PLATINUM2023

HOPE

Helping Other People be Empowered

aka H.O.P.E, Inc. (Helping Other People be Empowered)   |   Duluth, GA   |  www.hopbe.org

Mission

Empower, encourage, and equip low-income single parents to obtain a college degree, develop essential life skills, and ultimately become self-sufficient. We do this by providing our single parent students with: 1. Financial assistance for housing and childcare 2. A facilitator to connect our students to community resources 3. Financial literacy and a game plan for financial independence 4. Counseling resources and success coaching

Ruling year info

2010

President & Founder

Mrs. Kenita Smith

Main address

PO Box 3166

Duluth, GA 30096 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

27-1370074

NTEE code info

Single Organization Support (B11)

Single Parent Agencies/Services (P42)

Single Organization Support (W11)

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 2019.
Register now

Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

In the context of the conversation regarding upward mobility, a great and notable economist Mahbub ul Haq stated that the purpose of development is not just to enlarge incomes but to enlarge people's choices and that these choices extend to a decent education, good health, personal security, community participation, and many other areas of human well-being. Today's typical college undergraduate student is no longer an 18-year-old recent high-school graduate who enrolls full-time and has limited work and family obligations. In fact, more than one in eight students are single parents, and more than a third are over the age of 25. According to a Women Employed publication, "Single Mothers and College Success: Creating Paths Out of Poverty," single parents face especially daunting challenges in their efforts to obtain a degree. Compared to married parents, single parents are more likely to have low-incomes and have greater challenges in paying tuition and arranging child care.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

MDGH

The Mildred Dowdley Gift of HOPE (MDGH) provides financial assistance, life skills training, and spiritual support for lowincome single parents from Georgia who are enrolled in college in the Atlanta Metropolitan area.

Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people

HOPE’s Break the Cycle Program(BTC) is a two-five year program designed to help single parents ultimately achieve self-sufficiency and break the cycle of poverty with education, training, and a middle class income. Through an education/workforce partnership, BTC will provide life skills training, adult mentorships, financial support, educational guidance, andemployment placement for single parents living in poverty with their children, who are working to get academic and professional degrees.

Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people

Hand in Hand is a program created via our partnership with Rainbow Village to provide support through our MDGH program for transitioning homeless single parent's interested in obtaining a college degree.

Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people

Where we work

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of students showing improvement in test scores

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

MDGH

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

We have assisted 85 single parents and 182 Children.

Average number of service recipients per month

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

MDGH

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of households served with eviction notice or forced displacement

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

MDGH

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Number of program participants who receive a secondary school diploma or GED

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

MDGH

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of people no longer living in unsafe or substandard housing as a result of the nonprofit's efforts

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Homeless people

Related Program

Hand -in-Hand

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of service recipients who are employed

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

MDGH

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of first-entry undergraduate program students who identify themselves as 'visible minorities'or 'non-white'

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

MDGH

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of households that obtain/retain permanent housing for at least 6 months

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

MDGH

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of program participants who obtain a job within 3 months of program completion

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

MDGH

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of students enrolled

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

MDGH

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of first-time, full-time, first-year registrants in direct entry programs who graduate within 6 years

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

MDGH

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of families assisted with rent or mortgage to avoid eviction

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

MDGH

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of children served

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

MDGH

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of scholars who graduate from four year colleges and university within six years

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

MDGH

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of participants attending course/session/workshop

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

MDGH

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

The overarching goal of the H-LISP program is to increase the number of single parent students
who obtain their college degrees, by assisting 10 single parents per year, and preparing them for a self-sufficient life. The program objectives are as follows:

1. HOPE participants obtain a college degree in a timely manner while encountering limited financial barriers;
2. HOPE participants sustain financial stability for 5 years after graduating; and
3. Manage emotional stress throughout the program and up to 5 years after graduating

Our strategies are detailed in our three-year strategic plan. We will focus on three key areas: capacity building, sustainability, and program development.

Our current board members, staff, and volunteers have the education and experience needed to carry out the task detailed in our plan.

We have increased our program capacity already by 30%, initiated a reserves plan and fund as desired in our action plan, and working as scheduled to complete 2019 goals.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, 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, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback

Financials

HOPE
lock

Unlock financial insights by subscribing to our monthly plan.

Subscribe

Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our 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.

Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build 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.

lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build 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.

HOPE

Board of directors
as of 02/24/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Steve Dowdley

Kenita N Smith

H.O.P.E, Inc. (Helping Other People be Empowered)

Steven Dowdley

Haylard Health

Wassia Kamon

AM Chemistries

Lisa White

InTouch Properties, LLC

Diane Baker

Crum & Forster Insurance

Shannon Brooks

Shannon Brooks Consulting

Leilani Johnson

Heritage Werks

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • 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? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 10/10/2022
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

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:

Race & ethnicity
Black/African American
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.

Equity strategies

Last updated: 10/10/2022

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.