A question that Beyond26 often gets from funders/referral partners/etc. is, “What makes you different?”
There are lots of organizations in Grand Rapids that provide support to individuals with disabilities. Many of those organizations include employment services in their list of supports. So what does Beyond26 do that gives us a place among all of these organizations?
We keep it simple.
We recently attended a conference that challenged us to define our “-est.” In other words, what is something that you do the best? Every business has an “-est”; fastest, cheapest, nicest, cleanest. A nonprofit is no different. We knew immediately that our greatest asset is the simplicity of our procedure.
Beyond26 is committed to remain as barrier-free as possible. Many jobseekers who come to us have found themselves falling through the cracks because of things like: (1) ineligibility, (2) inaccessible processes, and (3) cost of services. At Beyond26:
– We do not have any eligibility requirements. We will serve anyone who comes to us with any type of disability, so long as they live in our geographic area and are over the age of 18.
– We do not require any documentation or paperwork. During our Meet & Greet, we get to know our jobseekers by asking them questions about their abilities, accommodations, goals, and interests. Our Job Developer will use that information to compile a job profile and use that profile along with our natural networks to identify opportunities for the jobseeker.
– Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we are able to offer all of our services free of charge.
Not taking government funding can be a challenge at times, but it allows us to keep 100% of the focus on our jobseekers. We are happy to help make the transition to employment as stress-free as possible for all of the individuals that we serve.