Nancy's Blog
Funding for Specific Programs and Horses for Heroes
I brag on the Dream Catchers team on a regular basis. Every staff person at Dream Catchers is also a volunteer and a donor. I have never worked with a group of more dedicated professionals. They believe in the mission and work hard each day to accomplish that mission. We need our volunteers- we could not do what we do without them, but the work we do also requires financial support.
Our Annual Budget
We are in the process of developing our budget for next year. Dream Catchers’ operating budget is just over $500,000 annually. We operate on a fiscal year from July 1 through June 30. 75% of our income comes though donations. This includes special event income (such as Bridles and Bow Ties, our annual dinner and auction). Our program fees generate 25% of the total income, approximately $131,000 annually. We receive no federal or state funding. Therapeutic riding is not reimbursed by insurance. Grants have been primarily used to provide therapeutic riding to classrooms of special education students in Williamsburg, James City, and York Counties. That funding, from the Williamsburg Community Health Foundation, will be exhausted at the end of June 2010. When we have funds available, we provide scholarships and partial scholarships based on the Free and Reduced Lunch Program income levels.
Self identified groups of five individuals or more, such as classes for students receiving special education, groups of soldiers, and groups of students in special education recreation programs system can participate as a group. Each group comes to Dream Catchers for two hours one time per week for between eight and twelve weeks. The cost for these groups averages $100 per person per week. I say “average” because some groups require more staff than do others. Each lesson is two hours in order to allow each participant sufficient time for the groundwork and riding.
Restricted vs. Unrestricted Funds
Unrestricted funds are those dollars that can be used to pay the operating expenses. If a donor designates money to support a specific thing, those funds are restricted to funding only that item or program. For example, the Dream Rider funds that were raised during Bridles and Bow Ties are only used for scholarships. The other funds, from the auction items, raffle, and ticket sales are used to cover general operating expenses. Without unrestricted funds, we cannot buy feed, bedding, pay for veterinary care or other operational expenses. The more unrestricted funds we raise, the more flexibility we have in how those funds are spent.
Horses for Heroes
We are proud to announce the addition of the nationally recognized Horses for Heroes program - LINK. This program serves groups of military service people with special needs. The service men and women in this program may currently be attached to a Warrior Transition Program and/or a Wounded Warrior Program, or may be a veteran.
Military personnel in the Warrior Transition Program are assigned to that program because they have significant health needs. The focus for the Warrior Transition Program is healing followed by transition back to regular service, reserve status, civilian life, or veteran status. The injuries to these soldiers have often occurred in combat, but not always. Military personnel who suffer from injuries or illness incurred in the line of duty after September 10, 2001, in support of Overseas Contingency Operations since 9/11 and receive or expect to receive a Physical Disability Evaluation System rating of 30% or greater in one or categories that are more specific are designated as Wounded Warriors.
Through a very generous private donation, our first group of soldiers began riding today. They will be with us for two hours each week for ten weeks. We could not have started this program without the funding to support it. We are planning a Sporting Clays Classic on October 23,2010 at Old Forge Sporting Clays in Providence Forge (between Williamsburg and Richmond) specifically to raise funds for this new program. Watch for sponsorship and entry details- they will be out in a few days!
When we met this group of soldiers last week they said as much as they were looking forward to riding, they were looking forward to “peace and quiet.” Thanks to the volunteers who understood that this group did not need the large number of volunteers most of our groups need. Respect is being shown for this group’s wishes for a peaceful and quiet experience.
Grant Writing Seminar
Dream Catchers is offering a free grant-writing seminar specifically for school personnel on July 23rd at Dream Catchers. This one-day course will help school personnel find and write grants. Our hope is that the attendees will use these new skills to get grants that will help fund their classes riding at Dream Catchers! I will teach this seminar. I teach grant writing through the Rappahannock Community College Non-Profit Certificate Program. There is no cost for this seminar. Participation is limited to 20 people.
We at Dream Catchers work to be excellent and trustworthy stewards of every dollar you donate or pay as a fee. We keep our expenses as low as possible without compromising on the services we provide or the care we give our horses. We have an independent audit conducted annually. If you have any questions about our budget or our funding needs I welcome your call.
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