The Fundraising Journey

To realize this vision will take more cash than I can access on my own. In order to obtain the necessary funding, I will need to make this change a reality, I have had to be creative with my planning; standard business financing was not a viable option as I did not have the amount of funds needed to qualify for new business loans.

I could have taken over an existing home and worked from there, but the amount of change and funds needed to make updates would not be a feasible option due to the sheer workload and disruptions to the residents’ lives. The best decision for me to create this vision is to build the village from the ground up.

In order to get construction loans for the build, I need 30% of the total cost and I just could not raise that amount in one lump sum on my own. What I could do was get some cash together to purchase the land (thanks Mom!), assemble a professional marketing package, and get myself educated and certified as an Assisted Living Manager with the state of Arizona. I gained experience working as a Director of Nursing for a skilled nursing facility that included a dementia care unit to ensure I understand the management components of successfully running a business of this type.

With these pieces in place, I am able to move forward with the next stage which is the crowd-funding portion of the business plan.

I know there are others who are passionate about the care we give our dementia population in America, and they would like to change this practice as well. I am going to tap into that passion and ask for their assistance to help me create this innovative and life-changing vision so I can eventually share the plan with others and create a large movement for change in this aspect of healthcare.

It's as simple as 100,000 people donating only $20 each to provide $2M in funding that would get us the amount required for an SBA loan. Throw in a few higher donations and the number of people needed to donate drops.

When researching how to run a successful crowd-funding campaign, I learned the most important factor for success is a good base of supporting contributors who believe in the vision at the beginning of the venture to attract exposure and excitement from those who are unaware of the project.

That is where I will start; the Pledge Campaign ~ collecting pledges from those I know, and those they know, that want to assist with this effort. Those who sign up to help with this portion will be recognized as a Proper in Peace “Memory Maker” and will be recognized on a beautiful recognition wall in the main home on campus.

Once we reach $200,000 in pledges during the Pledge Campaign, the official Crowdfunding Campaign will kick off.

We will use an established platform, likely indiegogo.com and then the pledged donors will be assigned a time period to make their donation, providing staggered and frequent contributions to attract other donors to the project and elicit enthusiasm and generosity from them.

The official Crowdfunding Campaign will run for 60 days during which time we will need to reach the amount needed in order to move forward with the construction loans through SBA funding. That is the stage where we will actually break ground on the property and then create a beautiful environment and start providing this essential care.

For-profit vs. Non-profit

Due to the design of the business operations, i.e. specifically me living onsite to oversee the operations closely and conveniently, I could not form the business as a non-profit. (The plans include a 2-bedroom 1500 sq ft home built outside the walls of the village, but on the property, for the manager to live onsite providing close oversight and ability to fill-in as needed.) This was the case even if the housing was built into manager compensation as I am the founder of the business; the non-profit rules are very specific to compensation for founding and board members.

My goal is not to get rich off of this endeavor or take anything from the business that I do not earn as fair market value. My goal is to make a significant difference and change the care model for our elders, which will require vigilant oversight. The only way I can do this within my vision is through a for-profit company.

I feel it is important that I share these details with you so you understand how your contribution will be so very beneficial to create this change but will not be tax-deductible unfortunately.