Phoenix Rescue Mission - Grant Proposal: Letter of Inquiry and Budget Breakdown

Letter of Inquiry

‘SEASON OF SHARING’ COMPETITIVE GRANTS MANAGEMENT TEAM

Arizona COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

grants@azfoundation.org

602-381-1400

Dear Grant Management Team,

The team at the Phoenix Rescue Mission (PRM) is eager to continue to share with you about what we hope to accomplish through the expansion of our pre-existing Workforce Development program. We are aware that the Arizona Community Foundation and the Arizonan Republic fund a grant program called Season for Sharing, and we would like your consideration for one of those grants through the Children and Families Category.

As you may be aware, the situation of refugees and immigrants has gotten increasingly desperate in recent months, as funding has been cut from many of the programs that served these populations, preventing them from resettling and fully integrating into life in Phoenix. There were fully staffed teams that would help these vulnerable populations through teaching English, setting up doctor’s appointments, finding employment, and many more avenues that now do not exist at the capacity they did previously. Now, there are thousands of people who speak Pashto, Spanish, or Kinyarwanda who are coming from traumatic circumstances to Phoenix; they need assistance securing employment, as that will open the door to stability for them and their families and ensure the chance of upward mobility. The PRM exists to serve the neediest in the Valley, and we have operated programs for the past 15 years that help with hunger, addiction recovery, trauma, and homelessness; we are seeking funding to expand one of these programs to better serve this population.

Our Workforce Development program helps people find employment through interview training, pathways to getting a GED, and resume assistance while also helping enroll them in SNAP so that their families can be provided for while they pursue employment. Because there is a growing population of new arrivals in the Valley that no longer have a framework of support, the PRM plans to expand this program through expanded translation and legal assistance services. These new services will help meet the growing population of need in Phoenix.

With your assistance, the planned expansion to the Workforce Development program will have three elements. We will hire a Pashto, Spanish and Kinyarwanda translator, or offer promotions if one of our current staff members possess those language skills and wants to be reassigned. We will partner with the Sandra Day O’Connor Law School to get legal explanation or assistance for those who might need it, which will be available in-person three times a week. Additionally, we will partner with local resettlement agencies like Lutheran Social Services and the IRC to get the word out about the expansion of our program, and distribute advertisements in refugee apartment complexes, so that those who need our services can know that they’re available. We plan to continue this program as long as funding is withheld from resettlement agencies so that we can help those who need it; this is also why there is a sense of urgency in this project, as we want to address this issue before the situation is exacerbated into homelessness and crime.

We will know if our expanded program has been successful by the amount of people we are able to help find employment - if that number steadily increases, and if those that start coming to us are from the undocumented or refugee community, we will know that we have succeeded. Based on our preliminary, first-hand information gathering, we are confident that if these services are offered, people in these communities would take advantage of it, so we are confident that offering these services will not be in vain.

In terms of budget, our biggest expense will be language services, as we are hoping to procure three translators. Ideally, they will be full-time, but if that is not feasible, we will hire three part-time translators. The partnerships with Sandra Day O’Connor Law School will be nearly free, as will the advertising, as the PRM already possesses a marketing team. The expansion should cost roughly $150,000 to begin factoring in the average cost of a translator and marketing supplies; from there, we plan to make it a part of the PRM’s standard program as long as the need exists, which means it will be funded through our faithful donor team.

We are excited about where this project could go, and hope that the team at ‘Season of Sharing’ is excited as well! The team at the Phoenix Rescue Mission looks forward to hearing from you soon with a request to fill out a grant proposal and partner to make substantial changes in the lives of those who desperately need a helping hand!

Thank you for your time,

DYLAN VANDERLEEST

Budget Narrative

Introduction

The budget presented here is for the total operating costs of the expansion of the Phoenix Rescue Mission’s Workforce Development program, which includes translation services, legal assistance, and follow-ups on program enrollees to ensure the program’s effectiveness. The purpose of expanding this program is to fill the gap left by government dysregulation and provide critical workforce training and adjustment skills to vulnerable foreigners in Phoenix who are at risk of being overlooked and left behind. By providing translation services, the PRM plans to open access of their exemplary vocational assistance program to the refugees and immigrants who are barred due to language.

This large-scale program will be funded through a variety of sources, including the ‘Season for Sharing’ grant from the Arizona Community Foundation, from which the PRM is requesting $50,000. This breakdown includes the total costs for the program as a whole, and then outlines how the $50,000 from the ‘Season of Sharing’ grant would be utilized to demonstrate the PRM's commitment to completing this project.

Budget Categories

- Operating Expenses

- Personnel Costs

- Advertising Costs

Operating Expenses

• - Remote telephone interpretation services will be acquired to accommodate the various foreign languages that refugees and immigrants speak, including Pashto, Swahili, Dari and Kinyarwanda. This service will be strategically available from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, via telephone, and is accessible to all Workforce Development caseworkers. At $2.20 per minute through Interpreters Unlimited, the first 252 hours, or approximately 10 weeks, of interpretation services will be funded through this grant. $33,200.

Personnel Costs

• - One part-time staff member will be paid $16/hour and dedicated to following up on refugees and immigrants enrolled in the Workforce Development program who are utilizing the translation services to ensure their continued employment for the first year after finding a job. Additional responsibilities include maintaining a partnership with local law firms for their continued involvement in the program. $16,320.

Advertising Costs

• - Three color ink cartridges will be purchased to print 500 half-page flyers at the PRM office advertising the translation services. $180.

Budget Conclusion

This budget shows how the $50,000 from the ‘Season for Sharing’ grant will be spent to expand the Workforce Development program at the PRM. Funding for the continued operation of the interpretation services will come from a variety of sources, but this grant will make the first steps of the expansion possible through funding the staff needed to keep enrollees accountable, advertising about the addition to the program, and the first 10 weeks of the translation service. This budget is designed to show the larger picture that the ‘Season for Sharing’ grant would be supporting, by providing employment assistance to refugees and immigrants within Phoenix, and truly changing the lives of the entire community.