Two Steps Up

Take your time with this.

There is nothing to upload and nothing to prove. Just a handful of questions, one at a time, written to help you think clearly about what you are asking for. Most people find the thinking is worth as much as the funding.

0documents to send us
1question on screen at a time
30minutes, give or take

We do not decide on need alone.

We look at need and at impact together. Here is exactly what we are asking ourselves as we read. The questions ahead come straight from these three, so nothing will catch you off guard.

1

Is this the right kind of help?

Is what you need something we can genuinely support? Some needs are real and urgent and still sit outside what we do well. If that is true for you, we would rather say so and point you somewhere better.

2

Is cost really what is in the way?

We look for the situation where the door is closed, not just expensive. We ask what we need to be fair and nothing more. No pay stubs, no bank records, no proof of anything.

3

Who else does this reach?

When one person gets their footing back, it rarely stops with them. We think about how far the effect travels, into a home, a workplace, a community. A smaller ask that reaches many can come before a larger one that stops with the person who made it.

Step 1 of 6 Who you are

First, who are you?

Just so we can reach you. None of this is used to decide anything.

What is going on?

Write it the way you would tell a friend, not the way you would write it for a committee. Short and honest beats long and polished.

Tell us about the situation itself. What is hard right now, and how long has it been that way.
Include the things that did not work. Those tell us as much as the things that did.
There is no correct answer. We are listening for whether you have thought about the fit, not whether you can defend it.
Saying so does not count against you. Usually it means you have thought harder than most.

Now the money.

We are not asking for pay stubs, bank statements, tax returns, or proof of anything. We are asking you to look honestly at your own situation and tell us what you see.

Share only what you are comfortable sharing.
Insurance, benefits at work, payment plans, sliding scales, other funders, family. If you have not looked at some of these yet, just say so.
Sit with the next one for a minute.

People tell us this is the question that changed how they saw their own situation. It is worth slowing down for.

We ask everyone this, and we ask it without judgment. Putting something in yourself is not required and will not decide your application. We ask because people who have really looked at this question tend to get more out of what comes next, since they have already decided the care matters. Tell us what you found. If the honest answer is that there is nothing left to move, that is a real answer and we will take it as one.
A number, a range, or "nothing right now" are all fine. This is not a bid. A bigger figure does not help your chances.

What this will ask of you.

Most of what we fund has a real protocol behind it. A schedule, a number of sessions, work between them, and a genuine demand on your attention. Funding someone into a commitment they cannot keep helps nobody and takes a place from someone else.

Sessions per week, how long it runs, what is asked of you in between, travel, the cost of your own time. If you do not know yet, go and find out and come back. Writing it down is where most people discover what they were actually signing up for.
Answer the way you would to someone who knows your life well. "Yes, if I move two things" is more useful to us than a flat yes.
Childcare, a ride, a work schedule, someone who would need to be on board. Naming something early often means we can help solve it.

Who else does this reach?

This is the part most applications skip. We are not asking you to promise anything. We are asking you to think about where the effect goes after it reaches you.

The people who live with you, work with you, depend on you, or are being raised by you.
Think past the relief of the problem itself. What becomes possible that is not possible now, and what would you do with it?
One thing is enough. Specific beats aspirational.

One last look.

Read back what you wrote. Change anything that is not quite right. Then send it to us.

Nothing sends until the last step.

That is with us now.

We read every application ourselves and we reply directly. If two weeks pass and you have not heard from us, call 828-528-7171 and ask for Cameron. Something went wrong on our end, not yours.

Whatever we decide, thank you for the thinking you just did. That part is yours to keep.

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