Larry Gwilt spent 35 years in corporate accounting before making the switch to nonprofits.
The moving company he served as West Coast regional finance director for began relocating roles back to Florida, leaving him in search for a new position.
It was a call from his wife, Kathy, that led to an unexpected opportunity.
She was working on an interim basis at Tustin-based Orange County Rescue Mission, a faith-based homeless and rehabilitation services provider, and needed some help with the finances.
Gwilt didn’t see it as a permanent role, but over time, was convinced to stay.
“Here I am 10 years later, and I just couldn’t work anywhere else,” Gwilt told the Business Journal.
Gwilt serves as chief financial officer for OC Rescue Mission and Hurtt Family Health Clinic, a federally qualified health center (FQHC) that provides care to Rescue Mission residents and other underserved members of the community—overseeing financial operations for a combined 250-plus staff.
Three years ago, the clinic was losing roughly $800,000 a month. Under Gwilt’s leadership, the organization has stabilized and added two new facilities, with the potential to acquire another.
“We’ve got the infrastructure now that we never had before to be able to do that,” he said.
Gwilt’s turnaround efforts and stewardship of the two nonprofits earned him a Business Journal CFO of the Year Award in the not-for-profit organization category on May 12.
Breaking the Cycle of Homelessness
The people who seek services at OC Rescue Mission are often survivors of abuse, addiction or homelessness.
The program, which lasts between 18 to 24 months, is intended to help them regain independence.
Everyone admitted is referred to as students.
They range from people who have never been able to hold a steady job due to housing instability to former white-collar professionals who find themselves homeless after personal hardships, Gwilt said.
While at OC Rescue Mission, students receive room and board and are assigned to different tasks, including working in the warehouse, kitchen or a 33-acre ranch in Silverado Canyon where they can learn to nurture horses and other animals.
Additionally, they provide workforce training and send some students to Saddleback College, which recently opened a culinary and auto repair schools across the street from OC Rescue Mission’s main campus in Tustin.
“What we’re really trying to do is get folks to the point where they are employed and get a quality of life after they leave here,” Gwilt said.
On average, 85% of graduates of the program remain employed, stably housed, and sober, according to OC Rescue Mission.
To graduate, Gwilt said that students must have a certain amount of money saved up with the hope that they can move into transitional housing.
The nonprofit does offer an alumni program to check up on graduates and provide accountability; however, there are instances where some do return.
“There are addictions out there that are strong and pull on folks, so we do allow them to go back through the program,” Gwilt said.
Leading Clinic Turnaround
Aside from occasional requests to purchase farm animals on credit, Gwilt said there isn’t that much of a difference working at a for-profit company and a nonprofit.
“If you don’t make money, you don’t stay in business,” he quipped.
OC Rescue Mission solely relies on private donations and volunteers to operate; its main campus sits on land once used as a Marine base that was donated by the city of Tustin.
Hurtt Family Health Clinic, on the other hand, receives federal funding—making up a large part of Gwilt’s job as CFO.
“We deal with a lot of government money, and there’s a lot of reporting that goes on from that standpoint,” Gwilt said.
The clinic has four locations in Santa Ana, Anaheim and two in Tustin, as well as a mobile clinic. They offer a “full spectrum of health care services” including dental, mental health and optometry, according to its website.
Gwilt said that about 10% of the population it serves are uninsured or underinsured, while 80% are on Medi-Cal.
“We’re required to see anyone, whether they can pay for service or not, so that gives us a special place in the community to be able to do that,” he said.
The clinic receives a fixed amount for each patient on Medi-Cal that comes in to visit. Since the clinic became eligible for federal funding in 2012, that amount has not been updated, according to Gwilt.
“You can imagine, costs have gone up significantly from that,” he said.
“So, we engaged a group that we know that has a great reputation to help us put together all the numbers do a filing to request higher rates from the Department of Health Care Services.”
Another factor that helped the clinic’s turnaround was appointing a new chief executive, L. Jina Lawler, in 2023.
Lawler, who has about 30 years of experience in healthcare, joined Hurtt from a larger FQHC in Long Beach.
“It was the first time we’ve had a CEO that actually had experience in our industry,” Gwilt said.
Gwilt said the clinic is currently setting aside funds for next year in anticipation of changes to Medi-Cal.
