The first few years of our ABWK program created a flurry of activity. Most of our family partners were seniors that owned their homes and were for the most part wonderful program partcipants. During those early years we received a lot of publicity and created many longlasting agency partners that we rely on to this day.
However, as our program became more established and built a reputation in the community for helping people restore their homes and preserve homeownership, we realized that we needed to develop more in depth policies, procedures and parameters for A Brush with Kindness.
There is a point in the program where current and future resources need to be assessed in depth and a plan developed based on strategic goals and growth opportunities. Obviously, the need in most communities continues to grow with no end in site. However, finding the necessary resources - both cash and inkind will determine to what extent your program can meet those needs.
We have chosen to grow in the area's where we can have the biggest impact - health & safety projects. These type of projects benefit homeowners the greatest to allow them to continue to living in their home. However, we balance those projects with enough volunteer friendly projects that meet demand and helps grow the program.
Most programs should be able to jump from serving 12-24 families a year (start-up phase) to serving 25-50 families a year within 5 years of start-up. Depending if your program runs on staff or volunteers, your budget should range from a start-up of $25,000 to $100,000 as you move into more and bigger projects. Obviously, staff and size of projects will make your budget vary greatly. However, it does create a general picture of where many programs start and grow into during there second phase of growth.
For much more specifics on ABWK growth and strategies please contact me at plund@abwk.net.
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