2025-02-17T08:35:08-07:00 2024-09-30 990 2023-10-01 800249546 GULF COAST CITIZEN DIPLOMACY COUNCIL INC GULF 8503773176 150 W Maxwell St Pensacola FL 32501 Jena Melancon Executive Director 8503773176 2025-02-13 1 2023 2025-03-06 01:10:19Z Gulf Coast Diplomacy Jena Melancon 150 W Maxwell St Pensacola FL 32501 291084 0 X www.gulfcoastdiplomacy.org X 2008 FL We facilitate professional exchange programs for international visitors through the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program & other federal exchanges. We also conduct educational outreach via virtual exchange to schools and civic organizations and run an in-person leadership and educational program for high school students. We also facilitate hospitality efforts for international professionals visiting Northwest Florida. 16 16 5 604 0 0 386806 286236 2289 4776 64 72 1113 0 390272 291084 0 0 0 0 153676 130538 0 0 11484 166864 72560 320540 203098 69732 87986 135700 222816 4296 3426 131404 219390 Gulf Coast Diplomacy is a non-partisan, nonprofit organization facilitating and strengthening connection, collaboration, and fellowship between the people of the Gulf Coast and the global community through international exchange and education. 0 0 76549 0 0 Professional Exchange Facilitation: We worked with 152 professional international visitors with 42 interpreters and liaisons in 16 groups from Oct 2023 to Sept 2024. These exchange participants attended 76 professional meetings, met with 224 of their professional counterparts, and 55 visited two classrooms. We estimate that local professionals volunteered at least 448 hours (224 people x 2 hours each) to prepare for and attend meetings with the exchange participants. The Independent Sector estimates the value of a volunteer hour in Florida in 2024 as $31.61 (448 hrs x $31.61 = $14,161.28). We estimate the private sector donated two hours of meeting room time to each of the 15 International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) groups that stayed in town for an estimated 2-3 days (2 hrs x 15 groups x the market rate of $125 per hour = $3,750 in-kind donations) and 7.2 hours for the Open World group that was in town for a week (7.2 x $125 = $900) for an estimated total of $4,650 of donated meeting space ($3,750 + $900 = $4,650). Based on the IRS mileage rate for 2024, local families donated an estimated $290 worth of transportation in their cars for the Open World group. One hundred thirty-five visitors had at least one cultural activity on weekends or evenings. We facilitated five volunteer experiences for the groups, who then donated 51 volunteer hours in Northwest Florida. Topics explored by the groups included "Diversifying University Partnerships," "The Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists," "Transparency and Accountability in Government." Two hotel rooms in the Washington, DC, area were donated for four nights each so that a staff member and a volunteer could attend a training session on best practices in working with the IVLP (2 rooms x 4 nights x $295.875 = $2,367). The immediate objective of facilitating international exchange in Northwest Florida is to encourage the discussion of best practices between professionals and promote an understanding of American values and policies. The long-term objectives are a) to provide avenues for further communication to discourage stereotyping, b) to encourage intellectual, economic, and cultural activity in Northwest Florida, c) to protect the United States and American citizens by contributing to our national security, d) to advance democracy, e) to contribute to workforce development in our region, and f) to encourage economic growth and prosperity in Northwest Florida and the world. 59007 0 3988 Youth Education: To allow local youth to meet these visitors, we welcomed 32 teenagers to our Youth Diplomats leadership program and worked with them for 11 months. A local business donated space for us to meet five times (estimated five meetings x $125 = $625), and the private sector donated approximately 110.28 hours of meeting room time for an estimated in-kind donation of $13,785 (110.28 hours x $125 = $13,785). Over the year, we worked with more than 100 teens through our virtual four-day summer camp and virtual and in-person leadership exchanges. We began training Youth Diplomats to assist us with virtual facilitation and hired two local university students to work with us on youth leadership groups. We hired an additional local college student to help us with professional exchanges and administrative work, giving three youths in our community office environment learning opportunities. We hosted four U.S. Department of State in-person exchanges for 51 teens from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Iraq, and Ukraine. All stayed with host families for 8 - 13 days. Not included in this estimation are the invaluable hours donated to citizen diplomacy by the host families who spent time with these youths during the 521 nights they stayed in local homes. Host families and a local transportation company donated an estimated $5,439 in transportation miles to make the program possible. The 51 international youths who came to Northwest Florida met with 146 local professionals in 44 meetings, and 50 participated in at least one of four classroom visits. We estimate that local professionals volunteered at least 268 hours (134 people x 2 hours each) to prepare for and attend meetings with the exchange participants. The Independent Sector estimates the value of a volunteer hour in Florida in 2024 as $31.61 (268 hrs x $31.61 = $8,471.48). Additionally, the community donated $1,100 in snacks and meals outside of the host families that were donated to the group. These teens interacted with the teens in our local leadership program and volunteered alongside them and other locals at Ocean Hour Florida and other volunteer activities, donating 97.5 hours at six different volunteer experiences. The short-term objectives are to educate teens in Florida about the world outside our borders by presenting them with new educational opportunities. The long-term objectives are a) to encourage youths to think more expansively, b) to help youths gain and improve workforce development skills, c) to expose them to new opportunities, d) to provide training in leadership to local teens, e) to contribute towards national security by creating intercultural friendships, f) to strengthen democracy in the United States by promoting civics and service to the nation, and g) to improve the image of the USA around the world. 23922 0 788 Hospitality & Outreach: To encourage the concept of citizen diplomacy & to give members opportunities to interact with international professionals, we coordinated home hospitality dinners. Forty-three local hosts (4 Open World Hosts and 39 International Visitor Leadership hosts) invited international professionals to their homes for meals. The 39 IVLP hosts offered dinner to 55 IVLP visitors (55 meals x $29 GSA rate = $1,529 in donated dinners). The four Open World families also offered their homes to the six participants for eight nights (6 x 8 x GSA rate $156 = $7,488 host family lodging donation). We estimate that each of the 39 IVLP hosts donated five hours in shopping, prepping, hosting, and cleaning up after the 55 meals. The Independent Sector estimates the value of a volunteer hour in Florida in 2024 as $31.61 (39 hosts x 5 hrs x $31.61 = $6,163.95 estimated volunteer hours in IVLP dinner hosting). Not included in this estimation are the invaluable hours donated to citizen diplomacy by the host families who spent time with these six professionals during the 48 nights (6 people x 8 nights) they stayed in local homes. These families also donated breakfasts, dinners, and weekend meals at the GSA rates for these visitors for eight days (6 people x 8 days x an average of GSA rate $34.375 a day for meals eaten in homes= $1,650 donated meals with host families). We also hosted nine community coffees for 89 international professionals to meet 106 locals and offered the Great Decisions discussion series for 17 interested locals to explore topics they would likely encounter in a hospitality setting with international visitors. A local church donated a meeting room for the eight-day discussion series (8 x $125 = $1,000 estimated in-kind meeting room donation). We spoke to 66 locals at four civic organizations about the impact of international exchange in our community and held four receptions to share our mission. We staffed tables at six community events to increase awareness. We extensively promoted the opportunities offered by youth and professional exchange through interviews in magazines, newspapers, and television, as well as on our website, newsletter, and five social media platforms. The short-term objective of these efforts is to increase citizen diplomacy knowledge and recruit more hospitality dinner hosts. In the long term, we hope these events will build a more vital awareness of US foreign policy goals and lead to correspondence between our members and guests, helping us affect US foreign policy and national security "one connection at a time." 0 0 0 159478 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 FL X Jena Melancon 8503773176 150 W Maxwell St Pensacola FL 32501 Jena Melancon Executive Director 34 0 X 70965 0 0 Leigh DeSantis Chair 1.5 0 X X 0 0 0 Elizabeth Yelverton Vice Chair 1.5 0 X X 0 0 0 Jean Norman Secretary 1 0 X X 0 0 0 Rachel Hendrix Director 0.75 0 X 0 0 0 Carlos Collard Director 0.5 0 X 0 0 0 Julie Tippins Parker Director 0.5 0 X 0 0 0 Randolph Scott Director 0.5 0 X 0 0 0 Logan McDonald Director 0.5 0 X 0 0 0 Karen Jurkowich Director 0.5 0 X 0 0 0 Henry Kelley Director 0.5 0 X 0 0 0 Dee Reilly Director 0.5 0 X 0 0 0 Clyde Roark Director 0.5 0 X 0 0 0 Kayla Maybry Director 0.5 0 X 0 0 0 Stephen Helms-MacBeth Treasurer 1 0 X 0 0 0 70965 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12388 17218 0 242551 14079 5050 286236 Fees for Youth Diplomats and Camp Global 611000 3788 3788 0 0 Fees for Camp Global Educational Program 611000 200 200 0 0 Fees for Great Decisions Book Discussion Program 611000 788 788 0 0 0 0 0 0 4776 72 72 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17218 0 0 0 0 0 291084 4848 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 106917 88155 16038 2724 0 0 0 0 15253 12812 2288 153 8368 7029 1255 84 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2483 2111 372 0 860 722 129 9 9721 4795 4754 172 583 490 87 6 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 4324 380 3944 0 0 0 0 0 1310 0 1310 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2060 1730 309 21 Tickets to Cultural Activities for Delegates 40971 40971 0 0 Expenses for Membership Events 3270 0 0 3270 Professional Development 1650 0 1650 0 In-Kind Donations for Fundraisers 4768 0 0 4768 559 282 0 277 203098 159478 32136 11484 22477 24521 113223 198295 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 135700 222816 4296 3426 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4296 3426 X 131404 219390 0 0 0 0 131404 219390 135700 222816 87986 0 0 0 0 0 X 0 0 0 X 163847 189856 134959 358292 286236 1133190 0 0 0 0 0 0 27608 6000 6000 3000 16000 58608 191455 195856 140959 361292 302236 1191798 0 1191798 465 73 72 208 72 890 0 0 0 0 0 0 25039 2710 12822 26895 4776 72242 1264930 0 0.94218 0.92490 X Schedule A, Part II, Line 10 The $4,776.31 in other income was for payments received from attendees of our weeklong Camp Global program ($200), the income from our Great Decisions educational discussion series ($788), and fees ($3,788.31) for teens attending our yearlong Youth Diplomats educational program programs. Mint Jubilee 15319 4288 11031 0 0 600 1490 650 530 0 0 15319 4288 11031 0 0 600 1490 650 530 3270 7761 Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 11b The executive director sends a copy of the 990 to the board treasurer and members for review before filing. The executive director then holds a Q & A session for the group. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 12c Any director, principal officer, or committee member with a board-delegated or indirect financial interest is an interested person. Annually, all interested persons must disclose the existence of their financial interest and be allowed to disclose all material facts to the directors of committees with board-delegated powers considering the proposed transaction or arrangement through the completion of an annual statement that the executive director reviews. If the board determines a person has a conflict of interest, that person will leave the meeting during the discussion and vote on the transaction at hand. Form 990, Part VI, Section C, Line 19 We provide copies upon request. In FY2024, no one from the public requested our documents. All board members receive PDFs of policies upon joining the board.