| Organization information | |
|---|---|
| Organization Name | Red Horse Center for Collaborative Leadership |
| Please tell us the amount of funding you are requesting Aware to raise for your organization from the Aware annual fundraising event. | 10,000 |
| If your organization received Aware funding in the previous years, how many clients were serviced and/or how many services were provided with those funds. If you receive Aware funding this current year, how many clients will be serviced and/or how many services will be provided with these funds? | n/a |
| Please provide a listing of the Officers and Board members of your organization. | Fred Bueltmann - Fennville, MI - President and Co-founder of Red Horse Center, Fred is an advocate for human-horse collaboration. With over 20 years of experience in both the equine world and the beverage industry, Fred brings a unique perspective on intentional company culture and leadership. His journey includes TEDx talks, published books, and a passion for fostering growth through equine-assisted organizational development. Ulla Frederiksen, MA., LLP - Fennville, MI - Board Member - Ulla is a psychologist, group facilitator, teacher, and artist. Co-founder of Red Horse Center, she specializes in client-centered, solution-oriented, oriented & trauma-informed therapy for Highly Sensitive People. She strives to create a safe, fun, and non-judgmental space for insight and healing to take place. Ulla has facilitated with horses since 2002 and has trained facilitators internationally since 2010. Jenny Atlee - Fennville, MI - Jenny has worked in Central America since 1984 in the areas of human rights, trauma and recovery, and international policy. She is the author of Red Thread: A Spiritual Journal of Accompaniment, Trauma and Healing, which chronicles her experiences in the war zones of Nicaragua during the U.S.-sponsored Contra War. She has worked with the herd at Red Horse Center since 2017. Tom Loudon - Fennville, MI - Tom worked in Central America for over thirty years in the areas of human rights, sustainable development, and international policy. He served on the Commission of Truth in Honduras following the 2009 coup. Tom has recently retired from the Migrant Workers program for the state of Michigan. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Nicaragua – United States Friendship Office Rotary Fennville, Pullman and the Lakeshore, and Red Horse Center |
| Your Contact Information | Fred Bueltmann |
| Phone | 6162836634 |
| Email hidden; Javascript is required. | |
| Scoring Criteria | |
| 1. Description of the Organization (maximum 5 points, please limit to ½ pages) | Red Horse is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides personal and professional development, mental health services, and community support. We facilitate collaborative learning experiences, incorporating nature, horses, dogs, art, and experiential learning. We serve youth and adults, individuals and groups. Participants engage with us through individual sessions, educational workshops, team retreats, or custom-tailored programs. Mission Statement: Inspired by the wisdom and healing power of horses, Red Horse facilitates a process of individual and collective transformation. Through an inclusive and empowering mindset, Red Horse contributes to a new paradigm for the next generation with equity, freedom, and peace. Values: Red Horse Center values, inspired by trauma-informed principles, are inclusiveness, safety, choice, collaboration, trustworthiness, and an empowering mindset. Equity Statement: Red Horse believes in being open, inviting, and inclusive to all as a way of life. We accept that the human experience comes with bias and inequities, and we are always striving to do better by working on ourselves. We are committed to contributing equitable and affordable access to personal & professional development, mental health & community wellness programs. |
| 2. Funding Request (maximum 35 points, total, please limit to 1 page) | Red Horse’s Pride and Ally Community Support is a program series and funding priority focused on supporting the LGBTQIA+ communities within Southwest Michigan and beyond. It includes programs and services that will prioritize emotional safety, positive mental health, personal wellness, and community awareness. We aim to improve visibility, allyship, and sustainable support within and around the community by sharing our peaceful space for powerful work. Who will this serve? The people served by Pride and Ally Community Support include those who identify as LGBTQ+ and those who wish to support them through enhanced awareness and allied support. Our focus starts with Allegan County, and also includes the broader Southwest Michigan region. The following programs are included in the program series and through funding will be offered at no cost or low cost. LGBTQ+ Allyship Training: Learn what it means and how to be a better ally. As part of our Pride and Ally Community Wellness program, we are hosting a series of Allyship Trainings to foster improved awareness, advocacy, and safe spaces for our LGBTQ+ community members. This series has three different types of experiences: LGBTQ+ Allyship Training In-person: An indoor training presentation and discussion format, LGBTQ+ Allyship Training Virtual: A Zoom version of the primary training, and LGBTQ+ Allyship in Practice: A workshop with horses and more participant engagement. Thrive Pride Workshops (public or organizational): How can horses help you discover your path to thriving? Thrive Pride is a trauma-informed experience that engages horses, therapeutic art, nature, and dogs in a safe and transformative space to explore and develop paths to visualize and connect to participants’ personal “Thrive Stories.” Thrive Pride supports self-discovery, healing, communication, and insights as we navigate within an increasingly challenging environment. No horse experience is necessary, and this is a non-riding event. Thrive Pride can be configured for LGBTQ+ and Gender-diverse individuals and may be public or organizationally based. Trauma-Informed Lens Workshop The principles of trauma-informed care are a paradigm shift for the care of self and others professionally and personally. Understanding how to implement these principles can positively influence interactions and the ability to support clients, collaborators, and the LGBTQ+ community. Participants explore how to foster a positive, nurturing work environment, empower an intentional company culture, and enhance collaboration and creativity while contributing to a healthy, resilient sense of well-being. This culture shift can greatly impact public spaces, including retail and service environments, a key component to LGBTQ+ folx feeling safe in their community and aware of allied support. This can be configured for the public or organizations and is often a component in other workshops. Leadership Retreats: Team-based retreats are shaped around specific objectives and current issues. Getting leadership together, offsite, in an engaging and psychologically safe environment is a remedy for stress and burnout while serving as a catalyst for positive change. Community Organizations, including LGBTQ+ advocates, often struggle to find the time and funding to refresh and restore their vision and relationships that can be instrumental in retaining talent, improving morale and clarifying strategic vision. Working with facilitators and horses brings forward important elements of the team story that are often crucial to progress and team health. Our vision within Pride and Ally Community Support is to provide these workshops to the organizations serving the LGBTQ+ community. Mental Health Sessions LGBTQIA+ community members face unique barriers regarding access to and availability of quality mental health services. Equitable access to and availability of quality mental health services is a significant element of community wellness. The Pride and Ally Community Support program provides financial assistance for youth and adults to receive licensed therapy. This request would fund sessions at no cost and low cost (60 to 80% below the established rate). This can include traditional therapy (in-person or virtual), equine-assisted therapy, and individual Thrive Story retreats that engage therapeutic art. Listening Sessions/Support Groups (Public) All people benefit from being seen and heard and having a safe, listening-oriented environment for their story to unfold without judgment or interference. Listening sessions are lightly facilitated support groups that allow participants to share, self-reflect, and develop relationships in a supportive community. Testimonial: "I appreciated being given the space to discuss our experiences in the transgender community in an open and inviting environment. I had immense support at Red Horse and wasn’t burdened with educating about my existence. Instead, we were given a place where we could simply be ourselves. This was one of the most LGBTQIA+-friendly events I’ve been to, and I highly recommend checking out Thrive Trans at Red Horse!" |
| 3. Funding Justification (maximum 40 points, please limit to 1 page) | Funding Justification: Red Horse is requesting $10,000, which is a portion of the total program budget of $40,000. Red Horse is seeking additional funding from several aligned funding sources. Services provided will be adjusted to account for the total amount of funding received. All funding provided will go towards services to Pride and Ally programming to the LGBTQ+ community and their allies. Pride and Ally Community Support Budget (2025/2026) 6 Allyship Trainings - (2 hours each) - 120 people served for $2,400 Total Program Budget: $40,000 Expressing the Need: This feedback and our experience in collaborating and serving LGBTQ+ clients, organizations have helped us understand that to create safe, supportive, and welcoming environments that create emotional wellness for LGBTQ+ people, we must provide services beyond that community and help develop and foster allyship and trauma-informed spaces as a way of life. We pledge to remove barriers to mental health and wellness services for the LGBTQ+ community. Stigma, accessibility issues, and cost can all prevent people from receiving helpful and essential services. Red Horse Center addresses these barriers by increasing availability, affordability, and access to services. By providing a safe space for people to be seen & heard and reflect on their needs and desired change, our programs serve as both prevention and remedy towards positive mental health and meaningful, transformative change. Our approach combines evidence-based practices with innovative methods, including equine-assisted therapy. By utilizing the unique bond between humans and horses, we offer a fresh perspective on mental health support, addressing current challenges while equipping people with valuable insights, social skills, and coping strategies. Testimonial: "The Red Horse Allyship Training offered me an opportunity to expand my understanding and awareness of the concerns of the LGBTQ+ community. This training helped me to clarify my own responsibility in respecting and responding to these concerns while supporting me in developing an action plan for my own behavior and choices in becoming a positive and active Ally." |
| 4. Summary | Red Horse Center’s Pride and Ally Community Support program consists of facilitated sessions integrating various combinations of equine-assisted experiential learning, mental health supports, licensed therapy, professional development, therapeutic art, and grounding activities that take place in a natural, peaceful setting and engage horses, dogs, and nature. This multifaceted approach creates an engaging environment that encourages self-expression, self-discovery, and personal growth. Equine-assisted therapy/learning and therapeutic art are supported by extensive research demonstrating their effectiveness in promoting mental health and personal growth. Equine-assisted therapy leverages horses' natural sensitivity and herd dynamics. Horses for Mental Health cites over forty scholarly articles showcasing evidence-based effectiveness across various populations. Therapeutic art has gained credibility for its positive impact on conditions like anxiety, depression, and trauma. The process reduces stress, increases self-awareness, and fosters resilience. For evidence-based research articles, visit https://horsesformentalhealth.org/research/ By combining these approaches, Red Horse Center offers a holistic method for addressing stress and anxiety and other mental health and wellness challenges for individuals or organizations. Our programs provide unique opportunities for self-discovery and personal development in a supportive, nature-based environment. Providing these services to the LGBTQ+ community, their community advocate organizations, and their allies at no cost or low cost will remove barriers to personal and community wellness, foster allyship, and contribute to emotionally and physically safe spaces where all are welcome and respected. |
| Application Agreement | This is an application, otherwise known as a Request for Funding (RFF), from
West Shore Aware. This RFF is a request from your organization to Aware, for Aware to host a
Fundraising Event for your organization. By completing this RFF, your organization is requesting to be considered by Aware’s membership for an Aware fundraising event to be held during the summer of this year, also known as the White Party.
If your organization is chosen for a fundraising event by the Aware membership, your organization will agree to the following terms and conditions for the said fundraising event. 1. Aware will be given and provided full credit for the fundraising event in all of you organization’s publicity and advertising for said event, to include but not limited to event posters, newspaper advertising, handouts, radio and television advertising for the event, and organizational announcements concerning the event. 2. Your organization will only use the funds raised by Aware from said event for the purpose described in the RFF submitted to Aware. 3. Your organization understands that West Shore Aware is a philanthropic organization of LBGTQ+ individuals and their supporters, and that the funds your organization receives from Aware will be coming from the West Michigan lakeshore community. 4. The funds received from Aware as a result of the fundraising event will be net, after expenses for said fundraising event are paid. 5. Aware may use the name of your organization in its own advertising and publicity as a recipient of funds.. 6. Your organization will supply Aware with written approval to hold, or be part of a fundraising event held by Aware. 7. West Shore Aware reserves the right to audit any organization that receives funding to determine whether the funds were used as described in its RFF. 8. Your organization will allow West Shore Aware to use you organization’s name on the West Shore Aware website. In addition, if your organization has a website, you will link that website to the West Shore Aware website and allow West Shore Aware to link to your organization’s site. West Shore Aware’s web site link must remain on your web site for a full year from the date of the monetary disbursement. Failure to do so will disqualify you from requesting future funding. Once you have completed the RFF and agreed to the aforementioned, please submit it. Please sign this document below, indicating acceptance of the aforementioned terms and conditions. By signing the document, you acknowledge your organization is a registered 501(C) 3 Charitable organization. |
| Signature | |
| Date | 03/27/2025 |
| Ready to Submit |
|
