Maternal & Child Health / Home Visiting Nonprofit

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Executive Summary

Healthy Beginnings Home Visiting is a nonprofit in Alabama that sends trained home visitors to pregnant women and new parents in low-income families. Visitors support prenatal care, safe sleep, breastfeeding, child development and connection to services, and the program is led by James Okafor. It is modeled on evidence-based home visiting programs. Our program has a Year 1 budget of about $102,000. We are asking for $73,000 from the Brightpath Foundation for home visitors and program materials.

Company Description

Healthy Beginnings Home Visiting is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit governed by a volunteer board that includes a pediatric nurse, a social worker and a parent who used home visiting. The program follows an evidence-based home visiting curriculum and works with clinics, WIC offices and hospitals. Services: regular home visits from pregnancy until a child's second birthday, screening for health and development, help with safe sleep and feeding, referrals to doctors, WIC and housing help and a monthly parent group.

Why home visiting. Home visits reach families who might miss clinic appointments because of work, distance or transportation. Visitors see the baby's real sleep and feeding setup and can give practical help on the spot.

Problem & Opportunity

First-time and low-income parents often receive little support after leaving the hospital. Families may not have a regular doctor, transportation or someone to ask about feeding, sleep and development. Missed prenatal and baby checkups and unsafe sleep arrangements put babies at risk, and parents feel isolated and unsure where to turn.

Products & Services

A trained home visitor who comes to the family on a regular schedule, listens and shares information that fits the family's situation. Visitors screen for needs, help families make doctor appointments, bring safe sleep supplies and connect families to WIC, housing and other help. Participation is voluntary and free.

What a visit looks like. Visits last about an hour and follow the family's own pace. Visitors never judge, never tell a family what they must do and never leave without agreeing on the next visit. and they respect each family's culture and language, using an interpreter when needed. A visitor arrives at the agreed time, asks how the family has been and what is on their mind, reviews a short topic such as safe sleep or feeding and leaves a one-page handout. The visitor also checks that the family has a doctor, a car seat and WIC benefits and writes a short note afterward. Visits can also be held by phone or video when a family cannot be home, and a visitor tries three times to reach a family before talking with the supervisor about other ways to connect.

Market Analysis

The program serves pregnant women and parents of children under two in a defined county who qualify by income or other risk factors. Referrals come from clinics, WIC, hospitals and other parents. The number of referrals each month and the waiting list show the need.

Competitive Landscape

The county health department and some hospitals offer limited home visits or classes. Healthy Beginnings Home Visiting adds a consistent, evidence-based program for families who are not served elsewhere and coordinates with the health department to avoid overlap.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

Introductions to prenatal clinics, WIC offices, pediatric practices and hospital discharge staff, a simple referral form, parent testimonials with permission and a monthly parent group that draws new families through word of mouth.

The first 90 days. Days 1 to 30: hire the Program Director, finish curriculum training and sign clinic referral agreements. Days 31 to 60: hire the first visitor, buy supplies and set up the record system. Days 61 to 90: enroll the first 10 families and hold the first parent group.

Operations Plan

Referred families are contacted within a week, offered a first visit and enrolled after consent. Visitors follow the curriculum, document each visit and meet weekly with a supervisor to review cases. Screenings for health and development are done at set ages, and referrals are tracked until the family connects. Visitors follow safety and privacy rules, including mandatory reporting. Visits can be at home or by phone and video when needed.

Quality and supervision. Every visitor receives weekly supervision, a monthly case review and an annual training plan. Visit notes are reviewed for fidelity to the curriculum, and families are asked after each quarter how the visits are working for them.

Risks and how we handle them:
- A family in crisis. Visitors are trained to respond, know the county crisis and child protection lines and call 911 for emergencies.
- Visitor safety. Visitors follow written safety rules, check in with the office and can end a visit at any time.
- Staff turnover. We offer fair pay, supervision and a clear career path and cross-train visitors.
- Privacy. Records are stored securely and shared only with permission or as the law requires.

Management & Organization

James Okafor, the executive director, leads the organization and its partners. A Program Director supervises home visitors and ensures the curriculum is followed. Home visitors provide visits, and the team grows as enrollment increases.

The team. Pay figures include payroll taxes and workers' compensation insurance where staff are paid. The numbers in parentheses are how many people we plan to have in Years 1 through 5. A number with a half, such as 2.5, means a hire phased in during the year or one part-time person.
- Program Director: 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 (Years 1 to 5), about $42,000 a year.
- Home Visitor: 1, 2, 2, 3, 4 (Years 1 to 5), about $36,000 a year each.

Governance and money controls. The board reviews financials every month and approves the budget each year. An outside accountant prepares the yearly return, and two people approve every payment. Each grant has its own budget line, and the program reports to each funder on time.

Feedback and complaints. Families can give feedback to their visitor, the Program Director or through a short survey. We review comments each quarter and share themes with the board. No family loses services for speaking up.

Training and conduct. Every staff member and volunteer completes an orientation, signs a code of conduct and receives a refresher each year. Anyone who sees a problem can tell a supervisor or a board member directly.

Milestones Narrative

Goals for each of the first five years. These are goals, not promises.
- Before the grant starts: hire the Program Director and a home visitor, complete curriculum training and sign referral agreements with clinics.
- Year 1: enroll about 40 families and complete about 600 home visits. Budget about $102,000.
- Year 2: enroll about 60 families and hire a second visitor. Budget about $132,600.
- Year 3: add a monthly parent group and a father engagement session. Budget about $172,000.
- Year 4: enroll about 100 families and add a third visitor. Budget about $212,800.
- Year 5: publish a plain results report and plan for ongoing funding. Budget about $253,600.

How we will measure results: families enrolled, visits completed, prenatal and well-child visits kept, safe sleep practices and parent confidence. We report to funders twice a year.

Funding Request

What we are asking for, and how the money will be used. Our request: $73,000 from the Brightpath Foundation for home visitor staffing, program materials and administration, for a 2-year period.

The request is spread across these budget lines:
- Personnel: Home visitor staffing, $54,000.
- Supplies: Program materials, $10,000.
- Indirect Charges: Administration, $9,000.

Other money in the program. This request is about 83% of our Year 1 grant income. Other grants and the income lines below pay for everything it does not cover.

Year 1 budget: about $102,000, planned to end the first year with a small deficit of about $4,800, covered by startup money. Year 1 money coming in: home Visiting and Other Grants $88,000; foundation Support and Donations $14,000. Year 1 costs: program Director $42,000; home Visitor $36,000; program materials, books and safe sleep supplies $10,000; home visitor mileage and phones $5,000; training and supervision $4,000; administration and insurance $9,000.

One-time startup costs. Startup costs of $25,600 are paid once from startup funds: $4,200 for laptops and tablets for home visitors, $3,500 for car seats and safe sleep kits to give families, $4,200 for curriculum license and visitor training, $2,200 for background checks and policy review, $1,500 for brochures, signs and outreach materials, and $10,000 set aside as working capital.

How we got our startup number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds the startup costs ($25,600), the cash the program uses before it balances (about $20,900) and a cash cushion of about $26,500, which is about 3 months of Year 1 costs. In all, that comes to $73,000. We start with $12,000 of our own savings and $61,000 from a family foundation and the board, $73,000 in all, which covers that amount.

The next five years. Our budget grows from about $102,000 in Year 1 to about $253,600 in Year 5. Grant revenue is planned at $88,000, $114,400, $149,600, $184,800 and $220,000 in Years 1 to 5. Other income grows as sponsors and donors join. The program plans small deficits in the early years, covered by startup money, and surpluses once grants grow, about $4,800, $12,700, $24,000, $25,900 and $27,600 in Years 1 to 5, which we put into savings. The lowest year-end cash in the plan is about $46,400.

After the grant. After the grant period, the program plans to continue through public home visiting funds, health system partnerships, foundation grants and individual donors. Equipment and supplies stay in use. We do not expect to need this specific funding indefinitely.

Using the money well. We collect at least three quotes for any purchase over $1,000, pay vendors only against invoices and keep a written record of how each grant dollar was spent. We report to each funder on its schedule, share a plain results summary with the board and the community and tell funders early if something is not going as planned. A review each quarter compares the budget to real spending and decides what to change.

Risks:
- Grant funding may not continue. We seek several funders and build local donors and health system partners.
- Enrollment may grow faster than staffing. We keep a waiting list and refer families to partners.
- Transportation and weather can limit visits. We offer phone and video visits when needed.
- Curriculum licensing costs may change. We budget for training and fees each year.

Appendix Notes

Documents to attach before you send this proposal:

- Your IRS determination letter showing 501(c)(3) status, or your fiscal sponsor agreement.
- Your board list and board minutes approving the application.
- Your most recent budget and financial statements.
- A list of other funders and what each has given or been asked to give.
- Referral agreements with clinics and WIC.
- Curriculum license and training certificates.
- Safety and mandatory reporting policy.
- Family consent form.
- Letters of support from clinics and parents.
If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.

The assumptions behind our numbers:
- Home Visiting and Other Grants: $88,000 in Year 1, growing to $220,000 in Year 5.
- Foundation Support and Donations: $14,000 in Year 1, growing to $33,600 in Year 5.
- Staff pay is shown in the management section and includes payroll taxes and workers' compensation where staff are paid.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: program materials, books and safe sleep supplies $10,000, home visitor mileage and phones $5,000, training and supervision $4,000, administration and insurance $9,000.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate.

Plain words used in this proposal:
- Home visiting: regular visits to a family's home by a trained visitor.
- Safe sleep: sleep arrangements that lower the risk of infant death.
- WIC: a federal nutrition program for women, infants and children.
- Well-child visit: a regular checkup for a healthy child.
- Fidelity: following a program's model as designed.
- 501(c)(3): the tax status that lets a nonprofit receive tax-deductible gifts and many grants.

Startup Costs