Homeward Bound Senior Care

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

Executive Summary

Homeward Bound Senior Care is a nonprofit in Ohio that provides free in-home care coordination, wellness check-ins and companionship visits to low-income seniors who are at risk of isolation or of having to leave their homes. Our mission is to help seniors stay safely in their own homes for as long as possible, surrounded by their community and their independence.

Many seniors live alone on small fixed incomes. A fall, a missed meal or a missed appointment can lead to a hospital stay and a move to a nursing home. A trained coordinator who knows each senior, and a volunteer who visits every week, can catch problems early and open the door to help.

With this grant we will serve about 75 seniors in Year 1. We are not a medical provider, do not give medical advice and always call 911 in an emergency. We promise respectful help, reliable visits and honest records.

Our Year 1 budget is about $168,500, growing to about $227,000 by Year 5 as we add care coordinators, volunteers and seniors. Each year's budget is planned to balance, with a small surplus each year. We have 3 staff in Year 1 (an Executive Director, a Care Coordinator and a part-time Volunteer Coordinator) and 4 by Year 3.

We are asking the Heartland Aging Well Foundation for $60,000 for a Care Coordinator, volunteer training, a senior transportation fund and program supplies. 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

Homeward Bound Senior Care is a nonprofit organization in Ohio. 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. To help seniors remain safely in their own homes as long as possible, surrounded by their community and their independence.

What we do.
- Assess each senior's needs in a home visit and write a simple care plan with the senior and family.
- Match each senior with a trained volunteer who visits and calls every week.
- Connect seniors with meals, benefits, repairs and health care.
- Provide rides to medical appointments and senior programs.
- Check in after a hospital stay to help with the first days at home.
- Train, support and thank our volunteers.

What we do not do. We are not a medical or home health agency. Volunteers do not give medical care, handle money, give legal or financial advice or help with bathing or lifting. They call 911 for any emergency and tell the coordinator the same day. We do not promise that any senior will avoid a move or a hospital stay.

How we got here. A group of congregation members, a nurse and a social worker began visiting homebound neighbors on Sundays. The number of seniors grew faster than the number of visitors. We kept simple records of who we served and what they needed. This proposal asks for support to hire a full-time coordinator and organize our volunteers.

Problem & Opportunity

Many seniors want to stay in their own homes and struggle to do so alone.

Isolation. Seniors who live alone may go days without speaking to anyone. Loneliness is hard on health and spirits.

Small problems that grow. A missed pill, a missed meal or a fall in the bathroom can become an emergency when no one knows.

A confusing system. Benefits, meals, repairs and rides are offered by different agencies with different forms. Many seniors do not know where to start.

Transportation. Seniors who no longer drive may miss medical appointments and programs.

What we hear.
- A widow says her phone is quiet for days at a time.
- A son says he lives far away and worries every day.
- A nurse says seniors come to the hospital after a problem that began weeks earlier.
- A senior says she did not know she qualified for meal delivery until a volunteer asked.

We do not claim that a visiting program can solve every challenge. We believe that a coordinator who knows a senior and a volunteer who shows up every week can keep small problems from becoming big ones.

Products & Services

Homeward Bound Senior Care gives seniors a coordinator and a friend.

How the program works.
1. Referral. Seniors, families, clinics, churches and agencies refer seniors to us. We enroll no more than 15 new seniors a month.
2. Home visit. The Care Coordinator visits, explains the program, listens to the senior's goals and writes a simple care plan.
3. Volunteer match. A trained volunteer is matched with the senior and visits and calls each week.
4. Connections. The coordinator helps with applications and referrals for meals, benefits, repairs and health care.
5. Rides. Seniors who need a ride to a medical appointment or a program can use the transportation fund.
6. Hospital follow-up. After a hospital stay, the coordinator checks in within three days and helps with the first week at home.
7. Review. The coordinator reviews each care plan every three months with the senior.

Volunteers. Our volunteers pass a background check, complete training in safety, boundaries and listening and receive support from the coordinator.

Access and fairness. The program is free. We welcome every senior who qualifies and offer materials in large print and in Spanish.

Market Analysis

Who we serve. Seniors ages 60 and over who live at home, have low incomes and are at risk of isolation or institutional care. Eligibility is based on age, where a person lives and income guidelines our board sets.

How we estimate need. We cannot count every senior who could benefit, so we plan from what we can see. Our volunteers received more referrals than they could serve and we kept a waiting list. The area agency on aging, clinics and churches told us they know many more seniors who would join than we can serve. For Year 1 we plan to serve about 75 seniors. By Year 5, with more coordinators and volunteers, we plan to serve about 215.

Where seniors come from.
- The area agency on aging and senior centers.
- Clinics, hospitals and home health agencies.
- Churches and neighborhood groups.
- Families and neighbors who call.

Who else benefits. Families gain peace of mind. Hospitals gain fewer avoidable returns. Neighborhoods gain volunteers who know their older neighbors.

What the numbers mean. Every number here is a senior with a name. We keep our early counts modest and honest so we can do the work well.

Competitive Landscape

What seniors can find today, and how we are different.

1. Home health agencies. They provide skilled medical care, usually when a doctor orders it. They do not provide ongoing friendly visits and coordination. We work with them.

2. Area agency on aging programs. They provide meals, rides and case management. Waiting lists are long, and there is little time for weekly visits. We partner with them.

3. Senior centers. They offer meals and activities for seniors who can get there. We reach those who cannot.

4. Private care companies. They provide paid care that many seniors cannot afford.

5. Faith communities. They care for members and often want help with training and coordination. We provide it.

What makes us different.
- Free to every senior who qualifies.
- A coordinator who knows each senior and a volunteer who visits every week.
- Help finding meals, benefits, repairs and health care.
- Rides to medical appointments.
- Follow-up after a hospital stay.

We have spoken with the area agency, clinics and other senior 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 seniors, families and partners will find us.

Reaching seniors.
- Clinics and hospitals. We will give staff a short referral form and a named contact.
- Churches and senior centers. We will leave large-print flyers and give short talks.
- The area agency on aging and meal programs. We will share information with staff and drivers who see seniors every week.
- Families and neighbors. We will talk with families who call and encourage neighbors to refer someone.
- A simple website and a phone line with a text option.

Reaching volunteers.
- Invite retirees, church members, students and employee groups through congregations, schools and workplaces.
- Offer an orientation, a background check and training in safety, boundaries and listening.
- Thank volunteers with a yearly gathering and regular recognition.

How we decide who joins. We use a simple referral form and enroll seniors in the order received, with priority for seniors who live alone and have no other support. We keep a waiting list when enrollment is full.

What we watch. Referrals, enrollment, visits and calls completed, rides given and how many seniors stay in the program.

Operations Plan

How the program will be carried out.

Timeline for Year 1:
- Months 1 and 2 (July and August): Hire the Care Coordinator and Volunteer Coordinator, buy equipment, finalize the consent form, volunteer policy and privacy policy with our attorney and recruit the first 20 volunteers.
- Month 3 (September): Train volunteers and begin enrolling seniors.
- Months 4 to 10: Enroll up to 15 new seniors a month, match volunteers, give rides and review care plans.
- Months 11 and 12: Survey seniors, families and volunteers, report to funders and plan Year 2.

Space. The coordinators work from a small donated office. Visits take place in seniors' homes and by phone.

Safety, privacy and limits.
- Every volunteer passes a background check and completes training.
- Volunteers do not give medical care, handle money or help with bathing or lifting, and they call 911 for any emergency.
- The first visit is made with a coordinator, and volunteers follow a check-in plan.
- Seniors' information is kept private, shared only with permission or as the law requires and handled under a written policy.

Equipment. We buy about $5,000 of equipment once at the start: laptops and tablets for case management and visit notes ($3,000), volunteer ID badges, visit tablets and supply bags ($1,000) and a printer and locking file storage ($1,000). Later years replace or add a few items.

Staffing. In Year 1 I serve as Executive Director. The Care Coordinator, paid $48,000 a year including benefits, assesses needs, writes care plans and supervises volunteers. A part-time Volunteer Coordinator, paid $24,000, recruits, trains and schedules volunteers. We add a second coordinator in Year 3.

Management & Organization

Eleanor Whitfield, 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 hospital social worker who watched seniors return to the emergency room because no one was checking on them. I will complete the training we require of our volunteers so I understand the program from the inside. (Replace this paragraph with your own background.)

Care Coordinator. The coordinator assesses needs, writes care plans, supervises volunteers and connects seniors to services. We will hire someone with experience in social work, nursing or aging services. This position is part of our grant request.

Volunteer Coordinator. A part-time position that recruits, trains and schedules volunteers.

Board of directors. Our volunteer board includes a nurse, a pastor, a social worker, a banker who serves as treasurer, an attorney, an adult child of a senior and a retired teacher. 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. An area agency on aging staff member, a clinic director and a hospital discharge planner give guidance twice a year.

Staffing and pay in this plan: Executive Director, paid $52,000 a year; care Coordinator, paid $48,000 a year; volunteer Coordinator (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 75 seniors with low incomes, adding to those we already serve.
- Match at least 90 percent of enrolled seniors with a trained volunteer within two weeks.
- Complete at least 90 percent of planned weekly check-ins.
- Provide rides to at least 60 medical appointments.
- Receive positive feedback from at least 90 percent of seniors and families who answer our short survey.

What we count and how.
- Seniors enrolled, volunteer matches and check-ins completed, from our records.
- Rides given and appointments kept, from our ride log.
- Referrals to benefits, meals and repairs and what happened, from our referral log.
- Senior 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 110 seniors and 40 volunteers.
- Year 3: About 145 seniors with a second Care Coordinator.
- Year 4: About 180 seniors in two service areas.
- Year 5: About 215 seniors in three service areas 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 41 percent of our budget, down from about 60 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 Heartland Aging Well Foundation for a Care Coordinator, volunteer training, a senior transportation fund and program supplies, for July 2027 through June 2028.

The request is spread across these budget lines:
- Personnel: Care Coordinator salary and benefits, full time, $48,000.
- Supplies: Volunteer training materials and background checks for 20 new volunteers, $4,000.
- Travel: Senior transportation fund for medical appointments and program events, $6,000.
- Supplies: Program supplies, database and technology for expanded case management, $2,000.

Other money in the program. This request is about 60% of our Year 1 grant income. Other grants and the income lines below pay for everything it does not cover.

Year 1 budget: about $168,500, planned to balance with a small surplus (about $8,500 after the yearly wear on equipment). Year 1 money coming in: Grant Revenue $100,500; area Agency on Aging Care Funding $35,000; faith Community and Business Partners $10,000; individual Donors $23,000. Year 1 costs: executive Director $52,000; care Coordinator $48,000; volunteer Coordinator (part-time) $24,000; volunteer Training, Background Checks and Recognition about $6,000; senior Transportation Fund about $8,000; program Supplies and Technology about $5,000; mileage and Home Visit Costs about $4,000; staff Training about $3,000; administration and Insurance about $9,000; about $2,600 a year for the wear on equipment.

One-time startup costs. Startup costs of $13,500 are paid once from startup money, not from the yearly budget: $3,000 for laptops and tablets for case management and visit notes; $1,000 for volunteer ID badges, visit tablets and supply bags; $1,000 for printer and locking file storage; $2,500 for attorney review of the consent form, volunteer policy and privacy policy; $1,500 for large-print flyers and a simple website; $2,000 for background checks and volunteer training for the first group; $2,500 for first insurance payment.

How we got our startup number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds the startup costs ($13,500), the cash the program uses before it balances (about $0) and a cash cushion of about $39,800, which is about three months of Year 1 costs. In all, that comes to $53,500. We start with $6,000 from our founding board and $50,000 in startup support from a community foundation and a local congregation, $56,000 in all, which covers that amount with room to spare.

The next five years. Our budget grows from about $168,500 in Year 1 to about $227,000 in Year 5. Grants are planned at $100,500, $86,500, $121,500, $107,000 and $92,000 in Years 1 to 5. Other income grows: area Agency on Aging Care Funding from $35,000 to $66,000; faith Community and Business Partners from $10,000 to $26,000; individual Donors from $23,000 to $43,000. Our surplus is planned at about $8,500 in Year 1, about $8,700 in Year 2, about $10,700 in Year 3, about $11,100 in Year 4 and about $10,900 in Year 5. We add a second Care Coordinator in Year 3 and grow from one service area to three by Year 5.

Savings. We plan to keep several months of costs in savings. The lowest year-end balance in the plan is about $53,800, at the end of Year 1. Some grant payments and partner payments arrive after we bill, so we plan for about $6,740 owed to us at the end of Year 1.

Cost per senior. In Year 1, our total costs are about $2,155 per senior served, which includes setting up the program. By Year 5, with more senior served and a trained team in place, that falls to about $1,005 per senior.

After the grant. Area agency funding, faith community and business partners and individual donors grow every year, so grants become a smaller share of our budget. Families and seniors share their stories with permission, and businesses can sponsor a volunteer group or a month of rides by name. We will look for partnerships with health plans and hospitals that want seniors to stay safely in their homes.

Risks and how we will handle them:
- A senior has a health emergency during a visit. Volunteers call 911, follow a written plan and tell the coordinator the same day.
- A volunteer leaves. We keep a list of trained backup volunteers and match seniors with more than one visitor.
- Low enrollment. We work with churches, senior centers and clinics to reach seniors who are hard to find.
- A safety or privacy problem. Background checks, visits in pairs when we can, a written policy, secure systems and training for every 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 seniors 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: $100,500 in Year 1, growing to $92,000 in Year 5.
- Area Agency on Aging Care Funding: $35,000 in Year 1, growing to $66,000 in Year 5.
- Faith Community and Business Partners: $10,000 in Year 1, growing to $26,000 in Year 5.
- Individual Donors: $23,000 in Year 1, growing to $43,000 in Year 5.
- Pay (a full year, per person, including payroll taxes and workers' compensation): executive Director $52,000; care Coordinator $48,000; volunteer Coordinator (part-time) $24,000.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: volunteer Training, Background Checks and Recognition $6,000; senior Transportation Fund $8,000; program Supplies and Technology $5,000; mileage and Home Visit Costs $4,000; staff Training $3,000; administration and Insurance $9,000. These grow between 4% and 5% a year.
- Equipment: $5,000 at the start, then $1,500 to $2,500 a year.
- Startup costs: $13,500, paid once from $56,000 in startup money.
- Seniors served: about 75 in Year 1, growing to about 215 in Year 5. Service areas: 1 in Year 1, growing to 3 by Year 5. We enroll no more than 15 new seniors a month.
- 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