Support The Enlisted Project

To support our military families, we offer programs designed to stop the imminent loss of a basic need, like an eviction or car repossession, and provide the education and skills needed to pave a path to financial self-sufficiency. Our primary program, Emergency Financial Assistance, coupled with secondary programs geared at offsetting or alleviating expenses, allow us to successfully help these military and veteran families in crisis.

From reducing overall stress within the family, to developing an unique, individualized, client-specific debt reduction plan, families are given the tools needed to succeed. But they too must invest in their prosperity. They must be willing to put their financial lives on the table, ask for help, change negative habits, and make the necessary sacrifices to improve their financial futures. They are ultimately responsible; STEP exists to ensure they are empowered to continue their path to financial self-sufficiency.

Our mission and passion to support our military families extends beyond our EFA program, to partnerships with fellow agencies like 211 Courage to Call. On a quarterly basis, host 211's food pantry at our warehouse to help families alleviate expenses as they work toward financial self-sufficiency. Families take the essential items from the warehouse, at no expense, while helping themselves to food from 211's pantry. We also take our Warehouse on Wheels to military bases throughout Southern California to ensure families have access to essential items. Our monthly Financial Freedom Seminars at our San Diego office educate families about financial literacy. They learn the skills needed to live within their means, which helps prevent future crisis from occurring.

STEP has a functional strategy that is three-fold. First, we must continue to make the public aware STEP exist. STEP has embarked on a communications strategy to build brand awareness. The goal of this is to increase its individual donor base and client base. Second, STEP is working to retain its current award-winning financial ratios which represent the strictest of financial controls, transparency and fiduciary responsibility. Third, STEP is working to increase its' morale and in-kind program to be able to reach and provide value to an even larger client base of military families and veterans in the Southern California region.

STEPs' services are unique and unduplicated. STEP is the only agency regionally that provides services to ensure the basic needs of our junior military families are met on a timely basis, with a long term focus on helping the families become financially self-sufficient utilizing social work theory and practices. With that social work theory comes our Vice President with over 30 years of experience and her staff of qualified volunteer case workers and master and PhD. students.

We will achieve our budget by using multifaceted revenue-generating strategies to cultivate and retain existing donors, utilize tools to advance our development efforts and build processes to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our development activities.

We will increase our morale and in kind programs by continuing to build and strength the relationships that we have with our communities partners that supports STEP and each of it's programs.

STEP has illustrated improvement in all areas across this last Fiscal Year. STEP has worked hard to manage its financial ratios and hold its administrative costs to a minimum.

As for our accomplishments here are a few:

• STEP accomplishes all it does, while only employing 7 employees
• STEP has an Impactful and Dedicated team and over 60 regular and committed volunteers
• STEP was named “The City of Oceanside's 2015 Non-Profit Veteran Organization of the Year"
• STEP was presented with “The Breaking Away Award of Excellence" sponsored by Torrey Pines
• STEP has received “Certificates of Special Congressional Recognition" In honor of consistent and loyal support to the dedicated community of veterans in San Diego
• STEP is honored to be a beneficiary for the Farmers Insurance Open; Champions for Youth Program 2016 and 2017
• STEP was an honored beneficiary for Rancho Santa Fe Rotary's Taste of the Ranch event in 2015