NDBN Annual Report 2024
From the CEO: Action is optimism
NDBN has so much to celebrate. Our members are helping more babies stay clean, dry and healthy than ever before. Likewise, the organizations that make up the Alliance for Period Supplies are distributing more menstrual products, thus providing more worry-free days when a period doesn’t stop someone from succeeding at school, work or life. Two states now include diapers as part of qualified Medicaid coverage, in the latest of many reforms where government recognizes that the products that keep us clean are critical to well-being. We’ve launched the Department of Innovation and Impact to track and disseminate research quantifying how basic essentials change lives. People already get that intuitively. For example, a majority (77%) of Americans support providing free period supplies for students in public schools and universities, according to our recent research.
But when I think about the past year, not all my memories are bright. Our Network is grieving the loss of Chief of Programs Susan Van Ness, who died tragically in September. We have members still digging their way out (literally) after their communities were hit by hurricanes and cataclysmic flooding. Never in my life have I seen our country more politically divided, a challenge to making the changes we need to wipe out diaper need and period poverty, both public health issues that know no political boundaries.
There is no contradiction here. Troubled times are often periods of great achievement, because that’s when people roll up their sleeves. As an NDBN supporter, you believe that things can and should be better. That’s optimism; and real optimism always leads to action.
I am proud to take action with you and with every staff member and volunteer in the Network. Things should be better — and they will be.
Joanne Samuel Goldblum
CEO
Joanne Samuel Goldblum
More than 300 member basic needs banks, spanning 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
NDBN members distributed 239.1 million disposable diapers in 2023. Some members also provide cloth diapers. That’s almost triple what the Network distributed in 2019. Our members serve more than 370,000 children each month.
The Alliance for Period Supplies distributed 38.6 million disposable menstrual products in 2023, serving more than 140,000 people monthly.
NDBN grows research capacity to make case for basic needs
NDBN’s new Department of Innovation and Impact will accelerate the growth of basic needs research, a field that is already driving policy reform. The department is partnering with the Urban Institute, founded in 1968, to use data to shape a more inclusive, equitable and just society. Additionally, NDBN is working with researchers from various institutions who are conducting basic needs research. The new department will also foster the development of early career scholars doing this work, and is led by Megan V. Smith, DrPH, a leader in studying diaper need and the relationship between poverty and maternal mental health.
“The U.S. is experiencing a maternal health crisis,” said Smith. “As early as 2013, our research revealed a strong association between diaper need and symptoms of depression in mothers. Diapers, period supplies and other basic material necessities affect human health. Making sure that people have these material basic necessities can be transformative. We need to prove that through data — and just as importantly, make sure that research is widely shared with the public and policymakers.”
Megan V. Smith, DrPH
Susan Van Ness
NDBN leader remembered with grant program to benefit the members she served
Susan Van Ness, who led NDBN’s programs department for 10 years, was tragically killed in a plane crash on September 8, along with her daughter, Delilah. Susan was a virtuosa of strategic thinking and data-based decision making. As such, she was a powerful force behind the expansion of the Network. She was also an extremely kind person and a mom who had herself experienced diaper need. Her dedication to ending diaper need and to supporting her colleagues doing the same was endless.
In her honor, NDBN has created the Susan Van Ness Legacy Grant, which will be administered through NDBN’s Funds for Change member grant program. Susan, a tireless advocate for all NDBN members, began the Funds for Change grant program, in which NDBN makes grants to its members. Often these grants are the first that a basic needs bank receives. Because a local match is required, the program boosts members’ fundraising efforts in their own communities. The initial award of a $25,000 Susan Van Ness Legacy Grant will be presented in 2025 to an NDBN member basic needs bank working to scale and sustain its operations.
NDBN sponsor CareSource is providing seed funding for the Susan Van Ness Legacy Grant. CareSource is a nonprofit managed care organization partnering with NDBN in a number of ways to provide support for state-specific and national efforts. The partnership recognizes that material basic necessities have a tremendous impact on health and health equity, priority areas for both organizations.
More staff, more services
Network grows to meet need
The NDBN Diaper Check 2023 found that nearly 1 in 2 young U.S. families struggles with diaper need, a significant jump from the 1 in 3 that previous studies have found. The 2024 edition of our survey again found that 1 in 2 families faced diaper need. The scale of diaper need demands that we seek policy solutions to knock down the barriers to basic needs that too many families face. It also demands that we grow our network. We need more basic needs banks distributing essential goods like diapers, and we also need to boost the capacity of existing members to empower them to help more families.
That’s exactly what’s happening. NDBN has added new staff in the past year, both New Haven-based and remote, to deliver a deeper catalog of services to members. Among the new team members are:
- A membership manager to help new members onboard and be a point of contact for existing members. The membership manager can speedily route technical assistance requests to the right staffer.
- A policy coordinator to help state member coalitions succeed.
- A chief of innovation and impact to scale up the research that it is vital to each member as they make their case for policymakers and funders.
- A training manager who has more than doubled the number of webinars available to members and also has created bimonthly webinars on starting a basic needs bank. So far, 180 people have signed up to learn about joining our network.
- A director of external affairs who helped members form a cooperative so that they can get a social media professional to maintain all their accounts at a deep discount.
- A program manager who is launching a mentorship program where our most experienced basic needs bank leaders will work with newer network members to help them develop the skills they need to scale up operations.
- A director of finance and administration who is streamlining procedures and creating efficiencies for everyone NDBN serves.
- A director of corporate relations who is creating partnerships that will fund programming and bring valuable products to members.
“Though our team is rapidly growing, we go through a rigorous thought process before creating new positions,” CEO Joanne Samuel Goldblum said. “Every job we add must move the needle on diaper need and period poverty. Through strategic hires, we’ve seen rapid results. Our members are getting excellent support — and we see them serving more families as a result.”
NDBN Board Chair Kevin Faulkner added that NDBN donors have made this expansion possible. “I am very grateful to all our supporters and proud that we’ve been able to use their gifts to benefit every basic needs bank in the country.”
Basic needs banks are there when disaster strikes
As natural disasters build in frequency and severity, NDBN members are among the first on the scene. Just as importantly, they are already integral parts of their communities and will be there for the work of rebuilding long after the camera crews have gone home. In 2023, 35 members responded to at least one disaster.
When hurricanes Helene and Milton wound a destructive path through the Southeast in 2024, our members responded in force. With the support of Kimberly-Clark Corporation, NDBN continues to direct large donations of Huggies® diapers and wipes, Pull-Ups®, U by Kotex® period pads, and Poise® products to the communities that are rebuilding. Basic needs banks in affected communities worked around the clock to get essentials to residents affected by the storms, no matter what it took. The Diaper Bank of North Carolina, for example, used trucks, planes, all-terrain vehicles and even mules to deliver supplies when roads were washed out, and will continue to serve communities in the months to come.
Board of Directors, 2024–2025
Kevin Faulkner (Chair)
Corporate Attorney and Software Executive
Pebble Beach, California
Toni Harp (Treasurer)
Former Mayor of New Haven
New Haven, Connecticut
Ellen Raim (Secretary)
Chief People Officer
PEOPLE MATTER
Portland, Oregon
Amy Daly Donovan (Immediate Past Chair)
Principal and Owner
Daly-Donovan Consulting
Seattle, Washington
Bobby Agarwal
Head of Marketing
TikTok Shop US
Bellevue, Washington
Bill Andoe
Executive Director
Emergency Infant Services
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Linda Brown Blakley
Retired VP
University Marketing & Communications
Chicago, Illinois
Vesta Godwin Clark
Executive Director
St. James Social Service Corporation
Newark, New Jersey
Vicki Clark
Consultant
Building the Capacity of Organizations
Memphis, Tennessee
Theresa Cowing
VP of eCommerce
Tarte Cosmetics
New York, New York
Fran Held
Executive Director
Mitzvah Circle
Landsdale, Pennsylvania
John Householter
Community Volunteer
Fort Worth, Texas
Chelesa Presley
Executive Director
Diaper Bank of the Delta
Clarksdale, Mississippi
Jacqueline Smith
President and Owner
JLS Medical Products Group
Dallas, Texas
Phillip Vander Klay
Legislative and Regulatory Liaison
Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts
Los Angeles, California
Diana Wong
VP of Marketing
Imperva
San Mateo, California
Joanne Goldblum
Chief Executive Officer
National Diaper Bank Network
New Haven, Connecticut
Financial Data
July 2023 to June 2024
| Total | ||
| Revenue | ||
| Contributions and Grants | $ 3,382,290 | |
| Bulk purchasing program | $ 10,180,308 | |
| Contributions of nonfinancial assets | $ 15,674,656 | |
| Contract income | – | |
| Member dues | $ 67,817 | |
| Member administration fee | $ 730,645 | |
| Event income | $ 53,318 | |
| Interest | $ 132,767 | |
| Other | $ 346 | |
| Net assets released from restrictions | – | |
| Total revenue and other support | $ 30,222,147 | |
| Expenses | ||
| Program services | $ 28,147,870 | |
| Supporting services | ||
| Management & General | $ 608,165 | |
| Fundraising | $ 365,846 | |
| Total supporting services | $ 974,011 | |
| Total Expenses | $ 29,121,881 | |
| Change in Net Assets | $ 1,100,266 |