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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCaleb Thomas - Counseling Svcs Date: April 22, 2023 Cover letter: Inclusive Economic Development Support for Underrepresented Businesses To Whom It May Concern: My name is Caleb Thomas, M.A. LMHC, I am the Executive Director of Thomas & Associates Counseling & Consulting. Our Mental Health Private Practice is in the heart of downtown Iowa City, 332 South Linn Street Iowa City, IA 52240. I am the lead applicant applying for this grant. I am submitting my application to apply for this grant as an underrepresented minority business owner. By receiving this grant, it will allow our business to have office space to bring in other minority therapists which will allow for further community support such as working with the Iowa City School districts. I am requesting funds for physical space as well as business support. Thank you for taking time out to consider my request for funding. My contact information is provided below. Sincerely, Caleb Thomas, M.A. LMHC Thomas & Associates Counseling & Consulting 319 321-0381 Email: caleb@thomasacc.com Inclusive Economic Development Support for Underrepresented Businesses Questions 1. A general description of the project including the purpose, benefits, and specific goals of the project. Demonstrate the community benefit of the project using qualitative and quantitative measurements. Specifically, note how the project will accomplish the goals outlined in the Inclusive Economic Development Plan and City Council Strategic Plan. Our purpose in requesting funds is to have the financial resources to expand our practice. Currently, I am the only therapist however I am looking to expand by having funding to acquire more space, with more space and funding I will have some startup capital to begin hiring new therapists. The way we will accomplish the goals of the I.E.D. will be to hire more therapists of color, this will help ensure we can now go out and help underrepresented minority populations who choose to avoid therapy because they don’t have a therapist that looks like them and can relate to their struggles as a minority. We will measure the success qualitatively by seeing the improvements in the new clients we will be able to provide services to, and quantitatively we will be able to measure how many more clients we are able to reach, so for example, I may see 25-30 clients a week, but with the ability to hire 3-4 more clients we will be able to provide our services not just to clients coming to our office but clients in the community such as the Iowa City School District. 2. A description of how the project builds community resiliency following the COVID- 19 pandemic by building capacity to serve residents of the community. Yes, we all know how COVID 19 has impacted the world as well as our communities. Many citizens of the Johnson County Community are still dealing with the devastation of COVID 19 including loss of loved ones, loss of jobs, loss of marriages and relationships. Through this grant funding our practice will be able to work with underrepresented populations that would be willing to accept therapy services knowing they wouldn’t have to be worried about being denied due to their insurance as well as having a therapist that is of the same racial/ethnic background. 3. An estimated project budget including how much in City assistance you are requesting. Identify both the proposed sources and uses of funds for the total project. Identify if each funding source has committed funds. We are requesting a total of $200,000. This funding will help provide capital for space to house our new therapists as well as providing office furniture and needed equipment including office furniture printers and computers. This funding will also help provide insurance and marketing materials for our new therapists. These funds will also help with cash flow to cover other taxes and expenses including accounting fees. We do not have committed funds. 4. A preliminary timeline for the execution of the project. The City intends for all grant funds to be expended by December 31, 2026. If this is not possible in the project schedule, please detail the estimated draw-down timeframe. A preliminary timeline will be based on when we would be able to receive the grant, our timeline is to begin hiring a new therapist immediately, as our business is growing and we are in high demand to provide services, the problem is we need more therapists to reach more clients that desire to see us directly, but also need to see us in the community. 5. A statement about the organization’ s ability to perform appropriate grant and financial management, including any related experience managing city, state, or federal grant funds. Provide 3 years of financial statements of the lead organization, if available. Please indicate what type of technical assistance may be needed to help prepare the organization for grant management responsibilities. Our practice is a new practice as we started our business in September of 2020 right in the heart of the pandemic. We have never received a grant, and this is the first time of us requesting grant funding. As the Executive Director I will be completing the 10KSB Goldman Sachs scholar program, which provided insight on the importance of financial management. As for our financials in 2021 we brought in over $92,000 in revenue and in 2022, that Revenue increased to over $135,000 providing us with a net income of 1,587.96 in 2021 and $2,617.87 in 2022. Any technical assistance needed will be supported by our accountant. 6. A description of all work related to the project that has been completed to date, if any, including any secured funding, contracted professional services, property, land acquisition, grant or loan activity, etc. At this time, we don’t have any secured funding, we have been fortunate that we have not had to take out any loans, however we don’t have enough operating capital to move forward in the way we would like to help provide for the various needs of our community. At this time, we would love to provide services to the school district not only by providing counseling services but also providing small group discussions for at-risk youth. We currently don’t have any property, or land acquisitions currently. 7. Any other information, including letters of support, the submitting agency deems appropriate. As the funding entity, no letters of support should be sought from City of Iowa City staff or elected officials. At this time, I know I am up against time, especially since I just found out about this grant opportunity. I can request a letter of support from a few people, however, because I am up against the clock, I want to ensure this information is turned in on a timely manner. Therefore, I would kindly request if a letter of support can be turned in later. This way I don’t have the worry of waiting for support letters to be sent in at the convenience of the individual being asked to write a support letter.