ANNUAL REPORT2012

OUR MISSION:Our mission is to provide a warm and welcoming environment where teenage girls can speak their mind without judgement, start the journey to self-acceptance and become the leaders they were destined to be.

SEED OF HOPE FOUNDATION

Reaping The Harvest

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2012: THE YEAR OF THE HARVESTDear Sowers and Friends,

For the past 3 years, we had been burrowed in the hard, but extremely satisfying, work of planting our dreams, one imaginative seed at a time. In 2012, we looked up and realized that, while there is yet more, a lot more, to be done—we’ve got a bountiful harvest! We’ve seen the first generation of Hope Girls bloom into intelligent, collegiate women. We recruited two new members to our board of directors. We’ve been recognized by people and institutions in the community and beyond for our work with young women. We’re starting to see the first drips of institutional funding flow into our fields. And in 2013, we hope to build a reservoir in order to capture a flow of funds that will water our next phase of growth.

If you consider the first 5 years of an organization’s life to be the formative stage, the years of nurturing and small steps, we are well on our way to begin our middle childhood running into our destiny. One of the reasons we’re so optimistic is because we expect the rewards and recognition that we’ve attracted to serve double functions. One, they reinforce

what we’ve always known—SOH is an organization that provides excellent services that are few and far between. The need and demand for what we do open the way for growth. The recognition and the rewards are added fuel, or nutrients, to keep us going. But they also have a second function, which is to serve as bridges of future opportunities—whether they be temporary partnerships with likeminded organizations, permanent alliances or links to significant donors. In other words, growth becomes more growth. And this is our expectation for 2013.

Of course, we can’t do what we do without all of the wonderful partners, sponsors, donors and volunteers who don’t have to do what they do, but do it nonetheless. To each and every one of you, we dedicate our past and future success. For blessing us, we speak blessings on you! Thank you, thank you, and thank you.

Jacqueline Barnes, Founder

Gwendolyn L. Young,Executive Director

Jacqueline Barnes, Founder

Gwendolyn L. Young, Executive Director

Jacquelynne Young,

Teen Coordinator

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2012: THE YEAR OF THE HARVEST

“Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35).

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EXCELLENCE IN PROGRAMMING

In 2012, we expanded our commitment to cultivating young girls to become young women. Our monthly Life Skill workshops and Roundtables continued to serve as safe havens for young women to discuss their most intimate issues and challenges.

Seed of Hope Foundation sponsored 14 free life skill workshops focused on the issues of Communication, Relationships (particularly those involving domestic abuse) and the importance of Exercise. To drive our message home, we brought in a fresh variety of local leaders, including media personality Monique Caradine, author Seneca Evans and personal trainer Carmella Arias.

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We facilitated Life 101 workshops at our annual Beyond Beautiful Conference held at Proviso West. Life 101 challenged young women to think beyond high school, identify critical elements to planning their lives, i.e. completing college applications, job applications, researching careers and salaries, amongst many other success factors. This workshop was eye opening as we realized the deficiency in training teenage girls have been given in this area of preparing for life and continue to motivate them to think of their futures.

Our mentoring program continued to flourish, with two of our mentees successfully launching their own online retail business.

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A STORY OF HOPEEver since my grandma passed away and I witnessed her death, I had no hope in me. That was a fear I wish never happened. I looked up to her, the woman who raised me, is now gone. I’ve been depressed, I had hate inside me, I was always angry, and felt so lonely. I always would say to myself that I will do things for my grandma, to make her smile, but I really never did. I got into a lot of trouble, doing things I’m not supposed to do.

My best friend Fierra came to me and told me about this program called Seed of Hope Foundation. The most important event I ever went to was the self-esteem workshop and the things they talked about was everything I was going through. Through the whole session, I was smiling and thanking Fierra for inviting me to Seed of Hope Foundation. Every time I step in the door of “Seed of Hope” I’m happy, always with a smile on my face, and I know there’s hope in this place. I always want to continue going to “Seed of Hope” because I know they will help me on the right path of success and happiness. When I hit that door, there is faith. I THANK “Seed of Hope” because of them I feel hope again, I’m getting good grades, and always thinking positive. As they say, I know I will succeed because the seed has been sown.

~ Dazjhane Washington

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SPREADING HOPE IN THE COMMUNITYSeed of Hope Foundation had the honor and privilege to be a sponsor of Breaking the Cycle, a community-wide event in cooperation with FAM Entertainment at the Ford City Mall in Chicago. Breaking the Cycle reached over 1200 young women and teen girls and created focused dialogue on guarded topics of sexuality, health & wellness, domestic abuse amongst teens, and living on purpose.

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GREATNESS RECOGNIZED2012 might be considered the year of recognition, as SOH (the organization and its individual members) received several awards throughout the community.

The nationally-acclaimed website GreatNonprofits.org honored us as one of the top-rated nonprofits of 2012.

Our wonderful founder, Jacqueline Barnes, was invited to participate as a panel speaker for Women of Heart Matters in Bolingbrook, IL.

Women of Heart JOC Scholar

Through our partnership with the Cornerstone Foundation, BoardSource also nominated us to become a recipient of its Gift of Learning Library, which is an online tool comprised of courses in areas such as accounting and finance, customer service and communication. We expect this invaluable service to sharpen our leadership team for years to come.

Gift of Learning

And that’s not all! In October 2012, our Executive Director was selected to receive the Elizabeth Timpton Award for Girls Mentoring, bestowed by Passages Alternative Living Programs, Inc. (PALP). PALP, who just celebrated its 20th Year Anniversary, is a social services nonprofit agency dedicated to building and repairing families that are in trouble.

Mentoring

Our tireless Executive Director, Gwendolyn L. Young, was recognized as one of 20 emerging leaders in the United States earning the 2012 Judith O’Connor Memorial Fund Scholarship for Emerging Nonprofit Leaders. In addition to the award, she was selected to participate in the 2012 BoardSource Leadership Forum in Chicago. This proved beneficial on many fronts. At the conference we were one of 15 organizations selected to participate in a free board diversity tune-up, which allowed us to evaluate our organizational commitment to cultural openness and inclusion.

AT&T is committed to enriching and strengthening communities across the country through the AT&T Foundation. AT&T supports programs that address quality-of-life issues, with an emphasis on improving education and advancing community development.

AT&T Chase Community Giving fans helped decide which national and Western Washington charities shared in over $5 million from Chase Community Giving. Chase customers and employees helped by nominating local charities within their communities to participate.

CHASEUnited American Insurance Companies are committed to fulfilling their role as good corporate citizens by giving back to the communities that they serve. The goal of our corporate social responsibility program is to improve the quality of life for citizens through a number of company programs and initiatives.

UNITED

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COMMUNITY GRANTS RECOGNITION

In 2012, SOH was the recipient of the Chase Community Giving Grant and the United Insurance Community Trust Grant. We were also added to the AT&T United Way Employee Giving Campaign.

YouTube Chanel MYSOH09 http://www.youtube.com/user/mysoh09

YOUTUBE

https://twitter.com/mysoh

TWITTER

https://www.facebook.com/#!/SeedOfHopeFoundation

FACEBOOK

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We’re proud to report that the SOH website has attracted more than 60,000 hits since its creation 3 years ago. In 2012, the organization continued to be a visible presence on a variety of social media destinations, such as Twitter and Facebook. We also continued to add our flair to YouTube, with testimonials of what the organization means in the lives of the young women we touch.

INCREASED BRANDAWARENESS

Page Views Visitors Visit Length

50732 77018 1:05

Pictured: Pastor Chris Harris, JoJo Harris, Gwendolyn Young and James Young

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FRESH FACES IN THE BOARD ROOMThis year, we added some extra talent to our board of directors.

Symeria Hudson, who joined the board in March 2012, is Vice President of Continuous Improvement and Transformation at Hospira. She brings to the board a treasure trove of expertise, knowledge and experience in strategic and tactical marketing, business development and customer relationship. She obtained her bachelor’s degree from Alabama A&M University and her MBA from Harvard.

SYMERIA HUDSON

Michael Romain, who joined the board in December, is an independent grant writing and public relations consultant. He brings to the board a wealth of knowledge in the areas of grant acquisition, research and technical writing. In addition to these tangible skills, he also provides a unique youth perspective.

MICHAEL ROMAIN

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2012 STAFF & VOLUNTEERSBecause of you...A teenage girl will have hope.A teenage girl will understand her purpose.A teenage girl will have a safe haven where she can share her life’s challenges without judgment.A teenage girl will begin the journey of self-acceptance.A teenage girl will learn the skills they need to survive and succeed.A teenage girl will know there’s at least one person in this world who is seeding for her greatness.Thank you for making a difference.

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Seed of Hope Foundation wishes to thank the following Seed Sowers for their generous donations.

SPONSORS OF HOPE Mr. and Mrs. Barnes Mr. and Mrs. Young

SOWERS OF HOPE FRIENDS OF HOPE

Sally AndersonVictoria ArringtonMichelle BishopCharles BoydElaine BrownDemetra DavisLatoya DouglasJames DunlapSuvondal ElleryCynthia HalesSymeria HudsonAndrea JamisonTracy JonesLori LovellDavid ParmanAleta PillowsStacie PlantCarlotta PlummerShanel RomainJenylle Rys

EFFECTIVE PEOPLE

BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2012 FACT SHEET Total number of Directors in 2012: 4 Avg. attendance at board meetings in 2012: 85% % of directors making financial contributions in 2012: 75% (3/4) Average contribution in 2012: $1,593 Total board contributions in 2012: $4,780

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FRIENDS OF HOPE cont.Derschaun SharpleyCharlene WattsVashanti TaylorLaura TaylorMr. & Mrs. TruongLouAnn WestergrenQiana WilliamsValerie WilliamsAntwinette WimbishRock SteadyUnited Insurance of AmericaChase BankWendy’sAT& United Way Employee Giving Campaign

Thank you for continued support!

SEED OF HOPE FOUNDATION 2012

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FINANCIALSBalance SheetAs at: 12/31/2012

AssetsChecking Account $ 396.85Savings Account $ 800.41Software $ 538.73Equipment $1,487.76Total Assets: $3,223.75

LiabilitiesCredit Card ($ 380.53)Payroll Tax Payable ($ 614.43)Total Liabilities: ($ 994.96)

Net Assets $4,218.71

EquityRetained Earnings $4,218.71

Total Equity: $4,218.71

STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIESPeriod: 01/01/2012 to 12/31/2012

Donor Contributions Donations $7,850.67Total Income: $7,850.67

Expenses

Program AdministrationWages and Salaries $1,556.77Mileage Reimbursement $ 7.00Advertising and Promotion $ 981.66Catering $ 404.65Student Education $ 175.00General Products Purchased $ 121.05Total Program Administration $3,246.13

Management/Administrative ExpenseTraining and Development $ 56.28Office Expenses $ 405.15Telephone and Internet $ 230.81Office Supplies $ 434.20Books and Subscriptions $ 60.46Insurance $ 713.00Legal $ 13.00Bank Fee $ 92.00Total Management/Administrative Expense $2,004.90

Other ExpensesProfessional Services $ 384.95Total Other Expenses: $ 384.95

Net Profit $2,214.69

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EFFECTIVESTEWARDSHIP

P.O. Box 3573Oak Brook, IL 60523

(888) 502-5590www.mysoh.org

SEED OF HOPE FOUNDATION