HopeWorks Program

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the dream is realized it is a tree of life"
Proverbs 13:12

Welcome to HopeWorks in this portion of the site you'll find guidance and instruction on developing or expanding programs to serve your community needs through your church or non-profit efforts. How do you create a non-profit organization? What are faith-based initiatives all about? How do you partner with government at all levels? Should your church or non-profit create a community development corporation? How do you apply for foundation grants? How can the gospel world influence and impact the needs in our community?

These questions and many more we'll tackle in detail. In addition we'll spotlight terrific programs from around the country already at work offering stories of hope. Last but not least, I'll take your questions and share them along with informational resources so that you can be better equipped to serve those in your neighborhood. It's my hope that through this exchange we can continue to make a difference in people's lives. I look forward to hearing from you and sharing with you.

God Bless you, Jeremy white

The Importance of Strategic Vision

Many faith-based and community organizations today struggle because they lack what we call an effective strategic vision. Faith-based organizations, in particular and non-profit organizations in general often respond to a pressing need they see in their community by implementing a program.

However, there is a difference between responding compassionately to a need by providing temporary assistance and/or relief and establishing a strategically organized and sustainable service. Many organizations make the mistake of jumping into the deep end of the social service pool without learning how to tread water.

Proper planning will help ensure that the organization is sustainable and doesn't struggle trying to keep itself afloat, something than can only hurt its effectiveness. Here are three steps to keep in mind when developing an effective non-profit service structure.

1. Develop a Strategic Plan

This creates a vehicle for the organization's vision. It typically includes:

Community needs assessment
Organizational and Program Development
Human resources
Resource Development
Program Evaluation
Board Development

2. Assess Your Progress

Periodically evaluate how your organization is meeting its goals.

3. Be Patient and Flexible

Give your organization time to fully implement its plan.
Adopt new approaches as new challenges arise.

Whether your organization is a new or has been in existence for some time, it is never too early or too late to develop and implement a strategic plan. Taking these basic steps will help to ensure that your organization stays on track and provides sustainable effective services to its community.

Biography

Jeremy White is the Founder and President of Restore Hope Consulting , which was established to address the on-going organizational needs of community helpers and healers and in so doing to restore some of the hope that been lost in communities around the country. It provides guidance in strategic planning, grant-writing and fundraising, marketing and government relations. Services also include trainings, workshops and other motivational speaking engagements.

For nearly three years, Mr. White was the Special Assistant for Faith-based Policy Outreach/Associate Director for Outreach for the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. In this capacity, Mr. White served as the architect for the Bush Administration's outreach efforts aimed at developing partnerships between faith-based and community organizations and Federal, State and Local government agencies in the provision of social services.

Jeremy was responsible for educating thousands of faith-based and community leaders about how to partner with government to enhance their social service delivery. In that capacity, Mr. White also assisted national religious and community leaders as well as Governors and Mayors and their staffs with better addressing the needs of organizations that they serve. Mr. White left government service in March 2005.

Prior to working at the White House, Jeremy served as coordinator of youth programs at the Unique Learning Center , a faith-based academic enrichment program in Washington , DC . The 23-year old organization works wonders inspiring the city's youth and equipping them with faith, love and hope along with the academic resources and tools necessary to succeed in life. Mr. White was responsible for tracking the academic progress of the high school students. He is still involved with the center and its students.

In addition to addressing the needs of communities as a practitioner, Jeremy has focused on these issues from a research perspective. He was a program and policy analyst for Public/Private Ventures of Philadelphia , a research organization focused on at-risk youth and education issues. He also was co-author of the Manhattan Institute's study on Faith-based Programs for At-Risk Youth in Washington , DC . The study examined the extent of programs serving youth identifying over 130 such programs and awarding a selected few small grants to enhance their programs.

Before working with P/PV, Jeremy worked as a research assistant at the Brookings Institution where he contributed to the book The Orphaned Capital, which provided recommendations that helped to remedy the former financial woes of the District of Columbia 's municipal government. He also worked in the Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy (now Metropolitan Policy Program) focusing on issues of urban and regional economic development around the country.

Jeremy is a graduate of Princeton University where he majored in public affairs, concentrating on urban revitalization and economic development in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and received a certificate in Spanish Language and Culture. He is currently a non-resident Senior Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania 's Program Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society.

Jeremy White
President
RestoreHope Consulting
"Where there is Hope there is Help"

1425 K Street Suite 350
Washington, DC 20005
Ph.202.587.5624
Fx.202.587.5601
hopeworks@restorehopeconsulting.com
www.restorehopeconsulting.com