April 5, 2017

Dear Executive Director,

Owl Hollow Farm (OHF) is Eastern Jackson County, Missouri’s only free equine-assisted mentorship program for bringing healing and hope to children, ages 5-14, who face physical and emotional debilities. We invite you to invest in a $10,000 program development project that will directly aid in growing public awareness and involvement in the OHF program, expanding our reach into the community for children in need.

e are encouraged that your foundation supports a wide variety of projects throughout the Midwest, including many community development and human services organizations not dissimilar from Owl Hollow Farm. In 2014, your organization awarded a combined total of $59,000 to the Boy and Girl Scouts and the Big Brothers, Big Sisters organizations. The well-known mentoring work of these fine organizations equates well with our mentoring program with the defining difference being the addition of horses which provide in-depth observations of the natural environment and reflections of self which serve as metaphors for practical application into the lives of affected children.

Just ask anyone working in education—despite many of our area schools winning awards for excellence, they are flooded with vastly increasing numbers of children who require individual education plans, special education, and other personalized interventions. There is such an influx of disciplinary issues in many schools that sworn police officers must be stationed on campuses across the nation to deal with the violence and drug. What has brought us to this point? To be certain, it is many things.

Our children face physical and emotional battles like we’ve scarcely known before, ranging from neurodevelopmental disorders like autism spectrum, intellectual, communication and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and Down syndrome to bullying at school, divorce, abandonment and abuse at home. Autism alone has grown from 1 in 2,000 in the 70’s and 80’s to an estimated 1 in 150 today, according to WebMD.com. Many times, families are broken and children are falling through the cracks of the education and social services systems. These children often appear to come from stable homes, but have scars that are rarely seen—or healed.

Our vision in creating Owl Hollow Farm was to build a program that is a powerful and collaborative part of the community giving new purpose to rehabilitated rescue horses in the mentorship of children in need. Our mission statement is the very core of what we believe and hope to accomplish. We provide a place of safety, acceptance and healing for children in need of a shelter from the storms of life. We actively maintain dual programs to rehabilitate rescue horses and then to give those horses new purpose through equine-assisted mentoring to bring joy and hope to children.

Owl Hollow Farm provides two ten-week seasons per year of equine-assisted mentoring sessions, ten weeks in the spring and ten weeks in the fall. Each 60-minute session is intended to mentor a child in the life skills he or she will need for success in life. Unlike some equine therapy programs, riding is not our primary goal. Healing and trust are the goal, and that comes in different ways for different kids. Participants may wish to groom the horse, clean his stall (yes, kids actually love this), or simply sit and talk to their mentor or horse. Our primary goal is to help children learn to become comfortable with their interactions with people and with the horse, allowing them to grow in their development of trust, respect, courage, selflessness, humility and honor—skills that aren’t necessarily learned in the classroom or home.

Because of the your foundation’s interest in human services and community development for children, youth and economically disadvantaged people as well as the Foundation’s history of funding similar mentoring projects, OHF is requesting your support to finance office equipment and staff support necessary to accomplish specific program development goals that will directly contribute to growth in our program capacity. In the six years of this program’s existence, it has grown from seven to 120 children—without no paid staff. As founders, my husband Bob and I have invested tens of thousands of dollars from our own income every year to make that growth possible. We have recently begun to seek contributions from grantees and corporate sponsors, but we need the physical equipment to generate development pieces and the staff support to make those possible if we are going to continue to grow at the rate we have been.

Owl Hollow Farm currently has an unpaid administrative staff of five, a volunteer staff of eight mentors, nine junior mentors, and twenty-three general support volunteers. We have 12 horses on 62 acres with multiple round pens and a large new arena for program use. We receive approximately 120 applications for program participation each season. Of those, we are currently only able to work with 65-70 children due to the limited number of staff and volunteers. We have a plan to market and develop the program for continued growth through mentor recruitment and solicitation of corporate sponsorships and grants, but we cannot effectively accomplish the plan without the needed equipment and staff support.

The table below describes this project’s main goals and specific objectives which we will work towards. Being awarded this requested support will greatly advance our efforts.

As Owl Hollow Farm continually looks toward its future growth opportunities for providing more services to the community, there is a need for equipment, supplies and staffing support for marketing and development efforts which will aid in maximizing mentor and participant recruitment.

1 Part-Time Development Assistant

We are seeking the first year of support for this position with 10 hours per week at $15.50 per hour. We intend for subsequent years to be financed by the budget increase made possible by the efforts of this individual to seek and attain corporate sponsorships and grants, including multi-year grants.

$8,060

Rationale and objectives for these items are found below this chart.

HP LaserJet Color Printer/Copier

Amazon or Best Buy

$400

HP Laptop

Amazon

$680

Set of 10 Electric-Charge Walkie-Talkies

Amazon

$150

2 Office Chairs

Amazon

$250

Color and black toner cartridge stock

Amazon

$300

8.5x11” paper supply for print development and office use

Amazon

$80

11x17” paper supply for newsletters

Amazon

$80

Staffing $8,060 

Equipment $1,480

Supplies $460

Total $10,000

The most important asset we could ascertain is a dedicated development assistant. This requested support would cover the first year of a part-time development staff person to launch specific development efforts, which could then be sustained by the corporate sponsorships and future grants this person would work to attain. This person would be skilled in web and print media, nonprofit branding with a working knowledge of marketing principles needed to gain the public relations our organization needs in the community.

For the first six years of this organization’s existence, we have operated and grown the program exponentially without staff. As program directors, my husband, Bob, and I have put our heart, soul and bodies to work more than full-time, utilizing my full-time special education income as the backbone of the program. In that time, we have grown the program from the ground up, from seven to 120 young people reached per season. Now, six years later, we believe we have reached the capacity of what our income and man hours can attain. We must begin to seek long-term sustainable financial support by hiring staff to seek corporate sponsorships and grant money to allow for continued growth at or above the current rate. Having a development assistant is the first step in allowing us to re-brand and develop image consistency across media platforms in our message, graphics, and program descriptions so our community will recognize us and grow interest in the program. We would begin with the creation of a new modern logo to capture the desired image of the program along with a strong, consistent message about our audience and objectives—both developed by this new staff person. Of the limitations we face, staff support is the fundamental need that we believe will lead to the success of this project in moving us forward.

Secondly, we need updated equipment to allow for printing of the development pieces produced by this new staff person from our office at the farm. Utilizing images and content created by the new staff person, we would develop strong cohesive development pieces including program brochure, recruitment flyers, website and social media design, business cards, and public relations/community outreach pieces such as press releases and newsletters, all with brand consistency. This type of effort requires a reliable laptop computer and a high-quality color laser printer to eliminate the need for expensive print outsourcing. Additionally, the director and the new development assistant need supportive office chairs to move about the office productively and ergonomically. Finally, the program has been in long need of a reliable set of electric-charge walkie-talkies. Staff and volunteer communication across the acres requires this item. Battery-operated units have repeatedly failed and been unreliable when needed most to communicate immediate session and scheduling needs, including emergency weather communication. A quality set of walkie-talkies that charge reliably each night and perform consistently would allow for better productivity and communication.

In addition to equipment, there are consumable supplies needed to support these efforts. Black and color toner cartridges and two sizes of office paper would provide for the needed variety of printing projects. The staff and equipment would provide the support needed to make these projects possible, but without access to these often-costly consumable goods, additional burden would be placed on the program budget.

In summary, we believe this initial $10,000 program development project will be the turning point Owl Hollow Farm needs, to which we will be able to look back years from now and see our greatest point of program growth. Hiring our first staff person dedicated to strong and comprehensive marketing and having the equipment and supplies to support that staff person’s efforts to meet set goals is just the boost this program needs to take its next steps in reaching a community of children in need of collaborative intervention.

Program Capabilities

To illustrate how effective OHF has been in the lives of the children we have served, here are some letters of support from current funders and support professionals as well as testimonies of mentors and parents of participants.

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From Jan McGraw, Donor

February 18, 2017

Gentlemen:

I am writing to express my strong support for the grant application Owl Hollow Farm is submitting to your organization. As a past member of the Grants Making Committee at the Truman Heartland Community Foundation, I am acutely aware of the many applications a foundation receives each grant cycle and the fact that the number of requests far outstrip a foundation’s ability to fund every request. Having acknowledged that, I believe OHF should be considered a worthy candidate for your grant.

Owl Hollow Farm, a 501©3 equine-assisted mentoring program providing free services to families in need in Eastern Jackson County, Missouri. Their mission is to help families that are broken and children who fall through the cracks of our education and social services systems, utilizing and restoring purpose to horses which have suffered abuse and neglect in the mentoring of these children. The positive outcomes and changes that occur in the lives of these young participants is rather amazing.

I am so impressed with this program that I agreed to partner with them, not only as an active volunteer, but as a board member beginning in 2016. Moreover, my husband, Mike, and I felt the organization was worthy of a significant grant from our own family foundation which we funded in calendar year 2016. We are pleased with the fruits of our investment and will consider Owl Hollow Farm for future grants.

I strongly recommend Owl Hollow to your grant selection committee for consideration.

Respectfully yours,

Jan McGraw

McGraw Family Foundation

816-678-3208

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From Brandy Young, Licensed Clinical Social Worker

March 21, 2017

Dear Potential Funder:

It is my pleasure to write to you in support of the grant proposal being submitted by the Owl Hollow Farm (OHF) 501©3 nonprofit equine-assisted mentoring program in Lone Jack, MO.

Children with autism, and many other neurodevelopmental and emotional deficits, benefit from the types of motor skills utilized as well as the emotional and sensory aspects of working with the mentor and horses in the equine-assisted mentoring program at OHF. Research has proven that using horses in the mentorship of affected children increases their ability to bond emotionally. This affect can transfer to other relationships, increase the child’s cognitive processing naturally as they learn to communicate and adapt through enjoyable activities, and aid their balance and spatial orientation as they ride and attend to the many responsibilities of caring for a horse. 

As a therapist since 2007 with a clinical license in social work, I took an interest in volunteering at OHF in 2011. I was voted to sit on the Board of Directors as Executive Treasurer through 2014. I continue my involvement as a liaison providing any necessary mental health consultations while I currently work at a not-for-profit behavioral healthcare agency providing a wide range of behavioral health services to adolescents and families. 

Owl Hollow Farm not only allows the children the opportunity to have fun with horse activities, but they mentor children who struggle with expressing emotions and following directions. These children are developing a sense of trust, love, and confidence that many are not receiving anywhere else by giving them the opportunity to care for and experience the joys of working with horses, and at no cost to the child’s family.

In conclusion, I wholeheartedly recommend your support of the efforts at Owl Hollow Farm as they seek additional funding for program development. I have seen firsthand the progress, growth, and change that occurs in the children who are mentored there. With this additional funding, OHF will be able to recruit more mentors and volunteers who will make it possible for the program to accept more of the children who apply each season to the program, and will also grow their overall services in this budding arena of equine-assisted mentorship.

Sincerely,

Brandy Young, LCSW

Pathways Community Health

1800 Community Dr.

Clinton, MO 64735

660-207-7008

byoung@compasshn.org

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From Karen Osborn, Participant Parent

"Owl Hollow Farm is a place that has encouraged tremendous growth in my son, Chase. He used to have anxiety about animals and looking at him today, you would never guess that. He runs around trying to love on the cats at the farm. His horse, Sophie, he loves to ride and asks to ride her almost every day. Riding Sophie, Chase has built such great muscle and balance skills that he has been able to transfer those skills to other activities like riding a bike. In July, he was riding an adapted tricycle and had about two months off from working on a bike and with a PT other than working with Bob and the OHF staff. When we put him back on the bike he was able to use a regular bike with training wheels and rides beautifully now. Not only has OHF built up his abilities and confidence, they have welcomed our whole family and have given us so much support. I feel so blessed to have found this wonderful place with such amazing people."

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From Kris Stevens, Participant Parent

"Several years ago, my daughter started doing therapeutic riding and I quickly noticed the positive effect it had on not only her, but our entire family as a whole. I am continually amazed at the power of the horse and child relationship and the healing effects on a hurting heart. Our experience at Owl Hollow has been great as our whole family can learn and work together."

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From Andrea Wosel, Program Mentor        

"Last year, while searching for a place to teach horseback riding lessons and work with children, I discovered Owl Hollow Farm. Owl Hollow was so much more than I was looking for. The staff is welcoming and the volunteers are dedicated and amazing. I have made so many friends during my short time here and have come to look at everyone at Owl Hollow as family. Owl Hollow opens its arms to children in need and gives a second chance to horses who have been neglected or forgotten. Here they can find a place of love, trust, respect, and acceptance. The changes in their clients’ lives are profound."

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From Danielle Wilhelm, Junior Mentor

"I was asked to tell of my experience with OHF and how it has affected my life and I've been sitting here for quite some time trying to think of a good way to explain it. It's hard because it's not just the volunteer job I was expecting when I first came to Owl Hollow. It's been so much more. The staff have helped me come out of my shell when my own family didn't make the attempt, and you know, everyone at OHF has proven to me that you don't need to be blood related to be a part of a family. You go there and the whole place just fills you with a welcoming and warm feeling. Bob and Cathy are the aunt and uncle I have always wanted. Herve is probably one of the sweetest people I will ever meet, and all of the mentors have taught me more than I thought I would get to learn. Not to mention, I have met some pretty cool kids. They have done more for me than I can ever repay with mucking out stalls. The people at Owl Hollow have affected my life in a way that I will never be able to forget, not that I would ever want to."

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We believe that the placement of a development staff person and needed office equipment will allow us to be able to reach more families in need in our community who will be able to share in this qualitative success.

In making this $10,000 investment, your foundation will be supporting a cost-effective approach to collaborative intervention for children and youth struggling with physical and emotional debilities.

Thank you in advance for your kind consideration.

Sincerely,

President

Owl Hollow Farm