Non-Profit Organizations - Essay Example

In general, nonprofit organizations are a significant part of the society and strive for the betterment and development of society rather than as a business models. Usually, nonprofit organizations are categorized based on the beneficiaries of their organizations, which may include youth, senior citizens, disabled people, animals, environment etc. One such organization is the California Adolescent Health Collaborative (CAHC), a nonprofit organization focused on improving and supporting the adolescent health and well-being in California.

Its office is head-quartered in Oakland, California. Like many other nonprofit organizations, CAHC is also a public-private state-wide partnership of individuals and organizations. CAHC had an inspiring start by a group of individuals after attending a conference in 1995 held to review states’ efforts to promote adolescent health. Adolescence is the most sensitive phase of human life because youth in this phase tend to adopt various patterns of behavior and attitudes about life, work, career, and other activities.

During this phase, most of the adolescents tend to get driven towards risky behaviors and habits, which can turn out to be harmful during later years of life. Hence, adolescents have to be watched and guided at the right time and in the right manner so that they realize the importance of correct behavior and living. With this aim, CAHC was set up to address adolescents’ wellbeing, which was eventually supported by the California State Department in 2001. Currently, the Director Sandi Goldstein is assisted by four other members on the board.

The CAHC is supported by about 15-member steering committee, each member associated with an external organization, like school, university, healthcare sector etc. These volunteers are appreciated and recognized for their contribution towards service deliver and achievement of the desired results. The directors on board are also volunteers that had come together for this common mission. The CAHC has received immense help and encouragement from various trusts and foundations like Lucile Packard Foundation and the State run MCAH Program.

CAHC is funded by government grants and also receives some private philanthropy. The CAHC has a variety of goals and functions to support and promote adolescent health. For example, they help adolescents with issues such as alcohol and drug abuse, behavioral problems, injured and accident victims, homeless, malnutrition and physical health etc. They also provide care for adolescents that had been victims of relationship abuse, domestic and sexual abuse. The CAHC has been actively involved in providing sex education to teens, access to contraceptives, family PACT laws and policies to facilitate access to contraceptive information.

In 2006, California ranked first in the US in overall efforts to help women avoid unintended pregnancy (CAHC, 2010). The CAHC’s efforts have also helped in reducing the number of sexually transmitted diseases considerably. The size and scope of CAHC are very difficult to be determined. CAHC has a variety of goals and has included a variety of like-minded members into its group that want to serve for adolescent health. CAHC also works towards decreasing adolescent suicide rate. CAHC further aims to increase physical activity and