| Name | Oliver |
|---|---|
| Last Name | Richmond |
| Home Address | 8715 Poplar Bend Drive Harrison, Tennessee 37341 United States |
| Organization Name | Kingdom Partners |
| Describe Your Role In The Organization | President/CEO, Visionary |
| Organization Address | PO Box 28267 Chattanooga, Tennessee 37424 United States |
| Website | https://kingpartners.org/ |
| Best Phone Number To Reach You | 260-418-2265 |
| Alternate Phone Number | 423-708-4402 |
| Email Address | orichmond@kingpartners.org |
| Alternate Email Address | rfg316@gmail.com |
| Please Describe Your Project In Detail | Kingdom Partners Mentoring Initiative I. Project Overview Kingdom Partners mission is to provide kingdom transformation with kingdom solutions. Mentoring is a kingdom solution that has always been practiced formally and informally. Kingdom Partners and local community partners aim to create mentoring opportunities for our youth by empowering the Churches to move into more formal mentoring relationships so that outcomes may be measured and achieved. The Kingdom Partners Mentoring initiative goal is to mobilize Christians to mentor youth in Urban areas of Chattanooga. Kingdom Partners will partner with churches and local non-profit organizations to move towards a “critical mentoring” model and create partnerships between youth, families, churches, schools, and communities. Kingdom Partners will employ a Mentoring Director who will be the liaison between Kingdom Partners, Pastors, Mentoring Coordinators, and local non-profit organizations. Mentoring Coordinators will be selected from at least 30 local churches to recruit potential 300 mentors. These Mentoring Coordinators will target potential mentors and connect them with a local mentoring organization based on need and time commitment. Mentoring Coordinators at each church will be tasked with a goal of a number of mentors to recruit from within their church. These individuals will be trusted people within the church community and have been trained on each mentoring partner’s program and requirements. Each of these individuals will receive a stipend and an incentive for matching more mentors above and beyond their goal. Mentors and mentees will be paired through local organizations in individual or group mentoring programs including Big Brothers Big Sisters, the YFD Centers, schools and faith-based organizations. Participating organizations will provide one to one, group mentoring options and ensure that mentoring coordinators and trained and informed of the different mentoring opportunities within their organization. Kingdom Partners will require that each participating organization adhere to a set of Mentoring Standards. 1- Mentors must undergo group training in addition to any training required by an individual organization. 2- Mentors must undergo a layered background check process. 3- Mentors/mentees must participate in data collection. 4- Participating organizations must include the Parent/Guardian in the process before pairing a mentee with a mentor and throughout the mentoring relationship. 5- Provide ongoing Parent Engagement Opportunities individually and in partnership with other Kingdom Partners. II. Project Need Exploring children’s outcomes through the Opportunity Atlas (opportunityatlas.org) shows that the lower the household income… - The lower the high school graduation rate for children in that household; - The lower the college graduation rate for young adults who grew up in that household; - The higher the rate of juvenile incarceration for children in that household. Almost 18% of children in Hamilton County live in households below the poverty line. (Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids County Data Center) Without a mentor, many of our youth lack protective factors to counteract the impacts of risk factors for negative behaviors that lead to truancy and juvenile delinquency. School suspensions and expulsions are more common with youth living in poverty, youth with a single parent, and youth of color, leaving these populations – who need more guidance and supervision to counteract the risk factors they face – more at risk for unstructured and unsupervised time – yet another risk factor for juvenile delinquency. III. Project Impact All mentors/mentees in each program will participate in a pre-post survey to determine youth outcomes. In addition, Kingdom Partners will work with Hamilton County Schools to access school-level data on each participant in the event they are a Hamilton County Schools student. The pre-post survey will be completed before a mentoring pairing is made and then annually thereafter. This tool will measure change in the areas of improving academic achievement, reducing high-risk behaviors, and increasing social-emotional competencies. IV. Project Timeline Fall/Winter 2021 – Hiring a Mentoring Director and January 2022 is National Mentoring Month. In the spirit of a fresh year and the hopes that the Covid-19 pandemic is further behind our community, the goal is to kick-off this initiative in January 2022. January 2022 – Host Kingdom Partners Mentoring Initiative Kick-Off February 2022 – Selecting/Training Mentoring Coordinators. December 2022 – By December 2022, have 300 mentors from local church organizations participating in mentoring initiatives around the city. |
| Please explain how your project meets the requirements of the American Rescue Plan | community violence interruption, mentoring is proven to reduce crime. |
| Where would your project take place? | Our Mentoring program, will take place in YFD Centers, Schools, and with non profits |
| How much will your project cost in total? | 1080000 |
| Do you have any matching funding sources from other local governments, private entities, non-profits, or philanthropic entities for your project? | Yes |
| Please describe the source and list amounts of any other funding. | We have a number of foundations that have supported us in the pass and we expect they will support this program |
| What portion of the project are you asking the city to fund? | This is a new program, start up program |
| If funded, when would your project start? | February 10, 2022 |
| How long would your project take to complete? | 3 years |
| What milestones would you use to measure your project’s progress? | This tool will measure change in the areas of improving academic achievement, reducing high-risk behaviors, and increasing social-emotional competencies. |
| How would you ensure accountability and transparency throughout the project lifecycle? | We are a 501 c 3 non profit, our books are done by our accounting firm. We will have a Quality Assurance Manager at BBBS working with us. |
| If successful, how would your project benefit the community? | Higher high school graduation rate Higher the college graduation rate for young adults Lower the rate of juvenile incarceration A mentor will help reduce truancy and juvenile delinquency. School suspensions and expulsions |
| How will you attract community buy-in for your project? | We have very strong relationships with the faith-based community. We currently have 20 plus churches in a cohort that will accept this program. We think we already have the buy-in. |
| Is there anything else you would like us to know about your project? |