In This Report
Letter From the Executive Director
Dear Friends,
Nearly one year ago, I walked through Cope’s doors as Executive Director. What I found was a team of deeply committed people doing extraordinary work for Napa Valley families, and an organization ready for a fresh chapter.
I won’t pretend the last few years were easy. Like many nonprofits, Cope navigated real change and uncertainty. But I can tell you with confidence and gratitude that we are entering a new era, grounded in stability, clarity, and the same heart that has guided Cope for 54 years.
Our programs are strong. Every day, our Home Visiting, Parent Education, and Family Support Hub teams meet families where they are, often at moments when they have nowhere else to turn. This past fiscal year we served 923 families, helping parents build confidence, reduce stress, and create safe, nurturing homes. Stories like this are why we do this work.
Our partnerships are deeper. Prevention is never a solo effort. Through the Child Abuse Prevention Council and our work alongside county agencies, schools, healthcare providers, and fellow nonprofits, we are building a more connected network of support, so no family falls through the cracks. We are grateful to partners like Napa Valley Vintners, Napa County Health and Human Services, and Napa Valley Community Foundation who believe, as we do, that strong families make a strong community.
Our foundation is stronger. This year, Cope reached its first break-even budget in three years and we are already seeing revenue grow. Our FY26/27 Bridge Strategic Plan is guiding thoughtful investments in our people and programs, and the generosity shown at events like our Harvest Hoedown reminds us how many of you are standing with us.
None of this happens without you: our donors, partners, board of directors, volunteers, and a staff whose dedication inspires me daily. Thank you for trusting Cope with your support, and for believing that every child deserves to grow up safe, loved, and thriving.
The best is ahead, and I’m so glad we get to build it together.
With gratitude,
Jeni Olsen
Executive Director
Vision
A community where all children are healthy, safe and have the opportunity to reach their greatest potential.
Mission
To empower parents, nurture children and strengthen communities. We provide parents with the education, resources and support they need to raise children who thrive.
Every parent experiences stress from time to time. The demands of parenting and the challenges that life brings can be overwhelming. Despite parents’ best intentions, their struggles can impact their children. Cope is here to help parents manage stressful situations and challenging life events so they can give their children a secure, loving and healthy home.
Values
Acomedidos
Integridad ∙ Integrity
Inclusivos ∙ Inclusive
Adaptables ∙ Adaptive
Basados en Equipo ∙ Team-Based
Cope’s services are free of charge and available to all Napa County families. Here are some demographics of the families that came to Cope in fiscal year 2025/26.
Ages of Children
Average Family Size
Household Income
Languages Spoken at Home
Every day, parents come to Cope overwhelmed, and they leave encouraged and better equipped to handle life’s challenges and the demands of parenting. By providing parents with the support and resources they need, we are keeping children safe and giving them a brighter future. Thank you for making this possible!
SERVED 1,419 PARENTS
RAISING 1,807 CHILDREN
DISTRIBUTED 20,966 DIAPERS
GAVE $40,900 IN GIFT CARDS
94%
OF PARENTS REPORTED REDUCED STRESS AFTER RECEIVING SUPPORT FROM THE FAMILY SUPPORT HUB.
97%
OF HOME VISITING PARENTS REPORTED INCREASED UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR CHILD’S DEVELOPMENT.
98%
OF PARENTING CLASS GRADUATES REPORTED THAT THEY WERE BETTER ABLE TO MANAGE THEIR CHILDREN’S BEHAVIOR.
Cindy knows how to light up a room. With her easy smile and infectious laugh, she has a warmth that makes you feel at ease. That same warmth shines through when watching her care for her baby daughter, Sofia. But Cindy’s path to where she is today hasn’t been easy. She speaks openly about her struggles with addiction, the challenges she has faced, and the work it has taken to heal and rebuild her life.
Before coming to Cope, Cindy was a single mother raising four children. Although life was challenging, she was managing to care for her family.
But in 2015, Cindy began struggling with addiction. After giving birth to a daughter who tested positive for methamphetamines, Cindy lost custody of her baby and relinquished custody of her four older children to their fathers.
By the time Cindy connected with Cope, she was sober and committed to building a more stable future. She hoped to continue her recovery, strengthen her life, and begin rebuilding her relationships with her children.
After years of feeling defined by her struggles, Cindy found something unexpected at Cope: a place where she could be honest about her experiences without fear of judgment.
Cindy first enrolled in supervised visitation – a service Cope offered at the time – with her oldest daughter. Debra, Cindy’s visitation supervisor, helped Cindy reconnect with her daughter in a way that felt natural and encouraging. She remembers how Debra recognized her strengths as a mother, even when she struggled to see them herself.
“She saw things in me that I didn’t even see in myself as a mother,” Cindy says. “Debra was always so encouraging. She would tell me I was doing a good job.”
Looking for additional support after giving birth to another daughter, she voluntarily enrolled in Cope’s Home Visiting Program in 2018.
Her home visitors offered parenting guidance and developmental activities for her daughter, but they also made time to listen and support Cindy personally.
“I didn’t feel like I was somebody who had lost children and made all these mistakes,” she said. “It brought me back to who I used to be before addiction.”
Those experiences stayed with Cindy. The support she received helped her feel more confident as a parent and showed her what it could look like to be surrounded by people who believed in her. But Cindy’s recovery hasn’t been linear. After making progress, she experienced another setback in her sobriety, and in 2023, Child Welfare Services removed her two youngest daughters from her custody.
Because of this experience, Cindy realized that getting sober was only part of what she needed to heal. She began to understand how addiction and past trauma were connected, and that she needed support to address both.
One of the most important steps she took was enrolling in outpatient treatment through Napa County Alcohol and Drug Services. She attended three days a week for 11 months and graduated from the program. She also worked with a therapist through Mentis and participated in recovery groups.
Cindy also reached out to Cope for support, leading her to enroll in Cope’s Family Transitions parenting class, a multi-week course for parents navigating divorce and separation. Her relationships with her children’s fathers had been volatile, including domestic violence with one former partner, and maintaining contact with them for the sake of their children was challenging.
With the help of her parent educator, Carina, Cindy learned strategies to better navigate these relationships and manage difficult interactions. “I was just so meant to be in that class with Carina.”
Through these experiences, Cindy began learning practical tools to help her manage the effects of trauma and navigate difficult moments.
“I really thought I was never going to get better,” she said.
But with time, therapy, and support, she began to understand that healing was possible.
“I just needed to learn how to breathe and take myself outside of the PTSD symptoms. I needed to learn how to cope with them,” she explained. “There are tools, you just have to use them.”
Cindy also made a conscious effort to surround herself with positive people and build connections throughout the community. In addition to regaining her sobriety, she wanted to understand herself, heal from her experiences, and build a different future.
“I looked at other people working on their sobriety, and I was inspired to see where I could really be in recovery, and what my story would be.”
Through her dedication to recovery, and with love and commitment to her children, Cindy regained full custody of her youngest daughters in 2024. Today, Cindy is raising them in a home of their own. After experiencing homelessness and moving between hotels, having a stable place to live has been especially meaningful.
When she talks about how far they have come, she reflects on the difference between their past and their present.
“Just to see my daughters today makes me so emotional. I look at them and think, ‘we made it out of there.’”
Her eight-year-old, also named Cindy, is a dancer. She plays flag football and softball and loves to read. She loves nature and she loves being a big sister. Although she has been through a lot, Cindy says her daughter has blossomed into a healthy, vibrant girl. “She’s just the cutest little thing. She is so smart and also very sassy.”
Her five-year-old daughter, Mila, is also a dancer. She plays soccer and just joined a flag football team. “She is the most talkative and so sweet. She’s like in her own little world. She’s extremely smart.”
Her youngest daughter Sofia arrived unexpectedly and at a time when Cindy was working hard to maintain her recovery and rebuild her life. The experience encouraged her to reflect on her own worth and the opportunity to continue healing.
“I lost my three older daughters and my son, and I’ll never get that time back,” she said. “And now God is trusting me with this little life, and I have a second chance at raising three daughters.”
Cindy says motherhood has helped her heal parts of herself that were deeply affected by trauma, including her ability to form secure attachments. She continues to work on herself while creating a stable, loving home for her daughters.
She is also gradually mending relationships with her older children, a process she approaches with care and respect for their privacy.
Reflecting on Cindy’s journey, her former visitation supervisor Debra said, “During our time together, I saw Cindy’s love for her children and her determination to rebuild those connections. By continuing to seek support and work on her own healing, she is creating a more stable, nurturing foundation for her children. Her changes give them room to grow, build trust, and see that difficult experiences do not have to define their future. I am beyond proud of Cindy’s strength, perseverance, and the love that continues to guide her commitment to herself and her children.”
Cindy’s experiences have also shaped the work she does today. For nearly three years, she has worked as a Resource Center Associate at Expressions of Hope, where she prepares essential items for families and connects them with community supports. She also facilitates a monthly support group for mothers, including those who have experienced child welfare involvement.
Her own experiences have helped her understand how complicated it can be for families to navigate difficult circumstances. Cindy hopes to become a drug and alcohol counselor so she can support others working toward recovery.
“I would love to work with mothers, or anybody, because recovery is so complicated,” she said.
Cindy has also returned to Cope to participate in the Triple P for Baby class, which helps parents gain confidence and learn about their baby’s development. She recommends Cope’s programs to the families she meets through her work because she knows firsthand how meaningful a welcoming, judgment-free environment can be.
“Cope is more than a place to get diapers and gift cards” she said. “I feel like everyone here feels handpicked to give that beautiful support to people.”
For Cindy, that support has meant having a place where she can show up as herself and find community, and she hopes to offer that same sense of connection to other parents who may be facing some of the hardest moments of their lives.
Carina, Cindy’s Parent Educator shared, “Working with Cindy has been a powerful reminder that healing takes time, and every parent deserves compassion, support, and the opportunity to grow. It has been a privilege to walk alongside her as she has built confidence in herself, learned new tools to navigate difficult relationships, and continued working toward a healthier, more stable future for herself and her family. Cindy’s strength, determination, and commitment to her children are truly inspiring. I hope she sees in herself what I see in her: a strong, caring mother who is capable of so much. Her journey is a testament to what can happen when parents feel supported, encouraged, and believed in.”
Through her work, her relationships with her children, and her continued connection with Cope, Cindy is building a future rooted in healing. Recovery takes time, but with safe, compassionate support, parents like Cindy can find their way forward.
Expenses: $2,363,313
Revenue: $1,930,955
Financial Overview: Cope’s Board approved a planned deficit for the year to support key leadership transitions and to bridge the loss of government grants eliminated by shifting funding priorities and other contributed revenue losses. This was offset by the remaining balance of the Covid-19 Employee Retention Credit, however, unanticipated declines in contract revenue and philanthropic support widened the gap. Due to prudent financial stewardship and years of building reserves, Cope absorbed the shortfall and ended the year with 7.5 months of operating reserves. The organization has since implemented targeted cost-management strategies, adopted a balanced budget for the current year, and continues to diversify its revenue to strengthen long-term sustainability.
Note: These figures are preliminary and internally prepared. Financial statements reviewed by an independent certified public accountant and approved by the Board of Directors will be available in February 2027.
This list recognizes the generous government, business, and foundation partners who contributed $1,000 or more between 7/1/2025 – 6/30/2026. We are so grateful to have community supporters like this who understand the importance of investing in children and families. Thank you!
$100,000+
Napa Valley Community Foundation
Napa Valley Vintners
$25,000 – $100,000
Community Projects, Inc
Kaiser Permanente
Lewis Cellars
Napa County Health and Human Services Agency
The Syar Foundation
$10,000 – $24,999
Anonymous
Carpy Family Foundation
First Citizen’s Bank
John Brockway Huntington Foundation
Peter A. & Vernice H. Gasser Foundation, Inc.
$5,000 – $9,999
The Apple Lane Foundation
Columbia Bank Community Impact Fund
The Doctors Company
Doering Family Foundation
Hands Across the Valley
The Rachel and Eric Jones Foundation
$2,500 – $4,999
Bank of Marin
Hope’s Chest
Kiwanis Club of Napa Noon
Poppy Bank
Westamerica Bank
$1,000 – $2,499
American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
Autodesk Foundation
Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream
Binz & Company Inc
Churchill Manor Bed and Breakfast
Cole’s Chop House
Con Amor Botanas y Tequila
Edward S. and Eleonore M. Aslanian Family Foundation
Hop Creek Pub
Ivy Rebekah Lodge #23
Napa County Board of Supervisors
Napa Valley Pediatrics
We apologize for any errors or omissions. Please let us know of any corrections by emailing us at development@copefamilycenter.org.
WE ALL HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY IN PROTECTING CHILDREN AND STRENGTHENING FAMILIES IN OUR COMMUNITY.
VISIT. Tour our family resource center and meet our team working to strengthen families and protect children.
VOLUNTEER. We are always looking for dedicated volunteers to help with a variety of tasks. See what opportunities are available now at www.copefamilycenter.org/volunteer.
SPONSOR. If your business is looking to improve the lives of Napa Valley’s children and families, please consider a sponsorship donation. To learn more contact development@copefamilycenter.org.
LIKE. Help us reach more people by following us on social media. Stay up to date with our latest news and share with others.
DONATE. Every donation, no matter the size, has the power to strengthen a family and give a child their best start in life. Make a gift at copefamilycenter.org/donate.