RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

Creating a Budget

One of the great challenges facing the newly formed planning committee is finding the money necessary to run the CASA program. Community leaders may embrace the concept wholeheartedly, but will still ask, "Who is going to pay for it?"

If you do not have a carefully constructed plan to develop the resources necessary to start a program, all other efforts at program development are in jeopardy.

Resource development is not limited to finding the cash to pay the staff, or rent office space; it includes identifying sources of in-kind (donated) goods and services. CASA programs often have been able to obtain telephone service, office space, clerical support, and supplies from the court. In some areas, local law firms or the bar association provide pro bono legal services.

Donated services reduce the amount of hard cash you will need to fund the program, and are proof of community support for your efforts.

Creating a Budget

To determine what the actual costs of goods and services will be, take a look at other human service programs in your community. Members of the planning committee should be able to provide some information, such as the cost of supplies or salaries, based on their experience in their own agencies.

Public service agencies, such as the court or the county, can be another source of information. However, their budgets could reflect such factors as labor contracts and quantity purchasing of supplies. Make sure you adjust these figures if you will not be operating within the court, county, or state administration.

Some sample budgets of new CASA programs are included in the Appendix.

Although such information can be helpful, it may be of less value in developing your budget than information you collect from local human service programs. The local figures will reflect a more accurate actual cost of living and the cost of doing business in your community.

Generally, the expenses of launching a CASA program will fall into five categories:

1. Personnel Including benefits and taxes, contract personnel or consultants.

2. Office Supplies and Equipment

Including usual office supplies such as paper, telephone, photocopier, word processing equipment, postage, and office furniture.

3. Volunteer Support Including recruitment, printing, training materials, volunteer appreciation materials, and reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses (mileage, long distance telephone calls).

4. Facilities Including office space, maintenance, utilities, and cleaning.

5. Administrative costs Such as fiscal management, legal expenses, accounting expenses, and other costs of administering the program.

You might need to include other categories in your budget, or to distribute the items within these categories differently. For example, you may focus on public speaking to promote the program. If so, then you must earmark money for travel reimbursement. If you are planning for the staff to participate in conferences and training, make sure you include an allowance for registration and per diem costs. You should also include a line item to cover your program membership in the National CASA Association, and monies to purchase NCASAA resource materials or to have staff participate in NCASAA training opportunities. Again, the customary procedure for budgeting other local human service agencies can be used as a guideline for your own budget development.

If the program is initiated by the court, the budget will need to fit into the format prescribed by the county or the state, which may include different or additional categories and costs.

If the program will be private nonprofit, those recruited for the board of directors should clearly understand that fundraising is an important part of their responsibility.

Obtaining Funds

Once you have identified the kind and amount of resources you will need to start the CASA program, you must secure them. If you have included people on the planning committee who have experience in fundraising, they will be helpful during this phase of planning. If not, you will need to identify people who are willing to learn about fundraising and who are able to present the CASA program in a persuasive manner -- both verbally and in writing. Your

fundraisers must be willing to take direction and work cooperatively with the planning committee as a whole.

In-Kind Contributions

Take a look at the preliminary budget you have prepared. Are there any goods and/or services that could be donated? Here are some of the specific items that existing CASA programs have obtained as in-kind donations:

• From the Court Office space, telephone, clerical support, supplies
• From other Community Service Organizations Office space, printing, training materials
• From the Local Bar Association Pro bono legal services to represent the CASA volunteer, office space
• From Corporations, Businesses, Law Firms Paper, printing, computers, graphic design, office space, volunteer recognition materials

As any fundraiser will tell you, there is an art to asking for in-kind goods or services.

Three Rules of Fundraising

Know who you are asking.
Know what you are asking for.
Ask again.

It's basic marketing: the success of any fundraising project will hinge on how well you know a person/agency/corporation you are soliciting. It is essential that you have a clear, precise understanding of who the potential funder is, what types of programs it likes to support, and what has been its funding history. Your request might be a good one, but if it does not fall within the funder's philosophy or budget parameters, you probably will not get what you are asking for.

Another rule is to narrow your needs down to a specific request. It is rarely effective to approach an institution or organization with a blanket request. If you do not ask for what you need, you may get something you cannot use.

Then you are faced with the dilemma of declining an offer of support, and possibly alienating a potential supporter. Use the budget as a blueprint for determining what your specific requests should be.

At the same time you must be flexible. The potential donor might decline your original request, but offer something else that is also needed. It is a good idea to prepare two or three alternative requests, based on what the donor is able to offer. The key to successful solicitation of in-kind contributions is to be clear on what specific items you need, and to be willing to ask for them -- again, and again, from several different sources, if necessary.

More Funding Homework

Funding sources want assurance that they are being asked to support a carefully researched and well planned program that fills documented community needs. Funding for human service programs -- especially children's programs -- is limited, and competition is stiff. Funders want to know that they are not throwing money away on a program that will fail because of poor planning, lack of coordination with those who will be affected, or duplication of efforts. You must be able to show a solid foundation to support your request.

Keep in mind that this is still the program planning process and not yet the preparation of funding requests. Before an actual request can be prepared, the administrative structure must be in place, not just selected.

1. If the program is to be administered by the court, the arrangement would normally be formalized in written form before a budget request was submitted.
2. If the program is to be part of an existing nonprofit agency, a letter of agreement, outlining the responsibilities and rights of the program and the agency, should be developed. The agency's board of directors must approve and sign this letter before the program begins using the agency's tax-exempt status to raise funds.
3. If a new nonprofit agency is to be formed, you must complete state incorporation and apply to the Internal Revenue Service for private foundation or tax exempt status. Check with the local IRS agent since deduction criteria vary -- when and if donor can take a donation as a deduction. For instance, a for-profit corporation may be able to take a deduction if you have a pending letter for private foundation status. However, it may not if you are pending for exempt status. Government grants for services may require that your agency have a favorable ruling. The IRS will provide you with information regarding the status for which you are applying.

Where to Look for Funding

Other CASA programs have identified funding sources that may also be available to new programs:

• The Court If the program is court-initiated, funding may be available through the court or its funding agency -- either the county or the state. If attorney guardians ad litem are currently being appointed at court expense and the statute in your state does not require that the GAL be an attorney, it may be possible to negotiate for a portion of that funding to be channeled into the CASA program. You should anticipate some resistance to this idea, and the support of the presiding judge would be essential to counter objections that will likely arise.
  
  
• Juvenile Services If the court is supporting the program, the judge may be able to identify other sources of funding within the county juvenile services budget or corrections departments. It may be possible to develop a contract for services to the court, either on a specified rate per case basis, or a percentage of the program budget, even if the court cannot totally fund the new program.
  
  
• The State Some states have passed new legislation requiring or enabling the development of CASA programs, and made funding available through channels within the state budget. Check with existing CASA programs in your state to see if such funding sources exist. CASA programs in some states have banded together to support enabling legislation to lobby for subsequent funding.
  
  
• The National CASA Association National CASA has been able to assist programs with development through the award of start-up grants, and assistance in identifying other potential sources of funding support. Check with the National CASA Association for details on the current status of the start-up grant program.
  
  
• Community Service Organizations Other organizations committed to child welfare have also supported the development of CASA programs in numerous sites around the country. Both the National Council of Jewish Women and the Association of Junior Leagues have been instrumental in bringing CASA programs to many communities. If you have chapters or sections of either of these organizations in your community and have not already involved them in a planning committee, they should be contacted. Usually, these organizations set their funding priorities a year or two in advance, so contact them early in the planning process.
  
  
• NOTE: If the local NCJW chapter adopts the CASA program as a community service project, it will most likely oversee the administration of the program.
  
  
• Junior League chapters have traditionally supplied initial funding and made a commitment for volunteers, but tend not to become involved with the direct administration of the program other than in an advisory capacity.
  
  
• Kappa Alpha Theta, a national women's fraternity, also has been helpful in supporting many CASA programs throughout the country. Local chapters have helped CASA programs with financial and volunteer support, and through the sponsoring of community awareness events. Call the National CASA office for the name of the nearest Kappa Alpha Theta chapter.
  
  
• Corporations and Private Businesses Charitable contributions from corporations or business may be available in your community for new programs serving a community need. The dollar amount and the application criteria will vary according to corporation or business philosophy, practice, and resources available. Investigate business sources on an individual basis. If planning committee members have had experience applying for contributions from local corporations they may have valuable information on how to approach a company.

If you are unable to find anyone who has had experience with the particular company you want to approach, call and ask to speak to the person in charge of charitable contributions. Request information on their guidelines and priorities and be prepared to give a brief overview of the CASA program. If their stated purpose makes a cash contribution unlikely, you may consider a request for an in-kind contribution such as printing services, or office equipment.

The United Way Some United Way programs have a small reserve fund to assist new programs that serve a community need. These grants are separate from United Way agency membership, but may be set aside for member agencies to start new programs. If you have chosen to start the CASA program in an established nonprofit agency in the community, this source of start-up support may be available.

Private Foundations Private foundations are sometimes open to funding new CASA programs, particularly if the foundation's field of interest includes family services or improvement of judicial responses to youth. Foundations generally prefer specific projects with clearly defined outcomes, time lines and indication of support from other sources. Some foundations will not fund operating expenses, but will consider requests for funds to produce or purchase the materials required to train CASA volunteers.
Foundations do not usually issue announcements or lists of grants they will be awarding, so how do you find out if there are any who might be interested in you? You can obtain information about the funding history of foundations and their fields of interest in the annual report they are required to file with the state attorney general's office. Some communities have a Guide to Foundations available through their local public library or the United Way resource library. Information may also be available in the reference section of your public library, provided by the Foundation Center, a national nonprofit organization. To find where you can locate Foundation Center information call 1-800-424-9836.

Special Events Special events are another potential source of raising funds to support a new CASA program. A special event may be anything from a large scale benefit dinner dance to a garage sale. Special events take a lot of work for (all too often) little return. They require careful planning, and you must anticipate all the needs for workers, money, and contributions. A person with experience planning special events can be a valuable asset, providing realistic information about the work involved and the expected return.
Special events do have some advantages, however. They attract publicity and possibly volunteers. If careful records of successful events are maintained, events can be repeated with less effort in planning. Those who participate in special events also can be approached to make a contribution to the program, or assist in other ways, if their names and addresses are recorded.

There is always a tendency to overestimate the expected revenue from special events and underestimate the work involved, so it's wise to plan other sources of funding for the program in case the special events proceeds fall short of expectations.

Fundraising and the Public CASA Program

Just because your CASA program is funded by county or state dollars doesn't mean you cannot benefit from fundraising.

Many court-sponsored programs have found the need to develop a private nonprofit organization in order to raise funds in the community to supplement the funding received from the court. The money is used for such items as staff training and development, volunteer training and recognition, and special projects.

These supporting nonprofit auxiliaries, sometimes known as "Friends of CASA" programs, are generally viewed as a fundraising branch of the program. However, they don't influence program policy or exert control over total program budget.

King County (Seattle), Washington; Los Angeles, California; and Reno, Nevada are all publicly funded programs that have established private, nonprofit fundraising arms that can accept money donated to the program.

Funding from State Agencies

Because CASA/GAL volunteers often develop recommendations which differ from those of the caseworkers or, on occasion, point out instances in which the caseworkers failed to comply with court orders or reasonable effort requirements, funding from the public social service agencies can be problematic. The independent role of the CASA/GAL must not be compromised. Funding of the program from the state agencies should be reviewed for its potential to undermine this independence.