Home Base Veteran Homelessness Prevention Program

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Executive Summary

Home Base Veteran Homelessness Prevention Program is a nonprofit in Arizona that helps veteran households keep their homes when a short-term crisis threatens them. We pay overdue rent and utilities directly to landlords and utility companies, mediate with landlords, and assign a case manager for about six months to connect each household with benefits, jobs and health care.

Many veterans live close to the edge, and a lost job, a delayed benefit or a medical bill can lead to an eviction notice. Losing a home costs a family far more than the back rent that could have prevented it.

With this grant we will serve about 60 veteran households in Year 1 from 1 office. We never give cash to households. We do not give legal advice or medical treatment, and we direct veterans in crisis to 911 and the Veterans Crisis Line (988, then press 1). We promise careful use of every dollar and a guide who stays.

Our Year 1 budget is about $193,000, growing to about $304,000 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 3 staff in Year 1 (an Executive Director, a Case Manager and a part-time Housing Specialist) and 6 by Year 5.

We are asking the Sonoran Veterans Housing Foundation for $60,000 for the Case Manager and emergency rent and utility assistance. 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

Home Base Veteran Homelessness Prevention Program is a nonprofit organization in Arizona. 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. No veteran who served our country should lose their home over a short-term crisis that a little help and a steady guide could have solved.

What we do.
- Pay overdue rent and utility bills directly to landlords and utility companies for veteran households at risk of eviction.
- Assign each household a case manager for about six months.
- Mediate with landlords to keep veterans housed.
- Coordinate with the VA, benefits offices and legal aid so the veteran receives the benefits they have earned.
- Connect veterans with employment, health and peer support services.
- Follow every household for twelve months after assistance ends.

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 never give cash to households; payments go directly to landlords and utilities. We do not give legal advice and refer veterans to legal aid. We do not provide medical or mental health treatment. In a crisis we direct veterans to 911 and to the Veterans Crisis Line by dialing 988 and pressing 1. We do not promise that every household will keep its home. We follow the rules of our partner sites and our insurer.

How we got here. A group of veterans, a retired property manager and a church volunteer began quietly paying a few overdue bills for veterans facing eviction. The requests grew faster than the money. We kept simple records of who asked, what they needed and whether they stayed housed. This proposal asks for support to move from a small emergency fund to a steady program with paid, trained staff and the materials to match.

Problem & Opportunity

Many veterans live close to the edge, and a single hard month, a lost job, a delayed benefit or a medical bill can lead to an eviction notice.

Cost. Eviction costs a household its home, its savings and its credit, and costs the community far more than the back rent that could have prevented it.

Access. Veterans often do not know which benefits they qualify for, and agencies work separately. Many do not ask for help until a notice is on the door.

Safety and trust. Landlords and funders want to know that assistance will be used for housing and that someone is following each case.

Missed benefits. Veterans who lose housing may lose their jobs, their health care and their families' stability, and are harder to help later.

What we hear.
- A veteran says he did not know he could ask until the sheriff came.
- A landlord says he would rather get paid and keep a good tenant than evict.
- A benefits officer says many veterans wait months for a payment to start.
- A wife says one month of help kept her family together.

We do not claim that a program can solve every challenge. We believe that a small amount of help at the right moment, with a steady guide, can keep a veteran housed.

Products & Services

Home Base Veteran Homelessness Prevention Program gives veteran households at risk of losing their housing a safe, welcoming place to stay housed and get back on solid ground.

How the program works.
1. Referral. Veterans, families, the VA, churches and landlords refer households who are behind on rent or utilities.
2. Intake. A case manager verifies veteran status and housing risk and writes a plan with the household.
3. Assistance. We pay overdue rent and utilities directly to landlords and utility companies, within limits our board sets.
4. Mediation. The case manager contacts the landlord to work out a plan and stop eviction when possible.
5. Benefits. The case manager helps the veteran apply for benefits and refers to legal aid when needed.
6. Support. We connect households with jobs, health care, peer support and food assistance.
7. Follow-up. We check in at three, 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 case managers are trained in housing stabilization, pass a background check, complete our training and are paid for their time. Many are veterans.

Access and fairness. Programs are free. Services are free. We welcome every veteran regardless of discharge status where the law allows, and we explain every step in plain language.

Market Analysis

Who we serve. Veteran households in our county at risk of eviction or loss of utilities who have a documented crisis and need short-term help. Eligibility is based on veteran status, housing risk and income guidelines our board sets, and no veteran is turned away without a referral to other help.

How we estimate need. We cannot count every young person who could benefit, so we plan from what we can see. In our emergency fund we received more requests than we could pay each month and kept a waiting list. The county veteran services office told us that many more veterans need help than we can reach. For Year 1 we plan to serve about 60 participants at 1 offices. By Year 5, with more staff and sites, we plan to serve about 180.

Where participants come from.
- The VA and county veteran services office.
- Churches, shelters and food pantries.
- Landlords and property managers.
- Veterans who tell a friend.

Who else benefits. Families stay together. Landlords keep paying tenants. The community avoids the cost of emergency shelter and eviction.

What the numbers mean. Every number here is a veteran who kept his 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. The VA. Offers housing programs with eligibility rules and waits. We coordinate and fill gaps.

2. County emergency rental assistance. Helpful and open to everyone, with limited funds and waits. We prioritize veterans and move fast.

3. Shelters. Essential when housing is lost. We help prevent the need.

4. Charities and churches. Generous, with small funds and no ongoing case management. We pair help with guidance.

5. Legal aid. Defends evictions and does not pay bills. We work together.

What makes us different.
- Payments made directly to landlords and utilities.
- A case manager for every household.
- Quick action before eviction.
- Coordination with the VA and legal aid.
- Follow-up for 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 the VA, the county veteran services office, landlords and legal aid 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.
- The VA and county veteran services. We will give staff a short referral form and a named contact.
- Churches, pantries and shelters. We will leave flyers and talk with leaders.
- Landlords. We will tell property managers how to refer a tenant before filing for eviction.
- Veteran organizations. We will present at meetings and events.
- Word of mouth. Veterans tell friends.
- A simple website and a phone line with a text option.

Reaching staff and sponsors.
- Recruit case managers and housing specialists through veteran organizations, social work programs and housing agencies.
- 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, households kept housed, benefits secured 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 referrals and begin intake at our office.
- Months 4 to 10: Pay assistance directly, mediate with landlords and follow every household for twelve months.
- Months 11 and 12: Survey households and landlords, report to funders and plan Year 2.

Space. We work from a small donated office and meet veterans at the office, at home or in public places.

Safety and privacy.
- Assistance is limited by written policy, reviewed by two people and paid only to landlords and utility companies.
- 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 $5,000 of equipment once at the start: laptops and a secure case management system ($3,000), printer, scanner and locking file storage ($1,000), office furnishings for client meetings ($1,000). Later years replace or add a few items.

Staffing. In Year 1 I serve as Executive Director. The Case Manager, paid $44,000 a year, works with each household. A part-time Housing Specialist, paid $24,000, works with landlords. We add a case manager in Year 3 and another in Year 5.

Management & Organization

Marcus Delgado, 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 veteran who saw friends from my unit lose their homes after coming back. I will complete the training we require of our case managers so I understand the program from the inside. (Replace this paragraph with your own background.)

Staff. The case managers work with each household, and a part-time housing specialist handles landlords. Each passes a background check. These positions are part of our grant request.

Board of directors. Our volunteer board includes a veteran, a retired property manager, a social worker, a banker who serves as treasurer, an attorney and a pastor. 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 VA social worker, a county veteran services officer and a legal aid attorney give guidance twice a year.

Staffing and pay in this plan: Executive Director, paid $52,000 a year; case Manager, paid $44,000 a year; housing Specialist (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 60 participants at 1 offices.
- 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 90 participants at 1 offices.
- Year 3: About 120 participants at 2 offices.
- Year 4: About 150 participants at 2 offices.
- Year 5: About 180 participants at 3 offices.

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 56 percent of our budget, down from about 64 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 Sonoran Veterans Housing Foundation for the Case Manager and emergency rent and utility assistance, for July 2027 through June 2028.

The request is spread across these budget lines:
- Personnel: Case Manager salary, $44,000.
- Other: Emergency rent and utility assistance paid directly to landlords and utilities, $16,000.

Other money in the program. This request is about 49% of our Year 1 grant income. Other grants and the income lines below pay for everything it does not cover.

Year 1 budget: about $193,000, planned to balance with a small surplus (about $8,000 after the yearly wear on equipment). Year 1 money coming in: Grant Revenue $123,000; county Veteran Services Funding $40,000; corporate and Veteran Organization Partners $20,000; individual Donors $10,000. Year 1 costs: executive Director $52,000; case Manager $44,000; housing Specialist (part-time) $24,000; emergency Rent and Utility Assistance about $40,000; legal Aid Referral and Mediation about $5,000; veteran Peer Support about $4,000; transportation about $3,000; 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 $13,300 are paid once from startup money, not from the yearly budget: $3,000 for laptops and a secure case management system; $1,000 for printer, scanner and locking file storage; $1,000 for office furnishings for client meetings; $2,500 for attorney review of the household agreement, payment policy and privacy policy; $1,800 for banners, flyers and a simple website; $1,500 for background checks and case manager training; $2,500 for first insurance payment.

How we got our startup number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds the startup costs ($13,300), the cash the program uses before it balances (about $0) and a cash cushion of about $46,000, which is about three months of Year 1 costs. In all, that comes to $59,500. We start with $6,000 from our founding board and $56,000 in startup support from a community foundation and a veterans' organization, $62,000 in all, which covers that amount with room to spare.

The next five years. Our budget grows from about $193,000 in Year 1 to about $304,000 in Year 5. Grants are planned at $123,000, $111,000, $146,000, $134,500 and $170,000 in Years 1 to 5. Other income grows: county Veteran Services Funding from $40,000 to $64,000; corporate and Veteran Organization Partners from $20,000 to $44,000; individual Donors from $10,000 to $26,000. Our surplus is planned at about $8,000 in Year 1, about $8,300 in Year 2, about $11,300 in Year 3, about $11,700 in Year 4 and about $14,700 in Year 5. We grow from 1 offices to 3 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 $58,300, at the end of Year 1. Some grant payments and partner payments arrive after we bill, so we plan for about $7,720 owed to us at the end of Year 1.

Cost per household. In Year 1, our total costs are about $3,083 per household served, which includes setting up the program. By Year 5, with more household served and a trained team in place, that falls to about $1,607 per household.

After the grant. County veteran services 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 housing 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 households 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: $123,000 in Year 1, growing to $170,000 in Year 5.
- County Veteran Services Funding: $40,000 in Year 1, growing to $64,000 in Year 5.
- Corporate and Veteran Organization Partners: $20,000 in Year 1, growing to $44,000 in Year 5.
- Individual Donors: $10,000 in Year 1, growing to $26,000 in Year 5.
- Pay (a full year, per person, including payroll taxes and workers' compensation): executive Director $52,000; case Manager $44,000; housing Specialist (part-time) $24,000.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: emergency Rent and Utility Assistance $40,000; legal Aid Referral and Mediation $5,000; veteran Peer Support $4,000; transportation $3,000; staff Training $3,000; administration and Insurance $9,000. These grow between 4% and 6% a year.
- Equipment: $5,000 at the start, then $1,500 to $2,500 a year.
- Startup costs: $13,300, paid once from $62,000 in startup money.
- Participants served: about 60 in Year 1, growing to about 180 in Year 5. Sites: 1 in Year 1, growing to 3 by Year 5. Cases are accepted year-round, and each household is followed for twelve months.
- 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