Ready for Class Uniform Fund

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Executive Summary

Ready for Class Uniform Fund is a nonprofit in Alabama that makes sure children from families with low incomes can start school in the right uniform, shoes and basic clothing. When a school requires uniforms, a family with several children can face a long shopping list at the same time as other school costs. Some students go to school in the wrong clothes, miss class or feel singled out. Some families skip meals or miss rent to cover the bill.

We help in a quiet and respectful way. A family applies through their school counselor or our simple form. We pay approved vendors directly for the items the child needs, so the family never handles cash and the child shops or is fitted like any other child. We also keep a clothing closet of clean, donated uniforms and new socks, underwear and basic shoes, and we hold fitting days at schools before each term.

With this grant we will help about 700 students in Year 1 at 12 partner schools. We do not decide which schools require uniforms or what they must look like. We follow each school's own rules and approved vendors. We make no promises about attendance or grades. We promise to treat every family with dignity and to pay vendors on time.

Our Year 1 budget is about $205,000, growing to about $264,000 by Year 5 as we add schools and students. Each year's budget is planned to balance, with a small surplus each year. We have 2 full-time staff and 1 part-time family support associate in Year 1, and 4 staff by Year 4.

We are asking the Magnolia Education Foundation for $60,000 for our Program Coordinator and for uniform and shoe vouchers paid directly to vendors, for July 2027 through June 2028. Schools, parent groups, businesses and neighbors also give, so this grant is one part of a shared funding plan.

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

Company Description

Ready for Class Uniform Fund is a nonprofit organization in Alabama. 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. Every child should be able to start school ready, in clothes that fit and without shame or worry.

What we do.
- Pay approved uniform vendors and shoe stores directly, using vouchers, for the items a student needs.
- Run a clothing closet with clean donated uniforms and new basics, where families can choose what they need.
- Hold fitting days at partner schools before each term and in the middle of the year.
- Help families replace outgrown items during the year.
- Work with school counselors and parent groups so help reaches students quietly and quickly.

What we do not do. We do not set school dress codes, endorse any school's policy or sell uniforms. We do not give cash to families. We do not share any student's information beyond what is needed to provide help, and we never tell a classroom or a school who received help. We do not promise any result in attendance or grades.

How we got here. A group of school counselors, parents and local business owners noticed that each August and January, children came to school in the wrong clothes or stayed home. A parent group began collecting used uniforms, and the shelf quickly ran out. We began tracking requests and paying vendors with donated funds. This proposal asks for support to turn a small effort into a program with a coordinator, a part-time family support associate and a steady fund for vouchers.

Nonprofit status. Our 501(c)(3) determination letter and board list are in the attachments. If your own organization is new, the funding section includes a note about using a fiscal sponsor.

Problem & Opportunity

A uniform policy can help a school feel orderly and fair. It also creates a cost for families. Several shirts, pants or skirts, a sweater, a jacket and shoes add up, and children grow. For a family living paycheck to paycheck, the cost can come at the worst time.

What happens when families cannot pay.
- A child misses school because the clothes do not fit or are not clean.
- A child gets a note or a warning that embarrasses them in front of classmates.
- A parent takes a payday loan or skips another bill to cover uniforms.
- Older students wear the same shirt every day, which is unfair to them.

Why existing help falls short.
- Schools may keep a small supply of donated items that run out quickly and rarely include the right sizes.
- Used uniform swaps are helpful and often come in once a year.
- Families do not always know whom to ask, or feel shy about asking.
- Many programs require paperwork or proof that is hard to gather, and help arrives after the first weeks of school.

What we hear.
- A counselor says she keeps a drawer of clothes in her office and it empties by the second week.
- A mother of four says her youngest can wear her oldest child's pants and the rest need new shirts, shoes and a sweater.
- A teacher says she sees a student come in wearing a shirt that is too small and tries not to say anything.

We do not claim that a uniform program fixes the larger challenges families face. We believe that when children feel they belong at school, they are more able to learn, and that a quiet, respectful program can help.

Products & Services

Ready for Class Uniform Fund provides help in a way that protects every child's dignity.

How the program works.
1. Referral. A school counselor, teacher or family liaison refers a student, or a family contacts us directly using a simple form in English and Spanish. We use income guidelines that our board sets and reviews each year, and a family can also qualify with a short note from a counselor.
2. A voucher. We approve the request quickly, usually within three school days, and issue a voucher for the items the student needs, based on the school's required list. The voucher is paid to an approved vendor or shoe store.
3. A fitting. The family shops or is fitted like any other customer. At fitting days, children try on items in private and no one is told that help is being provided.
4. The clothing closet. Families can also choose clean, donated uniforms and new socks, underwear and basic shoes from our closet.
5. Follow-up. Families can request replacements for outgrown items during the year. We follow up after each term to make sure the child has what they need.

Fairness and privacy. Help is available to any student who needs it at a partner school, regardless of race, religion, national origin, disability or immigration status. Staff and volunteers sign a privacy agreement. We never ask for more information than needed and never announce who received help.

Partners. We work with each school's counselor and approved uniform vendors. We pay vendors on time and ask them to treat every child with respect.

What we promise. Quick approval, respectful service and prompt payment of vendors.

What we do not promise. We do not promise that every request can be filled in full if funds run short. We set a monthly budget and a limit per child and tell families plainly.

Market Analysis

Who we serve. Students in kindergarten through twelfth grade at schools that require uniforms and are located in neighborhoods where many families have low incomes. Families qualify under income guidelines our board sets, or through a counselor's referral.

How we estimate need. We cannot count every student who needs help, so we plan from what we know. Counselors at our partner schools have told us how many students come to school without the right clothing at the start of each term. Our small effort has filled requests at the start of each term and kept a waiting list. For Year 1 we plan to help about 700 students at 12 partner schools. By Year 5, with more staff and schools, we plan to help about 1,600 students at 24 schools.

Where students come from.
- School counselors, family liaisons and teachers.
- Parent groups and school offices.
- Food pantries, clinics and community centers.
- Families who hear from a neighbor.

Who else benefits. Schools benefit when students are in class and ready to learn. Uniform vendors benefit from new customers and steady payments. Parent groups benefit from a partner who can handle the volume of requests.

Seasons. Most requests come in July and August and again in January. We plan staff time and funds around those peaks.

What the numbers mean. Each number is a child. We keep our early counts modest and honest so we can do the work well.

Competitive Landscape

What exists today, and how we are different.

1. School clothing closets and counselor drawers. They help, and they are small and run out quickly. We supply them with donated items and fill sizes they do not have.

2. Parent group uniform swaps. They are valuable and usually happen once a year. We work with them and keep the closet open all year.

3. Charities that give clothing in the fall. Some organizations distribute backpacks and clothing at back-to-school events. They are important and are not designed around each school's uniform. We work with them and focus on uniform requirements.

4. Public assistance. Some public programs help with school costs. Few cover uniforms, and the process can be slow. We tell families about them and help them apply.

5. Doing without. Many families stretch what they have. We want to relieve that pressure.

What makes us different.
- We pay vendors directly, so the family and child shop like anyone else.
- We follow each school's own requirements.
- We approve requests quickly and help year-round.
- We keep a clothing closet and hold fitting days at schools.
- We protect student privacy.

We have spoken with schools and other organizations to make sure we are filling a gap and not duplicating services. Their letters of support are in the attachments.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

How students, schools and vendors will find us.

Reaching families.
- School counselors. We will meet with counselors at each partner school, explain how to refer and give them a simple referral form.
- Parent groups. We will attend meetings and offer to help with uniform swaps.
- Community places. We will place bilingual flyers at libraries, food pantries, clinics and community centers.
- Word of mouth. Many families will hear from a friend. We thank them and never pressure anyone.
- A simple website and phone line with a text option.

Reaching vendors.
- Contact approved uniform vendors and shoe stores and ask them to accept our vouchers.
- Sign a simple agreement that sets prices, payment terms and respectful service.
- Ask vendors to hold fitting days at schools in July, August and January.

Reaching donors and volunteers.
- Ask local businesses, congregations and civic groups to donate clean uniforms or fund vouchers.
- Offer clear volunteer roles: sorting donated clothing, running fitting days and organizing the closet. Every volunteer passes a background check and signs a privacy agreement.

How we decide who receives help. We use income guidelines and counselor referrals. Requests are reviewed in the order received. We keep a waiting list when funds are used.

What we watch. Requests received, approval time, vouchers issued, students helped and feedback from counselors. We use that to decide where to focus.

Operations Plan

How the program will be carried out.

Timeline for Year 1:
- Months 1 and 2 (July and August): Hire the Program Coordinator and part-time family support associate, sign vendor agreements, finalize the family agreement and privacy policy with our attorney and open the first fitting days. Peak requests arrive in these months.
- Month 3 (September): Open the clothing closet and continue fittings.
- Months 4 to 10: Process requests, replace outgrown items and hold a second round of fittings in January.
- Months 11 and 12: Survey counselors and families, report to funders and plan Year 2.

Space. The closet is in shared space donated by a congregation. Fitting days are held at partner schools.

Equipment. We buy about $6,500 of equipment once at the start: laptops and tablets for intake, vouchers and records ($3,500) and racks, shelves and fitting screens for the closet ($3,000). Later years replace or add a few items.

Staffing. In Year 1 I serve as Executive Director. The Program Coordinator, paid $38,000 a year, manages requests, vendors and volunteers. A part-time family support associate, paid $22,000 a year, handles calls, fitting days and follow-up. We add a second associate in Year 4.

Safety and privacy.
- Staff and volunteers pass a background check and sign a privacy agreement.
- We collect only the information needed to provide help and keep it in a secure system.
- We never tell a class or school who received help.
- Fittings are done in private with the child's family or an adult they trust.
- Our written safety plan names 911 for emergencies.
- We never give cash to families. We pay vendors directly.

Payments. Vouchers for uniforms and shoes are about $70,000 in Year 1, clothing drive and storage supplies about $4,000, outreach and translation about $5,000 and administration and insurance about $9,000.

Evaluation. We count students helped, vouchers issued, time from request to approval and items from the closet. We ask counselors and families, in a short and voluntary survey, whether the help arrived in time and whether they felt respected. We share results with our board and funders twice a year.

Management & Organization

Denise Okafor, Executive Director. I lead the organization, report to the board and am responsible for budgets, partnerships and reporting. I worked for years in a school office and saw what happened to children who came in without the right clothes. I will learn each partner school's policies and keep close contact with counselors and vendors.

Program Coordinator. The coordinator reviews requests, issues vouchers, manages vendor relationships and organizes fitting days. We will hire someone with experience in schools or family services and strong organizational skills. Paid $38,000 a year, this position is part of our grant request.

Family Support Associate. A part-time staff member who answers calls and texts, helps families with the form and supports fitting days and follow-up. We will hire someone who speaks the languages of the families we serve. Paid $22,000 a year.

Board of directors. Our volunteer board includes a school counselor, a parent, a pediatric nurse, a uniform retailer, a banker who serves as treasurer, an attorney and a congregation leader. The board meets every other month, approves our budget and reviews our privacy policy. No board member is paid, and members with a conflict of interest step out of related decisions.

Advisory partners. Representatives from a school district, a parent group and a community foundation give guidance twice a year.

Why we can do this. We have been filling requests with a small fund, built relationships with counselors and vendors and written a clear privacy policy. We are starting small and growing as we show we can serve students well.

Milestones Narrative

Our goals, how we will measure them and when we plan to reach them.

Year 1 outcomes (July 2027 through June 2028):
- Help about 700 students at 12 partner schools.
- Approve at least 90 percent of complete requests within three school days.
- Pay every vendor within 15 days of receiving a correct invoice.
- Hold fitting days at every partner school before the fall and spring terms.
- Receive positive feedback from at least 90 percent of counselors and families who answer our short survey.

What we count and how.
- Requests, approvals and vouchers issued, from our records.
- Time from request to approval.
- Items distributed from the closet.
- Counselor and family feedback, from a short, voluntary and confidential form.
We report what we find, including what did not work, and use it to improve.

Growth over five years.
- Year 2: About 900 students at 15 schools.
- Year 3: About 1,100 students at 18 schools.
- Year 4: About 1,350 students at 21 schools and a second associate.
- Year 5: About 1,600 students at 24 schools.

Learning along the way. At the end of each quarter, the coordinator and the board review the numbers and decide whether we are on track. If we are behind, we will adjust our outreach, our voucher limits or our fitting schedule before asking for more money.

After the grant. By Year 5, grants make up about 55 percent of our budget, down from about 63 percent in Year 1, as schools, parent groups and individual donors give more. We will also keep working with parent groups and businesses to supply donated uniforms for the closet.

Funding Request

What we are asking for, and how the money will be used. Our request: $60,000 from the Magnolia Education Foundation for a Program Coordinator and uniform and shoe vouchers paid directly to vendors, for July 2027 through June 2028.

The request is spread across these budget lines:
- Personnel: Program Coordinator salary, $38,000.
- Other: Uniform and shoe vouchers paid directly to vendors, $22,000 (other funds add $48,000).

Other money in the program. This request is about 46% of our Year 1 grant income. Other grants and the income lines below pay for everything it does not cover.

Year 1 budget: about $205,000, planned to balance with a small surplus (about $5,700 after the yearly wear on equipment). Year 1 money coming in: grants $130,000 (this request plus other grants we are applying for), school and Parent Group Partners $45,000; individual and Business Donations $30,000. Year 1 costs: executive Director $50,000; program Coordinator $38,000; family Support Associate (part-time) $22,000; uniform and Shoe Vouchers (paid directly to vendors) about $70,000; clothing Drive and Storage Supplies about $4,000; outreach and Translation about $5,000; administration and Insurance about $9,000; about $2,180 a year for the wear on equipment.

One-time startup costs. Startup costs of $16,400 are paid once from startup money, not from the yearly budget: $3,500 for laptops and tablets for intake, vouchers and records; $3,000 for racks, shelves and fitting screens for the clothing closet; $4,000 for opening stock of new socks, underwear and basic shoes; $2,400 for attorney review of the vendor agreement, family agreement and privacy policy; $1,600 for banners, bilingual flyers and a simple website; $1,900 for background checks for the first staff and volunteers and first insurance payment.

How we got our startup number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds the startup costs ($16,400), the cash the program uses before it balances (about $1,200) and a cash cushion of about $49,500, which is about three months of Year 1 costs. In all, that comes to $67,500. We start with $10,000 from our founding board and $58,000 in startup support from a local community foundation and a business partner, $68,000 in all, which covers that amount with room to spare.

The next five years. Our budget grows from about $205,000 in Year 1 to about $264,000 in Year 5. Grants are planned at $130,000, $134,000, $134,000, $140,000 and $144,000 in Years 1 to 5. Other income grows: school and Parent Group Partners from $45,000 to $76,000; individual and Business Donations from $30,000 to $44,000. Our surplus is planned at about $5,700 in Year 1, about $12,100 in Year 2, about $12,000 in Year 3, about $13,500 in Year 4 and about $13,300 in Year 5. We add a second family support associate in Year 4 and grow from 12 partner schools to 24 by Year 5.

Savings. We plan to keep several months of costs in savings. The lowest year-end balance in the plan is about $60,300, at the end of Year 1. Some grant payments and partner payments arrive after we bill, so we plan for about $8,200 owed to us at the end of Year 1.

Cost per student. In Year 1, our total costs are about $300 per student served, which includes setting up the program. By Year 5, with more students served and a trained team in place, that falls to about $200 per student.

After the grant. Schools, parent groups, businesses and individual donors grow every year, so grants become a smaller share of our budget. Families and counselors share their stories, and businesses and congregations can sponsor a school's fitting day or a set of vouchers by name. We will keep working with parent groups and businesses to supply donated uniforms for the closet.

Risks and how we will handle them:
- A vendor raises prices or closes. We keep agreements with more than one vendor and shop prices each year.
- A privacy problem. We follow a written policy, use secure systems and train every staff member and volunteer.
- Demand grows faster than money. We set a monthly budget and a limit per child, use a waiting list and tell families plainly.
- A school changes its uniform. We stay in touch with each school and limit stock of items likely to change.
- A grant ends. We keep savings and grow partner and donor support each year.
- Stigma at a fitting. We hold fittings in private and train staff to treat every family with respect.

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, parent groups and vendors.
- Your vendor agreement, family agreement and privacy policy.
- Your income guidelines, referral form and request form.
- Your voucher process and monthly budget limits.
- Your volunteer policy and background check policy.
- Quotes for equipment.
- 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: $130,000 in Year 1, growing to $144,000 in Year 5.
- School and Parent Group Partners: $45,000 in Year 1, growing to $76,000 in Year 5.
- Individual and Business Donations: $30,000 in Year 1, growing to $44,000 in Year 5.
- Pay (a full year, per person, including payroll taxes and workers' compensation): executive Director $50,000; program Coordinator $38,000; family Support Associate (part-time) $22,000.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: uniform and Shoe Vouchers (paid directly to vendors) $70,000; clothing Drive and Storage Supplies $4,000; outreach and Translation $5,000; administration and Insurance $9,000. These grow between 4% and 8% a year.
- Equipment: $6,500 at the start, then $1,000 to $1,200 a year.
- Startup costs: $16,400, paid once from $68,000 in startup money.
- Students helped: about 700 in Year 1 at 12 schools, growing to about 1,600 at 24 schools in Year 5.
- Vouchers are paid directly to approved vendors. Families never receive cash.
- 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