Queens Centers for Progress
Terri Ross
Executive Director
1950
Founded by parents as United Cerebral Palsy of Queens
6,200+
Followers across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X
191
News stories published on queenscp.org
Strongest assetA working newsletter sign-up and a near-daily Instagram feed built on real participants and staff.
Biggest gapThe homepage has no headline, no video and two promo tiles for June events.
Open questionWhat does QCP believe that a family or donor could repeat back in one sentence?
The 7 on 7+ Assessment
7 on 7+ Score
Website Score
18 / 49
Website effectiveness as evidence of leadership thinking. Seven criteria, each scored 1 to 7. Built on methodology developed by Alan Power and Gair Maxwell.
IDEA Score
16 / 49
Power of your complete digital presence, including social, search, gen-AI - to generate PULL.
Website Score
18
Tracks your website effectiveness.
+
IDEA Adjustment
2
Adjusts for your complete digital footprint.
=
7 on 7+ Score
20
Your legend-building signal.
Category Leader
ADAPT Community Network
25
Website
19
IDEA
Dated news two to three times a month, six video stories of people supported, and an 80-year archive series on Instagram.
Executive Takeaway
Queens Centers for Progress has the raw material most providers lack: a parent-founded origin story, a theater troupe of more than 100 participants, a 30-year golf partnership with The Home Depot and a newsletter that already captures visitors. The website scores 18 of 49 and the IDEA score is 16, because none of that reaches the homepage and no leader speaks for it off-site. The first decision is the answer to DiGo's B.H.O.Q.: who is QCP beyond its services? Once that sentence exists, the homepage, the Instagram series and Terri Ross's voice can all carry it.
Website Score: By Criterion
Seven criteria, each scored 1 to 7 by Alan Power and Gair Maxwell. The sum is your website score out of 49. Vistage room average: 13 to 14. A score above 20 is genuinely strong.
1
First Impression
Immediate 2-3 sec WOW factor. Instant clarity on who this brand speaks to.
The opening carousel shows real participants, and the first slide has them spelling out "iMAGiNE QCP!" with letter cards. The page itself has no headline; its H1 reads "Home", and two of the three promo tiles still advertise the June 2 gala and the June 4 and 5 Annie Kids shows. The next build is one line above the fold that tells a parent or donor who QCP is for.
1
Impact
Signature homepage video. Genuine human connection, cinematic and story-based.
The site already holds video: a YouTube clip sits inside the 5K Color Bash recap. The homepage itself carries no video of any kind, which is what this criterion measures. A short film of the QCP Players or a Pre-Voc crew at work is the open space here.
2
Originality
Highly distinctive identity. Instantly recognizable. Not a template.
The History page carries a story no other Queens provider can tell: parents starting services in the basement of a wood-frame house people called the "haunted house." That story stays on an interior page. The homepage and services menu follow the standard OPWDD service-line layout and the category phrase "person-centered services and supports," with no named method.
2
Culture
Video evidence from real people indicating a destination employer. Not a values list.
Who We Are lists six Guiding Principles, and news posts recognize staff such as Donna Beckham and Gregory Clayton. The Senior Staff page lists 16 leaders by name, title and phone extension with no photos, and the site has no team video or employee stories. Faces and voices of staff are the next build.
3
Consistency
Track record of publishing current, original content across platforms.
The site holds 191 news stories, and item pages carry dated bylines such as "Posted on May 7, 2026." The newest dated item is from May 2026, the June gala recap carries no date, and nothing has posted since. A visitor sees a steady archive followed by a four-month pause.
6
Audience Reach
Numbers indicating a growing community. Evidence of genuine engagement.
The footer offers a working Subscribe link to a Constant Contact newsletter, repeated on the Resources page, which is a real way to hold a visitor. The site does not split its navigation by audience and shows no testimonials or family stories. The Twitter link in the footer leads to an account last used in December 2024.
3
Visuals
Cohesive visual elements reflecting brand spirit. Distinctive design language.
The photography is custom: real participants, staff and a gala gallery of about 180 photos, with no stock imagery. The circular QCP seal anchors the brand, but the WordPress tile layout and event flyers in their own colors (red for Annie, gold and black for the gala) pull against the green and white seal. A consistent visual system around the seal is the next step.
IDEA Score: The Signal Before the Click
How You Show Up in the World
The IDEA Score measures what happens before someone reaches your website, the off-site signal that shapes perception from the first search, the LinkedIn scroll, the founder post.
16
out of 49
IDEA Score: Digital Footprint
The Idea That Changes Everything
Seven axes. Each one measures a different dimension of how your off-site signal lands, not what your website says, but what the world hears before anyone clicks.
Pull vs. push. Category of one vs. category of many. A founder voice vs. a corporate signal. These are the levers that determine whether a prospect arrives already interested, or arrives already skeptical.
3
Pull vs. Push
Content creates gravity vs. broadcast/promotional
Instagram runs real pull attempts: a Community Pre-Voc series from volunteer sites, staff spotlights such as Arianne in Day Services, and APPLE preschool moments. On LinkedIn, the gala countdown posts drew the most response (81 and 74 reactions) while the Dime Bank thank-you drew 2. Most of the feed asks for tickets, sponsors or applicants.
2
ONLY vs. Category
Proprietary language/named POV vs. sounds like every competitor
QCP has a recurring sign-off, the STRONG skyline wordmark with "Every Day Heroes," plus #QCPStrong. The Instagram bio, "Serving people in Queens with intellectual and developmental disabilities," could belong to any provider in the borough, and "Every Day Heroes" is common staff-appreciation language. One line QCP can own is the missing piece.
3
Audience Building
Clear who it's for AND building following beyond buyers
QCP reaches about 2,400 people on Facebook, 1,599 on Instagram, 1,818 on LinkedIn and 444 on X. The same posts speak to families, donors, staff and job seekers at once. The newsletter exists, but nothing off-site invites a reader back for a reason of their own.
2
Different-er vs. Better
Competes on distinctiveness/belief vs. features/specs/price
The case off-site is built on scale and record: 75 years, "more than 1,500" people served on Instagram and "more than 1,200" on LinkedIn, a $550,000 state grant, staff honored at the 2026 CP State awards. These are real strengths. No post states a belief someone could agree or disagree with, and the two served counts do not match.
2
IDEA vs. Best Practices
Organizing belief visible across all channels vs. channel-by-channel
Instagram and Facebook posted on October 7 and LinkedIn on October 6, so three channels are live. Each does its own default: spotlights on Instagram, sponsor thanks on LinkedIn. The X account has been quiet since December 2024, and a second LinkedIn page labeled "strictly HR NEWS" has 9 followers.
2
Founder/Leader Voice
Named human with consistent opinionated first-person presence
Terri Ross is on record: a 2025 Philanthropy in Phocus episode and a February 2026 PIX11 segment with Wendy Phaff Gennaro. Her own LinkedIn holds three original posts since 2017, and the company channels post graphics about staff rather than words from leaders. A named leader speaking in the first person is the next build.
2
Cultural Relevance
Signal connects to a larger shift in the world vs. exists in isolation
Local outlets cover QCP's grants, the street co-naming for founder Natalie Katz Rogers, and the gala. One podcast on how disability services are changing, and a National Disability Employment Awareness Month post, are the outward turns found. The state's DSP wage fight, which QCP's own leader has shared, does not appear in QCP's own voice.
Digital Footprint Scan
Where You Can Show Up Next
Instagram
Active
1,599 followers and 12 posts between September 29 and October 7, 2026: Pre-Voc site visits, staff spotlights, APPLE preschool and hiring. The website does not link to it.
Facebook
Active
About 2,400 followers. Posted an October 7 Pre-Voc video with 2 reactions and 1 share.
LinkedIn
Active
1,818 followers and 12 posts since March, led by gala and golf recaps. A second page with 9 followers still carries a 2021 hiring banner.
X
Absent
444 followers and 1,490 posts, but the last one was a December 12, 2024 hiring note. The website footer still links here.
YouTube
Absent
No QCP channel found. The 5K recap embeds one video, and QPTV produced a 2024 Evening of Fine Food special.
Leader voice
Weak
Terri Ross appears on a podcast and PIX11, with three original LinkedIn posts since 2017.
Strategic Opportunity
How to Build Your Legend
Short Term
Answer the B.H.O.Q. (Clarify)
Leadership settles one sentence on who QCP is beyond its service lines. The basement origin, the QCP Players and the Pre-Voc crews are where the answer already shows up.
Pick one served number (Clarify)
Decide whether QCP serves 1,200 or 1,500 people and how that number is counted, so every channel says the same thing.
Decide who speaks (Clarify)
Choose which leader carries QCP's view in public. Terri Ross has the record; Wendy Phaff Gennaro already posts in her own voice.
Close or revive X and the HR page (Clarify)
Make a call on the dormant X account and the 9-follower LinkedIn page, and update the footer links to match.
Medium Term
A homepage built on the answer (Identity)
Replace "Home" with the B.H.O.Q. sentence and open with a short film of real participants, so the first screen says who QCP is for.
Faces of QCP (Identity)
Add photos and short first-person notes from senior staff and DSPs, starting with the people already in Instagram spotlights.
One series, every channel (Growth)
Turn the Pre-Voc and spotlight posts into a named, dated series on the website, Instagram, LinkedIn and the newsletter, each telling the same story in that channel's terms.
A leader voice on the DSP question (Growth)
Give Terri Ross a regular first-person post on what DSP pay and staffing mean for Queens families, the issue she has already shared.
Competitive Landscape
Who's Setting the Pace
ADAPT Community Network
NYC disability services, formerly UCP of NYC
Claims more than 20,000 people served and is marking 80 years. Its homepage carries a looping "We are ADAPT" video, a stories page holds six videos of people supported, and news posts two to three times a month with dates.
QSAC
Autism services, NYC and Long Island
Claims more than 2,700 people served since 1978 and names applied behavior analysis as its method. Its homepage hero recruits staff, and news posts about once a month with dates on every item.
Life's WORC
IDD services, Queens, Manhattan and Long Island
Claims more than 2,000 people served over 50 years and adds a trusts and financial services line. Its headline reads "Opening Hearts, Doors and Minds." Site news has been quiet since mid-2025 while its embedded Instagram stays current.
QCP's Real Edge
What only QCP has
No competitor here can claim a parent-founded start in a Queens basement, a theater troupe with more than 100 performers from its own day program, or a golf outing that drew 489 golfers in its 30th year with The Home Depot. These assets exist today. They sit on interior pages and in event recaps rather than at the front of the brand.
Market Context
The Industry Around You
New York's developmental disability system is large and stretched. The state funds hundreds of nonprofit providers, and the limit on growth is the workforce rather than demand.
127,000
New Yorkers with developmental disabilities in the state system, 34% of them children
NYS Comptroller audit, 2026
$7.9B
State spending on OPWDD services, with a 2.7% provider increase enacted
OPWDD, 2026
33.4%
Average annual turnover of direct support professionals at New York agencies
NCI-IDD State of the Workforce, 2024
88%
Providers nationwide reporting moderate or severe staffing shortages
ANCOR, 2025
What Keeps You Up at Night
The forces shaping Queens Centers for Progress's competitive environment, and why standing still is not an option.
Rates trail costs
Medicaid-funded rate increases of 1.7% proposed and 2.7% enacted sit against inflation that providers say ran above 17% over three years.
OPWDD 2026; NYDA testimony HeadwindCompeting with the state for staff
Nonprofit DSPs downstate started near $17.42 an hour while state-run DSPs in NYC earned up to $27.17, so the best candidates have a better-paid option.
NYDA testimony, SFY 2025-26 HeadwindTurning people away
39% of New York providers report turning people away for lack of staff, so growth depends on hiring as much as funding.
NYS Comptroller, 2026 HeadwindWhere the Opportunity Lives
The same forces creating pressure are also creating openings for those willing to lead.
Demand is not the problem
With 62% of providers nationally turning away referrals, families are looking for a provider they trust. A clear brand helps them choose.
ANCOR, 2025 TailwindElected officials are paying attention
QCP drew $500,000 from the Borough President and $300,000 from two Council Members at its 2026 gala, a sign of local political support worth telling.
QCP gala recap, 2026 TailwindEmployer brand is a recruiting tool
In a market where every provider is short-staffed, an agency that shows its people and its culture gives applicants a reason to choose it.
NCI-IDD State of the Workforce, 2024 TailwindUnlock Your Full Roadmap
Your Future-State Brand Expression
The full roadmap turns QCP's answer to the B.H.O.Q. into a homepage, a leader voice and a named series that every channel carries.
Phase 1
Clarify
Phase 2
Identity
Phase 3
Growth