THE ROADMAP TO RESILIENCE 

A bold initiative for social change. 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Dream Center Indianapolis exists to disrupt and reverse the cycle of poverty by providing holistic support to vulnerable families, particularly the Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, and Employed (ALICE) population.

Founded in 2021, we now focus on our 40-week Pathways program, offering life coaching, career readiness, adult and financial education, homeownership preparation, and faith principles to help individuals achieve stability.

Partnering with Ascension St. Vincent and leveraging TANF funding, we aim to guide over 200 single mothers annually. With a rigorous evaluation process and plans to scale, we seek $8.9 million over three years to expand our reach and impact Indiana’s poverty rate.

PROPOSAL SUMMARY

Working with The Polis Center at IU, we identified 60,000 single mothers in Indianapolis, of whom 9,480 are stable and thriving, 37,200 are in crisis relying on state support, and 22,800 are part of the ALICE population, earning $29,000-$35,000 and struggling with financial instability. These ALICE mothers are the focus of our Pathways program, which aims to create a clear path to stability for at-risk moms.

With a $4.7 million TANF grant, we will guide over 200 single mothers through our pilot project in Crooked Creek, helping them transition from financial vulnerability to stability. With 221 eligible moms on our waitlist, we seek $8.9 million to close the gap on our $15.8 million initiative, empowering us to scale and address poverty’s complexity with life-changing interventions in career development, education, financial coaching, and homeownership preparation.

OBJECTIVES AND KEY RESULTS

Desired Impact:

  • With the TANF grant, we aim to refine and scale our work, making necessary adjustments.

  • We will evaluate 19 cohorts of 10-12 ALICE moms over three years through quarterly OKRs.

  • Evaluation will focus on efficiency, economic benefits, generational impact, leveraging additional funding, and sustainability post-program (homeownership, savings, family stability).

  • By the end, we aim to reduce poverty by navigating XX ALICE moms to stability, lowering the poverty rate, and creating economic benefits for Marion County.

Determine Maximum Reach:

  • Identify state and nonprofit data to assess how many ALICE moms need stability to significantly reduce poverty.

  • Evaluate gaps in data and the reliability of a $50,000 starting salary for sustainability.

Strengthening Partner Capacity:

  • Staff the project to build systems for tracking outcomes, learning, and scaling.

  • Evaluate staffing, training, and whether current technology is sufficient for tracking outcomes.

Partnership Assessment:

  • Identify key partners and their capacity for scaling, avoiding mission overlap.

  • Develop a playbook for partner integration and successful collaboration.

Accelerate Replication:

  • Open network offices (Dream Big Districts) and provide administrative support.

  • Document outcomes through a "Roadmap to Resilience" for replication, offering coaching and flexibility for different contexts.

PROPOSED TIMELINE

2024/2025 - First 3 Months:

  • Hire and train the team.

  • Set specific, time-bound OKRs for the first year.

  • By end of Q1: Evaluate cohort 1, perform SWOT analysis, set schedule, and produce a white paper.

  • Produce quarterly white papers to share progress on OKRs.

  • Identify research gaps in the ALICE community and use Pathways outcomes to address them.

  • In Q3, assess partners and conduct a SWOT analysis of their outcomes.

  • Build frameworks for the "Roadmap to Resilience" and sustainability through funding.

  • End year with an extended white paper summarizing strengths, outcomes, partner synergy, funding sources, and future OKRs.

2026:

  • OKRs from 2025 Q4 will set 2026 goals.

  • Evaluate cohorts 7-12 and perform SWOT analysis for each.

  • Produce quarterly white papers.

  • In Q3, start planning for the first “district model” and assess partners and networks.

  • End year with a comprehensive white paper, highlighting research on ALICE moms, data gaps, partner outcomes, funding sources, and next steps for scaling Pathways.

2027:

  • OKRs from 2026 Q4 will determine 2027 objectives.

  • Evaluate cohorts 13-19 with SWOT analysis.

  • Produce quarterly white papers.

  • By Q1, develop the Playbook on Poverty framework.

  • By Q2, make a bold statement on the impact of guiding ALICE moms to stability, with measurable outcomes.

  • End year with a dedicated website featuring the “Roadmap to Resilience” PDF, videos, partner highlights, and invitations for other counties to join the Dream Big Network.

CLOSING

As a network of courageous visionaries, we have a bold mission to disrupt the cycle of poverty and create sustainable pathways for economic stability for single mothers in Indiana. With your support, we are poised to scale the Pathways program, expand our impact, and foster long-term change for thousands of ALICE households.

Your investment of $8.9 million will enable us to take critical steps toward a statewide movement that can reduce poverty levels, stabilize families, and enhance the economic health of entire communities, highlighting biblical, faith principles. 

We invite you to join us in this mission. With your partnership, we will not only address the immediate needs of vulnerable families but also lay the groundwork for a future where financial stability and self-sufficiency are within reach for every Hoosier family. Let’s dream big and work together to make this vision a reality.

True change is driven by bold vision, innovative strategies, and ambitious dreams. If and when this vision is reinforced by a robust infrastructure these dreams become a reality for vulnerable Hoosier moms.