of Atlanta s few safety nets to catch those who might otherwise fall through the cracks. The services that MCS provides impact all of metropolitan Atlanta by strengthening families and communities. In order for MCS to continue its vital mission of helping adults create positive change in their lives through affordable psychotherapy and counseling, its fiscal health must be ensured. Because the demand for its services grows each day, so too does the need for additional funding. MCS calls upon its friends to invest in this important community resource.

4 MCS 2 Funding Needs and Opportunities A. Client Assistance High quality, affordable counseling and psychotherapy are at the heart of the MCS mission. As a result, there is a constant need for funding to offset the minimal fees charged to clients. MCS offers treatment for a variety of concerns including depression, anxiety, childhood abuse and trauma recovery, family and relationship issues, and addiction recovery. All services are provided on a sliding-fee scale based on a client s income and number of dependents. MCS exists to help those troubled individuals or couples who need help most but can afford it least. Financial support is needed to cover the cost of underwriting this therapy. Fees start at $25 per therapy session a 75% reduction in the minimum $100 therapy fee commonly charged by the private sector. In 2006, MCS therapists provided 2200 hours of clinical services. The real cost of seeing those clients totaled approximately $165,000. Since the average MCS client pays $35 per therapy session, MCS realized approximately $84,000 in actual fees. The deficit was covered by private support. Anticipating that MCS will see at least as many clients in 2007 and successive years, there is an annual need for approximately $81,000 in client assistance funds. There are two ways to assist MCS clients with fees. Gifts to assist clients with their fees may be used either to bridge the gap between the actual cost of therapy and the amount a client is able to pay, or to subsidize nearly the entire fee. Since the average fee for an MCS therapy session is $35, gifts are needed to cover the $40 difference between what the client is able to pay and what the therapy costs. Though client fees are already low, many people are challenged to pay even the minimum $25 per-session charge. For clients with such exceptional need, the fees are lowered to $10. In these cases, client fee subsidies of $65 per session are needed to cover the true cost of counseling. Typically, these clients are offered 10 sessions at this rate, requiring a $650 subsidy to cover them. Support for client fee assistance and subsidies are MCS most significant funding need. To address this need, help may be made in one of three ways. Donors may make an outright gift in any amount for this purpose, they may make a gift of $65 for one client session subsidy or $650 to pay for a group of 10 client subsidies, or they may make a gift of $5000 (payable over two years) to name a fund for a five-year term. Several opportunities exist to name client assistance and subsidy funds. Gifts to these funds will be directed to a specific client population to offset or subsidize their counseling fees. Naming a client assistance fund will not only ensure that additional clients receive help, it will provide an opportunity to honor a loved one or recognize a milestone in one s own life. Client assistance funds may be named after an individual or individuals, or an organization.

5 MCS 3 1. The Susane Cooper Client Assistance Fund (Named) After a courageous fight with breast cancer, MCS Board member Susane Cooper passed away in December This memorial fund was established in her name to pay tribute to the important role Susane played at MCS. Gifts to this fund are used to help support fees for clients in any category. Though this fund is named, additional contributions to it are welcomed and invited. 2. The (Name) Couples Client Assistance Fund Committed couples, whether in a traditional marriage or non-traditional partnership, represent one of the most important institutions in our culture. Because they are also one of the most challenging institutions to preserve, MCS regularly offers help to couples seeking to save or improve their relationships. A $5000 gift, payable over two years, is required to name this fund. 3. The (Name) Group Therapy Client Assistance Fund MCS offers group counseling for persons dealing with a multitude of emotional issues. Group therapy or educational sessions may be offered on an ongoing basis for such issues as parenting or trauma recovery. They may also be customized for special needs groups, as in the new homeowners group sessions recently offered through an MCS collaboration with Habitat for Humanity. A $5000 gift, payable over two years, is required to name this fund. 4. The (Name) Student Client Assistance Fund Today s college students face enormous pressure to succeed academically. For many, the pressure grows too severe and begins negatively affecting other areas of their lives. Students from many Georgia universities, including Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Agnes Scott, Emory, Argosy, PSI, and Oglethorpe, are often referred to MCS, where they receive the help they need to cope. A $5000 gift, payable over two years, is required to name this fund. 5. The (Name) Women Client Assistance Fund A clear majority of MCS clients are female. In 2006 alone, women often single women with children comprised approximately 75% of MCS clients. As a result, this client population has a critical need for private support to enable them to access the therapy they need and often have trouble affording. A $5000 gift, payable over two years, is required to name this fund. 6. The (Name) Young Men Client Assistance Fund The social and economic challenges facing young men in today s society are profound. Psychological counseling enables them to overcome their emotional concerns and move forward. A $5000 gift, payable over two years, is required to name this fund.

6 MCS 4 B. Technology Support and Upgrades Like most organizations today, MCS relies on technology to provide the infrastructure to operate and grow efficiently. With hundreds of clients each year, a full-time residency program and the year-round demand for workshops and speakers, MCS depends increasingly on technology to enable it to conduct, organize and track internal communication and external outreach. Computers, software, phone systems, and websites have become essential elements in today s workplace. MCS needs financial support to address a variety of technology needs to help it reach more underserved clients. 1. Telephone System MCS is in need of a completely new telephone system. Its current system is limited and outdated, with only one incoming line, inability to transfer calls, and insufficient voic capability. With its growing client base and post-graduate residency program, a new telephone system is a pressing need. An appropriate gift-in-kind, or funding to purchase a new system, is sought. A gift of approximately $19,000 is needed to upgrade the MCS telephone and voic system. 2. Constituent Management Software Constituent and gift-tracking software is a basic tool for a successful non-profit organization. Depending as it does on private support, such software has become essential to reliably manage and grow its donor base. MCS currently has no such system. Gift support is needed to purchase and implement a suitable system. A gift of $6000 is needed to purchase constituent management software for MCS. 3. Website Design and Maintenance The MCS website has become a means of not only offering information for potential clients, stakeholders and partners, it has become a conduit for receiving private financial support and client fees, registering for workshops and communicating with an array of community partners. Support is needed to enhance and upgrade the entire functionality of the website, including a new design and e-commerce capability. A total of $30,000 is being sought to address MCS website design and maintenance issues. 4. New Computers and Printers Staff members and residents at MCS all require reliable computers that network with each other. The existing computers, all originally donated as used equipment, are in need of replacement. New computers for all MCS workstations would greatly enhance operational efficiency. A gift of $14,000 to purchase new computers (or at least a third of them each year) and two new printers, or an appropriate gift-in-kind to supply new computers and / or printers, is sought.

7 MCS 5 C. Resident Salaries While meeting the need for quality, affordable, and often long-term counseling and psychotherapy for adults, MCS also provides one of the few settings in the Atlanta area that addresses the needs of therapists working toward licensure. A three-year period of post-graduate, supervised, clinical experience is required to satisfy licensure requirements in Georgia. MCS staff members serve as faculty who provide such clinical supervision. The supervised, hands-on experience that residents gain at MCS not only satisfies their licensure requirement, it enables the services that MCS provides. Currently, residents receive no monetary compensation for their services. MCS seeks $49,000 in annual support to provide modest, one-half time equivalent, annual stipends of $7000 for each of their seven resident counselors. D. Operational Support MCS seeks support for a variety of operational needs. From the promotional costs of conducting educational workshops, to staging special events, to purchasing basic supplies, MCS requires an ongoing stream of income to cover its operations. Several naming opportunities have been identified to help address them. 1. The (Name) Office of Executive Director One of the most prominent spaces at MCS is the office of the Executive Director, and it is available to be named after a person, persons or organization. A gift of $10,000, payable over two years, is required to name this space for a term of five years. 2. The (Name) Therapy Room (4) Client and therapist sessions are conducted in four separate MCS therapy rooms. Each is available to be named. Therapy rooms may be named after yourself, another person or persons, or an organization. A gift of $5,000, payable over two years, is required to name a therapy room for a term of five years. 3. The Young H. Song, M.D. Office of Clinical Director (Named) Much of the activity of the prestigious MCS training program takes place in this office. It is available to be named after a person, persons or organization. A gift of $10,000, payable over two years, is required to name this space for a term of five years. All gifts to MCS are meaningful and will positively impact the clients whose well being is at stake. Please make your gift payable to Metropolitan Counseling Services or give online at Metropolitan Counseling Services is a 501(c)(3), tax-exempt organization. All charitable contributions to MCS are tax deductible, as specified by current IRS regulations.

8 L I S T E N I N G C A R I N G H E L P I N G C e n t u r y P l a c e, N E, S u i t e A t l a n t a, G A f w w w. m c s a t l a n t a. o r g