Creating a Non-Profit Organization

Life, we can agree, isn’t easy; regardless the circumstances. What happens when you are

self-sufficient, but in need of help. We live in a society that has the potential for greatness.

However, this is currently not our reality. Some of us have friends or family that can assistance

us when times get rough. Then we have other, who doesn’t have anyone we can call upon. I am a

single mother, who didn’t have a support system to assist when times were very difficult.

Instead, I made interesting decisions in order to maintain a roof over my family’s head. There

were times when I didn’t have dependable transportation, couldn’t pay my rent, couldn’t buy

groceries, nor cover a utility bill. There were services in my area that could assist but, I made too

much to qualify. I made $20 more than the income limit to qualify. All the food pantries were

empty or closed after getting off work and the cost of child care was my rent $680 times 3 each

month.

The question I always wanted to answer was, why is it so difficult to get help; especially

if you’re doing everything within your power to survive? I am sure there are other individuals

that were in my same situation or worse that ask themselves the same question. It is a very

desperate and lonely feeling. Not to mention, individuals dealing with situations such as a toxic

environment, mental health, or abuse. Or are trying to improve their circumstance due to a poor

educational system, economic and/or racial subjugation.

This problem is important to me because I know the struggles and I’ve lived through

them. However, some struggles an individual experienced created additional obstacle. I know

individuals who are still struggling to stay self-sufficient and facing homelessness.
 My idea is to introduce the necessary steps in create a nonprofit business plan and basic

steps in obtain grants to fund a program I’d like to call” The Guidance Assistance Program” or

“The Gap”. The program would mirror the same designs as 2-1-1; a referral and information help

line that links people locally to health and human services. However, my goal is to make sure

that those services an individual’s needs is provided within an allotted time frame. In addition,

the program will create direct referrals, so the individual bypasses the intake process instead of

seeking assistance from multiple locations.

The gap program overall would include child care programs, working with local social

services programs and certified child care facilities in Guilford County, NC. Making it affordable

to get safe child care while working or going to school. Housing and rental assistance programs

in the area, as well as, obtaining donations and grants to build or renovate affordable housing.

Education and Career counseling invested in helping those individuals pursue their passions.

Financial literacy program to help individuals understand finances and create habits to prepare

them for the future. Food assistance with delivery services for working parents before or after

hours. Mental health referral programs with county services and counselors. Last, transportation

assistance, focusing on creating programs to receive affordable mechanical repair with a

payment program.

For this project, I am going to focus on creating a business plan and researching non

profit grants to create the G. A. Program to assist single parents and providing services in areas

that are either underfunded, or nonexistent in Greensboro NC. I will focus on the steps taken to

create the business plan and primary focus on grant funding to support the services I wish to

provide within the G.A.Program.

 In summary, the mission is to help single parents be able to keep up self-sufficiency and

not resort to making difficult decision between other expenses and maintaining a home. This is

just one area the Gap program intends to make the process easy and remove the stress of possible

homelessness. The overall idea of the Gap program is to act as a gap resource for single parents

such as myself who make too much to qualify for low-income assistances but at the current

moment, do not make enough to cover basic needs for themselves and their family.