Analyzing Characteristics of a Proposal from a Nonprofit Organization

Following is a proposal seeking funding for a program aimed at preventing child abuse. In groups of three or four, analyze the proposal. In what ways do its purpose, content, organization, and format differ from those of the proposal discussed in Chapter 11? In what ways are these things similar? What might account for the differences? Present your findings in a 1,000-word memo to your instructor. (Source: American Philanthropy Review. GuestShare. Retrieved March 16, 2000, from www.charitychannel.com/GuestShare/Tim_Puffer.)

ABC Non-Profit Group, Inc.

Request to the XYZ Foundation for Support of Child-Abuse Prevention and Family Support Services

Amount: $7,000.00

June 30, 1999

Organizational Information

History

The ABC Non-Profit Group, Inc. (ABC, Inc.) was incorporated in 1979 by a small group of volunteers spearheaded by the Wilder Foundation. The organization received a charter from 123 Non-Profit Group, Inc., a national child-abuse prevention organization, and began offering confidential and compassionate group support to parents and children whose families were at risk for abuse or neglect.

During the past 20 years, ABC Non-Profit Group, Inc. has grown into a network of approximately 55 support groups or “chapters,” 2,200 parents and children and more than 900 volunteers statewide. Each group is formed and maintained by local volunteer advisory teams and led by volunteer professional facilitators, volunteer parent-leaders and volunteer children’s program leaders.

In January 1998, ABC Non-Profit Group, Inc. launched the Minnesota Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse (MCPCA). In May 1998, MCPCA was disbanded as ABC, Inc. launched a new program called “Prevent Child Abuse Minnesota,” which will become the new Minnesota affiliate of the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse (NCPCA). The change consolidates duplicative overhead and channels more resources into child-abuse and neglect prevention.

Mission and Goals

Although the central mission of ABC, Inc. is the prevention of child abuse and neglect, the means to this end almost always focus on a bigger picture that involves family and parenting issues, community support, and the overall personal growth of participants. The mission of ABC, Inc. is to prevent child abuse and neglect by promoting positive parenting, healthy families and homes where children are valued and loved.

In keeping with this mission, ABC, Inc.:

Programs and Activities

ABC, Inc. employs the SELF-HELP model in its parent support groups. This model is built upon shared leadership and mutual self-help. With the guidance of a volunteer facilitator and the skills of a parent group leader, parents meet weekly in a mutually supportive environment to share their frustrations and experiences, as well as to set personal goals. They are then held accountable by the group to make good on their own decision to change their behavior. This goal setting enhances parents’ self-image and increases their personal belief in their own abilities to set and meet other life goals.

One of the reasons that ABC, Inc. groups are so effective is that they break the traditional “helper/helpee” model. This reversal results in people feeling more in control. Parents are the ones who take responsibility for changing their own lives.

A major component of ABC, Inc.’s success is its work with the children. Each chapter provides free “childcare” that runs concurrently with the parent support groups. Children receive emotional support in a nurturing and safe environment and participate in activities specifically designed for abused or at-risk children. The children’s groups are designed to promote self-esteem, teach nonviolent conflict resolution skills, improve social behavior and family relationships. The groups are led by experienced volunteer children’s group leaders and assistants. Children participating in the program range in age from infants to teenagers.

Results

ABC, Inc. groups help prevent potentially abusive situations before they get out of hand and frustrations turn to abuse and neglect. Results of 1997 surveys of parents participating in ABC, Inc. support groups indicate the following: more than one-third of participants have been referred to ABC, Inc. support groups through child-protection workers, therapists or counselors, schools, AFDC workers, or other social workers.

Among the most common reasons participants cite for attending groups are:

Among parents participating in ABC, Inc. groups, significant numbers indicate they have abused their own children in some form or degree, as follows:

As a result of participating in ABC, Inc. groups:

Relationships with Other Organizations

ABC, Inc. is the only statewide, direct-service child-abuse prevention and treatment program in Minnesota. It’s also the only service that can claim no waiting lists, no application forms, no screening for eligibility, and no fees charged to participants.

ABC, Inc. works closely with more than 250 county offices, schools, health and human service agencies, and multi-cultural organizations based in local communities throughout the state. ABC, Inc. parent group facilitators also interface with other agencies by providing information and referrals to food shelves, GED classes, job training, parenting education, family therapy, chemical dependency treatment programs, and other resources that parents may need to improve their situation.

Board Members, Paid Staff, and Volunteers

ABC, Inc. is governed by a 12-person volunteer board of directors in conjunction with a 12-member Parent Leadership Team made up of representatives of parent support group participants. Nine full-time paid staff with offices in St. Paul and Albert Lea support the work of more than 900 volunteers who contributed more than 44,000 hours last year.

Purpose of Grant

Situation

Every day, children across the country are subjected to abuse or neglect by the very people they rely upon for safety and security—their parents or caregivers. Because no one wants to believe that good people can hurt their own children and investigations of child abuse are kept confidential, the incidence of maltreatment is higher than most people imagine: In 1996, nearly 16,685 cases of child abuse involving 25,435 children were reported in Minnesota. Experts believe that only one in four cases of child abuse is ever reported. The rate of alleged child maltreatment for the entire state of Minnesota is one out of every 50 children.

And the problem does not end with childhood. Whether you consider them symptoms or causes, neglect and abuse in the family are at the root of many of the major problems society faces today, including the following:

ABC, Inc. believes that the family is the basic building block of society. With this in mind, ABC, Inc. works at the family level, with families who want to change. ABC, Inc. is committed to helping not only the children suffering from maltreatment, but also the parent—an adult “child” who may lack the skills or resiliency required to struggle through each day without resorting to physical or emotional abuse as a way of coping.

Studies conducted by the National Center for Health Service Research have determined that the ABC, Inc./SELF-HELP model of parent support is one of the most effective approaches for helping parents make improvements in 11 key parent functioning areas. In September 1996, the US Commission on Child and Family Welfare cited ABC Non-Profit Group, Inc. for helping parents overcome abusive behaviors toward their children and supporting parents in taking leadership roles in addressing other community issues (Parenting Our Children: In the Best Interest of the Nation, September 1996).

The Funding Request

ABC, Inc. respectfully requests $7,000.00 from the XYZ Foundation toward parent and children’s group development and support in 1998. This funding will significantly expand the reach and maintain the high quality of the successful ABC, Inc. programs.

Anticipated Outcomes

Funding for ABC, Inc. under this proposal will facilitate significant growth in the number of at-risk parents and children participating in groups. The program will have the following important outcomes:

Evaluation: Measuring the Effectiveness of Activities

ABC, Inc. uses a variety of methods and tools to evaluate the effectiveness of activities, including the following:

Criteria

An annual organizational plan is developed by staff and approved by the ABC, Inc. Board of Directors. Each goal specifies methods and tools to evaluate the success in meeting each goal.

Who Is Involved in Evaluating Work?

All parents, volunteers, staff, and board members are involved in either soliciting or providing feedback. ABC, Inc. survey instruments have been developed with assistance from the Center for Evaluation and Research through an agreement with the Children’s Trust Fund. Survey responses are compiled by Adapt of Minnetonka.

How Will Evaluations Be Used?

Monthly reporting data are compiled at least quarterly in accordance with the conditions of grant contract agreements for state and federal program funding. These reports are filed with such funders as the Minnesota Children’s Trust Fund, the Ramsey County Department of Human Services, and state Victims of Crime Act, Department of Human Services, and Office of Violence Prevention programs. Reports are also shared with the ABC, Inc. Parent Leadership Team and Board of Directors. The results of these surveys are used in program planning and in the design and development of training and chapter-support activities.