Richelle Todd-Yamoah ─ ”Not Thinking Anything Was Too Big” - A Small Foundation Partners with a CDFI and the State to Nurture Businesses and Fill Transportation Gaps in a Struggling Region

When working to advance its mission, the Pascale Sykes Foundation in New Jersey has never backed away from challenge and the need to venture into new kinds of work. The foundation focuses on nurturing opportunity and success for working families. Recognizing that lack of jobs and transportation in rural South Jersey undermined hope for families, the foundation built relationships with organizations in other parts of New Jersey to target resources to this underserved region. Richelle Todd-Yamoah explains how the relationships and expertise the foundation tapped into made it possible to fill gaps in the larger system that affects families. The foundation's work focused attention on South Jersey and catalyzed additional investment in this region by a factor of five. 

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Richelle Todd-Yamoah is Vice President of Programs and Operations at the Pascale Sykes Foundation, responsible for helping to strengthen the capacity of grantees in support of the foundation’s mission and Whole Family Approach. She has developed and maintained relationships with key philanthropic, government, and private stakeholders to encourage investment and partnership in this vital work. Richelle serves on the boards of the Community Foundation of South Jersey and Mural Arts Philadelphia.