About the fund
In 2001, Bonney Enterprises, Inc. and Open Door, Inc. merged to create Cornerstone Associates, Inc. (CAI), a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation. CAI provides job training and an array of vital day-to-day support for people with disabilities. CAI’s mission is to create meaningful employment and community involvement opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
For many years CAI has partnered with Benton Community Foundation (BCF) in order to expand and enrich its program. Most recently, CAI has used funds received by BCF to provide scholarships for Associates who have seen their own funding and benefits reduced, or in some cases, eliminated altogether.
CAI has established an Endowed Agency Fund with BCF to provide a stream of income for the long-term sustainability of the valuable services CAI provides. Individuals in our community face substantial barriers to employment and independence due to disabilities. Contributions to the CAI Agency Fund is a convenient way for donors to create meaningful community involvement for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
About Cornerstone Associates, Inc.
CAI operates seven very diverse small businesses:
- Taylor Street Ovens
- B&J Bookbinding
- Cornerstone Janitorial
- Cornerstone Wood Products
- Cornerstone Landscape Maintenance
- Cornerstone Packaging Plus
- Cornerstone Gardens
These represent the businesses which employ CAI’s 145+ Associates. Each of these businesses is unique, and each requires a specialized skill set from the employees who work there.
Many of those Associates who have participated in our work program live independently and contribute to our community through work and civic participation. Large-scale care institutions—such as Oregon’s Fairview Training Center—have been phased out over the years. This means smaller community-based organizations—such as CAI—are vital in providing services which enable people to transition from institutional support, to community support, and eventually to various degrees of independence within the community. While an individual’s independence from support will always remain the ultimate goal of transitional services, many are still faced with the enduring educational and social factors which can prevent one from assuming a more independent life.
This is what makes CAI’s services so relevant today. Nationwide, provider organizations such as CAI are challenged to create support systems which will enable every client to have some form of employment and to live as independently as possible. Funding for larger programs, which has already been reduced dramatically over the past two decades, is currently being redirected towards employment and more singular supports. “This is a positive sign as it seems that as a culture, we have begun to appreciate the attributes and potential of those thought to have disabilities,” wrote a CAI staff member.
With a rich history that emphasizes employment and job training, CAI is poised to meet these needs. “We recognize the difficulties in calling for the need of individual employment for those with disabilities during a period which has seen very little job growth. But this has enabled us to emphasize the necessity of the businesses which Cornerstone operates as a way to build job skills while employing our Associates,” a CAI staff member wrote in a letter to the Benton Community Foundation.
CAI also runs a Community Access Program, which is a daily program that provides a variety of support to some 30+ participants who are seeking employment, or are between jobs. The Community Access Program is designed in particular to support those who may require more pronounced support due to physical or cognitive disabilities. Activities include weekly outings, arts and crafts classes, exercise classes and job training, which lead to the development of basic social, physical and work skills.