EP FY23 24 Annual Report : simplebooklet.com

TABLE OF CONTENTSOrganizational Information Mission, Vision, & Values Board of Directors The Team Message from the Founder Statement from Board Chair A Year in Review 10th Anniversary Event Programming Program Participant Spotlight Our Paid-to-Learn Model Partner Spotlight: Community Financial Credit Union Program Graduate Testimonial Hiring Partner Spotlight: COTS EMPWR Coats Coat Outreach Recap Distribution Spotlight: DWIHN Coat Testimonials Financial Report Our Supporters Stay ConnectedCall to Action 2-9 2 3 4-5 6 7 8 9 10-13 10 11 12 13 14 15-17 15 16 17 18 19 21 22

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"It felt very empowering to getpromoted. It was an ego boost. Ilike that now I get to listen andhelp people by hearing theirindividual stories.”-De’Asia Taylor, Training SpecialistAt Empowerment Plan, our success is deeply rooted in the dedication andexpertise of our support staff, a remarkable group composed entirely of formerprogram participants who have risen to leadership roles within the organization.These individuals bring invaluable insight and passion to their positions, havingonce been recipients of the support and training they now help to provide. Their unique perspectives and experiences empower them to oversee the entirecoat production process with exceptional skill and commitment. From managingtraining and ensuring quality control to coordinating logistics and overseeingproduction timelines, these individuals ensures that every coat produced meets ourstandards of excellence and reaches those in need.In addition to their vital role in production, our support staff also play a crucial part in keeping the administrative side of Empowerment Plan running smoothly.They manage a range of essential functions, including scheduling, inventorymanagement, and office operations.Their transition from program participants to key members of our staff representsthe core values of Empowerment Plan. By promoting from within, we not onlyprovide meaningful employment and growth opportunities, but also strengthen ourorganization with leaders who are deeply committed to our work and impact.5MEET OUR SUPPORT STAFF

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Dear Empowerment Plan Supporters,As we reflect on our journey over the past year, it's clear that our collective efforts have brought about meaningful change in the lives of those we serve. Iam excited to share with you our annual report, a testament to the tireless dedication of our team and the unwavering support of our generous donors.In the past year, Empowerment Plan has continued to innovate and expand our reach, supporting individuals experiencing homelessness achievestability. Through our workforce development program last year, we provided employment opportunities to 68 individuals, equipping them with theskills and resources they need to rebuild their lives. By manufacturing our innovative EMPWR Coat, we offered warmth and protection to over 8,000individuals in need and fostered a sense of dignity and purpose among our employees. Despite these achievements, we recognize that our work is far from over, and we are not immune to the challenges that lie ahead. As we confront ongoingeconomic uncertainty, systemic barriers, and the persistent stigma surrounding homelessness, we must remain strong in our commitment to creatinglasting change. There are more people experiencing homelessness this year than ever before. This steep global rise in the number of people displacedhas exacerbated existing inequalities and heightened the urgency of our mission. Now, more than ever, we must adapt and innovate to meet the evolvingneeds of our community.Looking ahead, we are committed to deepening our impact, expanding our programs, and advocating for systemic change. With your continued support, we will strive to build a future where every individual has the opportunity to thrive, regardless of their circumstances. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you for your unwavering dedication to our cause. Together, we can create a more just and equitable society. As we embark on the next chapter of our journey, let us do so with courage, compassion, and a steadfast commitment to building a brighter future for all.With deepest gratitude,FROM OUR FOUNDER6

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The Empowerment Plan just concluded its 2023/24 fiscal year and the board just held its annual meeting. The year was special in several ways andchallenging in others and both frame our current year as we go forward. Over all, however, Empowerment Plan shone brightly all year, illuminating lives,strengthening families, manufacturing our life-saving sleeping bag coat and delivering a powerful curriculum of educational, financial, and life-enhancing programs for our employees.Highlights for 23/24 are headed by a first for Empowerment Plan: a $700K grant awarded from the state LEO budget! This was our first foray into public fundingand was driven by CEO/Founder Veronika Scott. She worked Lansing hard, crafted many relationships with our legislative delegation, and introduced ourworkforce development program to new friends. And it really paid off! We also added a talented and experienced new professional as Program Director,Vanita Sanders. She is in the process of upgrading and streamlining our entire program. Approximately 40% of each employees’ weekly time is devoted tospecialized programming, helping each person create a solid work record and resume as they maneuver through EP for an average of two years beforegraduating into a full-time job with benefits. Our goal is to break the generational cycle of homelessness—and to date, after more than ten years, no one whohas gone through EP has returned to an unhoused state. In addition, we distributed over 8,000 sleeping bag coats in 24 states and 3 countries, while serving 68individuals right here in Detroit. Finally, we hosted our 10th Anniversary Event, raising more than $215,000, our most successful event yet!The current year is promising for EP, especially as we roll out our renewed employee program curriculum. But we have challenges as well as opportunities. Weare anticipating a tough fundraising climate in 2024, largely driven by a heated election year. Presidential and Congressional politics will pull lots of money outof the non-profit universe, effecting EP and many other organizations. In addition, we know of many poverty-facing organizations that want our EMPWR coat,but don’t have the funds to sponsor them. We will need to push hard on coat sponsorship fundraising this year to help elevate that situation. Our goal is to geta coat to every individual who seeks one. So fundraising and coat sponsorship are our big targets in 2024/25. And we are going after another round of state funds this budget cycle.So, as you read this Annual Report, please consider how you can help us achieve our fundraising goals for 2024-25, either with a donation to our operating budget to help us provide life-improvement opportunities for our formerly homeless employees or a sponsorship gift ($150/coat) so we can get our coats into the hands of those that desperately need them. We so appreciate our many supporters and partners and non-profit colleagues. You help make EP great! And, with your help, we will keep getting greater!Many thanks,Steve HampBoard ChairA MESSAGE FROM OUR BOARD CHAIR 7

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10TH ANNIVERSARY EVENTOne night. 360 guests. $216,000 raised.9In honor of our 10th year of impact, we brought back our Annual Fundraiser inNovember, after not hosting a public event since 2019! It was an incredibly impactfulevening filled with team members and their families, funders of all sizes, andcommunity partners. We are so grateful to all of our sponsors that helped bring theevent to life and can’t wait to host everyone again in 2025*. * Empowerment Plan will be rotating hosting our annual event with Project 10 each year. This fall we will be hosting Project10, a nation-wide day of impact held on World Homeless Day, in October. Stay tuned for more details! Nicole & Stephen EisenbergSILVERBRONZEThank You to Our Participating Food & Beverage VendorsGOLDStephanie & MattSurowiecPLATINUMEMPWRED BYSheila & Steve HampEmily & Henry Ford IIIMarlene & BillEmersonPeggy Daitch & Peter Remington JJ & Anthony CurisConnie & Jimmy ColmanBetsy & Jim FeldJudy DunnDeb & Tim MeltonPatrick McInnisJennifer & DanGilbert

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PROGRAM PARTICIPANT: BREYANA CAMPBELL10Meet Breyana, a remarkable woman and a devoted mother of five who joinedEmpowerment Plan earlier in 2024. Breyana was left to navigate life as a single mother when her life partner was imprisoned a few years ago. Despite these hardships,she remains resilient and hopeful for her family’s future. Her children, aged 12, 9, 6, 4, and 9 months, are her greatest motivation and she hopes to move into their own home soon. Despite the challenges she faces, Breyana has already achieved so much in her short time at EP, including successfully passing all four sections of her GED, which isno small feat! She accomplished this significant milestone not only for herself, but alsoin honor of her late sister, Brittney, who was tragically murdered in 2018. “Getting my GED was for me and Brittney because she didn’t get a chance to get hers,” Breyanashared. Breyana’s determination to build a better future for her family is unwavering. Sheaspires to go back to school and become a Licensed Nurse Practitioner. While Breyana's journey with Empowerment Plan is just beginning, we are incrediblyproud of her progress and dedication thus far. We look forward to continuing to cheer on Breyana and many others like her as they work towards brighter, more empoweredfutures!“Life started to change when my life partnerwent to jail. It’s day by day. Every day is hard.But knowing I found Empowerment Plan -actually I feel like you found me - things seem somuch brighter since I came here. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. And I love thesepeople. I don’t let nothing bring me completelydown. I continue for my kids. So they don’t haveto face the difficulties I face.”

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Computer Training Resource NavigationOUR PAID-TO-LEARN SUPPORTIVEEMPLOYMENT MODELJOURNi Empowered PantryOur innovative approach pairs full-time employment with a wide range of supportive services, addressingeverything from housing and childcare to transportation, education and more. During a typical workweek,approximately 60% of paid time is dedicated to coat production and the remaining 40% is dedicated to programtime. With our community of partners we have created an ecosystem of support that helps people achieve financialstability and independence for their whole family. On-site programming includes:On-site Food Pantry11King LiteracyLiteracy AssessmentsCase ManagementSchool of Radical Healing Direct Aid Gesher Human ServicesWheel to DriveBarrier MitigationTrauma-Informed Yoga Financial CoachingDriver’s Training

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Empowerment Plan officially began our partnership with Community FinancialCredit Union in August of 2023 with an experiential budgeting activity calledReality Fair. After the success of this pilot, their team was onsite nearly every otherweek talking with team members about important financial literacy topicsranging from Ten Facts About Credit Cards to Understanding Credit Scores toFraud and Identify Theft. After just a few sessions, Empowerment Plan team members were asking tostay after class for questions and to check credit scores. Before long, theCommunity Financial team was being asked to help open member shares,savings accounts, credit cards, and even an auto loan! This year, Community Financial will be onsite every other week alternating between financial literacy sessions and open office hours so team members can sign up to ask questions, get advice, and even get their banking done…right here onsite!We are so grateful for partners like Community Financial Credit Union and thank them for their help in empowering our team to lead a more stable life!12PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: COMMUNITY FINANCIAL CREDIT UNIONOur partnership with Empowerment Plan was meant to be. We bothexist to equip, resource, and support the people we serve. The more I’velearned about EP and the lengths they go to ensure success for theirteam members, the more I see how deeply our values align. We neverexpected to bring banking to the corner of Kercheval and Baldwin St.,but I’m confident EP’s model is why we found success together.”- Matt Nahan, Executive Director, Relentless Care Foundation byCommunity FinancialCommunity Financial and EmpowermentPlan team members during one of theirfinancial literacy sessions

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PROGRAM GRADUATE: SHANIECE THREATShaniece came to Empowerment Plan in 2022 when she joined as a seamstress.Her determination, infectious personality, and exceptional work ethic made animmediate impact, and recently, Shaniece was promoted to our full time officeassistant. Shaniece embraces the role and welcomes everyone who walksthrough the front door with a warmth and joy that makes them feel right athome.But Shaniece's journey at EP is not just about her work. Her personal growth andachievements in the past year are a direct result of her resiliency anddetermination to make a better life for her and her daughter despite challenginglife circumstances. Last year Shaniece earned her GED, secured housing, andpurchased her first car! She shares, "Sometimes life happens, but you've got to hold your head up andknow that better will come. If you put in the effort, you will overcome thosebarriers, and then you will see that you can help other people overcome thosebarriers. And that's my favorite part about working at Empowerment Plan."We cannot wait to witness Shaniece's continued success!13

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As part of Empowerment Plan's supportive employment model, we hireexclusively from a network of shelters and housing agencies across the city ofDetroit. At the heart of this success lies our enduring partnership with theCoalition on Temporary Shelter (COTS), our longest standing shelter ally. Sincefounding in 2012, we've worked together to provide pathways to stability for over100 individuals experiencing homelessness. "COTS appreciates collaborating with Empowerment Plan to createopportunities for our clients to succeed," adds Elaine Matthews, Director ofTraining and Employment at COTS. Through collaborative initiatives and our unwavering commitment,Empowerment Plan and COTS continue to redefine what's possible in addressing,and ending, generational homelessness. HIRING PARNTER:COALITION ON TEMPORARY SHELTER14

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243 1.79MCOAT OUTREACH RECAPAbby’s HouseBoston Medical CenterButzel Family CenterCity of FresnoEmpire Harm ReductionHOPICS LAManna Soup KitchenSidewalk SamaritanVA CRRC8,104 Coats Distributed WorldwideIMPACTED ORGANIZATIONS15Through partnerships with hundreds of outreach organizations around the globe, weare able to spread the warmth and empower communities near and far. Listed beloware a handful of organizations impacted this year.States Countries Miles TraveledAccess IndependentBridge Over Troubled WatersCentral City HealthCommunity Home SupportsFamilies Against NarcoticsLemon Grove Homeless OutreachPeople Assisting The HomelessThomas Merton CenterYouth Assistance Coalition

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DISTRIBUTION PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: RUTGERS UNIVERSITY16In 2023, Rutgers University launched a pilot program to engageunhoused individuals in Newark who were experiencing substanceabuse issues. Through the Department of Psychiatry, the programhelped engage patients in finding mental health and substance abusesupport, as well as connecting them with resources for shelter,insurance, and other supportive programming.Through this program, Rutgers was able to distribute 110 EMPWR Coatsto their clients. Of those 110 patients, 83 were unsheltered and 27 werein shelter but still in need of the coat. The program was so successfulthat the University ordered an additional 120 EMPWR Coats in Februaryof 2024. “My client had gone through tragedy after tragedy. He went fromhomelessness to finding housing, to have been put out again due towater damage from a storm. As winter approached, he was indesperate need of a winter coat and was thrilled to have been able tohave this essential need met. His gratitude is evident, and he sharedthis with me on many occasions.” - Case Worker, Rutgers Medical School

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OUR SUPPORTERS:Thank you to the following individuals, organizations and partners whocontributed to our mission through sponsorship, grants, and donated services.Anonymous DonorAlbert & Doris Pitt FoundationAndrea L. & Lawrence A. Wolfe Philanthropic FundApple Applebaum Family PhilanthopyBarbara St. JohnBarry & Ann WaldmanBenson & Edith Ford FundBrasscraft Manufacturing Company, Masco CorporationBrian UrbanekBruce CarbonariCanaan Christian ChurchCarol HermannCity of FresnoCommunity Financial Credit UnionCoronis HealthCorporation for Skilled Workforce (CSW)Detroit Wayne Integrated Health NetworkDiller-von Furstenberg Family FoundationDomino’s PizzaDTE Energy FoundationEgner Family FundEmily & Henry Ford IIIFifth Third BankForoulis Private FoundationFriendship PlaceFranklin Philanthropic FoundationGeneral MotorsHamp Family FundHenry Ford II Fund on behalf of Cynthia & Edsel B. Ford IIHuntington BankIndiana UniversityIntelligent Seating SystemsJeffrey Farber Family FoundationJennifer & Dan GilbertJohn & Lacy Williams Family FundJones DayJudith Dunn Charitable FundKarpus Family FoundationKARMA jack LLCKellogg FoundationKnights of Columbus FlintLear CorporationLineage Foundation for GoodLineage LogisticsLucky Duck FoundationM&MMann Family FoundationMarlene and Bill EmersonMatt SimonciniMcGregor FundMelton Family Charitable FundMcKinseyMolinello Family Foundation Moore Family Charitable FundNew England Patriots FoundationNew Hope CadillacOberheide Family FundPam DawberPatrick McInnisPeter Remington & Peg DaitchPhillip Wm. Fisher FundPNC FoundationRutgers UniversityS&P GlobalSamuel Ulmer Scott JacobsSisters of Notre DameStephanie & Matt SurowiecState of MichiganTarsadia FoundationThe Brother's TrustThe Cole FoundationThe Meijer FoundationUnited Way of Southeast MichiganUniversity of Michigan Credit UnionVera & Joseph Dresner FoundationW.K. Kellogg FoundationWalters Family FoundationWindsor Essex Community Health CenterWinky FoundationWoodland DirectYoung Woman's Home AssociationZatkoff Family Legacy Fund19

EP FY23 24 Annual Report

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