Meet Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission
Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission provides the unhoused shelter, hunger relief, and hope through poverty, and has provided faith-based addiction recovery and support since 1963.
Transformation is at the heart of their mission – their building even serves as a symbol for the life-changing work they do. In 1963, one of Reno’s most infamous hotels was reimagined into a building that became a safe haven for people in recovery.
From these humble beginnings, Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission is now one of Northern Nevada’s largest Christian providers of addiction recovery and support. Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission makes an impact in their community daily, with 130 beds for men and women in their shelter, 1,300 meals provided each day, and around 70 people in their recovery programs on any given day.
With the support of their community, more than 200,000 men, women, and families have found Christ-centered hope and healing through Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission’s doors.
At risk: the operation
Amidst their progress in serving their community, Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission faced a critical challenge—their accounting role had become vacant. Without a skilled accountant to manage finances, ensure compliance, and support long-term sustainability, their ability to operate efficiently was at risk.
Searching for an ideal candidate pulls valuable time and resources away from the mission. The sooner they could fill the position with the right person, the more equipped their team would be to focus on what mattered most for their team—providing life-changing support to those in need.
The ideal candidate
Executive Director Luis Santoni connected with Vanderbloemen to take over the search. Key members of the staff met with Eric Albert, Vanderbloemen’s Executive Search Consultant, to get to know the culture at Reno-Sparks and what they needed in an accountant. Eric created a profile for an ideal candidate with a highly analytical mind, a relevant degree, and valuable experience.
This person would also need to fit in with the culture at Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission as someone who would work closely alongside Luis. They would need to be devoted to their faith, highly trustworthy, skilled, and capable in order to oversee all financial operations within the organization.
Found in the first round
Eric passed the search along to Executive Search Recruiter Maddie Brown, who sifted through applications and identified the best matches. Maddie and Eric presented three solid matches to Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission in what would be a first round of candidates. One quickly emerged as the perfect fit, bringing both the skills and character needed for the role.
Alex Nevarez ended the nonprofit’s search for a skilled accountant. His expertise stems from over 15 years of experience in office management accounting, financial management, human resources, and benefits administration. Previously Alex had served in high level financial roles, yet was burnt out when COVID hit and decided to take some time to reevaluate. When he was ready to step back into finance, he wanted a role that was less stressful and contributed to the greater good.
Alex is a devoted father of nine and believer who had served in Sunday school ministries and camps. He is known as a team player, compassionate, outgoing, and dependable—the exact type of person the nonprofit’s team hoped to add to their ranks.
Even better, Luis, the executive director, knew Alex from church and they played softball together. Alex’s quick connection with the team gave them the confidence to extend a job offer and welcome him to Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission.
