Women of Empowerment (WOE)

Program Mission Statement:

(self-reported)

The purpose of Women of Empowerment is to directly reach underserved women, particularly single mothers, and indirectly, their young children. We strive to begin working with women during their pregnancies, thereby influencing them from the prenatal period into full parenthood. Program activities focus on the overall health, family stability and education of these families, resulting in foundational improvements.

Score Summary

Overall Score:	Excellent
Practice Principles:	Excellent
Faith Related Elements:	Excellent
Outcome Measures:	Good
Change Process:	Excellent

Program Facts

• Paid (FTE) Staff Working: 5
• Program Participants Last Year: 103
• Meets about 4 time(s) with each participant per month
• Participants remain in the program for 12 months

Board Activities

Funding Overview

(self-reported)

	This Program	This Organization
Organization Budget: $2,000,000 Program Budget: $52,140
Foundation Grants	30%	35%
Government Grants/Contracts	0%	0%
Individual Gifts	33%	45%
Business/Corporate Gifts	12%	7%
Congregation/Denominational Gifts	25%	9%
Dues/Fees/Income	0%	4%
Other	0%	0%
	Average Program Funding From All Samaritan Programs	Average Organization Funding From All Samaritan Organizations
The next charts display the average funding sources for all programs currently in the Samaritan Guide for your comparison. Average Organization Budget: $3,820,907 Average Program Budget: $480,643
Foundation Grants	24%	18%
Government Grants/Contracts	3%	8%
Individual Gifts	36%	33%
Business/Corporate Gifts	9%	8%
Congregation/Denominational Gifts	9%	10%
Dues/Fees/Income	7%	9%
Other	10%	11%

It is important to maintain diverse income sources for your programs and for your oganization as a whole. Doing so provides long-term financial stability to your organizations and programs. It is also important to note that government funding often comes with stipulations and restrictions. More information is available in the Raising Resources Toolkit - pdf.

Score Details

Program Focus
Program Mission	Clarity and specificity of the program's mission statement.	Good
Target Population	Clarity and specificity of the programs target clientele.	Excellent
Eligibility Criteria	Clarity and specificity of the program's eligibility criteria.	Excellent
Program Requirements	Well defined requirements for client participation.	Better
Referrals From Other Organizations	Do other organizations recommend this program to their clientele.	Good
Referrals to Other Organizations	Does this program recommend other programs to their clients?	Excellent
Volunteer to Staff Ratio	Are volunteers effectively incorporated into the program?	Good
Past Participant Recruiting	Are past program participants recruited as volunteers?	Excellent
Evaluation and Practice Princples
Practice Principles	How supports and resources are provided to increase outcomes.	Excellent
Outcome Measurement	The ability to measure stated program outcomes.	Good
Change Process	Specific and measurable statement of the program's goals.	Excellent
Faith Related Elements	Integration of faith related elements.	Excellent
Measurement Frequency	Frequency of measuring client outcomes.	Excellent
Program Evaluation	Level of the budget allocated to measuring client outcomes.	Excellent
Institutional Stability
Organization Age	A measure of the organization's durability.	Excellent
Board Oversight	How involved in the program are the members of its board?	Excellent
Program Duration	Average duration of a clients participation with a program.	Better
Finances
Budget Diffusion	Diversity of the programs funding sources.	Excellent
Government Funding	Does this program accept little or no government funding?	Excellent

Program Score Details

---

---

Outcomes & Measures:

(self-reported)

Scoring for this section is based on the organizations ability to provide at least three clear and specific outcomes with corresponding measures in which a relationship is shown between outcomes and measures.

Outcome 1: Improved health for single mothers and their children

Measure Used:
SHORT-TERM

1) Parents increase knowledge and resources to care for the needs of children during the prenatal period and early childhood. In addition, health improves through healthy activities for parents, such as aerobics and walking.

2) Children's health improve through parents' improved health and capacity for good parenting.

LONG-TERM:

Decrease in:

1) teen pregnancies

2) second unwed pregnancies

3) obesity

4) infant mortality (at 14.2 deaths per 1,000 births, Memphis has the worst infant mortality rate in the U.S.)

Increase in:

1) prenatal care

2) immunizations

---

Outcome 2: Improved stability of underserved families

Measure Used:
SHORT-TERM:

1) Single mothers increase stability due to practical and spiritual help as well as through participation in the program and hopefully, a supportive church.

2) Stability increases in the lives of young children, as their parents' lives become more stable.

LONG-TERM:

Decrease in:

1) number of children removed from the home

2) transience

Increase in:

1) number of two-parent households

2) % of households with earned income

3) participation in NCC programs

4) regular church attendance

---

Outcome 3: Improved educational attainment for single mothers and their children

Measure Used:
SHORT-TERM:

1) Adults earn a GED or college degree through local institutions.

2) Adults increase job readiness through gaining marketable computer and other job skills.

3) Children's school readiness improves by age six.

LONG-TERM:

Increase in :

1) % of adult population having a high school diploma/GED and enrolled in post secondary education and earning degrees

2) Healthy early child development for 0-5 year olds

---

Change Process:

(self-reported)

Scoring for this section is based on the organizations ability to provide clear, measurable, client-focused stages of change based on participant participation.

First, participants learn and dialogue about the systemic issues that have caused them to become "stuck" in unhealthy lifestyes. Next, they learn to personally evaluate themselves and set goals for the changes they want to make. Finally, they are guided by staff, volunteers and past participants to achieve their goals. This past year, 20 returned to school, 1 earned a GED, 15 found employment, 1 purchased a home, and 7 moved from subsidized housing to rental properties. Our focus on the children ages 0-5 of participatns is a new one, beginning in 2006. However, in the past year, we have already seen the positive effects made on young children as their mothers make changes in their own lives. For example, through prenatal care and training, none of the babies born to women in the last year have become seriously ill or died, and immunization rates have risen well above that of comparison zip codes. In fact, our participants are well above comparison statistics in almost every outcome area, and are bringing up their children with them!

End Notes

Incomplete Applications

Significant decreases in certain scores may indicate failure to comprehensively complete certain sections of the Samaritan Award application. Please be sure to fill out every question in the Samaritan Award application.

Relative Scoring

Total program scores are partially computed against other programs from within the same pool of applications and so are not cumulative.

Additional Reference Material

More information on scoring and methodology may be found on the Samaritan Guide and Award website.

Acton Institute Relationship

The Samaritan Guide and Samaritan Award are projects run by the Acton Institute. Inclusion in the Guide does not signify endorsement by the Acton Institute. More information on why the Acton Institute runs this project is available online.