Date

Charitable Foundation
Address
City, State, Zip

To Whom it May Concern,

Thank you for the opportunity to submit a proposal to your organization. Our
agency works tirelessly to increase the opportunities, voice, and strength of the women
and girls of Ottawa and Allegan Counties. Creating a safe environment where they can
make safe decisions makes this possible. Any support made by your organization to
helping us reach this goal is greatly appreciated.
Attached is a copy of our proposal for increased security measures at Ginny’s
Place, the 24-hour confidential emergency domestic violence shelter run by the Center
for Women in Transition. Women and their children who are staying at our shelter are
leaving high lethality situations and while we do our best to provide the safest
environment possible for our clients, Ginny’s Place is not set up with security cameras.
Attached is an estimate for the costs of outfitting our shelter with these improvements.
Also included is a monitoring service that will work alongside of the alarm and video
systems, all of which totals out to $8,954.28. This hole in our security in combination
with the rise in the level of lethality seen in our area has created a situation that allowed
for the recent incident where one perpetrator attempted to gain entry into our shelter.
In March 2009, the abuser of one shelter resident found out where his victim and
children were staying, Ginny’s Place. Late one night he came to the front door of the
shelter and began banging on the door. When he was refused entrance he proceeded to
bang on the downstairs window in another attempt to gain entry. Shelter staff called the
police who arrived within minutes. The client and her children were quickly relocated to
another shelter out of the county, but this incident was very upsetting to all of the
residents as well as the staff.
Because of this incident the Center for Women in Transition looked for ways to
create additional precautions regarding both the confidentiality of location as well as the
physical building security. While improvements have been made, with your help, there is
still more that can be done.
Thank you again for your time. Please let me know if there are any questions you
may have regarding our proposal by contacting me directly at (616) 494-1750 or by email
to charissem@aplaceforwomen.org

Sincerely,

Charisse Smith Mitchell

Executive Director
COMMON GRANT APPLICATION COVER SHEET

Date of Application: _________________

Legal name of organization applying:_____Center for Women in Transition

_______________
(Should be same as on IRS determination letter and as supplied
on IRS Form 990.)

Year Founded: 1977_______________Current Operating Budget:

$_____2,379,019____________

Executive Director: ___Charisse Mitchell_____________ Phone number:

_____616-392-2829___

Contact person/title/phone number (if different from executive director)

Teresa Schraudt, Grants Coordinator, 616-494-1752 email
teresas@aplaceforwomen.org __________________________

Address (principal/administrative office): _______411

Butternut________________________

City/State/Zip: ________Holland, Mi
49424_______________________________________

Fax Number: ___616-355-9760_________E-mail Address:

___________________________

List any previous support from this funder in the last 5 years:
______________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Project Name: _____________Security for Ginny’s

Place_________________________________

Purpose of Grant (one sentence): Increased security for the emergency

domestic violence shelter
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Dates of the Project: _________________Amount Requested:

$_8,954.28___________________

Total Project Cost: $ 8,954.28_____________________

Geographic Area Served: Ottawa County

_____________________________________ __________________
Signature, Chairperson, Board of Directors
Date
____________________________________
Typed Name and Title

_____________________________________ __________________
Signature, Executive Director
Date
____________________________________
Typed Name and Title
Executive Summary

Since 1977 the Center for Women in Transition has been working towards its

mission of ‘enhancing the voice of women and girls in Ottawa and Allegan Counties.’

Countless women’s lives have been changed, and in some cases even saved, as a result of

the agencies work. At the center of this work has been the ability of the agency to provide

a safe place for those families leaving highly dangerous situations. Ginny’s Place, the

confidential shelter, has been utilized by hundreds of families and is a great home like

atmosphere where women can feel safe. But as the danger increases the need to update

the security of the shelter has also increased. Motion detectors, cameras, and glass-breaks

are all needed to increase the safety of the shelter and the women staying there. In order

to make these necessary improvements the Center for Women in Transition is asking for

$8,954.28. This would cover all of the equipment, installation and three years of

monitoring. Following the installation of this equipment all staff and interns would be

trained on the equipment and new security protocols would be written to include the new

security measures.

Purpose of the Grant

A. Statement of Needs

The most dangerous stage in an abusive relationship is immediately after the

abused partner leaves. In many cases there are few places for women to turn, their

partners have kept them isolated from friends and family, they have limited access to

funds, and few places to turn that are safe. While most violence occurs at home a

shocking 11.1% of intimate partner violence occurs in the home of a neighbor or friend.
Meaning these women have no safe place to easily turn. Nationwide roughly 20% of

victims will obtain some type of civil protection order against their partner, but sadly

approximately half of those orders will be violated. Abusive relationships are also closely

linked to stalking, evidenced by the fact that 81% of women who have been stalked by a

current or former partner were also physically abused by that partner. This makes

emergency shelters the only safe place for many victims of domestic violence after

leaving their abuser

In Michigan, between Oct 2003 and Sept 2004, 56,924 women and children

received residential and non-residential services. Included in the philosophy of The

Center for Women in Transition is the idea that living in a healthy and secure

environment free from the threat of violence is key to making responsible decisions. To

do this the Center for Women in Transition has provided an emergency shelter in

Holland, MI since 1989 for women who need to escape their violent situations. In 2007-

2008 CWIT provided 3,494 nights of emergency sheltering to women and their children.

But as times change the need for more, and stronger, security measures at Ginny’s Place

have become necessary.

Due to the limited amount of space all of the women who stay at Ginny’s Place

are leaving situations with high lethality factors. Lethality factors are indicators that

predicate the likelihood of homicide. Some of these factors include; threats to kill the

victim or their families, prior attempts at strangulation, animal abuse, weapons left in

plain sight of the victim, stalking in public places, forced sex or marital rape, escalating

physical violence in severity or frequency, and extreme control of the victim’s daily

activities. Because of this limited amount of space available, women who seek shelter at
Ginny’s Place must be in a high lethality situation in order to qualify for emergency

shelter. This makes security a top concern at the shelter. In the past year there have been

three domestic violence related murders in Holland, and the danger faced by women

seeking shelter is serious, and ever-present. But there is hope, having a safe and secure

place to escape makes it that much easier for women to take charge of their lives and

leave their abusive situations.

B. Project Description

a. Goals

The goal of this new security system is to create a sense and place of safety for

clients at Ginny’s Place. By having this added and visible security increase clients will be

able to feel more secure at the shelter. Bids for the necessary equipment have been

obtained, and the selection of the best option is in process. Once the installation and

training process have been completed, within one month, all current clients and all future

clients will be made aware of these new security measures as well as informed as to the

protocols for security measures in case of extreme emergency.

b. Objectives

Bid out equipment/labor

Purchase equipment

Install equipment

Inform clients of increased security features

Create protocols for security measures in case of emergencies or possible threats.

c. Design/Delivery of Service or Program

 d. Timetable

Bid equipment- already complete

Select company- already complete (4/2009)

Schedule install- within one month of being awarded grant

Train staff- within one month of install

e. Partners

The Center for Women in Transition is the only emergency domestic violence shelter in

Ottawa County. But in situations of low lethality the Center for Women in Transition

will advocate with the Holland Rescue Mission, the local homeless shelter in Holland.

C. Similar Programs

Ginny’s Place is the only emergency domestic violence shelter in Holland. When Ginny’s

Place is unable to take in any more clients staff will advocate with other domestic

violence shelters in West Michigan.

D. Client Input

Following the installation of the security camera’s clients will be asked for their opinion

on new shelter security upon intake. Particularly clients who have previously stayed at

the shelter will be asked if they noticed the difference in security.

E. Key Staff

Staff and shelter interns will need to be trained on the new security cameras, as well as

how to include these new features into the shelter security protocols. This training will be

done within one month of the installation.

F. Sustainable Funding

Because this is a capital purchase no sustainable funding will be necessary.

Evaluation

Following the installation of the new security cameras shelter residents will be

surveyed on their perceived level of safety. Questions will ask whether or not residents

who had been living at Ginny’s Place at a different time, or just prior to the installation of

the new cameras were able to notice a difference. Similarly questions will be asked to

assess whether or not clients feel the security cameras add to their feelings of security

within the shelter and in what ways the shelter could continue to improve shelter security.

A copy of this survey can be found in the supplemental section of the application

immediately following the budget, and is marked as Appendix A.

Within one month of the installation. Staff will need to be trained on the new

security system shortly after its installation.

Budget Narrative/ Justification

A. Grant Budget

Consultant and Professional Fees: This covers the labor fees that are utilized during

installation at a cost of $1,320.

Travel: This includes the $3.48 for mileage of the installation team.

Equipment: This includes $210 for one corner camera, $202 for one outdoor dome

camera, $357 for one 4-channel DVR, $117 for one 500GB harddrive, $143 for one

modulator, $156 for two camera mounts, $75 for one dome camera heater, $26 for one

camera mast, $26 for one set brackets, $70 for one power supply box, $153 for outdoor

cabling, $75 for miscellaneous interconnecting cables, $7.60 for BNC male crimps, $13

for cable ties and miscellaneous connectors.

Maintenance: This includes $754.20 for three years of monitoring at $20.95 a month.
Other: This includes $5,245.80 for the provision and installation of one main alarm panel,

one system keypad, eighteen glass breaks on the main floor and basement, five outdoor

motion detectors, and all of the necessary wiring.

Please see the Appendix B for the quote from the two companies providing the

installation and equipment.

B. Other Funding sources

No other funding sources are being pursued at this time.

C. Priority Items

The project is entirely dependent upon grand funding, and as such is unable to

separate the items if the project is to be completed.

Organization Information

A. Organization’s History

The Center for Women in Transition (CWIT) was established in August 1977 as

an initiative of the Grand Haven Jaycees. They sought to help women who had been

abused by their spouses or were otherwise ‘displaced’ as homemakers. The agency was

initially operated on an entirely volunteer basis until funding in 1978 allowed for full

time staff to be hired. By 1990 the staff had reached more than twenty people. However

volunteers did and continue to provide invaluable support. Initial programming consisted

of counseling for abuse survivors and displaced homemakers. Over time 24 hour crisis

intervention, emergency and transitional housing, various additional counseling, job

training, rape advocacy, and legal services were added.

The Center for Women in Transitions first shelter or ‘Hospitality House’ was

established in 1979, thanks to funding from the Holland Deacon’s Conference of the
Christian Reformed Church. Soon after an emergency shelter, Walker House, was

established in Grand Haven. Later in 1985 an anonymous donor made it possible for the

agency to purchase the site for its emergency shelter in Holland, Ginny’s Place.

B. Organization’s Mission and Goals

The mission of the Center for Women in Transition is “to create and sustain an

environment that enhances the voice, opportunities, and strength of women and girls in

Allegan and Ottawa Counties.” All of the programs run by the Center for Women in

Transition past and present have followed the same basic principle of empowerment.

Giving women the ability to make safe and sound decisions for themselves based on their

own different circumstances. The Center for Women in Transition is driven by the vision

of a ‘violence-free society where opportunities for women and girls are abundant.’

C. Description of Current Programs, Activities, and Accomplishments

The Center for Women in Transitions programs fall under six categories; crisis

intervention, supportive services, transitional services, prevention and community

engagement, the DELTA project, and Girls on the Run.

Girls on the Run is a program for girls, grades 3-8, that combines physical training

for a 5k with healthy living education, life skills, and mentoring relationships. This is the

4th largest program in the country and is affiliated with the council of Girls on the Run

International.

The Center for Women in Transitions prevention and community engagement

programs as well as the DELTA project are all aimed at preventing domestic violence

and sexual assault by raising awareness. The agencies Outreach Committee looks for

opportunities to speak on a variety of issues related to domestic violence and sexual

assault. The committee is focused on increasing outreach to local human services

organizations including, doctors, churches, corporations, OB/GYN’s, schools, law

enforcement, and the courts. The Clothesline Project of Ottawa and Allegan County is an

effort to increase awareness by using visual displays of t-shirts bearing the stories of

domestic violence victims. These shirts are than used to increase awareness, encourage

other survivors to break their silence and to bear witness to those women who have died

as a result of domestic violence. Lastly the Center for Women in Transition also

participates in the Silent Witness Project. The Silent Witness Project is a nationwide

campaign initiated in Minnesota. It was an attempt to commemorate the lives of twenty-

six women, using life size red wooden figures, who were murdered in domestic violence

incidents. The project has since grown to include all fifty states.

The Center for Women in Transition’s transitional services are aimed at helping

women who have left violent situations transition to attain self-sufficiency. These

services include a transitional housing program, vocational advocacy, and the Wardrobe

for Work program. Transitional Housing links women in Ottawa and Allegan counties

fleeing violence with case managers who help those women work towards independent

living through affordable housing. The vocational advocacy program empowers women

to achieve their vocational and education goals. This includes working towards their

GED, starting or finishing college, creating resumes and preparing for interviews. Along

the same lines the Wardrobe for Work program helps women gain appropriate clothing

for work and interviews from new and used clothing donated by the public.

The supportive services offered by the Center for Women in Transition offer clients

in a variety of circumstances, the support needed to move forward. These services

include child and family services, domestic violence advocates, sexual assault therapy,

and women’s supportive groups. The child and family services programs help the

children and families of domestic violence survivors cope with what they have seen. This

is done in the hopes of breaking the cycle of violence and minimizing the harmful effects

on these children of witnessing domestic violence. Domestic violence advocates are also

available to meet with survivors in an effort to provide resources and education as well as

emotional support. Sexual assault therapy is available to all teen and adult survivors of

sexual assault; they are provided a safe environment in which to find support in dealing

with their experiences. Therapy is also available to family members and non-offending

partners so that they may find the best way to support the survivor of sexual assault.

Finally the agency also provides a variety of support groups, including domestic violence

educational and support groups, adult and teen sexual assault support groups, self-

empowerment, and children’s groups.

Lastly, the Center for Women in Transition provides a variety of crisis

intervention services and programs. These include a 24-hour crisis line, a Sexual Assault

Nurse Examiner Program, legal advocacy, and an emergency shelter. Trained individuals,

who are ready to respond to domestic violence and sexual assault victims, day and night,

staff the 24-hour crisis line. Clients are able to receive information, referrals, and support

when needed. The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program is a 24-hour crisis

program available to victims of recent, less than 96 hours, sexual assault. The SANE

program uses trained registered nurses who are able to provide comprehensive medical

examinations in a sensitive and comfortable atmosphere, as well as trained sexual assault

advocates who are available for emotional support. Legal advocates are available through
the agency to support survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking as

they work through the legal system. Whether it is filing Personal Protective Orders,

general information about the legal system, or their rights as survivors, legal advocates

are available. They also maintain close relationships throughout the local legal system

and with West Michigan Legal Aid. Finally the Center for Women in Transition provides

a safe, comfortable, confidential emergency shelter for women and their children

escaping dangerous situations. The shelter is staffed 24-hours a day by trained shelter

staff and interns and is available to provide up to thirty days of emergency housing

D. Organizational Chart, including Board, Staff, and Volunteer

Involvement
See Appendix C
Attachments
A. Current IRS Determination Letter
See Appendix D
B. List of Board of Directors with Affiliations
See Appendix E
C. Finances
a. Current Annual Operating Budget
See Appendix F
b. Annual Financial Statement
See Appendix G
c. Annual Report
See Appendix H
 GRANT BUDGET FORMAT
Below is a listing of standard budget items. Please provide the project budget in this
format and in this order.

A. Organizational fiscal year:__________2010_________

B. Time period this budget covers:___________________

C. For a CAPITAL request, substitute your format for listing expenses. These
will likely include: architectural fees, land/building purchase, construction
costs, and campaign expenses.

D. Expenses: include a description and the total amount for each of

the following budget categories, in this order:

Salaries $__________ $__________

Payroll Taxes $__________
$__________
Fringe Benefits $__________
$__________
Consultants and
Professional Fees $____1,320__
$___1,320___
Insurance $__________ $__________
Travel $___3.48____ $____3.48___
Equipment $___1630.80_
$___1630.80_
Supplies $__________ $__________
Printing and Copying $__________
$__________
Telephone and Fax $__________
$__________
Postage and Delivery $__________
$__________
Rent $__________
$__________
Utilities $__________ $__________
Maintenance $____754.20_
$____754.20_
Evaluation $__________ $__________
Marketing $__________ $__________
Other (specify) $____5,245.80
$___5,245.80_
Total amount requested $___8,954.28__ Total
project expenses $__8,954.28_

E. Revenue: include a description and the total amount for each of the
following budget categories, in this order; please indicate which sources of
revenue are committed and which are pending.
Committed Pending
1. Grants/Contracts/Contributions
Local Government $__________ $__________
State Government $__________ $__________
Federal Government $__________ $__________
 Foundations (itemize) $__________
$___8,954.28_
Corporations (itemize) $__________ $__________
Individuals $__________ $__________
Other (specify) $__________ $__________
2. Earned Income
Events $__________ $__________
Publications and Products $__________ $__________
3. Membership Income $__________ $__________
4. In-Kind Support $__________ $__________
5. Other (specify) $__________ $__________
6. Total Revenue $__________
$__8,954.28_