Supporting the Children of Dallas with PlainsCapital

“It’s great to know we have such partners in our community. PlainsCapital has been a huge support and has had a huge impact on the lives of the children we serve. I appreciate the white glove service that the bank offers us. They are always available, and the service is absolutely stellar.” – Mariama Maiga, Chief Financial Officer at Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center

Background

Since 1991, the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center (DCAC) has served more than 60,000 of the most severely abused children and their non-offending family members. Its mission is to improve the lives of abused children in Dallas County by coordinating the investigation of child abuse cases that rise to a criminal level. Alongside its partner organizations, DCAC aims to provide a less traumatic response and appropriate services for healing.

PlainsCapital Bank has been a valued partner of DCAC since 2009, assisting with its financial needs and fundraising efforts.

Problem

Ask Mariama Maiga, chief financial officer at the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, and she’d say 2020 provided some of the most unique challenges in the agency’s history. When the pandemic unfolded in March 2020, the center had to change the way it operated due to COVID-19. Typically, DCAC holds three fundraising events which generate close to $1 million to help with operating costs. The pandemic forced the Center to cancel its spring luncheon and delay its other two events, Art for Advocacy and Aim for Advocacy, putting the agency at risk. With the future uncertain, the Center was forced to prepare contingency plans and adjust its revenue expectations. Staffing was also a concern. Would this lack of revenue force them to downsize or furlough employees?

Solution

In mid-March, as DCAC pivoted to provide all clinical services virtually, Mariama and her team wondered which non-profits qualified for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. With the assistance of PlainsCapital’s Dallas Turtle Creek branch lending team and the bank’s Small Business Administration (SBA) department, DCAC was approved for the funding, which prevented any furloughs and allowed the Center to keep all 110 of its employees full-time.

“It’s a feel-good situation because these are uncertain times, especially last year,” Mariama said. “To be able to keep providing the staff with the same benefits we’ve been providing them all these years – these are the people who deal with extreme traumatic circumstances themselves – makes us extremely grateful.”

Outcome

 Today, DCAC is back to operating at close to full capacity, with its direct staff back in the building and indirect service staff still working remotely. The pandemic has had an impact on fundraising, forcing DCAC to cut its FY21 budget by more than 10 percent to remain fiscally conservative. But thanks to the PPP loan, no jobs or hours were cut. This fiscal year, the Center anticipates serving 8,400 children and their non-offending family members.

“DCAC’s mission is so important because we serve the most severe cases of child abuse,” said Mariama. “Unfortunately, it’s the reality that we live in. We wish this issue did not exist, but it’s something that is happening in our community, and we serve the children and their non-offending family members to the best of our ability. It’s great to know we have such partners in our community. PlainsCapital has been a huge support and has had a huge impact on the lives of the children that we serve.”