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Funding ProposalDownload the Proposal in Microsoft Word
Cover Letter including Long-Range VisionAt The Genesis Project of Northern Colorado the air is bustling with excitement because, after four years of planning, the vision of establishing a home for single mothers and their children is clearly in sight. The Genesis Project of Northern Colorado, a faith-based organization, is ministering to single mothers and their children to guide them into healing and wholeness in the social, emotional, and spiritual areas of their lives. At the same time, we are striving to enable single mothers to attain the necessary educational, career, and life-skills training needed to be able to support themselves and their families. As these mothers graduate from our program, they will have become more productive and valued members of the community. The ministry name of The Genesis Project for single mothers is New Beginnings. The ministry to their children is called Leaps & Bounds. THE LONG-RANGE VISIONTo catch a glimpse of the long-range vision of The Genesis Project, step with me through my front door on a warm spring day into the open spaces around my home. On days that I need refreshing, I can put on my walking shoes and start off down the gas road that borders our property. The meadowlarks are singing; the air is warm and embracing; and the view spreads out west over wheat and alfalfa fields toward the Front Range, including Longs Peak and Pikes Peak -- or east toward the valley known as Bee Bee Draw with the Milton and Latham Reservoirs in the distance. The view is 360 degrees with the Greeley area also visible. It is so refreshing and peaceful to have a place like this, and the chance to get away from the cares of the world and to drink in the beauty that God has created. As I have walked down the gas road over the past few years, many times I have thought that this is exactly the setting that emotionally wounded young mothers need as they seek answers to the issues they face in life.
That is exactly what The Genesis Project wants to provide for the single young mothers and their children who are accepted into our proposed residential facility. The long-range vision includes acreage in the country with zoning that will also allow a limited amount of farm animals for the children. We are looking for someone who has suitable acreage that they would be willing to provide to The Genesis Project in order to establish such a facility. We are sharing the vision for this project with you, because we are looking for those who are willing to open their hearts to single young mothers as we have. If this pulls at your heartstrings at all, please read on. Enclosed is a copy of the Vision Statement, our proposal, and The Guiding Principles, Goals, and Policies of The Genesis Project for your review. Please read over all of it carefully. We are incorporated in the State of Colorado as a not-for-profit organization, and have received nonprofit status with Internal Revenue Service. All donations are tax-deductible. Thank you in advance for your prayerful consideration of your role in this vision. In His service, Karla L. Grieser, President The Genesis Project of Northern Colorado IMMEDIATE VISION AND GOALYou have just read the long-range vision of The Genesis Project of Northern Colorado that we are working to achieve. There is an immediate need for a facility that would be used as a vital center of ministry for The Genesis Project (the organization establishing a home and support system), New Beginnings (the ministry to single mothers), and Leaps & Bounds (the ministry to the children), all of which are already functioning. The process of acquiring and establishing a rural residential facility will be long and involved. Purchasing a facility in town to be used as a center of ministry is a first step, and it will allow The Genesis Project to go forward with most aspects of a viable ministry while still working on the long-range vision. An urban facility would continue to be vital as a center of ministry even after the rural facility is established. The urban facility would house two single parent mothers who are more advanced in the program and their children. It would also be used for non-residential support ministry for New Beginnings and Leaps & Bounds. The rural facility would be used for those clients who need housing and an extended, concentrated time of ministry and healing. Sufficient space at the rural facility to house young mothers and their children is required for those who need intensive care and support for an extended period of time. Ministry will be offered through gatherings, classes, one-on-one caregiving, spiritual guidance, and teaching of basic Bible beliefs to these families. Single mothers who have their own private residences in the community, but still have need of our ministry program may be allowed, through our application process, to participate in portions of the ministry at the urban facility. The target population for housing by The Genesis Project would include single mothers aged eighteen to thirty and their young children. While the program is not restricted solely to that age range, women of other ages would need to be evaluated on an individual basis through our application process. These single mothers most likely will be “at risk” mothers coming from abusive and/or dysfunctional relationships -- situations to which their children most likely will have been exposed as well. The home will provide a safe place in which mothers can live and raise their children in a protective, healthy, and Godly environment. Not only will this environment provide safety, it will also provide the nourishment of souls who will go out and become more productive and valued members of society. It will help decrease the number of single mothers and their children who are dependent on welfare programs. We invite you to invest in the future of the single young mothers who come to us in distress. They desire to make a life change for themselves and for their children. They need your help so desperately. The Guiding Principles of The Genesis Project dictate that we purchase a debt-free facility; therefore, we have established a building fund for those monies that are designated for this facility. Please note on your check if you wish to have your contribution credited to the building fund. Thank you for your investment in the lives of these young people and in the ministry of The Genesis Project. THE NEEDOver twenty-six percent of Colorado babies are born to unwed mothers (Colorado Vital Statistics, 2002). Many of these single mothers feel alone and ostracized by family and friends, with no place to turn for guidance and support. Being a single mother is a hard way to raise a happy, healthy gift from God, while struggling to support oneself and child. While raising their children, these women may experience feelings of self-doubt, low self-esteem, and low expectations, and may feel a sense of emptiness, embarrassment, and worthlessness. As their children grow up in this type of environment, these same negative emotions attach themselves to the children and begin a cycle not easily broken. Colorado lacks programs of quality resources and the answers to produce a lasting change. Single mothers need faith-based support to attain the necessary educational, career, and life-skills training to succeed as mothers with dignity. With proper guidance, they have much to offer society. The links between education, employment, and income are widely recognized. Overwhelmingly, studies show that children being raised in homes with both a mother and a father enjoy a lot of benefits that children from single-parent homes do not. In two-parent homes, there may be a higher level of financial security, less dislocation, and a shared workload of maintaining the home and parenting. Moreover, studies have shown that the presence and involvement of fathers in the nurture and development of their children present benefits that are irreplaceable by any substitute, whether the substitute is the state, a grandparent, a male friend, or a stepparent. In providing mentoring by experienced women, couples, and professionals, The Genesis Project of Northern Colorado wants to help these women succeed with better relationship skills for themselves and their children. Growing up as the child of a single mother is linked with lower levels of academic achievement. While some may receive lower marks and class standings, others have to repeat grades in school. They have increased levels of depression, stress and stress-related symptoms, aggression and, in some cases, impaired physical and mental health requiring treatment of emotional and behavioral problems. All of these effects are linked with a lifetime in poverty, poor achievement, susceptibility to suicide, and the likelihood of juveniles committing crimes and being arrested. Studies done by Sara McClanahan at Princeton University since 1981 have indicated that single parent families have strong tendencies to produce children who drop out of school frequently and make lower grades than children from two parent homes. Young men from single parent homes are 1.5 times as likely as those from two parent homes to be out of work and disconnected from the work force. They are more involved in crime; and the girls from these single parent homes are much more likely to become pregnant outside of marriage, repeating the cycle, than their peers from two parent homes. The Genesis Project will be helping the future of many single mothers as well as the future of their children by providing a Godly environment which will help prevent poverty, poor achievement, and criminal activity from becoming a part of their lives. Each child will be in a positive environment where he or she will have the best chance of reaching his or her Godly potential. Single mothers who earn college degrees rather than drop out of high school increase by more than fifty percent their kindergartner’s chances of being in the top quartile of readers (Colorado Literacy Research Initiative, 2004). Encouraging parents who dropped out of high school or college to return and complete their own education is likely to have a dramatic effect on the achievement levels of their children. This would go far toward closing the achievement gap between children from two-parent and single- parent families. The outcome would also be a self-sufficient, capable mother supporting herself without public assistance. There is a definite need and demand for outreach to single mothers that goes beyond telling them to keep their babies. As we minister to these young women, and the word gets out, more women will seek the help we offer, and the need will be even more apparent. There is no other such program in Colorado north of the Denver metropolitan area, and east of the Continental Divide; and we know of no other similar projects in northwestern Colorado or southern Wyoming. The Genesis Project is needed in northern Colorado. THE ORGANIZATIONThe Genesis Project has filed articles of incorporation with the State of Colorado as a “not for profit” organization and has received a certificate of good standing with the Secretary of State. We have received nonprofit status with the Internal Revenue Service, and all donations are tax-deductible. The Genesis Project is its own entity. It is not associated with any other organization, but its vision is supported by other organizations and churches in Northern Colorado. Since the formation meeting in June, 2002, we have put in place the foundational work for a residential facility and caregiving ministry. Beginning in January, 2004, we established the support ministries of New Beginnings for the single parent mothers, and Leaps & Bounds children's ministry. Currently we are using a private home for our ministry gatherings, one-on-one caregiving, and classes. We also do considerable phone consultations. New Beginnings weekly meetings are devoted to sharing emotional and spiritual concerns, teaching on parenting skills, family finances, and handling challenging situations that arise in daily life. We provide educational resource materials for the mothers. Attendance at our ministry gatherings has been increasing, and we are quickly outgrowing the current facility. We are having over thirty adults and children present, as well as contacting new young women nearly every week. We use space in another home for the business office of The Genesis Project. The Leaps & Bounds children’s ministry held in conjunction with New Beginnings is pastored by married couples for ages 4-12 who demonstrate Godly marriages and a father figure these kids so desperately need. A mother-daughter team minister to the younger children. The children are experiencing the unconditional love of God through Bible lessons and activities, games, and spiritual music. The children are bringing their friends to Leaps & Bounds because they love it so much and it brings joy to them. THE FOUNDATIONThe foundation of The Genesis Project ministry organization is faith in God and the belief that demonstrating His unconditional love is the only way to bring about a lasting change in lives. It is vital to have a heart change in these young women. This has been confirmed over and over. During the process of researching and evaluating other similar facilities, we were lead to one particular ministry, Mercy Ministries, that shares much of the same vision as the one God has lain on our hearts, only with a broader scope. Mercy Ministries started because the founder Nancy Alcorn experienced the failure of state and medical treatment centers to make a lasting difference in the lives of troubled young women. This ministry has over a twenty-year track record and is seeing a ninety percent success rate of girls transformed and living a victorious life, free from the past. State-run programs see less than three percent success rate with most girls returning to the same lifestyle, without hope of change. The young women going through this ministry’s program are experiencing hope and the kind of heart change that can only be accomplished through the unconditional love of God. Just to clarify, we are not in association with this ministry, but we have been able to obtain their manual and be in contact with them, and we have used them as a best practices model. We are patterning much of the structure for our ministry by drawing from their experience. As we see their success, it has been an encouragement to know that we have attainable goals. We are the role models through whom others experience the unconditional love of God. As a ministry organization, we desire to be God’s instruments of love in the lives of the women who come to The Genesis Project’s home. The Genesis Project intends to have a ministry and support system in place for the unwed young women who have accepted the challenge to keep their babies, and for those who have had the men in their lives walk out and leave them and their children wounded and alone. This will not be an emergency housing program, but will require the young women who apply for acceptance into the program to sincerely desire to change their lives. This includes their willingness to do what is recommended by this ministry and their willingness and ability to be teachable and open to spiritual training. We believe that these single young mothers to whom we minister are very valuable. They have much to offer their children, families, churches, and communities. Women graduating from the program will no longer need to be dependent on a welfare system that only treats symptoms without offering a permanent solution. They will become more productive members of society. THE MINISTRYFrom the onset of the vision of The Genesis Project, its direction has been to minister to each individual mom in emotional healing, in deliverance, and in the restoration power of Jesus. The first priority of this ministry must be to reach out with God’s unconditional love and acceptance to each young mother and her children who come into The Genesis Project. Each of them is fearfully and wonderfully made by the hand of God. If they can be reached now with the transforming power of Jesus, they can be rescued from a lifetime of trouble and woundedness instead of joining the ranks of so many older adults who still walk wounded many years after issues should have been resolved. They do not need our judgment or condemnation; they need our unconditional love and acceptance. They do not need to look back at what they did; they need to look forward to what they can become. They need to be treated as first class citizens, as people of value; therefore, the program and facility need to be first class. The spirit of rejection is a major root at work in most of our lives. It is the source of many of our strongholds or hang-ups, and sets the stage for behavior patterns that can control our emotions and, subsequently, our lives. It can set us up for resistance to authority and can allow a strong spirit of rebellion into our souls. Life is full of rejection. The behavior of rejected people says, “I will reject you before you get a chance to reject me.” Sometimes bizarre behavior is a result. Many single young women have not only experienced major rejection through physical, sexual, or verbal abuse as children and adults, but they have received a double dose when the man they have placed their trust in betrays and rejects them and their children. Their children have already been rejected in some fashion, and strongholds are forming. Therefore the cycle continues. We plan to teach mothers and their children how to break that cycle, and how to be set free from the root of rejection and the ensuing behavior patterns. This is a major area that needs the healing and restoring power of Jesus. It is a vital area of ministry that needs to be addressed through New Beginnings, Leaps & Bounds, and The Genesis Project home. There is a tremendous need in the community to reach out to single mothers, to see them restored to wholeness -- to give them hope and the knowledge that the cycle can be broken. It is our mission to provide the support system to do just that. Do you know of a single young mother:
Can you identify with any of these symptoms in your own life? These are all patterns that form as a result of rejection in life. Are you willing to reach out and be the reflection of God’s love and acceptance in the lives of these young mothers who need a lift? The need is great, and needs great attention. The Genesis Project needs your help. Healing and wholeness will be the first phase of our support program. Other issues cannot be addressed effectively without first resolving these young women’s relationships with their Father God. Until the spiritual and emotional healing begins, other programs will not be all that effective. As that area is addressed, other phases can be introduced and worked on with much more success. LONG-RANGE GOALS AND OBJECTIVESThe long-range goal of The Genesis Project of Northern Colorado is to provide a protective, healthy, and Godly environment that equips single mothers to support themselves and their children with dignity as valuable members of society. In providing a home, this ministry will enable women who share the same situation to live together in a supporting and loving environment, while restoring a future of hope for themselves and their children. To meet this goal, instruction in the areas of education, work, career skills, and relationship skills will be provided. The Genesis Project will need to fulfill these following objectives:
METHODSThe first objective of The Genesis Project is to achieve emotional healing. This will be accomplished by scheduling time for all clients to participate in individual guidance and caregiving, as well as daily Biblical teaching and a time of praise, worship, and prayer. Every client and her family will be required to attend a weekly church service of their choice. An approved list of churches to choose from will be provided by The Genesis Project. The second objective of The Genesis Project is to provide educational, career-oriented, and vocational training opportunities. This will be attained through Aims Community College, tutoring methods, apprenticeships, or other educational resources for further vocational training and career preparation. Job skills such as resumé writing, time management, and accounting will also be taught. The single mothers will be evaluated at the end of each phase to make sure the women will be ready and confident to go out into the community and the work force. The third objective of The Genesis Project is to decrease the number of mothers dependent on welfare programs. Godly principles of finance will be taught to clients to equip them to become financially self-sufficient. During the initial phase, all funds collected from clients will be divided into a spending account and a savings account. The spending account will be for the clients to use as budgeted throughout the month. The savings account will be returned to the client upon successful completion of the program. In subsequent phases, household budgeting will be taught by allowing the clients some freedom in managing the funds that are available to them under the guidance of a financial advisor. At such time as determined by The Genesis Project, a minimal charge for room and board will be required to help build fiscal responsibility; however, the charges collected will be deposited into an individual housing fund to be returned to the client upon successful completion of the program. This is to ensure that the client comes free of charge to the facility. The fourth objective is to provide effective parenting and relationship skills. Life-skills training will be provided at The Genesis Project home through mentoring by qualified women and/or couples, or in training classes taught by professionals. This will include relationship skills and child- disciplining skills. As part of life-skills training, each client will spend time participating in supervised cooperative childcare. Training in discipline methods will be provided prior to actual participation in childcare. Under the direction of the qualified childcare provider, clients will be taught basic skills on how to relate to children as a whole, and their children individually. EVALUATIONEvaluation will be an integral part of the Project. This is designed to assure that the goal is met of sending spiritually and emotionally whole, well-educated, and accountable single mothers into society. Caregivers under the direction of the board of The Genesis Project of Northern Colorado will conduct evaluations to determine if the individual mother is ready to move on to the next phase. The evaluation will be conducted as outlined below:
SUMMARYThe vision of The Genesis Project of Northern Colorado is ambitious, the need tremendous. As each person does his or her part, the whole will come together. As citizens of this prosperous nation, God has blessed many of us with financial abundance for one purpose -- to bless others. What a blessing it is when a single mother gives five dollars sacrificially to this Project! Some of you have the ability to bless the single mothers and their children by making a sizable donation toward this facility. Our request is for you to review all the enclosed materials and pray for direction as to how God wants you to be involved. As you seek God’s direction and do what God shows you to do financially and otherwise, this project, large as it seems, will come together. The Genesis Project is committed to the vision that God has placed in our hearts. Will you join us in this commitment?
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“...with deep compassion I will bring you back ...with everlasting love I will have compassion and mercy on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer.” Isa. 54:7-8 | ||
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The Genesis Project of Northern Colorado P.O. Box 200087 Evans, CO 80620 (970) 545-0575 | ||
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Last Updated : 01/30/2008 URL: http://www.thegenesisproject-nc.com Webmaster: admin@thegenesisproject-nc.com |
