Archers Without Limits

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Executive Summary

Archers Without Limits is a nonprofit in Oregon that teaches archery to young people with disabilities, free of charge. A trained adaptive coach fits each archer with the equipment that works for their body, whether they shoot from a chair, with a release aid or with the help of a stand, and teaches them to shoot safely and with confidence. Sessions are small, positive and built around each archer's own goals.

Many young people with disabilities are left on the sidelines of sports. Programs may not have the equipment, coaches may not know how to adapt a sport and families may not have the time or money to drive far for classes. Archery is a good fit because it rewards focus and form more than speed or size, and nearly everyone can take part when the equipment is fitted well.

With this grant we will serve about 60 young people in Year 1 at 2 sites, with eight-week sessions and a summer camp. We do not promise that any young person will compete or win. We promise a safe place, good coaching and a chance to be an archer.

Our Year 1 budget is about $189,500, growing to about $275,000 by Year 5 as we add sites, coaches and participants. Each year's budget is planned to balance, with a small surplus each year. We have 3 staff in Year 1 (an Executive Director, an Adaptive Archery Coach and a part-time Program Assistant) and 6 by Year 4.

We are asking the Pacific Northwest Disability Foundation for $46,000 for an Adaptive Archery Coach and the adaptive equipment fund. Our other income and startup support cover the rest. These numbers are estimates based on the assumptions listed at the end of this proposal, and we do not promise any result beyond what we describe.

Company Description

Archers Without Limits is a nonprofit organization in Oregon. We are a registered charity with a volunteer board of directors, a written conflict-of-interest policy and a yearly budget the board reviews.

Our mission. Every young person should have the chance to try a sport and be good at something, whatever their body can do.

What we do.
- Run free, eight-week adaptive archery sessions at partner sites.
- Fit each archer with adaptive equipment and adjust it as they grow.
- Teach range safety, form and scoring in small groups.
- Run a summer camp and a small local competition each year.
- Lend equipment for home practice when a family wants it.
- Train volunteers and parents to help safely.

What we do not do. We do not give medical advice or therapy. We follow the guidance of each family and, when a family asks, the young person's therapist or doctor. We do not let anyone shoot before a safety briefing, and a range officer is always present. We do not promise any result beyond what we describe.

How we got here. A coach who teaches adaptive sports began offering Saturday archery sessions in a park building. Families kept coming and kept asking for more. We kept simple records of who came, what equipment worked and what the archers said. This proposal asks for support to move from occasional sessions to a steady program with a paid coach and the equipment to match.

Problem & Opportunity

Young people with disabilities take part in sports less often than other young people, and the reasons are practical.

Few programs. Many sports programs do not have adaptive equipment or coaches who know how to use it. Families call several places before they find one that will say yes.

High costs. Adaptive equipment is expensive. A bow fitted for a child who shoots from a chair, or with a release aid, can cost more than a family can spend on a hobby, and growing children need new fittings.

Distance and transportation. Programs may be far away, and transportation for a child with a disability is hard to arrange.

Low expectations. Young people with disabilities are often told what they cannot do. A young person who hits a target for the first time sees something different.

What we hear.
- A mother says her son was told he could only watch other children play.
- A father says his daughter asks every day when she can shoot again.
- A physical therapist says archery builds focus and strength in ways her clinic cannot.
- A teacher says one student speaks up more in class since joining.

We do not claim that archery solves every challenge. We believe that a place to try, with the right equipment and a patient coach, is a good start.

Products & Services

Archers Without Limits gives young people with disabilities a safe, welcoming place to learn archery.

How the program works.
1. Sites. We partner with a parks department building and a school gym that provide space, and we bring equipment, targets and coaches.
2. Sessions. Each eight-week session meets once or twice a week for ninety minutes. Groups are small, with one adult for about every three archers.
3. Fitting. In the first session, the coach and the family choose the equipment that works for the archer. Adjustments are made as the archer grows or improves.
4. Safety first. Every session begins with a safety briefing. Archers shoot on a signal, only from the line, and a range officer watches every shot.
5. Goals. Each archer chooses a personal goal, such as hitting the target, improving a score or shooting from a longer distance, and the coach tracks it.
6. Showcase. At the end of each session, families are invited to a short, friendly shoot.

Coaches. Our coach holds an adaptive archery certification, passes a background check and is paid for their time.

Access and fairness. Programs are free. We welcome all disabilities and any level of experience. We offer large-print materials and help with transportation when we can.

Market Analysis

Who we serve. Young people ages 8 to 21 with physical, sensory or developmental disabilities, who live near our partner sites and want to try archery. Eligibility is based on a family's own statement and, if a family wishes, a note from a doctor or therapist, and we do not turn anyone away for lack of skill.

How we estimate need. We cannot count every young person who could benefit, so we plan from what we can see. In our Saturday sessions we served a full range each time and kept a waiting list. Schools, clinics and a children's hospital have told us they have many more interested young people than we can serve. For Year 1 we plan to serve about 60 young people at 2 sites. By Year 5, with more coaches and sites, we plan to serve about 140.

Where participants come from.
- School special education teachers and counselors.
- Therapists and clinics.
- Disability organizations and parent groups.
- Families who tell a friend, and archers who bring a sibling.

Who else benefits. Families gain time together and a place to meet others. Schools gain a partner that supports inclusion. Parks departments gain a program that serves more of the community.

What the numbers mean. Every number here is a young person with a bow in their hands. We keep our early counts modest and honest so we can do the work well.

Competitive Landscape

What young people can find today, and how we are different.

1. School adaptive physical education. Some schools have excellent teachers. They are limited by class time and equipment, and archery is rarely offered. We partner with schools and do not replace their programs.

2. Disability sports organizations. A few provide strong programs in sports such as basketball and swimming. Archery is less common, and chapters are often far away. We fill a gap in archery.

3. Parks and recreation programs. Many offer archery, but few have adaptive equipment or trained coaches. We bring both to partner sites.

4. Private archery clubs and ranges. They offer good instruction, usually at a cost and without adaptive equipment. We offer a free alternative and refer archers who want more to local clubs.

5. Therapy programs. They help with movement and focus, but they are not a sport and do not offer a team or a competition.

What makes us different.
- Free to every participant.
- Adaptive equipment fitted and adjusted by a trained coach.
- Small groups and a range officer on every line.
- A personal goal for every archer.
- A path to local competition for those who want it.

We have spoken with other disability and sports programs to make sure we are filling a gap and not duplicating services. Their letters of support are in the attachments.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

How young people and partners will find us.

Reaching young people.
- Schools. We will work with special education teachers and counselors to invite students and share a simple one-page sign-up form in large print and in Spanish.
- Clinics and hospitals. We will leave flyers and give short talks to therapists and care coordinators.
- Disability groups. We will attend parent group meetings and community events.
- Families. We will hold a short information night at each site before a session begins.
- Word of mouth. Many archers will find us through a friend. We encourage families to bring a sibling or friend to the showcase.
- A simple website that works with screen readers and a phone line with a text option.

Reaching partners and volunteers.
- Invite archery clubs, parks staff and retired teachers to volunteer after an orientation, a background check and safety training.
- Offer partners a short update each quarter with counts of participants and what archers said.

How we decide who joins. We use a simple sign-up form and enroll participants in the order received, with priority for archers who have not been in the program before. We keep a waiting list when sessions fill.

What we watch. Sign-ups, attendance, goals met and how many return for a second session. We use that to decide where to focus our outreach.

Operations Plan

How the program will be carried out.

Timeline for Year 1:
- Months 1 and 2 (July and August): Hire the Adaptive Archery Coach and Program Assistant, buy equipment, finalize the waiver, consent form and privacy policy with our attorney and sign site agreements.
- Month 3 (September): Begin the first eight-week fall sessions at two sites.
- Months 4 to 10: Run fall, winter and spring sessions, with a showcase shoot at the end of each session.
- Months 11 and 12: Run the summer camp, survey participants and partners, report to funders and plan Year 2.

Space. Sessions are held in a parks department building and a school gym, provided at low or no cost. We store equipment in locked cases.

Safety and privacy.
- Every coach and volunteer passes a background check and completes safety training.
- A range officer is on every line, and no one is ever alone with a young person.
- Archers shoot only on a signal and only from the line; arrows are collected only when the line is clear.
- Equipment is inspected before each session and repaired or replaced when worn.
- We keep an emergency plan and a first aid kit at every site, and families complete an emergency contact form.
- We keep records private, share them only with a family's permission and follow a written policy.

Equipment. We buy about $18,000 of equipment once at the start: adaptive bows, release aids and assistive devices for twelve archers ($8,000), target stands and backstops ($4,000), portable range gear ($3,000) and safety gear and locking storage ($3,000). Later years replace or add a few items.

Staffing. In Year 1 I serve as Executive Director. The Adaptive Archery Coach, paid $38,000 a year, leads sessions and fits equipment. A part-time Program Assistant, paid $20,000, schedules sessions and keeps records. We add a second coach in Year 3 and a second assistant in Year 4.

Management & Organization

Maria Okafor, Executive Director. I lead the organization, report to the board and am responsible for budgets, partnerships and reporting. I came to this work as a physical therapy assistant who watched young patients light up when they were invited to try a sport. I will complete the safety training we require of our coaches so I understand the program from the inside. (Replace this paragraph with your own background.)

Adaptive Archery Coach. The coach fits equipment, leads sessions and tracks each archer's goals. We will hire someone with an adaptive archery or adaptive sports certification and experience with young people. This position is part of our grant request.

Program Assistant. A part-time position that schedules sessions, keeps attendance and follow-up records and talks with families.

Board of directors. Our volunteer board includes a pediatric occupational therapist, a parent, a parks department staff member, a banker who serves as treasurer, an attorney and a former participant. The board meets every other month, approves our budget and reviews our safety plan. No board member is paid, and members with a conflict of interest step out of related decisions.

Advisory partners. Representatives from a school district, a children's hospital, a disability organization and an archery club give guidance twice a year.

Why we can do this. We have run sessions with full ranges and a waiting list, built relationships with schools and clinics and kept careful records.

Staffing and pay in this plan: Executive Director, paid $52,000 a year; adaptive Archery Coach, paid $38,000 a year; program Assistant (part-time), paid $20,000 a year.

Milestones Narrative

Our goals, how we will measure them and when we plan to reach them.

Year 1 outcomes (July 2027 through June 2028):
- Serve about 60 youth with disabilities at 2 sites.
- Run at least 4 eight-week sessions and a summer camp.
- Have at least 85 percent of participants attend six or more sessions.
- Have at least 75 percent of participants meet a personal goal they set with their coach.
- Receive positive feedback from at least 90 percent of families who answer our short survey.

What we count and how.
- Participants, sessions held and attendance, from our records.
- Personal goals set and met, recorded by the coach with each archer.
- Equipment fitted and returned in good condition, from our checklist.
- Participant and family feedback, from a short, confidential form.
We report what we find, including what did not work, and use it to improve.

Growth over five years.
- Year 2: About 80 youth, a second site and more equipment sets.
- Year 3: About 100 youth at 3 sites and a second coach.
- Year 4: About 120 youth, a second assistant and our first regional competition team.
- Year 5: About 140 youth at 4 sites and a waiting list that stays short.

Learning along the way. At the end of each quarter, the director and the board review the numbers and decide whether we are on track. If we are behind, we will adjust our outreach, our sites or our schedule before asking for more money.

After the grant. By Year 5, grants make up about 48 percent of our budget, down from about 62 percent in Year 1, as partners and donors give more. We will keep building those relationships every year.

Funding Request

What we are asking for, and how the money will be used. Our request: $46,000 from the Pacific Northwest Disability Foundation for an Adaptive Archery Coach and the adaptive equipment fund, for July 2027 through June 2028.

The request is spread across these budget lines:
- Personnel: Adaptive Archery Coach salary, $38,000.
- Supplies: Adaptive equipment fund for bows, aids and targets, $8,000 (other funds add $16,000).

Other money in the program. This request is about 39% of our Year 1 grant income. Other grants and the income lines below pay for everything it does not cover.

Year 1 budget: about $189,500, planned to balance with a small surplus (about $7,900 after the yearly wear on equipment). Year 1 money coming in: Grant Revenue $117,500; state Developmental Disabilities Funding $40,000; hospital and Community Partners $20,000; individual and Business Donations $12,000. Year 1 costs: executive Director $52,000; adaptive Archery Coach $38,000; program Assistant (part-time) $20,000; adaptive Equipment Fund about $24,000; transportation Fund about $12,000; range Rental and Facility Use about $14,000; supplies and Targets about $5,000; coach Training and Certification about $3,000; administration and Insurance about $10,000; about $6,200 a year for the wear on equipment.

One-time startup costs. Startup costs of $26,000 are paid once from startup money, not from the yearly budget: $8,000 for adaptive bows, release aids and assistive devices (12 sets); $4,000 for target stands and backstops; $3,000 for portable range gear: tent, lane markers and signals; $3,000 for safety gear and locking storage; $2,500 for attorney review of the waiver, consent and privacy policy; $2,000 for banners, large-print flyers and an accessible website; $1,500 for background checks for the first coaches and volunteers; $2,000 for first insurance payment.

How we got our startup number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds the startup costs ($26,000), the cash the program uses before it balances (about $0) and a cash cushion of about $44,500, which is about three months of Year 1 costs. In all, that comes to $70,500. We start with $10,000 from our founding board and $63,000 in startup support from a community foundation and a sporting goods partner, $73,000 in all, which covers that amount with room to spare.

The next five years. Our budget grows from about $189,500 in Year 1 to about $275,000 in Year 5. Grants are planned at $117,500, $103,000, $131,500, $142,000 and $133,000 in Years 1 to 5. Other income grows: state Developmental Disabilities Funding from $40,000 to $68,000; hospital and Community Partners from $20,000 to $38,000; individual and Business Donations from $12,000 to $36,000. Our surplus is planned at about $7,900 in Year 1, about $8,500 in Year 2, about $10,700 in Year 3, about $12,400 in Year 4 and about $13,400 in Year 5. We add a second coach in Year 3 and a second assistant in Year 4, and grow from 2 sites to 4 by Year 5.

Savings. We plan to keep several months of costs in savings. The lowest year-end balance in the plan is about $58,900, at the end of Year 1. Some grant payments and partner payments arrive after we bill, so we plan for about $7,580 owed to us at the end of Year 1.

Cost per archer. In Year 1, our total costs are about $3,027 per archer served, which includes setting up the program. By Year 5, with more archer served and a trained team in place, that falls to about $1,868 per archer.

After the grant. State disability funding, hospital partners and individual donors grow every year, so grants become a smaller share of our budget. Families, coaches and archers share their stories, and businesses can sponsor a lane or a season by name. We will look for partnerships with schools, parks departments and disability organizations that want adaptive sports in their communities.

Risks and how we will handle them:
- An injury. Required safety briefings, range officers on every line, adaptive equipment checked by the coach, small groups, insurance and a written emergency plan.
- A coach leaves. We keep a list of trained backup coaches and share lesson plans and equipment fitting notes.
- A range or site is no longer available. We keep agreements with more than one site and a plan for indoor space.
- Low attendance. We adjust outreach, transportation and times based on feedback from families.
- A privacy problem. We follow a written policy, use secure systems and train every staff member and volunteer.
- A grant ends. We keep savings and grow partner and donor support each year.

If you are just starting. A new organization can begin before it has its own 501(c)(3) status through a fiscal sponsor: an established nonprofit that receives grants for you and passes them to your program, usually for a fee (commonly around 5% to 10% of the grant, sometimes more; ask before you agree). Another way is to start smaller: one neighborhood, a handful of archers and a small team, tracked carefully. Strong results from a small start make larger grants easier to win.

Appendix Notes

Documents to attach with this proposal:

- Your IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter, or your fiscal sponsor agreement.
- Your most recent financial statements and your current year budget.
- A list of your board members and what each one does.
- Signed letters of support from partner schools, agencies and sites.
- Your site agreements and your insurance certificate.
- Your consent, waiver and privacy policy.
- Your safety plan and background check policy.
- Your program outline and schedule.
- Quotes for equipment and materials.
- Resumes for your Executive Director and key staff.
If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.

The assumptions behind our numbers (change them in the Financials section to match your own):
- Grant Revenue: $117,500 in Year 1, growing to $133,000 in Year 5.
- State Developmental Disabilities Funding: $40,000 in Year 1, growing to $68,000 in Year 5.
- Hospital and Community Partners: $20,000 in Year 1, growing to $38,000 in Year 5.
- Individual and Business Donations: $12,000 in Year 1, growing to $36,000 in Year 5.
- Pay (a full year, per person, including payroll taxes and workers' compensation): executive Director $52,000; adaptive Archery Coach $38,000; program Assistant (part-time) $20,000.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: adaptive Equipment Fund $24,000; transportation Fund $12,000; range Rental and Facility Use $14,000; supplies and Targets $5,000; coach Training and Certification $3,000; administration and Insurance $10,000. These grow between 4% and 10% a year.
- Equipment: $18,000 at the start, then $3,000 to $4,000 a year.
- Startup costs: $26,000, paid once from $73,000 in startup money.
- Youth served: about 60 in Year 1, growing to about 140 in Year 5. Sites: 2 in Year 1, growing to 4 by Year 5. Each session runs eight weeks, once or twice a week.
- About 4% of each year's income is still owed to us at year end.
- Tax: none, as a nonprofit.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your own quotes and real budget.

Startup Costs