Howdy ya'll!

Hope Fall is beautiful wherever you are. I have an exciting group coming up in January I wanted to tell you about.

The Frozen to Focused is a 4 month teleclass/coaching/consulting group for folks who are looking to move their program to the next level (or to just get unstuck!).

In the course of the four months, we meet on the phone one a week for an hour each time, discussing various aspects that every program needs to be successful and sustainable. Topics include:

• Start-up Needs (Insurance, formation, etc)
• Strategic Planning
• Finding your Ideal Client
• Message Development
• Marketing Plans, PR, Advertising
• Websites, Brochures, Newsletters
• Selecting your Ideal Herd
• Grantwriting & Funding

We have special guests each month who are experts in their fields, including Mike Sowinski CPA & CFO, Brenda Dammann (who co-wrote the book with me), who specializes in Marketing, Strategic Planning & Message Development, and Elizabeth Barbour, who knows it all about networking and finding your ideal client.

And of course you'll get MORE THAN YOUR FILL of ME!!! Cool!

In a nutshell, this program combines professional consulting, personal mentoring, inspirational experience, & educational information through powerful (but simple) technology to save you time and money & get you on the road to success.

Click here to visit the information page on the HorseSenseBusiness.com website. It's got all the info you need to join! If that doesn't work, go to Equine Assisted Business Consulting section of HorseSenseBusiness.com website, and click on From Frozen to Focused Masters Group.

There is an application process, and we are accepting applications now for January's group. Download your application by visiting this page!

Look forward to having you there!

Shannon

Shannon@HorseSenseOtc.com

Recently I was at a required meeting for one of the granting agencies we receive money from, the State.  At this meeting we were reviewing the annual “monitoring” process (AKA: audit).  Policies and procedures (P & P) came up, as well as the fact that agencies are required to have policies and procedures for their organization.  They must include certain policies identified by the state.

There are the typical P & P requirements: job description, emergency plan, safety plan, restraint plan, etc.  Then there were the policies that I had not thought of:  corporal punishment and nourishment.  Now of course they dress the language up so as not to be too blunt, but at the end of the day it is the “don’t beat or starve the client” policy. 

I was thinking: What??  Well of course we aren’t doing that...Then I am reminded of media reports where this does occur and it makes sense why this has become necessary: legally protecting yourself and the granting agency.

I would like to invite you to talk with your granting agencies and ask them if they have requirements for policies and procedures for grantees.  Here is a good example to also go investigate, the North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (NC DJJDP) P&P Template.

I have said it before:  don’t re-invent the wheel in your administration practices.  The website link is a template for baseline required policies and procedures.  Don’t be fooled: it is not all encompassing.  There is more you need, but this is a nice guide to what you may not think of, like “don’t starve or beat the client”.

So effective today, Horse Sense’s new policy regarding youth goes something like this: “Respect the needs and rights of clients.  Under no circumstances is it ever appropriate to withhold nourishment and under no circumstances is corporal punishment acceptable.  Violation of this will result in immediate termination.”

Take Care and Happy Holiday!
Lisa

Horse Sense's Scholarship Fundraiser

Horse Sense of the Carolinas is committed to offering mental health and skill building services to those who need it, regardless of ability to pay. We've had a sliding scale fee since we opened and, for the last several years, have also had a Scholarship Fund, supervised and administered by our non-profit sister organization, the Mediation Center.

Activities for this fun and casual event from 4-9pm on November 8th include:

· Southern Style BBQ

· Demonstration with Horses

· Live Bluegrass Music & Barn Dancing

· Silent Auction

· Hay Rides

We're really excited about our Silent Auction, with several different Silent Auction themes, including "Gifts for the Holidays," with fun and unique gifts for all, "Support for Body & Soul," including nights out at great local restaurants, massage packages, and other services. Then, of course, we'll have an "Animal Lovers Corner," with special gifts for the animals in our lives and the people who love them (with some special items for cowboys and cowgirls!).

Past recipients of the Horse Sense Scholarship Fund have been youth groups and young individuals who have "fallen through the cracks" of the funding system in our area. We are honored to be of service, and look to your for support to help us continue.

Tickets for the event are $45 per person, or $400 for a table of 10. Or, if you can't make it and want to make a donation, click here to do so.

Want to be a Corporate Sponsor for the event? Please contact Lisa Wheeler at Lisa@HorseSenseOtc.com. Want to Donate a Service or Item to our Silent Auction, please contact Kacey Cramer at Kacey@HorseSenseOtc.com.

Thank you for helping us deliver "Real Help & Real Results" in our community. My husband Richard and I look forward to sharing our home and horses with you at our farm!

Shannon Knapp

Horse Sense of the Carolinas, Inc

Hey everyone!

I was recently reading in Consumer Reports about non-profits making it easier and easier for folks to give. If you are a non-profit, I would definitely check this out and make sure people were able to give to my organization this way! Here's the article, in part:

"More and more charities are accepting donations through a monthly credit card charge or electronic bank account withdrawal. If your chosen charity doesn't, you can www.networkforgood.org to schedul recurring payments to thousands of charities, schools..." and other organizations. Online bill-paying services offered by banks usually let you schedule a monthly payment to charity.

Before giving, check with these watchdog groups to see which charities deserve your donation:

• American Institute of Philanthropy
• Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance
• Charity Navigator

Making it easy and safe for people to give to your organization is important! If I were a non-profit, I would be checking these sites to see how to avoid being on their "do not donate" list!

The first day of the Strides to Success workshop is behind us, and I can't say enough good about this organization. Kacey, Laura and myself are all here in chilly Indiana to participate in a 4 day workshop on developing EAL programs with and for your local school systems. It's already been well worth the trip, and it's only day one!

Today was primarily a classroom day, with lots of important information about working with schools, designing lesson plans, and learning about how to talk to your school system. It reminds me a lot of what I often say about Juvenile Justice: it's not rocket-science to figure it out, but it is a specialized language for a unique audience that you need to learn about and be familiar with before you can make any inroads.

While this is true for any new program you develop, it's amazing how often I see programs just thinking they'll wake up tomorrow, march in to Important-Potential-Client's office, and blow them away by the EAP/EAL program, culminating in signing them up for a 5 year contract on the spot. There's a little more elbow grease that goes into it, not to mention trial and error!

Already they've addressed some of the troubles we'd encountered in our attempts to get a school program up and running beyond a semester-long program. We'd had good feedback and positive experiences, but something always seemed missing. Turns out we just didn't know what we didn't know. That's why I recommend seeking the experts who have already trudged the road before and learned, sometimes the hard way, the best ways to grow and develop.

Also, I'm delighted to see so many others here who tell me they came after stumbling upon the Strides information on the Horse Sense website or based on hearing Debbie Anderson, Executive Director and Co-founder of Strides in our Free Monthly Telecall with her recently. (If you missed the call, you can download the notes for free by visiting here. You can also purchase the MP3 & the transcript at the same site.) My goal of driving folks to high-quality programs and programming is working, and I'm honored to be a part of your journey to a successful EAP/EAL program in your community!

All the best!

Shannon