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Executive Summary
Freedom Path Advocacy Network is a nonprofit that helps people in our county and the surrounding region who have been trafficked, and works to prevent trafficking in our community. We provide confidential advocacy, help with safe housing and training for professionals, always led by what each survivor wants and needs.
Human trafficking is the use of force, fraud or coercion to make a person work or perform sex acts. It happens in every community, in many settings, and often goes unseen. Survivors often need safe housing, health care, legal help and a trusted person to turn to, and most do not know where to find them. Our program offers trauma-informed help and works with schools, hospitals and employers so people can spot the signs and respond safely.
In Year 1 we plan to serve about 40 survivors over the year, and about 300 professionals trained. Our Year 1 budget is about $143,000, growing to about $324,000 by Year 5 as we grow from one survivor advocate to five. Each year's budget is planned to balance, with a small amount set aside in savings.
We are asking the Brightpath Foundation for $60,000, as part of the $128,000 in grants and contracts we need for Year 1. The other $15,000 in Year 1 comes from donations, which we plan to grow to about $49,000 a year by Year 5. Grant money pays for survivor advocate time, safe housing costs paid directly to providers and the record-keeping funders require.
We will measure how many survivors we serve, how many are connected to safe housing and other services they chose, how many community members and professionals we train, and what survivors tell us about whether they feel safer and more in control of their lives. We will report results to our funders every six months.
Company Description
Freedom Path Advocacy Network is a nonprofit organization in Minnesota. A 501(c)(3) public charity
Our mission. To help survivors of human trafficking find safety, healing and independence, and to help our community recognize and prevent trafficking.
How we started and what we have done. We began in 2022 when a nurse and a social worker started training emergency room staff to recognize trafficking. Since then we have supported about 25 survivors and trained about 400 professionals.
What we do:
- Provide trained, confidential advocates who help survivors find safety, housing, health care and legal help.
- Pay for emergency lodging and housing help, directly to the provider.
- Connect survivors to counseling, legal aid, job training and benefits through partners.
- Train hospital staff, teachers, employers and others to recognize the signs and respond safely.
- Share the National Human Trafficking Hotline (1-888-373-7888) with every person we serve and train.
Where we work. A confidential phone and text line, answered by trained advocates from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Our partners. A domestic violence shelter, a legal aid clinic, the hospital's social work office and the state trafficking task force.
Our approach. Survivors lead. We offer information and options, protect survivors' privacy and safety, and never pressure anyone to take a step they do not want to take. We follow a trauma-informed approach.
How we are run. A volunteer Board of Directors (a small group of community members who oversee the organization) meets regularly, approves the budget, reviews the finances and oversees the Executive Director.
Problem & Opportunity
Why this program is needed.
Trafficking occurs in our county and the surrounding region, in settings like hotels, restaurants, farms, massage businesses, homes and online. Many survivors do not see themselves as victims or are afraid to ask for help. Those who do reach out often find that services are few, shelters are full and many professionals do not know what to look for.
Facts about our community. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, our state receives a steady stream of reports of trafficking each year.
Gaps in the help that exists now:
1. Safe housing. There are few places for survivors to stay, and fewer still for men, families and people of all genders.
2. Specialized help. Many agencies have not been trained to work with trafficking survivors.
3. Legal help. Survivors may face immigration, criminal record and family issues that need a lawyer.
4. Awareness. Many professionals and community members do not recognize trafficking.
5. Long-term support. Recovery takes time, and services often end too early.
What we have seen ourselves. Hospital staff told us they saw patients with signs of trafficking but did not know what to do.
Who we serve first. Survivors of labor and sex trafficking, including adults and young people, and people at high risk, in adults and young people who have been trafficked for labor or sex, and people at highest risk in our region.
Products & Services
How the program works.
1. Confidential advocacy. A trained survivor advocate listens, explains options and helps with the survivor's own goals, at the survivor's own pace.
2. Safe housing help. About $24,000 in Year 1 pays for emergency lodging and housing help, paid directly to the provider, while we work with partners on longer-term housing.
3. Connections to care. We connect survivors to health care, counseling, legal aid, job training and benefits through partners.
4. Training for the community. We train hospital staff, teachers, hotel workers, employers and faith leaders to recognize trafficking and respond safely, including how to use the hotline.
5. Long-term support. We stay in touch with survivors for as long as they want, and help them rebuild their independence.
How we will measure results. We count survivors served and the services they chose, and professionals trained. With permission, we ask survivors, in an optional and anonymous way, how safe and in control they feel. We never publish anything that could identify a survivor, and we do not use survivors' stories without their informed consent. Our goals for Year 1: serve 40 survivors; connect 30 to safe housing or other services they chose; train 300 professionals; and have 85% of survivors say they feel safer and more in control.
Market Analysis
Where we work and who we serve.
We serve survivors in our county and the surrounding region, especially adults and young people who have been trafficked for labor or sex, and people at highest risk in our region.
How we know people need this. We received 30 calls on our volunteer line last year, and the hospital, two schools and a shelter asked us for training.
How many we will reach. In Year 1, about 40 survivors over the year, and about 300 professionals trained. National Human Trafficking Hotline data for our state, local law enforcement and hospital reports are common ways to size the need, but trafficking is often hidden, and numbers are always an undercount. The guide for this plan shows where to find them. As we grow from one survivor advocate to five, we expect to serve more people each year.
How survivors reach us. The hospital, a domestic violence shelter, legal aid, the hotline and local churches.
Competitive Landscape
Other help, and how we work with it.
- The National Human Trafficking Hotline takes calls at all hours and connects people to local help. We take referrals from them and refer callers to them.
- Domestic violence and sexual assault programs serve many survivors. We partner with them and bring specialized trafficking expertise. We are a member of the state task force.
- Shelters offer housing, but may not be set up for trafficking survivors. We work with them to meet survivors' needs.
- Law enforcement and prosecutors investigate trafficking. We work with them only with a survivor's consent (unless the law requires reporting, as with minors) and keep our independence.
- Legal aid and immigration legal providers help with legal needs. We refer survivors to them.
What makes us different: a confidential phone and text line, advocates trained in trauma-informed care and training for hospitals and hotels
Marketing & Sales Strategy
How we reach people and build support.
Reaching people:
- Referrals from hospitals, schools, shelters, legal aid, law enforcement victim services and other nonprofits.
- Our confidential phone and text line, shared through cards in places survivors may visit, such as clinics, truck stops and restrooms.
- Training sessions, which lead to referrals.
- Word of mouth in survivor and community networks.
Funding. Federal and state victim services funds (such as those through the Office for Victims of Crime) and state task forces often support trafficking programs, and many funders look for training, a trauma-informed approach and partnerships. We build these in from the start.
Volunteers. Faith communities, retired professionals and college students.
Raising money beyond grants. Donations are planned at about $15,000 in Year 1, growing to about $49,000 by Year 5, through a yearly giving campaign, business and community partners, a community event and online giving. Raising more of our own money means we depend less on any one grant or contract.
Operations Plan
How the program runs.
How a survivor moves through the program:
1. A call, text or referral, and a first conversation about safety and immediate needs.
2. Immediate help: a safe place to stay, food, medical care or a phone.
3. A plan the survivor creates, covering housing, health, legal help, work and school.
4. Regular contact and practical help as the survivor chooses.
5. Longer-term support, with no set end date.
A first contact. The advocate asks whether it is safe to talk, listens without judging, explains what we can offer and agrees on a safe way to stay in touch.
Safety and rules. We keep locations confidential, follow written safety rules for staff, and never confront traffickers or conduct our own investigations. When a person under 18 is involved, we follow our state's mandatory reporting laws. We follow rules about what we can ask and share.
Privacy. Survivor information is kept strictly private and locked. Federal and state funding for victim services generally restricts sharing a survivor's information, and we follow those rules. We share it only with the survivor's written permission or when the law requires it, and funders get totals only.
Equipment. In Year 1 we buy about $5,000 in equipment (phones, laptops, locking file cabinets and a printer), then about $1,500 to $2,000 a year to replace worn items.
Staff. One survivor advocate in Year 1, then two in Year 2, three in Year 3, four in Year 4 and five in Year 5. Advocates receive trauma-informed training, supervision and support, because the work can be hard on them.
Office work. Bookkeeping, insurance and reporting cost about $14,000 in Year 1.
Management & Organization
Who leads the organization.
Maria Howard, Executive Director.
The Executive Director leads the organization, raises money and manages grants and contracts, builds partnerships, oversees the finances and reports to the Board. Planned salary: $60,000 a year.
Survivor advocates. Provide confidential advocacy, help with housing and services, deliver community training and keep records. One position in Year 1, growing to five by Year 5, at a planned salary of $42,000 each. Qualifications we look for: completed trauma-informed advocate training, experience in victim services and a calm, respectful manner.
Volunteers. Volunteers help with training events, donations and outreach. Direct work with survivors is reserved for trained advocates.
Board of Directors. A five-member board including James Rodriguez, who brings nonprofit finance experience.
Money management. Grant and contract money is tracked separately so we can show each funder exactly how their money was spent. An outside accountant reviews our books every year.
Milestones Narrative
Our goals and how we will measure them.
Year 1:
- Complete advocate training and set up confidential records and safety rules.
- Sign referral agreements with our main partners, including a shelter and a legal aid provider.
- Serve about 40 survivors over the year, and about 300 professionals trained.
- Reach our Year 1 goals for survivors served, housing and community training.
- Stay within a balanced budget of about $143,000.
Year 2: two survivor advocates; budget of about $188,000.
Year 3: three survivor advocates; budget of about $233,000.
Year 4: four survivor advocates; budget of about $278,000.
Year 5: five survivor advocates; budget of about $324,000.
Over the five years: grow to five survivor advocates, add training for more professionals, and build a network of safe housing partners. Safe housing costs grow about 6% a year.
How we will check our results. For each survivor, with permission, we record services requested and received. We report only totals. Staff and the Board review results and share them with funders. We never publish information that could identify a survivor.
Funding Request
What we are asking for, and how the money will be used. Our request: $60,000 from the Brightpath Foundation for our first survivor advocate's salary, safe housing costs and the costs of reporting results, for January through December 2027. Year 1 budget: about $143,000, planned to balance. Year 1 money coming in: - Grants and government contracts: $128,000 (this request plus other grants we are applying for). - Donations: $15,000. Year 1 costs: - Executive Director: $60,000. - Survivor advocates: $42,000. - Safe housing costs (emergency lodging and housing help, paid directly to providers): $24,000. - Office costs (bookkeeping, insurance, reporting): $14,000. - That is about $140,000 in costs. The remaining $3,000 or so goes into savings. Equipment we buy once at the start (about $5,000) is paid from startup money, not from the yearly budget. The next five years. Our budget grows from about $143,000 in Year 1 to about $324,000 in Year 5 as we grow to five survivor advocates. Grants and contracts are planned at $128,000 in Year 1, $166,000 in Year 2, $203,000 in Year 3, $239,000 in Year 4 and $275,000 in Year 5. Donations grow from $15,000 to $49,000, so grants become a smaller part of our budget over time. Savings. We start with about $20,000 of our own plus $70,000 in startup support, and we add to savings each year. Important for victim services funding. Many grants are state administered, pay you back after you spend the money and come with confidentiality, training and reporting rules. We ask each funder how they work before we apply. Help we receive that is not cash. Donated space, volunteer hours, donated supplies, hotel rooms and free legal clinics are a real part of what we do and are not counted in the budget above. A donated confidential office (about $6,000 a year in rent value), about 500 volunteer hours a year, donated hotel stays and free legal clinics If we are just starting. A new organization can begin before it has its own 501(c)(3) status. One way is a fiscal sponsor: an established nonprofit that agrees to receive grants for you and pass them to your program, usually for a fee (commonly around 5% to 10% of the grant, sometimes more; ask before you agree). Many funders accept this. Another way is to start smaller: partner with an existing domestic violence or victim services agency, complete trauma-informed training, start with a confidential line and one trained advocate, and track results carefully. Survivor safety comes before growth. Strong results from a small start make larger grants and contracts easier to win.
Appendix Notes
Documents to attach with this proposal:
- Your IRS 501(c)(3) letter, or your fiscal sponsor agreement.
- Your most recent financial statements and your current budget.
- A list of your Board members and what they do.
- Letters of support from partner agencies, such as a shelter, a legal aid provider and victim services.
- Your confidentiality, safety and trauma-informed care policies, and your advocate training plan.
- Your anonymous service numbers from the past year, if you have them.
- Your training materials for professionals, if you have them.
- 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):
- Staff pay: Executive Director $60,000; each survivor advocate $42,000, growing from 1 to 5.
- Safe housing costs about $24,000 in Year 1, rising about 6% a year
- Office costs about $14,000 in Year 1, rising about 4% a year.
- Grants and contracts set so each year's budget balances with a small amount saved.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your organization's real budget.