Thank you for your interest in references for Stephen Forbus. This page is not found on our menu above, so you have come across this page because of an email sent to you. Each of the names below would gladly provide a reference for the work Stephen Forbus provides to Senior Community Centers.
Clark Shuster, Manager, Morrisville Senior Servicenter — (215) 295-0567, mssc-mgr@verizon.net. Clark has known me since 2001, and has seen firsthand the work I’ve done to turn-around the Morrisville Senior Servicenter, which includes grants worth almost $200,000, and saving the center from closing forever back in 2014.
Bill McTigue, Deputy Director, Bucks County Area Agency on Aging — (267) 880-5700, wrmctigue@buckscounty.org. Bill McTigue is also fully aware of my help in keeping the above center from closing, as well as helping five other centers in Bucks County. The Bucks County AAA cannot endorse any service or provider and has no affiliation with NNPRC. Bill McTigue is listed as a personal reference.
Karen Forster, Center Manager, Benjamin H. Wilson Senior Center — (215) 672-8380, karen@bwsac.org. Stephen has helped Ben Wilson Senior Center with marketing, fundraising, program development, partnership development, and two state PDA grants totally over $115,000.
Sheila Rodney, Center Manager, Central Bucks Senior Center — (215) 348-0565, cbsenior@comcast.net. Stephen helped the Central Bucks Senior Center with a grant that remodeled most of their center, started an Internet Cafe, made a new entrance ADA compliant, and trained the staff on strategic planning.
Evidence
One of my recent Constant Contact flyers stated, “Our services have been recommended by the PDA.” In response to this, the PDA sent an email to every senior center in Pennsylvania claiming that I used inaccurate and misleading statements in claiming that the PDA recommended my services. At issue is whether or not the PDA has ever introduced me to, recommended me to, or matched me with third parties as prospective clients. I have ample evidence that supports my claim. Employees representing the Pennsylvania Department of Aging have referred my services, introduced me to new clients, suggested people contact me to help them with grants, recommended me for paid speaking engagements, etc. I never said that the Department of Aging endorsed me. I did not intentionally imply or mislead anyone regarding my relationship with the PDA. I am an honest, trustworthy community development organizer who has given much time back to the community to help thousands of people. I used the word recommended because that is an accurate description of the emails below. I used the word recommend meaning that the third party who received the recommendation was free to take or leave the advice given. Please see the email correspondence below and decide if I in any way misrepresented myself.
Email from Robert Cherry introducing me to New Horizons as a potential client: RC New Horizons Referral
Emails from Jill Campbell discussing me speaking at conference on strategic planning and program development: Jill Campbell request to speak at LTLTI Conference – 2 and Jill Campbell Confirmation of LTLTI Nutrition Conference
Email from Robert Cherry matching me with a professional speaking engagement with Pennsylvania Association of Senior Centers: RC Email matching me with PASC
Letter of recommendation: I only ever used this letter for its intended purpose. This letter is where Robert Cherry “recommends” me for a position as a Resource Development Director: RC Letter of Recommendation for Resource Dev Dir
Email from Robert Cherry recommending me to York County Area Agency on Aging to do training about grant writing: RC Email referring SF to YCAAA on grant writing
I was also accused of misusing a reference from PASC, even though I specifically asked for permission to do so. Email from Bobbi Manges, President of the Pennsylvania Association of Senior Centers, giving me permission to use PASC and Bobbi as references for grant writing services: Bobbi Manges – PASC permission to use them as a reference
Email memorializing that Robert Kline, associated then with the Pennsylvania Association of Senior Centers, referred me to the Mohler Center: Robert Kline referral to Mohler Center
What is FREE in Free Grant Program? The grant is written to pay for strategic planning, program and partnership development, marketing & publicity, and possible future grant development. All fees paid to NNPRC would come out of a PDA grant, if awarded. There is no guarantee that PDA would award the grant, but there is no cost to you to use this grant to apply. I do not charge for grant writing services for this grant if the grant is only for this program, do not ask for fees to be reimbursed to me, do not charge you if the grant is not awarded, and do not ask the PDA to reimburse me if the grant is awarded. Only fees associated with the grant project are ever awarded, and the PDA has funded this program every time I have written it into a grant. This is NOT an endorsement, it’s just a stated fact.
Read the grant for yourself: Strategic Steps Grant – Generic. No where does this promise or imply that grant writing fees will be reimbursed.
Implications made by PDA that I lied to clients: In an email sent out by the PDA on November 1, 2019, the PDA made it a point to say: “While senior community centers have the discretion to hire or contract with a grant writer if they so choose, the costs associated with writing, planning, submitting, administering and reporting on the grant are not eligible for reimbursement through the grant if awarded.” This is a true and correct statement with which we have never disagreed. By placing this statement in the email, it gives the impression that NNPRC said something to the contrary. We have NEVER promised to have anyone’s fees reimbursed by a grant. We have used the grant for its intended purposes only, which includes increasing programs & activities, and increasing the number of center visits & members. It was Robert Cherry who suggested to me that I could use a PDA grant to support writing a future proposal and grant for a new client for the next grant cycle: RC Email Suggesting using PDA Grant to pay for Grant Writing
Cease & Desist Letter: What were the grounds for the PDA to say that I used inaccurate or misleading statements? According to a letter received Nov. 6 (dated Nov. 4), the PDA states, “Your advertisement (copy enclosed) prominently states your services are recommended by the Pennsylvania Department of Aging. The Department has not authorized you or your company to represent it is recommended by or or affiliated with the Department in this or any other activities.” See Cease & Desist Letter. As I have shown by evidence above, I did not make any false claim. The “prominently” placed statement was in the last paragraph of my email, and reflected the above email notices when the PDA or representatives of the PDA did introduce, match, and recommend my services to third parties. This is not an endorsement. And I never implied it was.
I have never misrepresented myself, made any inaccurate or misleading statements, intentionally implied that I was “endorsed” by the PDA or PASC, never used the words “endorsed” or “endorsement,” and used only the most descriptive word possible to describe all of the emails above. I have been recommended by Robert Cherry by email and phone to help people, and that should be part of his job — to help people.