Stronghold Ministry
Setting hurting people free
Mission
Stronghold Ministry was founded by Stage IV metastatic melanoma survivor, Joe Fornear, and his wife, Terri, to provide spiritual support and comfort to cancer patients, their caretakers and others in major life crisis. In May of 2003, Joe was given "days to live" by his oncologist. He miraculously survived and is now dedicated to supporting people who are fighting cancer. Research has shown that hope and faith play a large role in survival rates and quality of life while fighting cancer. This ministry provides much hope and comfort for the battle.
Ruling year
2008
Executive Director
Joe Fornear
Assistant Director
Terri Fornear
Main address
7407 Stonecrest Dr
Dallas, TX 75254 USA
EIN
26-1656081
NTEE code
Religion Related, Spiritual Development N.E.C. (X99)
Counseling Support Groups (F60)
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2022, 2021 and 2020.
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Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
According the the American Cancer Society, there are now 2 million new cases of cancer diagnosed every year just in the US alone! This is up from 1.6 million per year. Fighting cancer is extremely difficult not only because of the weakening effect of medical treatments and cancer symptoms but because of the debilitating mental and spiritual aspects of the disease and treatments. Studies have shown that spiritual support and faith can help increase cancer survival rates and helps decrease the stress of fighting cancer. Medical professionals have limited time and training to assist their patients and family networks with these elements of the battle.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Spiritual support for cancer patients and caretakers
Cancer Support & Networking
· Online support / blog for patients and caretakers - www.mystronghold.org
· Resources on coping with cancer
· Monthly encouragement newsletters
· Phone Counseling
· Support Groups / Visitation
· Workshops
· Free spiritual resources to patients
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of groups/individuals benefiting from tools/resources/education materials provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, People with diseases and illnesses
Related Program
Spiritual support for cancer patients and caretakers
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Number of free gift baskets sent with resources to support people fighting cancer spiritually. We include a tote & 3 books the founders wrote from both the patient and primary caretaker perspective.
Number of one-on-one coaching sessions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Life coaching sessions - one hour each. Includes free and deep discounted Life Coaching services.
Number of people on the organization's email list
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Caregivers, People with diseases and illnesses
Related Program
Spiritual support for cancer patients and caretakers
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Our "In His Grip" devotional sent bi-weekly and also we add each installment to our blog here - https://www.mystronghold.org/blog/
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
To provide the much-lacking emotional and spiritual support that so many patients desperately need and seek, sometimes in vain!
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Stronghold Ministry provides practical spiritual-emotional resources and uplifting support through our free gift basket for cancer patients. We have sent out over 24,200 (June of 2023) of these gifts to hurting patients. The "basket" consists of a tote bag, 3 books written by founders and cancer survivors, Joe and Terri Fornear, on fighting cancer, as well as a Walmart gift card.
We connect through phone calls; personal emails; social networks; email newsletters; personal visits; and support groups. We have helped launch 60 cancer support groups throughout the US and the world, including a group in Spain.
We believe prayer, concern, coping advice, and love make a huge difference to lighten the load of the battle and sometimes even makes the pivotal difference in recovery!
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We provide the comfort and wisdom and coping strategies that founders Joe and Terri Fornear have gleaned from their own Stage IV cancer battle. Joe was given just days to live in May of 2003 with metastatic melanoma traveling to 13 different sites in his body. He experienced a miraculous recovery and has been cancer free since August of 2003. Joe had been a pastor for 18 years, and Terri had been a Life Coach for twelve years prior to his diagnosis. They have pastored and coached cancer patients, caregivers, and life-strugglers since 2009 with Stronghold Ministry.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Gift basket distributions by year.
136 in 2009
235 in 2010
274 in 2011
391 in 2012
470 in 2013
1202 in 2014
1395 in 2015
2106 in 2016
3120 in 2017
3002 in 2018
3171 in 2019
1805 in 2020 - numbers were down because of pandemic
2555 in 2021
3048 in 2022
We hope these free gifts are just our first point of contact with cancer patients, their caregivers and networks. Our motto is "We count gift baskets because gift basket recipient's count!" We hope receiving our free gifts which cost us $50.00 each will be just the beginning of our ongoing support of the patient and their network!
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, We don't wish to burden people who we serve whom many are very sick with cancer and cancer treatment
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Stronghold Ministry
Board of directorsas of 06/09/2023
Diane Neal
No Affiliation
Term: 2022 - 2023
Morgan Davis
No Affiliation
Stewart Maxwell
No Affiliation
Jessica Stroud
No Affiliation
Bonnie Shahan
No Affiliation
Mike Redeker
No Affiliation
Scott Hughes
No Affiliation
Lindsey Duncan
No Affiliation
Diane Neal
No Affiliation
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
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