The Purpose of this Business plan is to raise 200,000 dollars for the development of a workforce, business training facility while also showcasing the expected financials and operations over the next three years. Phase One of Four phases.   From Our Ashes is an Illinois based Corporation designated as a 501(c)3 charitable organization that will provide workforce development, small business training, and small business startup hosting.  For consumers in its targeted market.  The Organization was founded by: Jacqueline Augusta                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Written By: Ms. Jacqueline Augusta 

From Our Ashes 

Confidentiality Agreement

The undersigned reader acknowledges that the information provided in this business plan is confidential: therefore, the reader agrees not to disclose it without the express written permission of an authorized agent of From Our Ashes Inc.

It is acknowledged by the reader that the information furnished in this business plan is in all respects confidential in nature, other than information which is in the public domain through other means and that any disclosure or use of same by reader and may cause serious harm or damage to aforementioned parties.  This business plan is not to be copied or reproduced by any means without the sole written consent of an authorized agent of From Our Ashes Inc.

Executive Summary 

From Our Ashes was founded 22 years ago to help the impoverished prepare for a better quality of life and become independent and productive citizens.  We provide an array of services, our goal is to continue to equip our audience with the necessary tools, resources, educational, employment, and entrepreneurship training for this transition from impoverished to thriving.

Our objective is to take concerted actions to be able to see quantitative and qualitative change in our communities, economic and social well-being.  Our audience consists of the homeless, low income, under employed, shelter residents, reentry citizens, clients of sober living centers and veterans.

Our motto is "Helping people is our business" in the beginning of the relationship with our organization and our participants we provided basic needs free of charge and worked alongside of them while they develop skill sets.  We currently still help in those area's while leaning more towards being a hand up not just a handout.  

Our movement is to help alleviate homelessness, poverty, domestic violence, and recidivism.  Our greatest desire is to be a part of the participants gaining self-worth, dignity, and realizing their God-given potential, and then blossom into independent, self-sufficient productive citizens.

Taking an imaginary snapshot of what that would look like you would see an individual or family that has housing, financial stability to adequately provide for themselves, and have sufficient health care.

The most crucial component is obtaining adequate employment, or business ownership, changing the mindset, and building life and financial skills. Those elements will change the trajectory of their lives, communities and help both to elevate.

Program Overview and Services

The Soul Kitchen was founded on February 10, 2021, in our founder's kitchen where we cook hot meals for a men shelter and two men sober living centers, we also supply them with their basic need's hygiene products, uncooked food, new and used clothes, new winter coats, and new work steel toe boots.  We are expanding our program to add a workforce development, business accelerator, and incubator to the Soul kitchen, moving it out of the founder's kitchen into its own facility making it possible to serve more clients.  Our participants will receive an extensive assessment, comprehensive services, a step-by-step recovery process, counseling, group and individual for mental illness, substance and domestic violence.  Our participants will be assigned a case manager and receive these services from our partners and collaborators that will be licensed and have professional credentials.

The Soul kitchen will be fully fitted as an industrial kitchen where the participants will learn to cook culinary style, take and restock inventory, prepare food for delivery, and deliver food, and receive a food sanitation and or food sanitation management certificate.  The workforce portion will address work barriers, job readiness, life and soft skills, teach customer service, how to operate a business, aptitude testing, leadership, and financial literacy skills mentors will be provided.  Our on-the-job training in phase one will be utilizing the customer service, culinary style cooking, delivery prep, and delivery to the shelters, recovery houses, and street homeless.  The participants that will be learning the basics of starting your own business will have vending opportunities to produce seed money for their business.  The opportunity to participate in our accelerator and incubator will come in phase two where the participant will participate in an eighteen-week business accelerator program, and then giving the opportunity to participate in our incubator that can be from three months up to two years according to the business start-up.  Once the participant has received phase one and two, they will be equipped to be employed in the food industry or open their own catering business.  Participants will receive care-fare, assistance with emergency housing, food, clothing, and other resources as they are available.  The Soul kitchen will host our mentoring program (Saving Our Sons and Daughters Mentoring and a Meal).  Why mentoring for added support and guidance to help change the trajectory of their lives.  Our mentoring program will help our participants with growth, employment, support, and direction while in our program.  We will match them with professionals in the field they are training in the mentors will help guide them, get acquainted with for potential employment, apprenticeship opportunities, or business ownership and directions.  The Saving Our Sons and Daughters Mentoring and a meal program is design to help the growth of our men-tees mindset, give them a sense of belonging, to build confidence in the men-tees abilities and obtaining their dreams, career choices and personal choices, to give clarity that they are enough as they are but there is always room to grow in knowledge, but they are enough as a human as they are, to show them different cultures and widen their thinking horizon, teach problem solving, conflict resolution, how to have perseverance and grit, self-management, self-determination, self-control how to find their spark, how to have positive relationships, and build new ones, get an understanding of the effects of drugs and alcohol, to teach and demonstrate good character, and holistic change.

The mentoring program will be managed by the staff and our partners, collaborators and participants that have finished phase one that have shown leadership abilities.  Those participants have the opportunity of being mentor helpers, and once they have been helpers for a minimum of one year after graduation from phase two they can apply to be mentors.  Graduates of phase one that aren't moving on to employment or business ownership in the food industry or customer service will be able to participate in phase two of our program which is our job training and trades portion.  The phase two participants will continue in the mentoring program and begin with the pre-apprentice program and begin with the pre-apprentice program.  Pre-apprenticeship will allow them to be well prepared for an apprenticeship opportunity with our partners, collaborators, and our organization.  Which will lead to permanent careers and businesses.  While in phase two the participants will have the possibility to live in our single room occupancy building that we will acquire before phase two begins.  The participants will work part time or volunteer in house.  The pre-apprentice program will consist of trades, math, measurement, map reading, mechanical reasoning, spatial visualization, understanding construction, blue-print reading, tool recognition, reading, life skills, soft skills, financial literacy, computer technology, housing counseling, support groups, individual and group counseling, legal assistance, (expungement services) tutoring, virtual customer service and office assistant training.  Phase two will have a graduation and the participants will have the opportunity to move to phase three if they haven't secured employment, or started a business, or an apprentice program with our partners, collaborators, or our organization.  

Phase Three participants will learn welding, carpentry, h.v.a.c., plumbing, soldering, and electrical, lock smith, furniture repair, construction, property preservation, retail sales, lawn services, and proper snow removal, the participants will continue in the mentoring program.  The first thirty days will be academic only.  The participants will receive a 30-hour OSHA certificate.  The hands -on portion will consist of 16 weeks in each subject, they can take one trade or all of the one's we offer.  Our on-the-job training will be a eight hour or more day.

The participants will live on campus in our studio apartments to minimize distractions, the fee will be sliding scale according to their income, the living space will provide a positive and peaceful environment and stable housing where they will be and give respect, be motivated, supported, encouraged, and assisted in sustaining a happier and healthier lifestyle, to grow and have the opportunity to prepare for permanent housing and be independent.  It will be mandatory to have a savings account to work toward a down payment on permanent housing in phase four.  The on- the- job training will be in property preservation, catering, rehabbing house, furniture bank, resale shop, caf'e lock smith, lawn care, and snow removal, and construction.  Three will be a phase three graduation and the opportunity to participate in phase four for the participants who have not secured employment, business ownership or have not begun a apprentice program.

Phase four permanent housing through sweat equity and a down payment via the first- time buyer program or NACA program the participants will learn property management, have more detailed housing counseling, hands on in the field trades training, so they can obtain and sustain permanent housing, be self-sufficient, and independent productive citizens there will be a phase four graduation and follow up supportive services.

If you would like to donate to our Capitol Campaign please note it in the donation section- Organizations that have RFP'S, Sponsorships, In kind donations

please email us Fromourashes@yahoo.com or call Jacqueline @ 219-680-9088