Porch Light Friendly Visitors

Words in [brackets] are blanks you fill in with your own details when you adopt this sample in Supreme Plan AI.

Executive Summary

Porch Light Friendly Visitors is a nonprofit in Maine that connects older adults who live alone with friendly volunteers who visit or call every week. Volunteers are screened, trained and matched by interests, and each match lasts at least a year. We also lend tablets to older adults who want to see and talk to family and friends, and we teach them to use them.

Loneliness is a real hardship for many older adults, especially in rural areas where neighbors are far apart, winters are long and friends and family may have moved or passed away. An older adult who sees no one for days can lose confidence, miss warning signs of health problems and feel forgotten. A friendly visit each week brings company, a second set of eyes and a link to help.

With this grant we will recruit and train about 60 volunteers in Year 1 and match them with about 60 older adults who live alone. We will lend 20 tablets with data plans. Volunteers are never out of pocket, because we pay mileage for visits. Volunteers are friends, not caregivers. They do not give medical advice, handle money or provide personal care, and they call 911 in an emergency.

Our Year 1 budget is about $168,000, growing to about $176,000 by Year 5. Each year's budget is planned to balance, with a small surplus each year. We have 3 paid staff, supported by volunteers.

We are asking the Pine Harbor Community Fund for $61,000 for our Volunteer Program Manager and for volunteer screening and mileage. The area agency on aging, county funds, faith communities and donors also give, so this grant is one part of a shared funding plan.

I am Margaret Coyle, the Executive Director. The numbers in this proposal are estimates based on the assumptions listed at the end, not promises.

Company Description

Porch Light Friendly Visitors is a small, independent nonprofit in Maine, organized as a 501(c)(3) public charity. We serve older adults who live alone in our county and the towns and rural roads around it.

Our mission. To make sure no older neighbor goes without a friendly face or voice.

What we believe. Everyone deserves company and dignity. Visitors come as friends, not helpers or inspectors, and each match is based on shared interests and what the older adult wants. We respect privacy and independence, honor each person's choices and never promise what we cannot give.

What we offer:
- Weekly friendly visits. A trained volunteer visits for an hour each week at home or in a public place, or calls if the person prefers.
- Tablet lending and help. A loaned tablet with a data plan and a few friendly lessons so the older adult can see and talk to family, friends and the volunteer.
- Group gatherings. Quarterly lunches or coffee mornings where volunteers and older adults can meet.
- Connection to help. If a visitor sees a need, such as a problem with food or heat, they tell the volunteer manager, who helps the person find the right agency.

Who we serve. Adults age 60 and older who live alone and are isolated, with priority for people with limited transportation or few family nearby.

What we do not do. We do not provide medical care or personal care, handle money or valuables, give legal or financial advice, transport people in volunteers' cars unless approved and insured, or promise a health result.

How we are run. A volunteer board of seven governs the organization. I am the Executive Director. The Volunteer Program Manager screens, trains and matches volunteers. A part-time volunteer coordinator supports visits and events.

Where things stand today. We have letters of support from the area agency on aging, two churches, a senior center and a home health agency, a list of about 40 people who offered to volunteer, quotes for the tablets and a volunteer agreement and safety policy under review by an attorney. (Replace this with where you really are.)

Problem & Opportunity

Many older adults live alone. Their children may live far away, their friends may have died and getting out may be hard because of health, weather or the cost of a car. Over time, days without a conversation can lead to feeling down, to worse health and to missing the signs that help is needed.

In rural areas, distance is the problem. A neighbor may live a mile down the road. A winter storm can leave a person alone for days. Some older adults do not use the phone or the internet and may not know how to ask for help.

Services exist, such as meal programs and home care, but they are task-focused and short. They do not always give an older adult someone to talk to.

For a small nonprofit, the hard parts are recruiting volunteers who stay, screening and training them well, matching them with the right person and keeping both sides safe and happy over time.

We want to be clear about what we know and do not know. Social connection matters for older adults, and friendly visitor programs are a common and gentle way to offer it. We will use the most recent local numbers on older adults who live alone and rural isolation in our final plan. We do not know exactly how many older adults will accept a visitor, so our plan uses a first-year goal and will report what really happens. We do not promise any health result.

Products & Services

Porch Light Friendly Visitors will give older adults a friend who comes by every week, and give volunteers a meaningful way to help.

How it works, step by step:
1. Referral. An older adult, a family member, a church, a doctor or an agency contacts us. The Volunteer Program Manager visits or calls the older adult, explains the program and asks what they would enjoy.
2. Volunteer screening. Each volunteer completes an application, an interview, reference checks and a national criminal record check before being matched.
3. Training. Volunteers complete a short training on listening, boundaries, safety, spotting problems and what to do in an emergency.
4. Match. We match each older adult and volunteer by interests, location, schedule and personality, and the older adult may say no to a match.
5. First visit. The manager introduces them, and the first visits are short and friendly.
6. Weekly contact. The volunteer visits or calls each week for about an hour, and reports briefly to the volunteer coordinator each month.
7. Tablet help. If the older adult wants it, the volunteer helps them learn a loaned tablet to see grandchildren and friends.
8. Check in. The manager checks in with both sides, fixes problems, ends or changes a match when needed and thanks volunteers.

Why this approach is strong. A weekly friend gives an older adult something to look forward to. Screening, training and support keep visits safe, and volunteers get a real role.

Market Analysis

Who we serve: adults age 60 and older who live alone and are isolated, in our county and the towns and rural roads around it.

Our primary group is older adults with limited family nearby, limited mobility or no car. Our secondary group is older adults referred by doctors, churches and agencies, and volunteers who want a meaningful role. We will use the most recent local numbers on older adults who live alone and rural isolation in our final plan.

How we sized our plan. We plan to recruit about 60 volunteers and make about 60 matches in Year 1, with 20 loaned tablets. We grow to about 80 matches in Year 2, 100 in Year 3, 120 in Year 4 and about 140 matches in Year 5. Our Year 1 budget is about $168,000 and our Year 5 budget is about $176,000.

Demand data. Letters of support from the area agency on aging, two churches, a senior center and a home health agency, and a list of about 40 people who offered to volunteer, show a clear need. We do not count on any single referral source.

We do not serve everyone. We refer people who need personal care, meals or transportation to the right agency, and we refer people in crisis to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or 911.

Competitive Landscape

Other choices for older adults and families, and what makes us different.

- Home care agencies. They provide help with tasks but are paid and short. We offer a friend who comes for company.
- Senior centers and meal programs. They are wonderful but require transportation. We visit at home and call.
- Telephone reassurance calls. They are brief and helpful. We offer a longer, person-to-person match.
- Churches and neighbors. Many help. We add training, screening and a manager who coordinates.
- Family and friends. They are best when they can be there. We help when they cannot, and we keep families informed when they ask, with the older adult's permission.
- Faith communities with visiting teams. Many do wonderful work. We add screening, training and a manager, and we welcome their members as volunteers.

What makes us different.
- A screened, trained volunteer who comes every week for a year or more.
- A tablet and a friend to help use it.
- Mileage paid, so volunteers can come from farther away.
- A volunteer manager who stays in touch with both sides.

What we do not claim. We are new. Larger programs have more volunteers and a longer record. We plan to earn trust one match at a time.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

How we will reach the people we serve.

Older adults and families. Churches, senior centers, doctors' offices, libraries, the area agency on aging and home health agencies hand out our flyers and call us. A short, large-print brochure and a friendly phone line make it easy to ask for a visitor.

Volunteers. We will recruit volunteers through churches, civic clubs, college groups, retired groups and local newspapers, with a short story about what a visit looks like. Volunteers can also be older adults themselves.

Agencies and clinics. We will meet social workers, nurses and discharge planners and explain how to refer someone.

Businesses and faith communities. We will invite them to sponsor a match, a tablet or a gathering.

Online. A simple website and a phone number allow families who live far away to ask for a visitor for a parent or neighbor.

Cost to the older adult. Free. We never charge for visits, training or the tablet loan.

Staying in touch. We will send a short, friendly newsletter to volunteers, older adults and families every quarter, with a few stories, a thank-you and dates for gatherings, so that everyone feels part of the same community.

Operations Plan

How the program will be carried out.

Timeline for Year 1:
- Months 1 and 2 (summer): Sign partner agreements, buy tablets and equipment, finish the volunteer agreement and safety policy and open the phone line.
- Month 3 (late summer): Begin recruiting volunteers and older adults, and hold the first training.
- Months 4 to 6 (fall): Make the first 20 matches, lend the first tablets and hold the first gathering.
- Months 7 to 10 (winter and spring): Make more matches, keep in touch with every pair and hold a second and third gathering.
- Months 11 and 12 (summer): Survey older adults and volunteers, thank everyone, report to funders and plan Year 2.

Space. Volunteer training and gatherings are held in a church hall and a senior center, donated by partners. Our small office is shared space in a community building.

Equipment. We buy about $10,200 of equipment once at the start: 20 loan tablets with cases and chargers ($8,000) and a computer, headset and phone line for the volunteer office ($2,200). Later years replace or add a few tablets.

Staffing. In Year 1, I serve as Executive Director. The Volunteer Program Manager, paid $44,000 a year, screens, trains and matches volunteers. A part-time volunteer coordinator, paid $24,000 a year, supports visits and events.

Screening and safety. Every volunteer passes a national criminal record check and reference checks, completes training and signs a volunteer agreement. Volunteers never handle money or valuables, never give medical advice and always call 911 in an emergency. Concerns about an older adult's safety are shared with the manager, who follows the law on reporting suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of an older adult.

Privacy. Files are kept in a secure system and shared only with the older adult's permission. We explain the limits of confidentiality at the start.

Costs. Volunteer screening and training is about $8,000 in Year 1, mileage reimbursement about $9,000, tablet data plans and support about $6,000, outreach and volunteer events about $5,000 and administration and insurance about $10,000.

Management & Organization

The people who will carry out the project.

Margaret Coyle, Executive Director. Thirteen years of nonprofit work, including eight years running a senior center. She oversees the program, partnerships, fundraising and finances. (Replace this paragraph with your own background.)

Volunteer Program Manager (from Year 1). Screens, trains and matches volunteers and supports each pair.

Volunteer coordinator (part-time, from Year 1). Organizes gatherings, tablet loans and mileage records.

Volunteers. About 60 in Year 1, growing to about 140 by Year 5.

Board and advisors. Seven volunteer board members, including a nurse, a pastor and an older adult who has had a visitor, who meet every quarter. An attorney reviews our volunteer agreement and privacy policy.

Volunteer voices. Two experienced volunteers sit on our volunteer advisory group, which meets twice a year to suggest changes to training, matching and gatherings.

Staff pay in this plan is a full year per person: Executive Director $54,000, Volunteer Program Manager $44,000 and part-time volunteer coordinator $24,000. Replace them with the pay you can offer where you live.

Milestones Narrative

Our goals for each year and how we will measure them.

- Year 1: Recruit and train about 60 volunteers, make about 60 matches and lend 20 tablets. A balanced budget of about $168,000, with a small surplus of about $6,000. About 3 paid staff.
- Year 2: Make about 80 matches and add a quarterly gathering in a second town. A balanced budget of about $170,000, with a small surplus of about $5,900. About 3 paid staff.
- Year 3: Make about 100 matches and add a winter check-in call program for storms. A balanced budget of about $172,000, with a small surplus of about $5,800. About 3 paid staff.
- Year 4: Make about 120 matches and train volunteers as tablet helpers. A balanced budget of about $174,000, with a small surplus of about $5,500. About 3 paid staff.
- Year 5: Make about 140 matches and share our screening and training materials with other counties. A balanced budget of about $176,000, with a small surplus of about $5,100. About 3 paid staff.

What we measure:
- Volunteers recruited, screened and trained.
- Matches made and matches that last at least a year.
- Visits and calls each month.
- Older adults who say they feel less lonely.
- Tablets lent and older adults who use them.
- Concerns passed to agencies and what happened.

How we review results. The Volunteer Program Manager reviews numbers every month. Twice a year, staff and the board review all results and share them with funders and partners. If a match ends early, we find out why and change the way we match or train. Every number in this plan is a goal, and we will report what really happens.

Funding Request

What we are asking for, and how the money will be used. Our request: $61,000 from the Pine Harbor Community Fund for a Volunteer Program Manager and volunteer screening and mileage, for July 2027 through June 2028.

The request is spread across these budget lines:
- Personnel: Volunteer Program Manager salary, $44,000.
- Other: Volunteer screening and mileage reimbursement, $17,000.

Other money in the program. This request is about 50% of our Year 1 grant income. Other grants and the income lines below pay for everything it does not cover.

Year 1 budget: about $168,000, planned to balance with a small surplus (about $6,000 after the yearly wear on equipment). Year 1 money coming in: grants $122,000 (this request plus other grants we are applying for), area agency on aging and county support $24,000, faith communities, businesses and individual donations $22,000. Year 1 costs: executive director $54,000; volunteer program manager $44,000; volunteer coordinator $24,000; volunteer screening and training about $8,000; volunteer mileage reimbursement about $9,000; tablet data plans and support about $6,000; outreach and volunteer events about $5,000; administration and insurance about $10,000; about $2,900 a year for the wear on equipment.

One-time startup costs. Startup costs of $16,900 are paid once from startup money, not from the yearly budget: $8,000 for twenty loan tablets with cases and chargers; $2,200 for computer, headset and a phone line for the volunteer office; $1,500 for volunteer training binders and first welcome kits; $2,000 for attorney review of the volunteer agreement and privacy policy; $1,400 for banners, flyers in large print and a simple website; $1,800 for background checks for the first volunteers and first insurance payment.

How we got our startup number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds the startup costs ($16,900), the cash the program uses before it balances (about $0) and a cash cushion of about $40,000, which is about three months of Year 1 costs. The cash used before it balances and the cushion come to about $40,000. In all, that comes to $57,000. We start with $11,000 of our own savings and $49,000 in startup support from a local community fund and our board, $60,000 in all, which covers that amount with room to spare.

The next five years. Our budget grows from about $168,000 in Year 1 to about $176,000 in Year 5. Grants are planned at $122,000, $116,000, $110,000, $104,000 and $98,000 in Years 1 to 5. Other income grows: area agency on aging and county support from $24,000 to $40,000 and faith communities, businesses and individual donations from $22,000 to $38,000. We add volunteers, tablets and gatherings in more towns as the program grows. Grants fall from about 73% of our income in Year 1 to about 56% in Year 5.

Savings. We plan to keep several months of costs in savings. The lowest year-end balance in the plan is about $51,100, at the end of Year 1. Some grant payments and partner payments arrive after we bill, so we plan for about $6,720 owed to us at the end of Year 1.

After the grant. The area agency on aging, county funds, faith communities, businesses and individual donors grow every year, so grants become a smaller share of our budget. Volunteers and older adults share their stories, and sponsors can adopt a match or a tablet by name.

Risks and how we will handle them:
- A volunteer harms or takes advantage of an older adult. We screen carefully, train, supervise, never allow money handling and follow the law on reporting.
- Volunteers leave. We recruit steadily and thank volunteers often.
- A volunteer or older adult is hurt on a visit. We carry insurance and have an emergency plan.
- Matches do not fit. The manager checks in early and changes matches when needed.
- A grant ends. We keep savings and grow agency 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 town, 20 matches and one volunteer manager, 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 the area agency on aging, churches and the senior center.
- Your volunteer application, agreement and safety policy.
- Your screening and training plan.
- Your privacy policy and emergency plan.
- Your tablet loan agreement.
- Quotes for the tablets.
- 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: $122,000 in Year 1, then $116,000, $110,000, $104,000 and $98,000.
- Area Agency on Aging and County Support: $24,000 in Year 1, growing to $40,000.
- Faith Communities, Businesses and Individual Donations: $22,000 in Year 1, growing to $38,000.
- Pay (a full year, per person, including payroll taxes and workers' compensation): executive director $54,000, volunteer program manager $44,000, volunteer coordinator (part-time) $24,000.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: volunteer screening and training $8,000, volunteer mileage reimbursement $9,000, tablet data plans and support $6,000, outreach and volunteer events $5,000, administration and insurance $10,000. These grow between 4% and 6% a year.
- Equipment: $10,200 at the start, then $1,000 to $1,500 a year.
- Startup costs: $16,900, paid once from $60,000 in startup money.
- Matches: about 60 in Year 1, growing to about 140 in Year 5. Twenty loan tablets are bought at the start.
- 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