Funding Your True Doors Project
True Doors are unique, they provide character, and they help engage residents in way-finding and showcasing their identity and promoting a sense of home. True Doors are an affordable, easy to install door decal that can engage residents and staff, community and students in learning the story and life history of our residents. We are often asked 'how could someone fund a True Doors project to install in our community?' Well, we've come up with a few innovative ways!
Community Service Clubs & Grants
Local Service Clubs and grants are a great way to engage with clubs and programs that you may not have connected with before. They also can be very generous in providing support to the aging community. Take some time to research what's available in your local community, and if you have some time, ask different staff members and network with people outside of your organization, to get a thorough understanding of what's available out there. Spend a bit of time understanding what the mandate of the service club is, or what the community grant's 'themes' are for awarding funding. This will allow you to ensure that you're not applying for a grant that isn't in line with your needs. Build your grant or your letter based on what 'problem' you're trying to solve; how this solution will impact the community and how it will fulfill the mission of the organization or the themes of the grant.
Individuals and Businesses
Engaging people who are impressed or have deep connections with your organization, or businesses that you receive services from, can be a way to receive funding for your True Doors Project. Just like community grants and engaging community service clubs, ensure that you're identifying what 'problem' you're going to achieve. For businesses, and some individuals, it is also important to identify how you will showcase the business or individual and their contribution to your community. Creating plaques to recognize the funders and referencing them when speaking with media and the public is a great way to thank your supporters. Check out local businesses who have specific programs that give back, for example, we have a local grocery store who operates as a co-operative and provides community funds to member organizations. Churches are also a great community resource, and you may have different community churches coming in to lead services. Many churches find opportunities to support their communities, and a True Doors project might just be the support they'd like to give!
Innovation Funds & Government Programs
There are a number of innovation funding programs through State/Provincial government or offered through third party funding programs. In the US, state governments have grant application processes to receive funding to further person centred care practices. It can be beneficial to do a bit of research, and reach out to your local government, to understand what might be available to fund a project such as this one. Additionally, researching local and country-wide innovation funds can be cumbersome, but may provide the financial support you're looking for.
Family Purchases
I don't know about you, but every holiday or birthday that rolls around, I spend days thinking about what would be a good and purposeful gift for my mother. Families in long term care are often looking for direction for what they can get their loved one living in care. For the price of a True Door, 2-3 family members could come together to provide a meaningful gift that will serve their loved one for years to come. First, engage family members in learning about True Doors through one on one conversations, a flyer or presentation, or through a Family Advocacy or Family Council group. Explain to them what the True Doors project is and how it will benefit both their family member and the overall culture of person centered care. Generating a buzz with families, so they understand and become engaged in the True Doors narrative process of choosing a door, will help them see and appreciate the value that the True Door will have on their family members' identity and help them to feel more 'at home'.
Local Foundations
If your organization has a Foundation, creating a proposal for wide scale implementation of the project is the perfect way for the Foundation to give back to the organization while ensuring it supports each and every member of the organization. There may be local foundations that have a mandate of serving your population that aren't directly linked to your organization. Spending a bit of time researching and finding out what's available locally may help to fund your True Doors Project.
Fundraising
There are many easy ways to fundraise within your organization to raise money for your True Doors Project. Hosting a Coffee & Treat fundraiser a few times in a series of months or a year can raise a fair amount of money with very little effort. Ask your colleagues to bring in a treat and sell it to passersby in a common area with a cup of coffee or tea for a small fee - voila! Low overhead and it's an easy to mobilize fundraiser! Putting together a gift basket and raffling off tickets can yield a few hundred dollars if you have an active staff or volunteer base who can help you sell tickets. Fundraising Breakfasts and Lunches can be a successful way to raise money while getting people through your doors - keep in mind this can take quite a bit of effort from a variety of departments if you're going this route! Hosting a Community Yard Sale or Bazaar where you provide the space and local people purchase tables to sell their items can be a great way of raising some funds.
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The Added Value of True Doors for Residents of Care Homes
Want to learn more about the effect of True Doors for Elders living with Dementia?
Download this complimentary report on the orientation, mood, memories, feeling of privacy, general atmosphere and social interaction for Elders with dementia or people with psychiatric problems living in a nursing home.
Trimbos Institute Report about True Doors: https://www.truedoors.com/reports/trimbos-institute-report-about-true-doors/