Most services at Bloomington Area Birth Services, or BABS, have been on haitus since the end of June. The non-profit realized it was running out of funds, and now they're hard at work deciding how to adapt and reopen.
Executive director Georg'ann Cattelona says they're continuing core services like prenatal yoga and childbirth education classes, while simultaneously putting a new board together and rethinking their role in Bloomington.
"We've been doing this for 20 years, it's time to step back and say ‘What are the other organizations doing? Are there partnerships that we haven't explored before that we really should? Should we let go of something and let it be picked up by someone else?'" Cattelona says.
Cattelona says BABS is facing a lot of the same funding issues as other non-profits in Indiana.
A large chunk of their money comes from the state's Title V Block Grant, but that ends in September. But BABS is unable to reapply for the grant because of decisions made at the state level about where that grant can be used.
Cattelona says this, combined with the fact that they've never had a development director, led to the closing in June.
She says there are similar services available in Bloomington, but that the community-based model at BABS, which means the organization seeks out specific groups of women and listens to their needs, remains their greatest asset.
"It's really more grass-roots, if you will," Cattelona says. "Saying, ‘This is what I need.' And it's women from the community, so they understand what's needed. It's a great model, actually."
To bring in more funds the staff at BABS plans to widen their net, reaching out to foundations and non-profits, as well as research partnerships at Indiana University.
The staff is also working on a logic model, scrawled on posters around the office, to assess what they've done in the past and what might be effective moving forward.
