How Do We Know It's Working?

This is part of a continuing series of posts regarding Project Five-Star. In this post I will discuss how I intend to prove to donors or potential donors that I'm doing what I say I'm doing.

Back when I first wrote the Project Five-Star Book, all I had to work with was a cheap laptop computer and a web cam. Today, I have a better quality laptop, several web cams, and a full-fledged High Definition Sony HandiCam. I've taken a number of videos with it, and someday I might even make some money from them.

The idea for proving I'm doing what I say I'm doing, is to make everything above board. I intend to record every action I can and either live stream it, and/or post the video to youtube. Am I spending money on an attorney? I'll show as much of the transactions as the attorney will let me. Am I renting an office space? I'll show you which ones I look at. Am I interviewing potential participants? You guessed it. Everyone will sign a waiver (which is another good reason for having an attorney) which will allow me to put their stories on video.

Why? Because hearing that things are bad for the homeless from other sources is far different than seeing it and hearing it from their own mouths. The videos themselves might generate some income for the project, but really, I'm hoping to generate Donations. Period.

Once we've started to hold classes, I intend to live stream those classes on the project web site, which does not exist yet, but when it does, that's a little bit of proof that we've spent some of your money on the project. So you get to see how exactly I spend my time and your money, whether it's for materials such as computer parts, or lunch for me and my students.

The bottom line should be that the money that goes into the project should go as much as possible to helping the students. Even if I spend money on a used van, I intend for that van to have at least one camera in it at all times.

Because every donor deserves to know where their money is going.

Thank you for reading.

Michael Fox, Founder, Project Five-Star

Don't Do Anything Halfway

This is another in a string of posts of what I hope to accomplish with Project Five-Star. In this post, I'll examine the ethic I hope to instill into the project, as well as its participants.

The idea is: Five Stars. Not Four, not Three, certainly not Two or One. The goal is everything about the project will be the very best it can be.

That starts with me, I suppose. My past has been spotty at times, but I've never given anything but my best effort into whatever project I'm working on, whether it's writing, customer service, or any other aspect of my life.

Mind you, my best might not be as good as someone else's best. Or it might be better than most. If I have a task to do, though, I'll give 100% while others might say 'That's good enough.' Sorry, that won't work for Project Five-Star.

That's not to say I'm a perfectionist, far from it, but there's a difference between shoddy workmanship and something that functions, even if it's somewhat limited.

Say I'm looking for office space. Will I accept a dingy, small office just to get a better price? No. The groups I'll be leading need space and air.

Say I'm looking to feed my participants. Will stale donuts and a few 2-liter bottles of soda suffice? No. We've all been through bad, stale food. We want the best. Caviar? No. Fresh made sandwiches? Sure! A gallon of O.J.? Yeah, baby! Who wouldn't want that?

Now that I've got a clean, airy place to hold meetings, and fresh, healthy food to feed my 'peeps,' what next? Do I lecture them while they snooze?

Well, I hope to make the classes interesting enough so that no one feels the need for sleep. No one sleeps in my class and stays with the program. But that's as much my fault as theirs. So I intend to get them involved, play musical chairs often enough to keep them awake and take frequent 'stretch' breaks.

Let's say that we somehow raise enough money to go to phase 2, which involves training homeless men and women to build an administrative building and the first of 4 dorms. Do we use inferior tools? Do we use inferior materials? Do we use inferior and dangerous tactics to cut corners and raise the buildings? No. I intend to hire someone who can teach them how to build and use the tools we provide. I intend that no corners will be cut to save a little bit of money. It's your money, after all, that I'm using. Would you want it used improperly? Neither do I.

In the end, the higher standards we hold ourselves to will show in the work we do. I have to teach every participant to take pride in the work; to dress professionally; to act professionally. This is the only way that we - all of us - can drag ourselves out of the gutter, get to our feet, and stay there.

Project Five-Star is no place for those who want to just get by.

Thank you for reading!

Michael Fox, Founder, Project Five-Star

It Starts in Raleigh

It starts small. One man (me) teaching 20 people how to build and repair computers.

It starts with the first $5,000 in donations earmarked to go toward hiring a lawyer to help Project Five-Star become a Non-Profit 501 c3 Corporation. It starts with me finding volunteers to serve on the Board of Directors.

It starts with finding an office or better yet, a storefront where I can set up a conference table and then interview homeless men and women about their experiences and then see who, out of what will likely be hundreds of applications, stands the best chance of getting certified and getting a job outside of Project Five-Star.

It starts with your donation and who knows where it will end.

Thank you for taking the time to read this!

Michael Fox, Founder. Project Five-Star

Project Five-Star Initial Needs

Project Five-Star is in its initial stages of conception. Right now it is just a series of ideas I came up with while homeless myself. They are suggestions, really, of how a homeless shelter should be run and what it should do to a) help the homeless get off the streets, and b) help the homeless stay off the streets.

I’ve been working on these ideas for years, really, since my first bout with homelessness in 2005. Yet I’ve found that by myself I can’t accomplish much except give the appearance of complaining about so called free services.

So for Project Five-Star to really get off the ground I will need help. Here’s a list of things I need:

1. Legal counsel on how to set up a non-profit organization in North Carolina. I’ve done some research on the topic and all the research tells me that I really need a lawyer. This lawyer should be prepared to work pro bono, or at least get paid on a delayed basis, as I have no money to spare for a lawyer. This lawyer should help in getting all paperwork created and filed properly, including filing for tax-exempt status and any other status the project will need.

2. Once the Non-profit Corporation is set up, or even before, I’ll need a Board of Directors. All members of the board should be volunteers. I’ll start by volunteering myself. If I’m going to work as hard as I already have, and will should the project go forward, I want a say in how it’s run. I’d like to be the general manager of the complex, but I’ll step aside if the board wants to hire someone else. We’ll need other officers as well, all of whom should be prepared to volunteer their time until we get adequate funding to pay minimal salaries.

3. Office Space. I had thought that we could start with one small office, with me holding computer classes within it, but we may need more than one office. We should be prepared to pay for a year’s lease at the very least.

4. Since the members of the project will technically be working for the project, we’ll need an HR director to make sure we’re compliant with state and Federal regulations. This should probably be a paid position, but I’d still like to hire from the homeless or at least poorer population. This person should be prepared to train project members in the duties of an HR Director.

5. An accountant and/or a CFO who can keep track of  the money. Anyone who has tried to run a corporation knows that we need to know where the money goes, and so does the state and Federal governments.

6. Someone skilled in fund-raising. I am perhaps a bit too blunt to be the only one asking for money. The project needs someone who knows who to call for donations of cash and equipment. This should probably be a paid position, and again, I’d like to hire from within the homeless community.

7. Once we have adequate funding, offices, personnel and equipment, I will start giving classes on computer training. We’ll need computers to do that. I plan to train 10 people at a time for 4 hours a day, two separate classes. That means 10 computers for them, one for me. We either need funding to purchase them or have them donated.

8. Once we have a track record of helping homeless get computer jobs, fund-raising should be easier, and the next phase of the project can begin. We’ll need land. We’ll need an architect, preferably one who will donate time, but if not, funding for it. I don’t know how much land we’ll need, but the more, the better. I have ideas of expansion, but I’ve covered that in another blog.

9. We’ll need building supplies, equipment, and someone willing to train and certify our members in the use of the equipment and supplies. I anticipate having at least one expert on staff to train in each of the categories we want to train.

10.  We’ll need case-workers (or one experienced case-worker who can train members on the job) who will work with members on getting their needs met. This may include finding permanent jobs, and permanent housing. This should include meeting with the member in their charge to record success and failures. There should also be a record of money saved.

11. We’ll need a banking professional who can help us set up a credit union and train members on how to work in the banking industry.

12. We will need a web presence. I plan to set up an initial web site with basic information, but we need to train our members to build and maintain the web site, under supervision. We will need a domain name, and either a web site provider or a server of our own with the appropriate IP address. I would prefer the latter, as this gives our members some experience doing this on their own.

There will be other needs that come up as we start the process and build toward the inevitable outcome, but these are perhaps the most important to get us started. As I have stated before, this is an ambitious project and only by working together can we make it succeed.