Second Chapter Business Launch Program

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Executive Summary

Second Chapter Business Launch Program is a nonprofit in Michigan that helps returning citizens start and grow businesses. A free 12-week course taught by business owners, many with lived experience, pairs each participant with a coach and a mentor, holds legal clinics on record clearing, licensing and contracts and awards startup grants paid to vendors for approved items.

Many returning citizens struggle to find work, and starting a business can be a path when employers say no. Few get the training, the guidance or the capital to begin.

With this grant we will serve about 30 participants in Year 1 in 1 location. We do not give legal advice and we do not promise any business a profit or any license. We promise honest teaching, careful use of funds and respect for every participant.

Our Year 1 budget is about $190,000, growing to about $257,500 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 4 staff in Year 1 (an Executive Director, a Program Director and a part-time coach) and 7 by Year 5.

We are asking the Fresh Start Business Foundation for $60,000 for the Program Director and the startup grant pool. 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

Second Chapter Business Launch Program is a nonprofit organization in Michigan. 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. People who have come home from prison should be able to build a business and a future for their families.

What we do.
- Run a free 12-week business course taught by business owners, including graduates with records of their own.
- Match each participant with a coach and a mentor.
- Award startup grants for approved business expenses, paid to vendors.
- Provide legal clinics on record clearing, contracts and business licensing through partner attorneys.
- Help participants understand which licenses are open to people with records.
- Connect participants with lenders and buyers who are open to second chances.

Our values. Respect for every participant, honesty with families and partners, safety first and a place for everyone who wants to belong.

What we do not do. We do not give legal advice; partner attorneys do. We do not promise any business a profit or any license. Grants are paid to vendors and never as cash. We follow the law on contact with people under supervision. We follow the rules of our partner sites and our insurer.

How we got here. A group of business owners who had been incarcerated, a banker and an attorney began a monthly meeting for people who wanted to start businesses after prison. The room filled quickly. We kept simple records of who came and what they were building. This proposal asks for support to move from a monthly meeting to a steady program with paid, trained staff and the materials to match.

Problem & Opportunity

Many returning citizens struggle to find work, and starting a business can be a path when employers say no, yet few get the training or capital to begin.

Cost. Equipment, supplies and licensing fees cost money that someone who has just come home does not have.

Access. Banks may turn away people with records, and many licenses have rules about past convictions that are hard to understand.

Safety and trust. Neighbors and funders want a program that is accountable, ethical and honest about what is possible.

Missed benefits. Returning citizens without a way to earn a living are more likely to return to prison, which is costly for everyone.

What we hear.
- A man says he can fix any car and cannot get hired at a shop.
- A woman says she started cooking in prison and wants to open a food truck.
- A banker says he can lend when someone shows a plan and a track record.
- A graduate says her first customer was the first person who treated her like a professional.

We do not claim that a program can solve every challenge. We believe that a plan, a guide who has been there and a little capital can help someone build a business instead of waiting for a job.

Products & Services

Second Chapter Business Launch Program gives returning citizens with business ideas a safe, welcoming place to start and grow a business.

How the program works.
1. Application. Returning citizens apply with a short form, with help when needed.
2. Course. A 12-week course covers planning, pricing, marketing, records, licensing and contracts.
3. Coaching and mentors. Each participant has a coach and a mentor who owns a business.
4. Legal clinics. Partner attorneys advise on record clearing, licensing and contracts.
5. Startup grants. Participants with a plan may apply for a grant, paid to vendors for approved items.
6. Introductions. We connect participants with lenders and buyers who are open to second chances.
7. Follow-up. We check in at six and twelve months.

What a typical session looks like. Participants arrive and check in with a staff member, settle in together, work on the day's activity in small groups and finish with a short talk about what went well. Staff praise effort, correct mistakes kindly and make sure no one is left out.

Staff. Our coaches and mentors are business owners and advisors, many with lived experience, who pass a background check where allowed, complete our training and are paid or supported for their time.

Access and fairness. Programs are free. The program is free. We welcome returning citizens regardless of offense, as the law allows.

Market Analysis

Who we serve. People who have been released from prison or jail and live in our service area, with a business idea or a young business. Eligibility is release from incarceration and a business idea, and no one is turned away for the nature of a past offense, as the law allows.

How we estimate need. We cannot count every young person who could benefit, so we plan from what we can see. In our monthly meetings we served full rooms and kept a waiting list. Parole officers and reentry programs told us that many more people want to start businesses than they can help. For Year 1 we plan to serve about 30 participants at 1 locations. By Year 5, with more staff and sites, we plan to serve about 90.

Where participants come from.
- Parole and probation officers.
- Reentry organizations.
- Churches and community groups.
- Participants who tell a friend.

Who else benefits. Families gain income and stability. Neighborhoods gain businesses and jobs. Communities gain safety through lower return rates.

What the numbers mean. Every number here is a person who got a business license after coming home. 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. Small business centers. Strong and sometimes unfamiliar with reentry. We partner and add focus.

2. Reentry job programs. Provide placement and not always entrepreneurship training. We complement them.

3. Banks. Lend to qualified borrowers and may not lend to people with records. We prepare borrowers.

4. Online courses. Convenient and not personal.

5. Informal work. Common and risky. We help formalize.

What makes us different.
- Taught by owners with lived experience.
- Legal clinics on records and licenses.
- Startup grants paid to vendors.
- Introductions to lenders and buyers open to second chances.
- Follow-up at six and twelve months.

Why this gap matters. Existing programs do good work, and most serve people who can already pay or who live close to them. The people we serve are the ones left over: they live in the wrong neighborhood, have the wrong schedule or have no one to ask. We are built to reach them.

We have spoken with reentry organizations, parole officers and small business centers 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.
- Reentry organizations and parole offices. We will give staff a short referral form and a named contact.
- Churches and community groups. We will talk with leaders who know people returning home.
- Lenders and business groups. We will invite them to class sessions.
- Social media and local radio. We will share success stories with permission.
- Word of mouth. Graduates tell friends.
- A simple website and a phone line with a text option.

Reaching staff and sponsors.
- Recruit coaches and mentors through business owners' groups, reentry programs and banks.
- Offer an orientation, a background check and training in safety, privacy and respectful practice.
- Give partners a short report each quarter with counts of participants and what they said.

How we decide who joins. We use a simple sign-up form and enroll participants in the order received, with priority for those with the greatest need and for people new to the program. We keep a waiting list when the program is full.

What we watch. Sign-ups, attendance, businesses started, licenses obtained and how many participants return for a second season.

Operations Plan

How the program will be carried out.

Timeline for Year 1:
- Months 1 and 2 (July and August): Hire the staff, buy equipment and materials, finalize the waiver, consent form and privacy policy with our attorney and sign site agreements.
- Month 3 (September): Open applications and start the first course.
- Months 4 to 10: Run courses with coaching, legal clinics and grants.
- Months 11 and 12: Survey participants, report to funders and plan Year 2.

Space. Classes are held at a community center and a library, provided at low or no cost.

Safety and privacy.
- Grants are paid to vendors for approved items and reviewed by two people.
- Staff follow a written policy on confidentiality and contact with people under supervision.
- Every staff member and volunteer passes a background check and completes safety training.
- Staff work in pairs or in view of others whenever participants are minors or in a vulnerable situation.
- We keep an emergency plan at every site, and participants complete an emergency contact form.
- We keep records private, share them only with a participant's permission or as the law requires and follow a written policy.

Equipment. We buy about $5,500 of equipment once at the start: laptops and projector for classes ($3,000), classroom furnishings and supplies ($1,500), locking storage and printer ($1,000). Later years replace or add a few items.

Staffing. In Year 1 I serve as Executive Director. The Program Director, paid $46,000 a year, manages the course and grants. A part-time business coach, paid $24,000, works with participants. We add coaches as cohorts grow.

Management & Organization

Terrance Jones, Executive Director. I lead the organization, report to the board and am responsible for budgets, partnerships and reporting. I came to this work after starting a landscaping business when I came home and then helping others do the same. I will take the course so I understand the program from the inside. (Replace this paragraph with your own background.)

Staff. The Program Director manages the course and grants, and part-time business coaches work with participants. Each passes a background check where allowed. These positions are part of our grant request.

Board of directors. Our volunteer board includes a business owner with lived experience, a banker who serves as treasurer, an attorney, a parole officer, an accountant and a graduate. 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. A reentry program leader, a small business advisor and a community lender give guidance twice a year.

Staffing and pay in this plan: Executive Director, paid $52,000 a year; program Director, paid $46,000 a year; business Coach (part-time), paid $24,000 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 30 participants at 1 locations.
- Run at least two full seasons and a summer session.
- Have at least 85 percent of participants attend most sessions.
- Have at least 80 percent of participants return for a second season.
- Receive positive feedback from at least 90 percent of families who answer our short survey.

What we count and how.
- Participants enrolled, sessions and games attended, from our records.
- Skills learned and goals met, from the coach's checklist.
- Equipment issued and returned, from our log.
- 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 45 participants at 1 locations.
- Year 3: About 60 participants at 1 locations.
- Year 4: About 75 participants at 2 locations.
- Year 5: About 90 participants at 2 locations.

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 63 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: $60,000 from the Fresh Start Business Foundation for the Program Director and the startup grant pool, for July 2027 through June 2028.

The request is spread across these budget lines:
- Personnel: Program Director salary, $46,000.
- Other: Startup grant pool paid to vendors, $14,000.

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 $190,000, planned to balance with a small surplus (about $7,900 after the yearly wear on equipment). Year 1 money coming in: Grant Revenue $120,000; state Reentry Funding $40,000; bank and Foundation Partners $22,000; individual Donors $8,000. Year 1 costs: executive Director $52,000; program Director $46,000; business Coach (part-time) $24,000; startup Grant Pool about $30,000; licensing Fees and Background Waivers about $6,000; legal Clinic Partnership about $6,000; curriculum about $4,000; transportation about $4,000; administration and Insurance about $9,000; about $2,700 a year for the wear on equipment.

One-time startup costs. Startup costs of $13,000 are paid once from startup money, not from the yearly budget: $3,000 for laptops and projector for classes; $1,500 for classroom furnishings and supplies; $1,000 for locking storage and printer; $2,500 for attorney review of the participant agreement, grant policy and privacy policy; $1,500 for flyers, banners and a simple website; $1,500 for coach training and background checks; $2,000 for first insurance payment.

How we got our startup number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds the startup costs ($13,000), the cash the program uses before it balances (about $0) and a cash cushion of about $45,300, which is about three months of Year 1 costs. In all, that comes to $58,500. We start with $6,000 from our founding board and $55,000 in startup support from a community foundation and a bank, $61,000 in all, which covers that amount with room to spare.

The next five years. Our budget grows from about $190,000 in Year 1 to about $257,500 in Year 5. Grants are planned at $120,000, $133,000, $121,000, $134,500 and $123,500 in Years 1 to 5. Other income grows: state Reentry Funding from $40,000 to $64,000; bank and Foundation Partners from $22,000 to $46,000; individual Donors from $8,000 to $24,000. Our surplus is planned at about $7,900 in Year 1, about $9,500 in Year 2, about $9,900 in Year 3, about $11,600 in Year 4 and about $12,500 in Year 5. We grow from 1 locations to 2 by Year 5, adding a part-time coach for each new site.

Savings. We plan to keep several months of costs in savings. The lowest year-end balance in the plan is about $56,900, at the end of Year 1. Some grant payments and partner payments arrive after we bill, so we plan for about $7,600 owed to us at the end of Year 1.

Cost per participant. In Year 1, our total costs are about $6,070 per participant served, which includes setting up the program. By Year 5, with more participant served and a trained team in place, that falls to about $2,722 per participant.

After the grant. State reentry funding, corporate sponsors and individual donors grow every year, so grants become a smaller share of our budget. Participants and families share their stories, and businesses can sponsor a team or a season by name. We will look for partnerships with schools and the city that want a safe, free entrepreneurship option for every child.

Risks and how we will handle them:
- An injury. Certified coaches, proper equipment, groups matched by age and skill, a written emergency plan and insurance.
- A site is no longer available. We keep agreements with more than one site and a plan for bad weather.
- A coach leaves. We keep a list of trained backup coaches and share lesson plans.
- Low attendance. We adjust sites, times and rides based on family feedback.
- 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 participants 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: $120,000 in Year 1, growing to $123,500 in Year 5.
- State Reentry Funding: $40,000 in Year 1, growing to $64,000 in Year 5.
- Bank and Foundation Partners: $22,000 in Year 1, growing to $46,000 in Year 5.
- Individual Donors: $8,000 in Year 1, growing to $24,000 in Year 5.
- Pay (a full year, per person, including payroll taxes and workers' compensation): executive Director $52,000; program Director $46,000; business Coach (part-time) $24,000.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: startup Grant Pool $30,000; licensing Fees and Background Waivers $6,000; legal Clinic Partnership $6,000; curriculum $4,000; transportation $4,000; administration and Insurance $9,000. These grow between 4% and 6% a year.
- Equipment: $5,500 at the start, then $1,500 to $2,500 a year.
- Startup costs: $13,000, paid once from $61,000 in startup money.
- Participants served: about 30 in Year 1, growing to about 90 in Year 5. Sites: 1 in Year 1, growing to 2 by Year 5. Courses run twelve weeks, with cohorts starting twice a year.
- 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