Amir Business Plan April 2011

Business PlanMay 2011

Amirto build and be built

Designed by Sam Schauer

Table of ConTenTs

amir | Business Plan 2

executive summary ................................................................. 3-4

The Problem .................................................................................... 5

amir overview Theory of Change .......................................................................... 6 Mission, Vision, Values, Purpose ................................................. 7 History ............................................................................................ 8

Market analysis Amir’s Target Demographic ....................................................... 9-11 Partnerships ............................................................................. 12-13 Competitive Advantage ............................................................... 14

The amir Project Research based Curriculum ...................................................... 15-16 Different forms of learning ......................................................... 17 Our Approach .............................................................................. 18 Accountability .............................................................................. 19 Program Value ............................................................................. 20 Amir Seminar/Training ................................................................ 21

Management Team Headcount Plan ........................................................................... 22 Lead Farmers and Fellows .......................................................... 23

Organizational Chart ................................................................... 24Board of Directors ..................................................................... 25-26Advisory Board ............................................................................ 27Growth ......................................................................................... 28

financials Financial Sustainability Model ................................................... 29 Financial Sheets ...................................................................... 30-33 Fundraising .................................................................................. 34 Family Foundations ..................................................................... 35 Statement of Needs .................................................................... 36

exeCuTive suMMary


Amir (in Hebrew, top of the tree) is an organization dedicated to the cognitive and social development of youth through summer camp programming. Research in the field of childhood development indicates that Environmental Education (EE) can increase civic engagement and

instill empathy in children. Nevertheless, there remains a lack of formal and informal mechanisms to educate children about our Earth. Amir aims to fill this unmet need and, through its comprehensive EE curriculum, ignite the development of youth.

Amir’s curriculum begins with facilitating the space for children to design, build, and plant gardens together. By doing so, we teach children about sharing limited resources, cooperation, and the issues of hunger. We demonstrate that environmental sustainability is in itself a social justice issue; if we overuse resources, we are directly affecting others.

In order to export these important educational messages and expand our reach, Amir partners with existing educational institutions to run the Amir Project. In summer 2010, founder David Fox piloted the Amir Project at Camp Ramah in Canada. In summer 2011, four Jewish summer camps and one special needs camp will implement the Amir Project. Each camp will have a lead farmer and two fellows that will execute the project. All lead farmers and fellows will be trained during the Amir Seminar in early June.

Amir’s curriculum teaches that the Earth is a source of commonality; we demonstrate gardening to be a universally accessible educational tool. It is in this vein that Amir commits to allocate 20% of its yearly profit to an endowment fund that will be used to run programs at camps free of charge. This summer, Amir will partner with Brainy Camps, a Children’s Hospital affiliate.

There are 2,419 summer camps that belong to the American Camp Association (ACA). Only 22% of these camps have EE programs. With a focus on leadership development and raising our youth’s social consciousness, the Amir Project educates campers about their relationship with the Earth, food, and others.

While there are other organizations that engage summer camps in nature-based programming, Amir distinguishes itself and builds a competitive advantage in three distinct ways: 1) Amir’s low-cost projects are scalable and adaptable to a range of camps; 2) Amir provides direct oversight to its project through its curriculum, pre-site assessments, and mid-summer visits; and 3) Amir partners with other organizations to recruit its lead farmers. Through our recruitment efforts and camp expansion, we cultivate a “generation of farmers” that, regardless of their future professions, will carry with them a connection to the Earth and desire to fight inequities.

In only its first year of operation, Amir is experiencing rapid growth and is planning for further organizational development. We have begun recruiting both an Advisory Board and Board of Directors that include experience in the educational and business sectors. Amir’s Board of Directors now includes Dr. Lewis Bernstein, Executive Vice President of Sesame Workshop; Dr. David P. Roye, Director of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery at New York-Presbyterian Hospital; and David Clifford, Director of Sales and Marketing of a Houston hedge fund.

exeCuTive suMMary


Founded in 2009, Amir became an incorporated organization in 2010. Growth and programming efforts have relied heavily on the committed work of Amir’s Board of Directors. Board President David Fox and Board Treasurer Yan Digilov are primarily responsible for managing the grantmaking process, fundraising, implementing pilot programs, and creating Amir’s educational curricula. Mr. Fox is a recent graduate from Washington University in St. Louis and will be devoting his full-time efforts to Amir.

Amir’s operating budget for 2011 is $56,412. Amir has raised $7,500 in start-up capital through individual donations and $3,500 in institutional grants. Our main revenue stream currently comes from its summer camp partners. We receive a $4,000 profit from each camp that we serve.

In 2010 Amir partnered with two summer camps and served 235 youth. In 2011 we will serve 675 children from our 5 camps. Amir’s growth strategy calls for a seven-person staff by year 2015, including an Executive Director, Programming Director, Marketing Director, Education Director, Administrative Assistant, and two Regional Directors. This team will be responsible for our expansion. Currently, our expansion plan calls for Amir to reach 90 camps and serve 12,150 youth in year 2015. To ensure successful expansion, we will first target Jewish summer camps and then shift our focus to all ACA camps in order to take advantage of our market potential.

We maintain that we have entered a niche market that will allow us to expand rapidly. Research conducted by the ACA shows that 80% of camp directors believe that fostering a relationship with the Earth is important to their camps’ goals, yet only a small fraction of camps have programming for it. Still, to control our quality, we have developed a conservative expansion plan to ensure our project’s success.

Amir aims to cultivate a “generation of farmers” made up of youth dedicated toward rectifying social inequalities on both local and global levels. We hold that the Earth is a source of commonality, and thus will scale to camps from all religions and backgrounds. By expanding our reach and serving more children, Amir will root itself within the culture and tradition of our partner camps, and as a result, within the fabric of our society.

The ProbleM


The Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education held that Environmental Education (EE) is the process of recognizing values and clarifying concepts in order to develop skills and attitudes necessary to understand and appreciate the interrelatedness among men,

his culture and his biophysical surroundings. The conference determined that EE should be a lifelong, holistic educational process to build positive attitudes and values about human interaction and socio-economic issues that will lead to improvements in environmental and global justice problems.

Although EE is essential to our future, it is missing from our children’s education. There are 2,419 summer camps that belong to the American Camp Association (ACA). 86% of ACA affiliated directors believe that connecting their campers to the natural environment is important to fulfilling their camp’s mission, goals, and objectives. In addition, 80% of directors hold that fostering campers’ connections to the natural environment requires purposeful programming. Nevertheless, according to the ACA, only 22% of summer camps provide programs that teach environmental education. Even fewer camps use gardening as a means to educate youth about social justice.

Since 1861 summer camps have served over 500 million children. Today, more than 10 million children go to summer camp each year, which means that 8.8 million children are not afforded EE programming during the summer. As a result, too many of our youth are unaware of their complex and significant interaction with the Earth, and consequently, with others.

Hunger and our interaction with the environment are directly connected. If we overuse resources, we are directly affecting others. Today, about 75% of the world’s poor live in rural areas and agrarian based lives. Because of a multitude of complex socio-political systems, these poor lack access to food. In 2010, it is estimated that 925 million people suffered from hunger. Amir educates children about these emotionally difficult yet pressing issues. Using gardening as its medium, we educate children about their obligation to work toward addressing and rectifying these needs.

According to the Bread for the World Institute,1 in 2005 1.4 billion people in the developing world lived in extreme poverty. In a time when hunger and poverty are increasing, we hope to increase assistance toward those in need. Amir does not currently address hunger and poverty through food production. Rather, we work toward rectifying these pressing needs through education and, more specifically, the medium of experiential environmental education.

1 “Hunger and Poverty Facts.” Bread for the World. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. <http://www.bread.org/hunger/global/facts.html>.

In 2010, it is estimated that 925 million people suffered from hunger

aMir overviewTheory of Change


Amir aims to cultivate a “generation of farmers” who hold the values of sharing resources, rectifying injustice, and building commonality. To do so, Amir will train its lead farmers and fellows at a yearly seminar in early June. Lead farmers and fellows will carry Amir’s curriculum to the camps that we

serve, and will infuse our educational mission within each camp’s community and culture. Each camp represents the roots of the tree. As Amir continues to partner with its summer camps year after year, our message will grow deeper within the social fabric of that camp’s community. Similarly, as we expand our reach and serve more camps, our educational vision will become increasingly rooted within our society.

lead

far

mer

san

d fe

llow

s

ACACamps

EndowmentFunded

Programs

aMirsharing limited resources

building commonality

aMir overviewMission, Vision, Values, PurPose


Mission

Amir, in Hebrew, is the top of the tree. Our mission is to build an environmentally conscious and globally just future. Through experiential EE we aim to provide children the perspective on their relationship with the Earth that they can only have at the Amir of a tree.

vision

Amir envisions an international network of summer camps utilizing the Amir curriculum, dedicating their campers and larger camp community to cooperation and sustainable living.

Amir envisions graduates of the Amir Project developing into future community leaders dedicated toward rectifying local and global inequities.

values

We work to:

• Commit youth to living environmentally conscious lives• Build commonality between children with varying disabilities• Educate youth about poverty and provide them tangible ways of addressing social inequalities• Educate youth about how they affect the environment and how the environment effects them on a personal level

Purpose

To contribute to an already existent cultural movement among youth that is dedicated toward environmental sustainability as a means of serving those in need.

aMir overviewhisTory


Founder David Fox understood the power of informal education from his extensive experience with summer camping. After spending five summers as a camper and three as a counselor, David recognized a void in these summer experiences. Although camps provided children a

fun, safe environment to grow socially and emotionally, camps missed a critical opportunity to educate their campers about social justice and environmental stewardship.

Upon returning to school for his sophomore year at Washington University in St. Louis, David was determined to formulate a template for environmental and social justice education. He received the Stern Social Change Grant to develop a curriculum and run an organic gardening program in an Israeli development town in the Israeli desert. There, David ran programming for over 30 + local youth. Additionally, over 160 American teenagers from United Synagogue Youth and Young Judaea summer programs participated. David built five educational organic gardens in front a girl’s high school, Kama. David also built a composting unit and educated youth on topics ranging from the lifecycle to children’s moral obligations to give charity.

After that summer David recruited both Josh Goldberg and Yan Digilov to join the Amir team. Josh has extensive background in Jewish informal education and Yan has experience with special needs programming. They have been instrumental in all of Amir’s developments since coming on board.

During his junior year David received an Undergraduate Research Grant from Washington University to research the effectiveness of gardening programs across America. During summer 2010, while conducting this research, David and Josh ran the Amir Project pilot program at Camp Ramah in Canada. Also during that summer Yan ran environmental programming at Camp For All, a muscular dystrophy camp in Houston.

This upcoming summer Amir will be expanding to five camps. David, Yan, and Josh will lead a training seminar from May 31-June 3, training 12 individuals to implement the Amir Project at their respective camps. Throughout the summer David and Josh will visit each camp, ensuring the project’s successful execution. During this time David and Yan will continue to work toward expanding Amir’s Board of Directors.

Amir is currently in the process of filing for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.

MarkeT analysisTargeT DeMograPhiC


Jewish summer Camps

Amir’s mission uniquely fits with the mission of Jewish summer camps. Many Jewish camps are mission-based nonprofit organizations that are dedicated to the Jewish principals of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world). Among the 168 Jewish camps that belong to the American Camping Association (ACA), we have identified five market segments that will enable Amir to scale quickly and effectively.

Amir aims to root itself within the following camp segments: Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Zionist, and JCC. 144 Jewish camps belong to these market segments. Amir has demonstrated that implementing the Amir Project in one of these camp segments enables further growth within that segment.

From our market research we found that of the camps within these five segments, the same ratio of camps with EE programming to those without it was similar to the national average (22% +/- 8%). We therefore maintain that of the 144 camps, only 32 will not need the Amir Project.

Target Camp segment

Reform

Conservative

Orthodox

JCC

Zionist

Total

Total numberof Camps

38

14

40

39

13

144

Camps already with ee

7

4

8

9

4

32

Camps withamir

--

2

--

--

2

4

Camps with amir in year 5

11

5

12

12

5

45

46%31%

23%Interested in future summers

Implementing the Amir Project

Already have EE

of the 13 camps contacted for summer 2011...

Growth strategy within Jewish summer camps

MarkeT analysisaMir exPansion


Although we will initially target Jewish summer camps for immediate growth, Amir’s educational mission and curriculum is applicable to all camps, regardless of religion. Lessons of healthy eating, tolerance, and cooperation transcend ethnicity, race, and religion. As a result, Amir

has devised a growth strategy that takes into account all summer camps in the American Camping Association (ACA).

There are 2,419 camps that belong to the ACA. 80% of ACA camp directors believe that connecting their campers to the natural environment is important to fulfilling their camp’s mission, goals, and objectives. In addition, 86% of directors hold that fostering campers’ connections to the natural environment requires purposeful programming. Still, only 22% of ACA camps have EE programming. Additionally, there has been a 10% growth in EE programming in ACA camps since 2001. We therefore maintain that Amir will be widely demanded by ACA directors.

aCa research on camp directors

Children today are less connected to the natural environment than they were 20 years ago

Children’s connections to nature have decreased due to limited access to natural spaces

Today’s camps are even more important to foster connections between children and the natural environment than camps were a generation ago

Fostering campers’ connections to the natural environment requires purposeful programming

The natural environment is important to the fulfillment of my camp’s mission

The natural environment is important to the fulfillment of my camp’s goals and objectives

agree

88%

78%

86%

86%

80%

81%

Disagree

4%

11%

2%

2%

5%

5%

n/a

8%

11%

12%

12%

15%

14%

0

20

40

60

80

100

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 50

3000

6000

9000

12000

15000

number of children reachednumber of programs

paying camps

endowment-fundedprogramming

MarkeT analysisenDowMenT funD CaMPs


One of Amir’s goals is to educate youth about their moral obligation to give of themselves. It is in this vein that we find it is necessary for our organization to directly manifest these values. One way we give back to the community is by providing our program, free of charge,

to special needs and interfaith camps.

special needs Camps

Ranging from physical, mental, or psychological disorders, special needs camps serve children with a wide variety of disabilities. There are 227 special needs camps across the United States. Although we will not reach all of these camps, Amir’s growth strategy calls for five special needs partner camps by summer 2015. Research by the National Science Teacher’s Association suggests that gardening helps build fine motor skills, increase creativity, and develops patience and self-confidence. We look forward to serving children at these camps.

interfaith Camps

We have identified five interfaith camps at which we hope to run the Amir Project. We hope to partner with Seeds of Peace and Kids4Peace to implement our Project. Departing from the philosophy that our Earth transcends socio-political differences, we maintain that gardening will positively build cooperation among Jewish and Muslim youth. In fact, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies conducted research on a gardening program between Arab and Israeli youth. They found that 73% of the participants thought that gardening contributed “significantly” to cooperation among the different groups. By running programs at interfaith camps for free, Amir will be furthering its mission of preparing the next generation of youth to become ambassadors of peace and cooperation.

Camp segment

Special needs

Interfaith

2011

1

--

2012

1

--

2013

2

1

2014

2

2

2015

5

4

MarkeT analysisParTnershiPs


As Amir expands, we will forge strategic partnerships with other organizations for mutual benefit. Collaboration with our partner organizations not only adds value to Amir and the other organizations with which we partner, but also for the youth whom we jointly serve.

There are two major partnership goals: growth and program value. Growth partnerships will enable greater networking and increased branding while program value partnerships will enhance Amir’s current program offerings. We have already reached out to several organizations that have similar missions and visions as Amir. Some of our potential partnerships are described below and outline how to scale Amir at low cost. In addition, as we establish ourselves and grow, new opportunities for partnerships will continue to present themselves:

american Camp association

The American CampAssociation (ACA) is an organization that provides services for camp owners and professionals. It has over 7,000 members and 24 local offices all over the United States.

Partnering with ACA can help Amir expand our brand name as well as provide valuable networking opportunities. The ACA holds an annual “vendors conference” where outside organizations can sell their products to ACA camp directors. We have already with ACA leadership and have learned that no other organizations like Amir attend these conferences.

student-led gardening clubs

There is currently no centralized organization that connects student-led garden clubs at colleges and universities. Still, there are 90 such clubs throughout the country. Amir aims to engage these student-led groups across the country and develop a network

that will augment Amir’s expansion and lead farmer recruitment. Amir founder David Fox has worked extensively with members of the Washington University student-led garden club and aims to engage other clubs across the country.

Colleges and universities

Amir will focus on well renowned Schools of Agriculture and Educational Studies Programs at various colleges and universities to recruit qualified and passionate lead farmers. We will utilize existing internship programs at these schools to provide students with credit for their work with Amir. This method of acquiring our labor supply will not only benefit the company culture and reputation, but will enable Amir to expand rapidly at low cost.

kayam farm

The Kayam Farm in Reisterstown, Maryland, is an incredible resource to add program value to Amir. Founded in 2006, the Kayam Farm’s mission is to model and inspire social and ecological responsibility by engaging the community in hands-on Jewish agricultural

education. Jakir Manela, Kayam’s camp director, and his staff year-round programming and invite local schools to partake in the farm. Manela sits on Amir’s advisory board and has already agreed to contribute to Amir’s evolving curriculum.

Jewish Community Centers

The JCC is a general social and recreational organization that helps provide services to Jewish communities all over the United States and Canada. The JCC organizational mission centers on building

and preserving Jewish identity. They also operate and run campsites that are eligible for the Amir Project. Partnership with various Jewish Community Centers across the country will enable Amir’s organizational growth. The JCC employs youth aged 18-22 from their respective communities to run educational programs throughout the year. Because these youth work for the JCC during the school year, these individuals would be ideal candidates to be Amir farmers during the summer.

Jewish farm school

The Jewish Farm School is an EE organization whose mission is to practice and promote sustainable agriculture and to support food systems rooted in justice and Jewish traditions. It enrolls students who seek to learn horticulture, and

through its permaculture program, teaches students the process of working the land and growing food. It currently educates individuals at seven sites across the country.

Amir has reached out to the Jewish Farm School founder Nati Passow and looks forward to partnering with them. We hope to recruit lead farmers from the Jewish Farm School and exchange programmatic ideas with them. Partnering with the Jewish Farm School would help its students further enrich their educational experience by extending their learning into practical, leadership experiences at various summer camps.

seeds of Peace

This organization runs a summer camp and year-round regional initiatives that empower leaders from regions of conflict. For example, they bring together Jewish and Muslim children and give

them tools necessary to advance coexistence between them.

Central to Amir’s mission is using the Earth as a source of commonality. Especially relevant to Amir is the usage of water and other environmental resources in the Middle East. Partnering with Seeds of Peace will add program value and enable Amir to expand to another summer camp market segment.

Muscular Dystrophy association

The MDA is a nonprofit health organization devoted to researching and curing muscular dystrophy, ALS, and other related diseases. They conduct significant research through over 200 offices nationwide.

Partnering with the MDA will help expansion within special needs camps. We have already worked with the MDA and ran EE programming for an MDA day camp during summer 2010.

MarkeT analysisParTnershiPs


MarkeT analysisCoMPeTiTiVe aDVanTage


The amir Curriculum

Beginning with the building of a garden, the Amir curriculum will add a new component and have a new focus each year at a summer camp. Ranging from composting to installing a water recycling system, Amir will utilize a wide range of approaches to communicate its educational message.

We train our lead farmers and fellows to implement our spiral curriculum, which spans the various forms of learning. Ranging from bodily kinesthetic to cognitive approaches to education, the Amir curriculum is accessible to all children. Unlike our competitors, Amir has a curriculum that it will run at each of its partner summer camps.

our reach and scalability

Amir is unique in that we are scalable and adaptable to most every camp. We understand that each camp is different and that each community has its own values and traditions. Amir aims to adapt our program to the unique features of each camp. For example, at some camps the Amir Project runs under the camp’s education department while at other camps it may exist under the camp’s nature department. In addition, our program model is uniform across all camp; all lead farmers and fellows will be trained together in early June.

oversight

Amir has developed a comprehensive training seminar for its lead farmers and fellows that will teach them how to successfully implement the Amir Project. In addition, Amir will conduct a pre-site assessment at each of its partner summer camps to identify locations for the garden and assess any other need a camp regarding its environmental sustainability practices. Along with the pre-site assessment, Amir will conduct a mid-summer visit to evaluate the success of the project and ensure its proper implementation. Amir will require weekly evaluations from its lead farmers to ensure that all gardens are growing healthfully and on time. All together, each step in our oversight procedure allows Amir to maintain a high level of programmatic quality, regardless of the number of programs we run.

recruitment

Amir provides its lead farmers to each partner summer camp. Currently, we recruit lead farmers from our partner organizations and as we expand into non-Jewish camps, will coordinate with Schools of Agriculture and student-led garden clubs to recruit high-achieving students that are passionate about the environment and our project.

our Main Competitor

TEVA

TEVA (in Hebrew, nature) is an organization that trains camp staff members to run nature-based programming. They run a training seminar in early June. Unlike Amir, TEVA does not have its own distinct curriculum that it trains individuals to run. In addition, TEVA does not oversee its nature-based programming at its partner camps. Moreover, TEVA does not recruit individuals to run nature-based programming at each camp. Rather, it requires its partner camps to find those people who may be inclined to run EE programs.

The aMir ProJeCTresearCh BaseD CurriCuluM


The Amir Project rests on research regarding the current needs of society and the best ways to address them. The importance of Amir’s curriculum exists within three distinct areas: early childhood education, EE, and experiential education.

early Childhood education

The process of brain development involves the formation of new neurological connections that are the basis for learning information, acquiring skills, and creating beliefs and tendencies. However, this process does not occur at a constant gradual rate. According to research conducted by the Department of Neurobiology at Stanford University’s School of Medicine, the capacity to develop and modify our brain’s architecture is highest during adolescence and decreases over time1. In addition, Senior Research Scholar Stephen Kellert at the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies looked specifically at children’s interactions with nature and wrote: “the critical period of middle childhood appears to be an especially important time for developing the capacities for creativity, problem-solving, and emotional and intellectual development.”2

environmental education

EE involves the study of the relationship and interactions between humans and their natural surroundings. Though the majority of classroom learning structures stress a more traditional focus on subjects such as math and science, many organizations including the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have deemed nature and environmental studies to be a vital, underrepresented aspect of the current educational framework. In the Tbilisi Declaration, UNESCO indicated that EE results in the “sound and balanced development of the world’s communities” and put forth five related objectives to foster this effect: Awareness, Knowledge, Attitudes, Skills, and Participation.

Since UNESCO articulated these beneficial results of EE, the focus on sustainability and environmental consciousness has increased. Despite this “green movement” however, environmental literacy continues to decline; a shocking two-thirds of the American public fail a basic standardized environmental quiz. The National Science Foundation (NSF) articulated that it is necessary to increase “environmental education efforts through informal vehicles”3 if we hope to change these discerning trends. NSF concluded that integrating nature into students’ education “increased engagement and enthusiasm for learning, greater student pride and ownership in accomplishments, and a larger likelihood for civic engagement and environmental stewardship.”

The aMir ProJeCTresearCh BaseD CurriCuluM


experiential education

Experiential education implies the incorporation of direct encounters with the material being studied, as opposed to a theoretical style of learning. One of the first scholars on experiential education was John Dewey, who posited that, in contrast with the lecture format, hands-on learning affords students the opportunity to develop their own opinions of concepts. Dewey held that when directly interacting with the subject material, students can apply their past experiences to any given lesson. Dewey wrote: “The experiential learning classroom mimics society, where all people have different views of topics and information.”4

Contemporary scholar David A. Kolb, Professor of Organization Behavior in the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western University, modeled experiential education into four elements: concrete experience, observation and reflection, the formation of abstract concepts, and testing in new situation. This process – Kolb argues – represents a learning cycle that allows an individual to act, reflect, and apply, which cannot be achieved as effectively through more traditional platforms of education.

amir’s approach

Our curriculum directly addresses the goals set by UNESCO. Amir’s program makes campers aware of social problems that would not likely emerge in traditional classroom settings. With the proper activities and discussions, this exposure will allow them to form their own attitudes and bestow them with the tools and skills necessary to act on them. Amir will encourage campers, when they finish our program, to act upon their experiences and participate more actively in their communities to make the changes they desire.

Similarly, Amir’s curriculum is naturally structured around the experiential education model. Our program gives campers the chance to get hands-on experience with gardening and then view their results and reflect on the implications of their work and accomplishments. Many times, this will relate to abstract concepts such as charity, which we hope the children will carry with them and apply.

As Amir’s framework and curriculum continues to develop, we will place special emphasis on incorporating relevant research in order to provide the most substantial, effective learning experience for campers. We are confident that our experiential EE program is optimally structured to address and attack the targeted issues facing our society today.

1 Knudsen, E. I., Heckman, J. J., Cameron, J. L., & Shonkoff, J. P. (2006). Economic, neurobiological, and behavioral perspectives on building america. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103(27).

2 Kellert, S. R. (2005). Building for life: designing and understanding the human-nature connection. Island Pr.

3 National Science Board. (2000). Environmental science and engineering for the 21st century. National Science Foundation, 22.

4 Dewey, J. (1938/1997). Experience and education. New York: Macmillan Co., p. 7

The aMir ProJeCTDifferenT forMs of learning


The Amir curriculum adopts the educational philosophy of developmental psychologist Howard Gardner. Gardner, a Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, developed a theory of Multiple Intelligences. Gardner suggests that human beings

have many different ways to learn and process information. He formed a list of “intelligences” that exist independently of one another, but together, form a child’s cognitive and social development.

Linguistic intelligence involves sensitivity to spoken and written language, the ability to learn languages, and the capacity to use language to accomplish certain goals

Logical-mathematical intelligence consists of the capacity to analyze problems logically, carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically.

Musical intelligence involves skill in the performance, composition, and appreciation of music. Accoring to Gardner, musical intelligence runs parallel to linguistic intelligence.

Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence entails the potential of using one’s whole body or parts of the body to solve problems.

Spatial intelligence involves the potential to recognize and use the patterns of wide space and more confined areas.

Interpersonal intelligence is concerned with the capacity to understand the intentions, motivations and desires of other people. It allows people to work effectively with others.

Intrapersonal intelligence entails the capacity to understand oneself, to appreciate one’s feelings, fears and motivations.

area of intelligence

Lingustic

Logical-Mathematic

Musical

Bodily-Kinesthetic

Interpersonal

activity to stimulate Campers

“Adam Learns from the Animals,” a story of communication and dialogue.

“Measuring our space and charting growth;” using nature as our calculator.

“Music Lyrical Analysis,” comparing Tupac to Bible Raps.

“Getting Dirty with Amir,” building our garden!

“Our Obligation to Give to Others,” allocating our resources.

how intelligence is applied

Campers must dialogue and reach a consensus on the shape and design of their garden.

Campers find area, volume of their gardens and study the growth of their crops...finding length, width, and area of our garden

Campers are challenged with analyzing songs about social responsibility.

Campers participate in hands-on activities such as raking, shoveling, and planting.

Campers are charged with the task of deciding how much of their produce they hope to give to charity.

The aMir ProJeCTour aPProaCh


Amir has developed a comprehensive and engaging curriculum, using foundations provided by top EE experts. Many of the

topics that we focus on are never addressed in schools. While some children can turn to their parents for information on these topics, many cannot.

Major Topics include

• Farming and growing food• Health, bodies, and nourishment• Connection to the land• Composting and the lifecycle• Food and ethics: the implications of our choices• Our sphere of obligation

Amir uses organic gardening as its tool to teach environmental and social justice education. We recommend participation at least three times a week. Programs will usually last one hour, but can be lengthened and shortened as needed. Our programming is through a non-denominational lens. We will teach about environmentalism and social justice through ancient and modern religious texts and interactive stories.

amir Project for Camps

• Build sustainable organic gardens that grow a wide variety of vegetables and plants, ranging from tomatoes to sunflower seeds.• Run educational programming in, and around, these gardens. All programming will be age appropriate.• Grow food that the kitchen staff can use for campers’ food.• Facilitate a camper-led food donation • Set up a camp-wide composting program• Survey participants before, during, and after the summer to measure educational success and to gage participant enthusiasm.• Develop activities for special needs program

The aMir ProJeCTaCCounTaBiliTy


Amir recognizes that as a new organization it must develop an in-depth evaluative process to measure the impact of our projects. By working with professors of Education and Environmental Studies at Washington University and the University of Maryland, we are

committed to furthering our evaluation methods as we scale.

Amir’s pilot project at Camp Ramah in Canada was successful and showed statistically significant increases in the following areas:

• Willingness to donate to charities • Desire to be an active member of their communities • Appreciation of their food

As we expand, our main evaluative question will be: can experiential environmental education for children have a long-term impact on their behaviors and actions? We are confident that the answer is undeniably affirmative; we believe that our future research will confirm the results of Amir’s pilot survey. Our obligation is to address the question of Amir’s impact with research methods that can withstand the scrutiny of skeptics and that can guide us to revamp our curriculum if necessary. In order to demonstrate whether we have had an impact on the campers that we serve, we will undertake a site-based randomized controlled trial at another summer camp.

Amir has recruited Dr. Lewis Bernstein to serve on Amir’s Board of Directors and to help Amir develop and oversee a rigorous educational evaluation of our projects. We hope to maximize value for campers and donors alike, and have thus designated substantial resources toward developing our evaluative method. Dr. Bernstein has extensive experience in the field of education and in evaluation different forms of experiential education.

The aMir ProJeCTPrograM Value


information and Motivation

Amir provides campers with information about issues of hunger and intolerance. Through our comprehensive curriculum we show campers tangible ways of making a difference in rectifying injustice. We maintain that camper participation in the Amir Project will motivate individuals to effect change in their local communities.

The amir Community

Amir is unique in that it operates at camps across the country, thereby creating a network of camps and communities dedicating themselves to social consciousness through environmentalism. Amir will facilitate this community through reunions, listservs, scholarship competitions, service trips, etc. By enabling this network, we provide a forum for a camper in California to share his or her recent composting project at school to a camper in New York.

Mentoring

College students are in a unique position to connect with high school students on a more personal level than professionals and adults can. Teenagers staffed at summer camps serve as role models and mentors. In addition, Amir will create a mentorship program where staff members are partnered with campers and serve as their “social conscience” throughout the year. These relationships will strengthen throughout the year as our lead farmers check in with their previous campers and help enable project in that camper’s community. Finally, this mentoring program provides college students with invaluable experience in working directly with children, preparing the lead farmers for careers in education or social services.

special needs and interfaith Camps

Amir commits to run 10% of its Projects at special needs and interfaith summer camps free of charge. We hold that the Earth and EE transcend physical ability or socio-political boundaries. As a result, we pledge to continuously help those in need.

long Term effects

As Amir continues to run its projects in summer camps year after year and becoming rooted in a camp’s traditions and culture, the children that we serve will begin to show long-term positive commitment to environmental sustainability. After participating in the Amir Project for multiple years, children will become more inclined to engage in community activities, take leadership roles, and give back of themselves to others.

In order to train Amir’s lead farmers and fellows, Amir will run a three-day seminar. Transportation, food, and lodging costs will be included in the price we charge to our partner summer camps. The seminar will take place at Capital Camps and Retreat Center in Waynesboro,

Pennsylvania.

At our seminar we will teach the lead farmers and fellows how to build a garden and how to use the garden as a vehicle to implement the Amir curriculum. Lessons will include how much soil to use, what equipment is appropriate for each task, what seeds to plant and where to plant them, and how and when to water crops. Additionally, we go in-depth into the curriculum and instruct them about the Amir culture—the importance of charity, issues of hunger and sustainability, and our belief in the interrelatedness of all beings. We will have various exercises that mimic the activities they will be executing at their camps.

The aMir ProJeCTaMir seMinar/Training


7:00am – 7:45am Wakeup

7:45am – 8:45am Reflection

8:45am – 9:00am Yoga

9:00am – 9:45am Breakfast

10:00am – 11:30am Choosing our plants, planting, and mulching

11:30am – 12:00am What do our plants need to grow?How to care for our gardens

12:00am – 1:00pm Lunch

1:00pm – 2:00pm Guest Speaker: Jakir Manela“Why we garden”

2:00pm – 2:30pm Rest

2:30pm – 4:30pm Maintaining our gardens: fencing, signs, watering

4:30pm – 6:00pm Integrating Amir into camp

6:00pm – 7:00pm Beautifying andcleaning up our site

7:00pm – 8:00pm Dinner

8:30pm – 10:00pm Amir curriculum

10:00pm – 10:30pm Wrap up

10:30pm – 12:00am Explore and goodnight!

sample seminar schedule

ManaGeMenT TeaMheaDCounT Plan


executive DirectorAmir’s Executive Director is the head of the organization. The Executive Director will be charged with ensuring the successful implementation of the Amir Project at different summer camps, gathering feedback from partner camp directors, and hiring all lead farmers. During the year Amir’s Executive Director will focus on recruiting camps for further and fundraising. The Executive Director will lead Board meetings bi-monthly and will be responsible for Amir’s annual reports. In 2015 the Executive Director will lead a staff of seven and will earn $70,000.

Program DirectorAmir will hire a Program Director beginning in summer 2012 in order to expand and adapt our curriculum. The Program Director will be in charge of formulating the logistics of different EE projects such as composting and water recycling. In addition, the Program Director will be in charge of overseeing Amir’s lead farmer recruitment. This person will review applications, explore different college and University programs to partner with, and further strengthen our connections with the Jewish Farm School and the Kayam Farm. In 2013 Amir will hire the Program Director full-time. In 2015 the Program Director will be responsible for the Education Director and all regional directors. By 2015 the Program Director will earn a yearly salary of $60,000.

Marketing DirectorAmir plans to hire a Marketing Director in 2013 in order to help our initial expansion to 30 camps. The Marketing Director will be in charge of contacting camps for expansion, promoting the Amir Project, and facilitating the network of Amir participants. In addition, the Marketing Director will be charged with grantwriting, fundraising, and creating documents (i.e. brochures) to distribute to potential camps and donors. The Marketing Director’s will earn $15,000 during summer 2013 and will become a full-time employee in 2014, earning $45,000.

administrative assistantIn 2013, as Amir enters is first expansionary period, we will hire an administrative assistant for the summer months. This person will be charged with various office and logistical duties, such as printing, creating marketing materials, and scheduling meetings. During our second expansionary period, as Amir expands to 90 camps, we will hire this assistant year-round.

education DirectorIn 2015 we plan to add an Education Director to Amir’s year-round team. The Education Director’s main duty will be to create new curricula and to individualize them to each of the camps that we partner with. During the summer they will be responsible for collecting the weekly plan from the Lead Farmers from each camp. The Education Director will report to the Program Director and will be responsible for overseeing the two regional directors. The Education Director’s 2015 salary will be $28,000.

regional DirectorsIn 2015 we plan to hire two Regional Directors for the summer. Their duties will include traveling to the camps for the pre-site assessment and the mid-summer visit. Their main role is to evaluate and research our program effectiveness at each partner camp. In addition, the regional directors will work with each camp director to ensure customer satisfaction. Each regional director will report directly to the Education Director. Their year 4-month salary will be $12,000.

ManaGeMenT TeaMleaD farMers anD fellows


lead farmers The Amir Project at each of our partner summer camps will have one lead farmer. This farmer will be a college-aged counselor charged with the task of implementing the Amir curriculum. All lead farmers will receive a $1,000 bonus upon successful completion of the project. In addition, Amir will partner with different colleges and Universities to access internship programs and leverage course-credit. By engaging students pursuing careers in education, Amir will provide its partner camps with an affordable labor supply.

fellows There will be two Amir Fellows at each paying camp; each endowment-funded camp will only have a Lead Farmer. Our fellows will be two camp-provided counselors who will assist the Lead Farmer in executing the project. While the Lead Farmer will oversee the entire program, our fellows will be charged with engaging the larger camp community and culture. On top of their normal camp salary, fellows will receive a $300 bonus from Amir upon successful completion of the project.

ManaGeMenT TeaMorganizaTional CharT


boarD ofDireCTors

exeCuTiveDireCTor

ProGraMDireCTor

reGionalDireCTor

aDvisoryboarD

MarkeTinGDireCTor

eDuCaTionDireCTor

reGionalDireCTor

ManaGeMenT TeaMBoarD of DireCTors


Dr. lewis bernsteinChairman, Sesame Workshop

Dr. Lewis Bernstein has worked for the non-profit organization, Sesame Workshop, for thirty years. He currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Education, Research and Outreach, in which he establishes the educational agenda for all Workshop productions and creative executions. He oversees the development and analysis of research studies which assess the outcomes of Sesame Workshop’s projects.He previously served as the Executive Producer of the organization’s popular Children’s television series: Sesame Street. Lewis added the segment “Global Grover,” a segment teaching American children to respect the diversity of children from all over the world, during his tenure as Executive Producer. Lewis

provides Amir’s Board with knowledge in Children’s programming and passion to educate today’s youth about the inequalities that exist around the world. Dr. Bernstein holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University in Communications Research, an M.A. from Hebrew University in Communications, and a B.A. from Queens College, CUNY, in Psychology.

David foxFounder, President and CEO, Amir

David is a senior at Washington University in St. Louis, earning a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy. David has extensive background in Jewish camping and programming. He was a counselor for three summers: one at Capital Camps and two at Camp Ramah in New England. He won the Stern Social Change Grant from Wash U last year and ran an organic gardening program in the Israeli development town of Yerucham during the summer. There, he involved over 30 local youth and 160 American teenagers. He was recently selected as a Finalist for the Truman Scholarship and received an Undergraduate Research Grant from Washington University to study the effectiveness of gardening programs

on children’s development. This summer, David helped run the Amir Project at Camp Ramah in Canada while running his research project.

yan DigilovCo-founder, Treasurer and CFO, Amir

Yan Digilov is the co-founder of Dharma Capital, a small business development firm out of Houston, TX. With over 8 years of experience working with special needs children, Digilov joined the Amir team in 2009 in order to spread the values of universal inclusion for children from a multidude of backgrounds. As the treasurer of Amir, Digilov oversees the development and growth of the organization. In addition to handling Amir’s finance, Digilov contributes to the web development and marketing of Amir. Yan is a Rice University Alumni with BA degrees in Mathematics and Economics.

ManaGeMenT TeaMBoarD of DireCTors


David CliffordDirector and Partner, Salient Partners

David J. Clifford is a Director and Partner at Salient, where he is responsible for the distribution platform of Salient’s alternative investments. Mr. Clifford also previously served as the Project Manager for the Sustainable Woodlands Fund complex, Salient’s managed timberland solution. Mr. Clifford provides Amir with financial experience and knowledge. Mr. Clifford graduated summa cum laude from the Helsinki School of Economics MBA program (Finance/Information Technology, 2002) and is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Texas at Austin (B.B.A. in Finance, 2000), where he was a National Merit Scholar.

Dr. David P. royeChief of Pediatric Orthopedics, Children’s Hospital of New York

Dr. Roye is the Chief of the Pediatric Orthopaedic service at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian and the Livingston Professor of Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery at Columbia University. He has been a member of the faculty at Columbia since 1980 when he finished his fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. He has committed himself to caring for children with Orthopaedic problems, teaching future Orthopaedic surgeons and conducting research on children’s musculoskeletal problems. David provides Amir with knowledge on dealing with children on a daily basis. Dr. Roye received his B.A. from the University of Oklahoma and his M.D. from Columbia University

in Medicine.

Joshua GoldbergSecretary, Amir

Josh attends York University in Toronto and is earning a bachelor’s degree in History. Josh is a graduate of Nativ 26 and was extremely active in United Synagogue Youth (USY). He was president of his USY region and was elected to the national executive board. Josh has a strong and experienced background in camping and programming. Josh was a counselor for three summers at Camp Ramah in New England and was a Unit Head (Rosh Eidah) for two summers at Camp Ramah in Canada. Josh helped pilot the Amir Project at Ramah Canada this past summer and is eager to spread Amir programming to as many camps, schools, and communities as possible.

ManaGeMenT TeaMaDVisory BoarD


billy Mencow

Billy Mencow is a Jewish educator and entrepreneur whose interest in Jewish art, handcrafts, and music led him to found KOLBO, INC. in 1978, an idea that quickly grew into the nation’s most innovative retailer in Judaica. Mr. Mencow has since served as the Director of Post-Graudate Studies for the Solomon Schechter School of Greater Boston. In addition, he was the Director of Camp Ramah in New England for six summers and engineered a growth in fundraising, staff training, and innovative programming. Mr. Mencow has proven an invaluable resource to David as he learns to become a Jewish professional working with summer camp directors and boards.

Marvin rosenberg, JD

Marvin was a practicing lawyer in the Washington D.C area for over 25 years. Now retired, Marvin has agreed to dedicate time to help Amir with its legal needs. Ranging from writing contracts for Amir’s partner camps to suggesting which form of liability insurance, Marvin provides invaluable expertise to our Advisory Board.

Jakir Manela

Jakir Manela is the founder and director of Kayam Farm, an educational farm on the grounds of the Pearlstone Center, that focuses on embodying and inspiring social and ecological responsibility by transforming the community through hands-on Jewish agricultural education. Jakir has managed the farm while supervising staff, teaching educational programs, developing curriculum, working with volunteers, and fundraising. Jakir provides Amir with knowledge on running educational gardening programs. He also provides experience on methods of fundraising.

barbara ettington

Barbara Ettington founded Ettington et al, a consulting group dedicated to clients in the healthcare sector and non-profit organizations, in 2004, after 25 years in marketing and advertising for a variety of employers and clients in the healthcare, financial services, and industrial manufacturing industries. Barbara provides Amir with knowledge of non-profit organizations and of marketing methods. Barbara earned her MBA in Marketing at the University of Connecticut and her Bachelors Degree in Advertising from Michigan State University.

abraham Cherrick, MD

Dr. Cherrick is an expert diagnostician and talented non-surgical pain specialist who has been recognized repeatedly in WASHINGTONIAN Magazine’s Top Doctors for Pain Management. He has played an integral role in the establishment of Capitol Spine & Pain Centers, which has evolved into an established leader in non-surgical pain relief. Dr. Cherrick is well respected among his peers as is evidenced by his unique achievement as one of only 40 physicians, nationwide, who are yearly chosen to serve as a Board Examiner for the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Abraham provides Amir with the experience of sitting on a board and expanding to more operations. Dr. Cherrick received his B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis, and his M.D. from the University of Missouri.

roger Packer, M.D.

Dr. Roger Packer works in the neurology department at the Children’s National Medical Center. He provides Amir with knowledge on Children’s decision making process and brain development. He received his B.S. and M.D. from Northwestern University.

ManaGeMenT TeaMgrowTh


Amir has outlined three major phases for organizational growth: development and expansion. Amir has demonstrated that it can make a meaningful impact on children at summer camps. In summer 2010 Amir piloted its project at Camp Ramah in Canada.

Amir is currently operating at five summer camps. Our development phase will focus on building organizational infrastructure, supporting the current operating programs, and managing additional growth. For example, we will use this period to form strategic partnerships, expand our Board of Directors and Advisory Board, and build relationships with foundations to secure financial support for our expansion phase. During this period we will focus on quality control to ensure that we run our projects at the highest possible level. To do so, we will employ an Executive Director and Program Director.

Amir’s evaluation phase will focus on rigorously testing Amir’s program, specifically its curriculum. Investing in development and evaluation will allow us to ensure program effectiveness and efficiency. With a model proven to be effective, we can begin responsibly expanding our programs nationally. During this phase we will add a Marketing Director and administrative assistant. This team of four will oversee Amir’s growth from 10 camps to 40 camps in two years.

Our final expansion phase will significantly increase Amir’s reach. We will use aggressive marketing plans and strategic partnerships to build or integrate Amir at camps nationwide. Harnessing the success and lessons learned from the previous phases, Amir aims to create a national movement of EEal gardening programs during this phase. In 2015 Amir will experience its second major expansion period, growing from 40 camps to 90 camps. During this period we will add an education director and two regional directors. These additions will ensure the success of our project as we scale.

$85,000• Expanding team• Evaluating model• Curriculum

development• Fundraise

• 10 Amir camps• 41 farmers and

fellows• 2,025 campers• $42/camper

$220,000• Impact assessment• Secure expansion

funding• Initial growth



Self-sustaining• Build a national

movement• Expand team• Develop mentoring

program



Evaluation1/2013 – 12/2014

Expansion1/2015 – fuTure

DEvElopmEnt1/2011 – 12/2012

im

pact

fo

cus

finanCialsfinanCial susTainaBiliTy MoDel


Amir has outlined three major stages for organizational growth, and has developed a financial plan and budget for each of these stages. The funds that we are requesting will go toward building organizational infrastructure, decreasing costs per camper, building and maintaining

relationships with donors, and evaluating and improving our curriculum. For the evaluation phase, we will need three full time staff members, one part-time staff member, limited funds for office space and supplies, and minimal operational costs.

Following the success of our evaluation phase, we will begin the development phase of our plan. Development will yield lower cost per camper ratios. At this point we will begin to allocate 10% of our total revenue into an endowment fund to be able to provide the Amir Project at camps for free.

Finally, Amir’s expansion phase focuses on building a national movement. This phase will see a rapid growth in our camp partners and a heavy marketing campaign to continue our reach into the ACA community.

ToTal CosT Per CaMPer

60

80

100

120

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Yearly Expenses/Campers Served

($)

($84) ($98) ($69) ($71) ($57)

finanCialsfinanCial sheeTs


year 1 subsequent years 2-year Package 3-year Package

Seminar $2,000.00 $2,000.00 $2,000.00 $2,000.00

Program fee $4,000.00 $4,000.00 $4,000.00 $4,000.00

Fellows bonus $1,600.00 $1,600.00 $1,600.00 $1,600.00

Materials $2,031.97 $1,521.33 $1,521.33 $1,521.33

Pre-site assessment $200.00 -- -- --

Total $9,831.97 $9,121.33 $9,121.33 $9,121.33

Total charge $9,831.97 $8,665.27 $8,209.20 $7,753.13

Camp Discount $0.00 $456.07 $912.13 $1,368.20 0% 5% 10% 15%

summer camp payment structure

amir annual revenue from summer camps

$100,000

$200,000

$300,000

$400,000

$500,000

$600,000

$700,000

$800,000

2011($36,421)

2012($82,908)

2013($252,864)

2014($315,608)

2015($737,513)


2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Number of Camps 5 10 30 40 90

Revenue $41,921.3 $152,908.8 $322,864.9 $465,608.9 $797,513.7 Gross Margin % 44% 69% 57% 62% 48%

G&A $32,823.4 $84,600.1 $138,386.00 $202,200.6 $286,042.7

Net Income $(14,491.0) $21,204.3 $44,922.56 $84,465.4 $99,316.8

End of Year Assets $400.0 $22,803.5 $51,935.9 $72,762.8 $121,690.2 % Current 96% 89% 95% 94% 96% % Fixed 4% 11% 5% 6% 4%

Cash On Hand $(14,491.0) $6,713.3 $51,636.0 $136,101.4 $117,290.4

Headcount 1 2 4 4 7 Revenue/Employee $41,921 $76,454 $80,716 $116,402 $113,931

Campers Reached 675 1,350 4,050 5,400 12,150

Investment dollars per camper $- $52 $17 $28 $5

Amir Endowment Fund $- $4,241 $8,985 $16,893 $19,863 Investing Capital $- $2,241 $2,985 $8,893 $1,863

Total balance $(14,491.0) 16,963 35,938 67,572 79,453

annual financial summaries



revenues 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Camps 5 10 30 40 90 New Customer 1-yr package $28,800.00 $49,159.84 $176,975.42 $88,487.71 $442,438.56 Returning Customer 1-yr package $7,621.33 $17,330.54 $43,326.34 $138,644.29 $86,652.68 2-yr package $16,418.40 $27,911.28 $57,464.41 $123,138.02 3-yr package $4,651.88 $31,012.54 $85,284.48Total Camp Revenues $36,421.33 $82,908.78 $252,864.93 $315,608.95 $737,513.74

Total Donation Revenues $5,500.00 $70,000.00 70,000.00 $150,000.00 $60,000.00

Total revenues $41,921.33 $152,908.78 322,864.93 $465,608.95 $797,513.74

expenses

Costs of Goods Sold Direct Labor $7,200.00 $15,400.00 $46,200.00 $61,600.00 $138,600.00 Materials $7,388.97 $14,768.34 $45,697.67 $53,967.05 $132,915.10 Seminar Expense $9,000.00 $16,936.00 $47,658.70 $63,375.86 $140,639.16Total Cost of Goods Sold $23,588.97 $47,104.34 $139,556.37 $178,942.90 $412,154.27

Gross Margin $18,332.36 $105,804.43 $183,308.56 $286,666.04 $385,359.48Gross Margin % 44% 69% 57% 62% 48%

SG&A Expenses Salary Expense $17,500.00 $65,000.00 $120,000.00 $165,000.00 $246,996.00 Rent Expense $- $- $15,000.00 $15,000.00 Printing $1,300.04 $1,430.00 $1,573.00 $1,730.30 $1,903.32 Postage and Delivery $1,299.96 $1,430.00 $1,573.00 $1,730.30 $1,903.32 Telephone/Internet $583.31 $1,000.00 $1,000.00 $2,000.00 $2,000.04 Legal Expense $2,000.04 $2,000.00 $2,000.00 $2,000.00 $2,000.04 Website Development $2,400.00 $2,000.00 $- $2,000.00 $- Website Maintenance $240.00 $240.00 $240.00 $240.00 $240.00 Travel $5,500.00 $9,500.00 $10,000.00 $10,500.00 $14,000.00 Accounting Expense $2,000.00 $2,000.00 $2,000.00 $2,000.00 $2,000.00Total SG&A Expenses $32,823.35 $84,600.00 $138,386.00 $202,200.60 $286,042.72

Endowment Fund $- $4,240.86 $8,984.51 $16,893.09 $19,863.35

Total expenses $56,412.32 $131,704.34 $277,942.37 $381,143.50 $698,196.99

Net Profit $(14,490.99) $21,204.31 $44,922.56 $84,465.44 $99,316.76Net Profit % -34.57% 13.87% 13.91% 18.14% 12.45%

annual income statements



2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

base salaries and wagesSG&A Labor

Executive Director $17,500 $50,000 $50,000 $60,000 $70,000 Program Director -- $15,000 $40,000 $45,000 $60,000 Marketing Director -- -- $15,000 $45,000 $50,000 Education Director -- -- -- -- $28,000 Regional Director -- -- -- -- $12,000 Regional Director -- -- -- -- $12,000 Administrative Asst -- -- -- -- $15,000

Total sG&a labor $17,500 $65,000 $120,000 $165,000 $247,000

bonusesDirect Labor $7,200 $15,400 $46,200 $61,600 $138,600

Total $24,700 $80,400 $166,200 $226,600 $385,600

annual headcount


finanCialsfunDraising


The estimated amount of capital required for Amir to reach a point of sustainability by year 5 is $305,000. This encompasses all national operating costs and initial expenses, including: project implementation, liability insurance and startup costs, services (accounting, consulting), travel,

fundraising and publicity events, printed materials and marketing expenses.

fundraising Goal, year 1 $15,000




fundraising Goal, year 5 $0

amir is focusing on two primary funding sources

1. Individuals2. Foundations

individuals

Although not reflected in our financials, Amir aims to build a network of potential supporters who can be solicited for personal contributions. By leveraging the personal and professional connections of members of our Board of Directors and Advisory Board, Amir will pursue individual donations in the near future. Amir team members will meet in-person with potential donors. Lasting relationships with large contributors will represent the largest portion of individual fundraising. As the donor network grows, Amir will build an expansive fundraising network designed to attract new donors, make current donors recurring contributors and keep donors involved and active with Amir in their communities. Because the Amir Project will reach multiple camps from a wide variety of communities, we hold that we will be able to form a strong and dedicated network of donors/supports to enable long-term growth.

finanCialsfaMily founDaTions


foundations

Amir is undertaking an aggressive grant-writing program to apply for a wide array of family and corporate foundation grants. We have identified many foundations that fund programs with missions similar to Amir’s. Amir will apply to national foundations to support development, evaluation, and overall operations. This approach will allow Amir to solicit and receive funding from a broader list of sources. We will directly apply to foundations that accept unsolicited proposals. For foundations that do not accept unsolicited proposals, Amir will ask Board members and other supporters to make introductions and have Amir considered for funding. Based on the support we have gathered thus far and based on the amount of donations given by these foundations to camps and after-school programs with similar social values and goals as Amir, we are confident in our ability to raise significant funds through foundation support.

Foundations that have supported Amir financially

• Stern Family Foundation

• The Desiree and Max Blankfeld Endowment Fund for Jewish Studies

Major foundations with aligned missions and visions as amir that we will contact for future support • Foundation for Jewish Camp

• Hazon

• Jim Joseph foundation

• Schusterman foundation

• Avi Chai Foundation

finanCialssTaTeMenT of neeDs


Amir must meet specific needs in order to meet the growth, programmatic, and charitable goals set by the organization. The following are organizational needs to realize our vision:

General operational funding: Amir hopes to be profitable and sustainable as soon as possible. To cover our expenses in our first few years, we require $305,000 in institutional or private philanthropic funding. We believe this to be a realistic possibility based on prior donations by organizations that fund programs like ours.

full-Time staff: In order to grow at the rate we predict, it is necessary to have a full-time staff to help meet the marketing, logistical, recruitment, and administrative needs.

sustainable revenue sources: As we expand to more camps, our model exhibits economies of scale. It is important that we retain our partner camps for multiple years to lessen marketing costs. To incentivize returning customers, we give camps discounts each year after the first year of programming. Additionally, we offer two and three year packages at reduced rates to incentivize long term investment in Amir.

Marketing Campaign: To grow the Amir name, especially among college students who could serve as lead farmers, we will hire a marketing director. In addition to recruiting our lead farmers, the marketing director will reach out to camps to expand our reach and reach our expansionary goals.

Amir Business Plan April 2011

Documents

amir seminartraining

amir project research

amirs curriculum

amir overview theory

social development of

comprehensive ee curriculum

business planmay

field of childhood development