You’re a marketer, so you know the feeling. The work is genuinely good, and almost nobody knows it exists. Closing that gap is one of the hardest jobs you have.
It’s a gap Family Respite Care of Nevada (FRC) knows well.
For 30 years, the organization has run one of the only center-based respite programs in the country, giving caregivers of children with disabilities, special health needs and kids in foster and adoptive care a regular, scheduled break. The families who find it tend to stay. Some have been with the organization eight, ten or even eleven years. In a recent survey, every single one said FRC had helped reduce stress in their household.
That’s an organization doing some of the most important work in the state, and the challenge was never the work itself. It was finding the time and resources to tell that story as well as they deliver on it.
Like most nonprofits, FRC puts every available dollar toward serving families first. That’s the right call, and it’s also why brand and digital presence, the tools that carry a story to a wider audience, rarely make it to the top of the list. The impact has always been there. What the team lacked was the capacity to share it widely.
That’s the gap Noble Deeds set out to close. Through our pro bono marketing program, we partnered with FRC on its brand and digital presence, helping a respected organization tell a story worthy of the work behind it.
What follows is part mission story, part marketing lesson. We sat down with Brian Bosma, Executive Director of Family Respite Care of Nevada, to talk about the work, the gap and what changed when telling their story finally got the attention it deserved.
How do you explain respite care to someone who’s never heard of it?
Respite care is a short-term break for caregivers raising children and young adults with disabilities, special health needs and children in foster and adoptive care. In our model, families receive regularly scheduled opportunities each month to entrust us with their child while they reclaim something many people take for granted: time.
That time may be spent attending a doctor’s appointment, grocery shopping, spending time with a spouse or simply sitting quietly for a moment and breathing.
The reality is that this is not a luxury service. It is a critical support system that preserves families before they reach a breaking point.
Many of our families operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. There are no sick days from caregiving, no substitute teachers and often no support systems waiting to step in. They are simultaneously navigating therapies, medical appointments, school systems, behavioral challenges, financial pressures and advocating for their child every single day.
Our most recent June 2026 family survey put data behind what we see every day. Nearly 70% of families reported being very or extremely stressed before accessing respite services, and approximately 75% said caregiving responsibilities had negatively impacted their family relationships before receiving support. Most importantly, 100% of families said Family Respite Care has helped or will help reduce stress within their household.
Why is it so hard for a parent to drop their child off the first time?
Trust is everything because asking for help is incredibly vulnerable.
By the time many families find us, they’ve often spent years hearing phrases like, “We’re not equipped for your child,” or “We can’t accommodate those needs.” Many arrive exhausted, overwhelmed and uncertain if another program will truly understand their family.
We build trust through transparency, consistency and highly qualified staff.
Our enrollment process is incredibly thorough because we want to understand the whole child. We learn about diagnoses, sensory needs, medical accommodations, behavioral supports, communication preferences and what success looks like for each participant.
We also encourage families to tour our facility, meet our team, ask questions and become comfortable at their own pace.
Every staff member undergoes background checks, CPR and First Aid certification, mandated reporter training and specialized training around developmental disabilities, behavioral supports and medical needs.
Over time, trust transforms into something even greater.
It becomes a community.
In the recent survey I mentioned, there were many comments like, “My son loves his time there and always asks when his next session is,” and “My children thrive with respite.” Families also repeatedly described FRC as “like family.”
There is no greater compliment than that.
What does a day at the center actually look like?
A typical session is full of movement, laughter, creativity and connection.
Participants rotate through structured activities that may include arts and crafts, sensory exploration, games, projects, outdoor play, movement activities, social skill building and quiet spaces when needed.
Every activity is intentionally designed to create opportunities for engagement and success, but our team does not dictate a child’s experience, and we encourage them to have a say in what makes them happy.
On the other end, caregivers are using those few hours to accomplish things many of us take for granted, like cleaning the house, running errands, watching a movie or going out to eat. One survey response that stood out to me was a parent who simply wrote, “Sometimes I just sit in silence.”
That statement says everything about why respite care matters.
Why a building instead of home-based care options?
Family Respite Care of Nevada is one of the few dedicated center-based respite providers in the United States and, as we celebrate 30 years of service, one of the longest-running programs of its kind.
The biggest advantage is community.
Children and young adults gain access to friendships, socialization, sensory experiences and structured activities in an environment intentionally designed around their success.
For caregivers, there is tremendous peace of mind. They know where their child is, who is caring for them and what systems are in place to support them.
One thing we always clarify is that we are not a daycare. Our model is built around specialized support, meaningful engagement and understanding each child’s individual needs. In our program model, children must be able to thrive in a group setting to find success and although we cannot always accommodate every need, we will work closely with families to determine what resources are available to assist them beyond our scope of work.
Our June 2026 family survey reinforced the impact of this model. Families consistently used words like trust, peace of mind, relationships, confidence and community when describing our services. One parent wrote, “We have zero support outside of FRC and truly would never have a break but for FRC.” Another shared that the program has helped their child build confidence and meaningful relationships.
That is the magic of a center-based environment. It creates belonging.
How do you serve a baby and a grown adult under one roof?
One of the most unique aspects of Family Respite Care is that we truly grow alongside families.
Our participants range from infants just a few months old to young adults who are 28 years old, so our programming must evolve with them. What success looks like for a three-year-old is very different from what success looks like for a twenty-two-year-old.
For younger participants, that may mean sensory exploration, imaginative play and early socialization. As children grow older, activities begin incorporating STEM projects, life skills, independence building, social engagement and peer relationship development.
Our success comes from being intentional. We don’t simply supervise children; we create experiences that build confidence, encourage friendships and foster independence.
We have also found success by maintaining strong staffing ratios and creating consistency for families. Many participants have been with us for years, and those long-term relationships allow us to understand their individual goals and celebrate milestones alongside their families.
At the end of the day, our measure of success is simple: children and young adults are excited to come back, caregivers are less stressed and entire households are stronger because support exists.
What does it take to be trusted with someone’s child?
Safety is the foundation of everything we do because families are entrusting us with the people they love most.
Every staff member undergoes background checks, CPR and First Aid certification, mandated reporter training and receives specialized training related to developmental disabilities, behavioral supports, sensory needs, de-escalation strategies and working with children and young adults with varying abilities.
What many people don’t see is the amount of preparation that happens before a session even begins.
Every session starts with a team briefing where staff discuss family updates, accommodations, communication preferences, medical considerations, behavioral supports and strategies that will help each participant be successful.
We also work collaboratively with parents because they are the true experts on their child.
No two participants are exactly alike, which means flexibility, communication and preparation are absolutely critical to creating safe and enriching experiences.
Where is Nevada failing these families?
The largest gap is that families are exhausted long before they ever ask for help. Nevada continues to face challenges with access to disability services, behavioral health resources, counseling and family-centered support systems. While there are incredible organizations doing important work, the need continues to outpace available resources.
Families spend an extraordinary amount of time coordinating specialists, managing therapies, navigating waitlists, advocating with schools and simply trying to keep their households running.
If a child doesn’t fit neatly into an eligibility category, they can easily fall through the cracks and we have seen that time and time again.
We also know that the mental health component is often overlooked. The emotional toll on caregivers is significant, and many parents delay their own healthcare needs because they’re prioritizing everyone else around them.
Nevada needs continued investment in respite care, counseling services, preventative supports and programs that strengthen families before crisis occurs rather than responding after burnout has already happened.
Family Respite Care of Nevada is celebrating its 30th anniversary and providing more than 300,000 hours of respite care. What does 300,000 hours actually mean to you?
Three hundred thousand hours is an incredible statistic, but to me, it doesn’t represent time. It represents moments of relief for a parent and fun for a child.
Many people don’t realize how much trust is involved in our work. Some of our families have been with us for three, five, eight, ten and even eleven years. That isn’t client retention. Those are lifelong relationships.
It also represents an extraordinary community effort. Thousands of volunteers, staff members, interns, board members, donors and community partners have made these moments possible over the past three decades.
As we celebrate our 30th year, we are leaning into opportunities that bring families and the community together. We started Family Funday Sundays to bring families together and on the fundraising front, we are hosting our 10th Annual $100,000 Shootout Golf Tournament on August 28th at Lakeridge, expanding our Giving Hand Tree campaign and culminating the celebration with our 30th Birthday Party at Circus Circus on November 5th to celebrate this milestone in a fun setting for all ages.
What made you apply for Noble Deeds?
Like many nonprofits, we direct every dollar we receive toward serving families first.
Over the years, we’ve built an incredible program model and deep relationships within the community, but we recognized that our digital presence wasn’t fully telling our story.
The challenge wasn’t the impact we were creating. It was effectively communicating that impact to people who had never heard of us.
Noble Studios has established itself as one of the most decorated creative agencies in the world, and their work truly speaks for itself.
We saw an opportunity to elevate our storytelling, modernize our digital presence and create a brand that reflected the same quality and intentionality our families experience every day.
What was the Noble Deeds partnership actually like
The biggest surprise was how invested they became in our mission.
They didn’t simply complete a project and move on. They genuinely wanted to understand our families, our impact and where we were trying to go as an organization.
The process was incredibly collaborative from beginning to end.
They asked thoughtful questions, challenged our thinking and pushed us to better articulate our value to the community.
At times, nonprofit leaders become so immersed in day-to-day operations that we forget to pause and tell our story. Noble helped us rediscover and refine that narrative.
Their communication, professionalism, positivity and attention to detail made them feel like an extension of our own team.
What would you tell a nonprofit about to apply?
Be authentic and be specific. Understand your mission, clearly define your service area and identify the unique gap your organization fills within the community.
Data is incredibly important, but stories matter just as much.
Bring both.
Bring outcomes, testimonials and examples that demonstrate your impact.
The organizations that stand out are often the ones that can clearly explain not only what they do, but why it matters.
At the end of the day, Noble Studios excels at taking strong narratives and elevating them even further, but organizations have to first understand and confidently articulate their own story.
What changed in how you think about marketing?
The biggest takeaway is that great marketing is an investment, not an expense.
For nonprofits, especially, marketing often feels like something that can wait because there are always immediate needs competing for resources.
But if people don’t understand your mission, they can’t support it, and if you can’t get your mission to your target audience, it gets lost in the digital space.
One thing that stood out to me about Noble was their commitment to seeing the project through to the finish line.
There was no expectation that we had to continue working with them beyond the Deeds project itself, but I’ve always said, if someone gives you a Lamborghini, you still have to change the oil.
That’s how we viewed this opportunity.
They built something special, and it’s our responsibility to continue investing in it so it remains relevant and impactful for years to come.
Their communication, work ethic, positivity and passion solidified that this was one of the best decisions our organization could have made, and we’re incredibly grateful for the opportunity.
Meet Brian Bosma
Brian Bosma is the Executive Director of Family Respite Care of Nevada (FRC), where he leads the organization’s mission to provide critical respite services and support for children with disabilities, special healthcare needs, children in foster and adoptive care, and their families throughout Northern Nevada. He works collaboratively with local nonprofits, community partners, and government agencies to increase funding and expand access to essential services that have historically been critically underfunded. Through strategic partnerships and community advocacy, Brian is committed to building sustainable solutions that strengthen support systems for vulnerable children and families across the region.
