| Organization information | |
|---|---|
| Organization Name | Center for Dispute Resolution/DBA Mediation Services |
| Please tell us the amount of funding you are requesting Aware to raise for your organization from the Aware annual fundraising event. | Mediation Services is requesting $5,000 from AWARE to support our efforts to recruit, train and retain diverse volunteer mediators with the goal of insuring that everyone in our community, no matter who they are, feels comfortable using our services. This support will also help us keep fees accessible to everyone, especially clients who financially are part of the ALICE population. People in our community who are part of the ALICE population find that their wages earned allow no room for emergency or extras. This funding will also allow us to continue to waive fees for clients who are receiving state assistance or disability. |
| 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? | We are grateful to have been awarded our first grant from AWARE in 2023. Your generous gift of $4,500 helped us serve a total of 699 Allegan County residents last year. Mediation Services accepted a total of 177 cases from Allegan County in 2023. We know our work causes a ripple effect in communities. When conflict is resolved peacefully, everyone in the community benefits. We project serving 700 Allegan residents in 2024. In fact, our current case load is running higher since making administrative adjustments after the pandemic. Your support for our work helped us waive $8,525 in fees last year for clients who could not afford our service and supported our efforts to maintain affordable and accessible services compared to the cost of private mediation. Your generosity made access to our life changing service a reality for many Allegan County residents. |
| Please provide a listing of the Officers and Board members of your organization. | Mediation Services Board of Directors 2024 Robert Nida (Interim President) Judy Graff (President) Conrad Mutschler (Past President, 12/2020) Mike Van Ast, (Treasurer) Jolene Clearwater, J.D. Susan Klooz, M.A., J.D. (Past President) William Brown Sharmila Rajani, J.D. Charles Elwood Alberto Serrano Jennell Challa Casey Marietta |
| Your Contact Information | Penny Shuff |
| Phone | 312-208-2706 |
| Email hidden; Javascript is required. | |
| Scoring Criteria | |
| 1. Description of the Organization (maximum 5 points, please limit to ½ pages) | Conflict happens and it is divisive. Conflict tears people apart emotionally, financially, and sometimes physically. Children who experience conflict from their parents divorcing often are impacted traumatically, impacts that can be lifelong. Mediation Services is the only resource for affordable conflict resolution services in Allegan County. We provide mediation and restorative practices for residents of all walks of life who are experiencing the weight of conflict in their lives. We mediate resolutions for conflicts ranging from divorce and parenting time, to disputes among neighbors or debt collections. Mediation Services supports people of all ages deal with difficult problems using a peaceful and respectful process. Our goal is to offer affordable, confidential, and successful mediation to anyone who needs it. As a nonprofit we use state of Michigan-certified volunteers who make our service more affordable and accessible than private mediation. We often waive thousands of dollars in fees for people who demonstrate they are on state assistance or receive disability. We service Allegan County residents of all ages, from students embroiled in conflict at middle-school to seniors who are experiencing conflicts with family members over their changing lives. Mediation Services is promoting peaceful resolution of conflicts at a time when people of all ages need it the most. |
| 2. Funding Request (maximum 35 points, total, please limit to 1 page) | We live in a conflicted world, in fact, in a conflicted community right here in West Michigan, and the need for our services has never been greater. Support from AWARE would help make it possible for Mediation Services to recruit, train and retain more volunteers who make our service possible. Training our State of Michigan-certified mediators is an ongoing operational expense and requires funding support. Training and retaining our certified mediators costs Mediation Services no less than $2000 for each volunteer. We require a high number of mediators on our roster, because we provide two mediators for every case. We have found using two mediators increases the likelihood that participants feel are service is fair and neutral. This co-mediation method is labor intensive, but we think it results in more positive outcomes. Mediation Services scholarships most volunteers to attend the necessary training to obtain and retain state certification in exchange for their service to our center. Mediators require at least 40 hours of initial training, apprentice hours, and then ongoing training to remain certified. This ongoing advance training can be very expensive. Our mediators come to us from all walks of life and are not required to have a legal background. The biggest barriers to volunteering are time and money. It is our goal that money never be a barrier to volunteering. This support would also make it possible for Mediation Services to focus on recruiting, training and retaining more diverse mediators so people of all backgrounds will feel comfortable participating in our services. |
| 3. Funding Justification (maximum 40 points, please limit to 1 page) | This funding request will help keep Mediation Services sustainable by supporting a portion of our operating expenses. Recruiting, training and retaining volunteers is the life blood of Mediation Services. Our small but mighty staff (6) (three full-time and three part-time,) will use these funds during the general operation of our organization. We will use these funds to market, train and schedule mediators. Recruiting a diverse group of volunteer mediators is also a high priority as we aim to make sure those who participate in mediation feel comfortable and see themselves in the process. Recruiting, training and retaining volunteers requires time and funding. Our funding comes from both public and private resources. Public resources are 50% of our overall budget and include contracts from the following: the Michigan State Court Administrators Office, Allegan County Courts, Ottawa County Courts, and Special Education funding. Private donations represent 17% of our funding and include gifts from individuals, corporations and funding from the Allegan County Community Foundation. We do collect fees from clients who have the ability to pay, but as mentioned previously we waive fees for any client receiving state assistance or disability. Mediation in the private sector can be very expensive and we work hard to maintain a more affordable fee structure and aim to be 50% less than what private mediators are charging in the counties we serve. Fees represent 9% of our budget and do not offset the cost of our staffing needs. We waive thousands of dollars in fees every year and in 2023 AWARE helped make that possible. We hope to continue to move forward in partnership with AWARE this coming year. |
| 4. Summary | Our volunteer mediators are what make Mediation Services a unique nonprofit and we would not be able to provide our conflict resolution services without them. This funding request will make it possible for us to recruit, train and retain our most important resource, our volunteer mediators. We offer a service that not only helps our clients (699 Allegan County residents in 2023) but there is a ripple effect as countless of people in the wider community are positively impacted after each peaceful resolution. |
| 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 | 03/15/2024 |
| Ready to Submit |
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