• Sustainable Funding
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Sustainable Funding Plan

2011–Year Two of Five

In 2011 Rainbow Village celebrated its 20th anniversary. For two decades we have been firmly committed to our mission of breaking the cycles of homelessness, poverty and domestic violence and had great success. Rainbow Village is a model program that most communities can draw from and benefit from. Through our community-based transitional housing program we give homeless families with children a promise of new beginnings. We’ve come a long way since our humble beginnings and we have clearly documented plans for continuing to sustain and develop Rainbow Village into the future.

The funding formula for Rainbow Village has been strongly grounded from the very beginning with significant support from the faith-based community that was the catalyst for the Rainbow Village vision. Through the years, funding sources have expanded to include federal and state grants, private foundations and trusts, special event revenues, investment returns, corporate contributions, a large base of individual community investors and others. Insuring that Rainbow Village has a sound Sustainable Funding Plan is always top-of-mind for the Board of Directors and the balance of income sources is carefully analyzed and adjusted each year as needed to ensure Rainbow Village stands on solid financial ground. This document outlines Rainbow Village’s funding sources currently and how we anticipate our funding balance to shift over the next five years.

Individual Gifts

Rainbow Village’s annual appeal formula has built a strong reservoir of individual investors that have given generously and passionately to the mission of the organization through the years. Rainbow Village is intentional and strategic with appeals made to individual investors and is careful not to ask too often so as not to cause investor fatigue.

Some investors seek to give larger lump-sum contributions from time-to-time, supporting specific needs or initiatives, while others prefer giving in smaller amounts to support the ongoing operational needs from year-to-year. Investors are given the opportunity each year to gauge how and where they wish to lend their support. With a blend of options Rainbow Village enjoys a stable inflow of cash supporting general operations while still having a strong base of investors that intentionally address particular programmatic needs. We currently have a tailored and tiered giving plan for larger corporations that include giving options for a year’s time.

In 2011 Rainbow Village targeted over 185 “major investors” that had the ability to give more than $10,000 to support our expansion. In 2012 our efforts will be specifically targeted to funding Phase 3 through naming opportunity appeals, a minimum of three major grant appeals, as well as continued efforts toward new investors in all giving ranges. Our goal is to establish a strong bond with these investors throughout the campaign period so they will transition to long-term annual investors sustainable well beyond the campaign timeline.

To continue to meet the increasing need for operational support as Rainbow Village grows and the needs of homeless families increase, greater effort is being made to promote our Angel Investor Program. This program allows investors to make scheduled charitable giving on a monthly basis either through personal check submission or automatic bank transfers. During these tough economic times this program is proving more and more popular among our investor base as it allows them the opportunity to give in smaller portions over longer periods of time, which proves more palatable for tighter budgets. We currently have more than 50 active Angels contributing to this program with individual contributions ranging from $120-$6,000 annually. Our biggest drive for Angels is during the annual Gala, but we are incorporating more special events to attract new Angels. We will actively recruit 100 new Angels in 2012 through e-brief appeals, special events and speaking engagements.

Online giving is on the rise as our investor base continues to become more technologically savvy and comfortable with financial transaction security online. A new website redesign in 2011 focused great attention on making the online giving experience as intuitive and user-friendly as possible. Online giving options will continue to be strongly promoted via all Rainbow Village marketing channels.

In addition to giving actual dollars, Rainbow Village has an amazing bank of investors that also contribute significantly to our mission through the giving of their time and talent. In-kind donations in 2011 topped saving significant dollars to the bottom line. As well, 647 volunteers logged over 4,027 volunteer hours in 2011 which allowed us to lend to our lean staff more hands, minds and feet so to work as efficiently and effectively as possible. In 2012 volunteers will be solicited as Angel investors.

Federal And State Grants/Contracts

Through the years Rainbow Village has been very successful in securing significant federal and state grants that currently account for 36.2% of our income. As government program funding becomes more and more susceptible and vulnerable to cuts, Rainbow Village is making a conscious move over the next five years to reduce our reliance on government dollars and diversify and disperse more evenly our funding mix across multiple sources. No doubt some government grants will continue to be a good fit and we will continue to seek such resources where it makes sound business sense. It is our target to reduce our dependence on such grants and contracts to only 16% of our funding by 2015.

Private Grants

Over the past several years Rainbow Village has received support from more than 75 private foundations and trusts with awards granted across a full spectrum of operational and programmatic areas. While foundation support has been strong, amounts awarded each year continue to decline due to strained economic conditions and there is evidence of a marked funding priority shift from program support to general operations support. Over the next five years Rainbow Village will work to recalibrate grant applications to better align critical needs with funding priorities and submit additional applications with the intent to cast a broader net in the foundation/trust arena, expanding the variety and sectors approached. In 2011 we applied for 29 capital grants and received 19, totaling $728,000. We applied for 37 operational grants and received 14, totaling $121,200. In 2012 efforts will be made to identify new foundations for operational and capital grants.

Corporate Gifts

Rainbow Village’s corporate relations have been primarily focused through the years on corporate sponsorships for special events and community service projects for employee volunteer corps. Over the next five years Rainbow Village will focus on identifying corporate relationships that offer win-win benefits for both. The goal will be to expand corporate relations beyond event-oriented sponsorships to include annual partnerships that offer cause-based marketing return for corporate investors. Concerted efforts have been made and will continue to be made during the extent of capital campaign fundraising to develop a “hit list” of prospective corporate partners that are a good fit and we will proactively work to cultivate new relationships with those target firms. Convergent Nonprofit Solutions’ seven-touch prospect cultivation strategy will be utilized to build those relationships so they will be sustainable well beyond the capital campaign efforts. The goal will be to establish 3 new corporate relationships in 2012.

Another important area of corporate giving that we are working to expand upon is corporate matching dollars for employee giving. Many of our investors work for companies that offer matching gifts. We will be working in 2012 to remind our investors via key marketing channels to seek collaborative funding support from their employers so we can maximize the impact of their giving. As well, we will work with corporate partners to co-market matching gift opportunities to their employees to encourage new investors within to come forth to help increase their collective support for Rainbow Village.

Special Events

Rainbow Village understands all too well that hosting special events in the community offers outreach opportunities that help educate the community about the needs of homeless families, promote our mission, gain exposure to new investors, and draw in new dollars. We strongly value both the friend-raising and fund-raising components of special events, but we also recognize that special events can be very taxing on our staff, volunteers and investors if hosted too often. Rainbow Village has found hosting two major special events each year is a good balance to meet the outreach needs of our organization while not overextending resources. For 16 years Rainbow Village has been host to a very successful Golf Classic in the springtime and for six years has hosted a fall gala that raises significant dollars. It is our intent to continue with these major fundraising events over the next five years. Our goal will be to minimize expenses incurred and maximize dollars contributed to generate the greatest return on our time and resource investment.

Rainbow Village has also been pleased to be the benefactor of many community-based charity events hosted by a multitude of civic and social organizations. The events have been diverse (Texas Hold ‘Em Tournaments, Tours of Homes, Dinner Dances, Auctions, etc.) and have given us great exposure to audiences we may not otherwise reach. We will continue to seek out more of these partnership opportunities as they require little work on our part while generating great return for our organization overall.

Other much smaller special events are held throughout the year that continue to build friends and investors such as book fairs, community work days, service projects, holiday programs, graduation ceremonies, supply drives, public speaking engagements, etc. These events offer us more opportunities for the community, our volunteers and our investors to become even more vested in Rainbow Village.

Earned Income

Rainbow Village has several avenues of earned income that include revenue from resident contributions, earnings on securities and investments, and return on retail/professional partnerships.

Rainbow Village program residents are required to contribute 20% of their monthly income during year 1 and 30% in year 2. The philosophy behind this formula is that a sound household budget should allocate 30% of monthly income for rent/mortgage expenses. As residents build household budgets for their families this requirement reinforces this expenditure and helps them learn to balance expenses while rebuilding financially in an intentional and calculated way.

From time-to-time Rainbow Village is gifted with securities and investment assets that we invest for a greater return. Through Deutsche Bank we have established the infrastructure necessary to receive such assets securely and invest them wisely. We anticipate growing this revenue stream over the next few years as the market stabilizes and gifts of stocks and bonds are pledged during the Capital Campaign.

In 2009 Rainbow Village began to intentionally seek and establish co-marketing opportunities with retail/professional partners that enable a percentage of sales to be donated back to Rainbow Village. We’ve been successful in formulating such programs via the YTB Rainbow Village Travel Site, One Cause, Goodshop, Dine-to-Donate, and the Barnes & Noble Bookfair. These retail partnerships have proven to be a good revenue stream throughout the years and we will continue seeking more of these opportunities. They are easy to promote, provide benefit to all involved, and allow our investors to give back through the normal course of business without having to stroke additional checks.

Faith-based Organizations

Faith-based financial giving has been an area of strength for Rainbow Village. We have relationships with churches that consistently invest in the operating expense of our village. The number of supporting faith-based organizations has been consistent through the years. In 2011, we had 31 faith partners engaged as volunteers and accounting for 6.4% of our proceeds. However, financial giving has decreased in the past couple of years due to the economic downturn that has adversely affected church budgets. Alongside cash donations, we are seeing a rise in interest in volunteerism and in-kind support as well. In 4th quarter 2009, we established a formal group of Rainbow Village advocates from our faith-based organizations to communicate consistently and regularly the mission of Rainbow Village to their members and to help strategically align each congregation’s community outreach support with Rainbow Village needs. In support of their initiatives, Rainbow Village staff will be available to assist at mission events and present to church groups and congregations at large. In 2012 we plan to increase giving by faith based organizations by 20%.

Planned Gifts

Rainbow Village is proud to have in place a planned giving program designed to support our organization long-term. With the help of the board finance committee and in consultation with Triad Advisors we continue to cultivate new prospects in this area. By enabling investors to give through bequests and beneficiary designations, gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, life insurance policies, etc. it is our plan to develop a long-term endowment for Rainbow Village.

Board & Leadership Support

Rainbow Village believes strongly that our leadership must set the bar and lead by example. Our board members are totally committed to our mission and they give wholeheartedly of their time, talent and treasure. Rainbow Village is pleased to report that 100% of our Board and Campaign leadership team contribute annually to the general operating account and have also pledged to the Capital Campaign. This speaks volumes to the strength, stability and sustainability of our organization. Rainbow Village is supported from the inside out.

Scholarship Funds

There are several individuals and groups that generously give to our organization through scholarships. These scholarships enable our children and youth to attend summer camps, participate in extracurricular programs, and receive tutoring free of charge. Grant funds allow the adult residents to earn degrees, certifications, and attend continuing education programs that enable them to maximize their earning potential. While these funds don’t contribute directly to our bottom line, they are critical in supporting our residents and strengthening the effectiveness of our programming overall. This allows Rainbow Village, at no additional cost, to further reinforce our commitment to breaking the cycles of homelessness, poverty and domestic violence. Identifying new sources for scholarship funds is critical to our long-term success.

Childcare Partnership

In 2013 Rainbow Village will embark upon a daycare partnership that will generate a new source of recurring revenue for our organization. The partnering agency will be paying rent to utilize facilities on the Rainbow Village campus. This partnership will provide daycare for residents free of charge, which will assist them in achieving their financial goals.

Gwinnett Thrift Store

A partnership with Gwinnett Thrift Store will provide a new revenue stream in 2012. RV donations will be sold with Rainbow Village receiving 40% of sales.

Summary

Rainbow Village will continue to monitor current economic and giving trends on a sector-by-sector basis and adjust strategic planning efforts accordingly, to develop fundraising tactics focused on sustaining and building on current revenue sources while adding new ones, and to stay abreast of emerging communication strategies, using online tools and viral marketing strategies whenever possible to contain costs. Rainbow Village remains committed to being good stewards of the funds gifted to us and tremendously grateful for the support we receive.