Letter from Our Board Chair: SIMS Service Pause On Posted on October 22, 2024October 22, 2024 Dear SIMS Foundation Community, Last week, we sent a letter to our clients and therapeutic providers to notify them about our need to institute a 90-day pause on service provision while we enter a Strategic Planning process to restructure our service delivery model. (Please note that this pause will not impact a client’s ability to maintain an ongoing relationship with their SIMS provider at a significantly discounted rate, and we are actively working to help all clients access the support they need during this time.) We understand that this message was surprising to many, and we wanted to take a moment to clarify why it is so crucial that we take these measures now. SIMS Foundation was founded in 1995 with a mission to provide financial assistance to members of Austin’s music community who are in need of mental health services. Our founders’ vision was simple: by providing low- to no-cost mental health care to local artists, we would help preserve Austin’s music culture and give back to those who brought so much beauty to our community. Over the past 30 years, SIMS Foundation has invested more than $50M into mental health care services for more than 25,000 members of our music community. And while we are so proud of this legacy and achievement, we must also recognize that, given the current funding landscape and evolution of our healthcare system, many aspects of our service model are just no longer sustainable. While our service model has not changed in 30 years, the evolving landscape of our healthcare systems requires us to adapt and improve. Despite operating with an extremely small staff and low overhead, public and private funding support has consistently gone down year after year, while the need for our services has risen dramatically and the healthcare landscape has evolved. Additionally, since many of our fundraising efforts are tied to public events and since the number of people impacted by mental health challenges has risen sharply since 2020, SIMS was impacted more heavily by the pandemic years than other nonprofits. The reality is simple: we need more funding to continue to operate at our current service levels, and we need to restructure our service model to ensure that we are maximizing all of the resources and efficiencies that are now available. Please know that we do not make this decision lightly and that it comes with the support of our founders. We are heartbroken over the decision, however, we must do this if we want SIMS Foundation to continue into the future, as we know we all do. In order to maintain services at current levels during our 90-day restructuring period, we would need to raise $480,000 by the end of November. We are committed to making the changes necessary to ensure the longevity of the organization so we can continue to be there for Austin’s music community for decades to come, and we invite all members of the community to support us in this mission by reaching out or making a donation today. And if you are interested in being more involved in these efforts, we urge you to email us today. As many of you know, we recently brought on a new CEO, Derrick Lesnau, who has a strong background in nonprofit management and is spearheading many positive changes internally and externally for SIMS. We are confident that under Derrick’s leadership and with the support of our Board of Directors, SIMS will emerge from this transition stronger and ready to make an even bigger impact on our community. In terms of next steps for our clients and providers, our team is currently connecting with SIMS clients individually and working diligently to help provide other resources to minimize the impact this pause will have over the next 90 days. For more information about those efforts, we encourage you to visit this page. Again, we thank you for your understanding and patience as we work through this difficult but necessary period. We look forward to emerging from this stronger and better able to serve our beloved music community. Sincerely, Marissa Rivera, LPC-S Chair, Board of Directors SIMS Foundation PreviousPrevious post:Provider Spotlight: Denisa Washington Back to Main All Stories NextNext post:Healthy Holidays for Music Industry Professionals: 5 Tips for a Balanced Season
Dear SIMS Foundation Community, Last week, we sent a letter to our clients and therapeutic providers to notify them about our need to institute a 90-day pause on service provision while we enter a Strategic Planning process to restructure our service delivery model. (Please note that this pause will not impact a client’s ability to maintain an ongoing relationship with their SIMS provider at a significantly discounted rate, and we are actively working to help all clients access the support they need during this time.) We understand that this message was surprising to many, and we wanted to take a moment to clarify why it is so crucial that we take these measures now. SIMS Foundation was founded in 1995 with a mission to provide financial assistance to members of Austin’s music community who are in need of mental health services. Our founders’ vision was simple: by providing low- to no-cost mental health care to local artists, we would help preserve Austin’s music culture and give back to those who brought so much beauty to our community. Over the past 30 years, SIMS Foundation has invested more than $50M into mental health care services for more than 25,000 members of our music community. And while we are so proud of this legacy and achievement, we must also recognize that, given the current funding landscape and evolution of our healthcare system, many aspects of our service model are just no longer sustainable. While our service model has not changed in 30 years, the evolving landscape of our healthcare systems requires us to adapt and improve. Despite operating with an extremely small staff and low overhead, public and private funding support has consistently gone down year after year, while the need for our services has risen dramatically and the healthcare landscape has evolved. Additionally, since many of our fundraising efforts are tied to public events and since the number of people impacted by mental health challenges has risen sharply since 2020, SIMS was impacted more heavily by the pandemic years than other nonprofits. The reality is simple: we need more funding to continue to operate at our current service levels, and we need to restructure our service model to ensure that we are maximizing all of the resources and efficiencies that are now available. Please know that we do not make this decision lightly and that it comes with the support of our founders. We are heartbroken over the decision, however, we must do this if we want SIMS Foundation to continue into the future, as we know we all do. In order to maintain services at current levels during our 90-day restructuring period, we would need to raise $480,000 by the end of November. We are committed to making the changes necessary to ensure the longevity of the organization so we can continue to be there for Austin’s music community for decades to come, and we invite all members of the community to support us in this mission by reaching out or making a donation today. And if you are interested in being more involved in these efforts, we urge you to email us today. As many of you know, we recently brought on a new CEO, Derrick Lesnau, who has a strong background in nonprofit management and is spearheading many positive changes internally and externally for SIMS. We are confident that under Derrick’s leadership and with the support of our Board of Directors, SIMS will emerge from this transition stronger and ready to make an even bigger impact on our community. In terms of next steps for our clients and providers, our team is currently connecting with SIMS clients individually and working diligently to help provide other resources to minimize the impact this pause will have over the next 90 days. For more information about those efforts, we encourage you to visit this page. Again, we thank you for your understanding and patience as we work through this difficult but necessary period. We look forward to emerging from this stronger and better able to serve our beloved music community. Sincerely, Marissa Rivera, LPC-S Chair, Board of Directors SIMS Foundation