: EgoFree Jr Golf Academy

ID

121

OrgName

PhysicalAddress

5224 Pratt St, Omaha, NE 68104

MailingAddress

Website

https://www.egofree-coaching.com/

SocialMediaAccounts

https://www.facebook.com/EgoFreeGolf https://www.facebook.com/EgoFreeCoach

Name

Arnold Jones II

Title

EmailAddress

ajtwo@cox.net

Phone

+1 (402) 612-4882

Team

Yes

TeamExplanation

Judith Rhodes, LPGA Member - Ms. Rhodes will operate as lead instructor and LPGA liason. Ms. Rhodes has been teaching golf for many years and works with multiple minority focused, girls golf programs.

OrganizationalChart

OtherCompletedProjects

Program Director for Hogan’s Jr Golf Heroes (Pilot Program for current PGA First Tee Program) https://firstteeomaha.org/about/ o Summer 2020, 2021, 2022 Jr Golf Camps o USGTF Member Certification o Certified Master Life Coach with Certifications In:  Mindset  CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)  REBT (Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy)  Goal Success  Happiness

ProposalTitle

EgoFree Jr Golf Academy

TotalBudget

122250.0

LB1024GrantFundingRequest

122250.0

ProposalType

Service/program

BriefProposalSummary

o Far too many kids see as an inescapable fact of life that life will be very hard. Many kids are experiencing this feeling in a pattern of generational hopelessness they may not even be aware of. What they are aware of is that they don’t have much to do, they don’t have safe places to go, they don’t have a strong, positive support network (aka adults that care) and many don’t even have one strong, positive adult that is engaged in their lives in a meaningful way daily. When a child is born into an environment like this, not only do they suffer the immediate effects, but they also suffer the long-term effects that come from never seeing anything different for themselves in their future. Kids born into this environment rarely set goals, rarely see themselves in corporate or entrepreneurial settings, rarely see themselves in positive social circles, rarely see themselves starting and leading families that are any different from the family unit they were born into. That is the nature of generational hopelessness and exclusion. That mentality and dysfunction can and often does spread into neighborhoods and throughout communities. o My proposal, through the EgoFree Golf Academy, is to use golf as a vehicle to help kids disproportionately impacted by Covid live better, happier lives, expand their horizons and reach their full potential. Golf presents many opportunities to develop strong, positive personal and social character traits and habits. The EFG Academy will use the enjoyment of golf as a sport as a vehicle to deliver that development to youth in an impactful way that is engaging, entertaining, fulfilling, and transformational. o The EgoFree Golf Academy will provide a daily environment in which youth can safely learn self-confidence, self-discipline, integrity, positivity, work ethic, honesty, perseverance, goal setting, planning, a growth mindset, and self-directed growth strategies. Youth will learn leadership skills, etiquette and empathy for their fellow students while internalizing and mastering the skills needed to play golf in any setting, thus providing access to social, educational, and professional circles previously unavailable to them, all of which are fundamentally transformational.

Timeline

The program will be up and running 60 days after funding. Facility upgrade, equipment acquisition, outreach to secure co-investors and outreach to secure participants would start immediately upon funding

PercentageCompletedByJuly2025

1.0

FundingGoals

Long-Lasting Economic Growth (i.e., a proposal that will foster gainful employment opportunities and financial investment in the area, leading to the creation of generational wealth and widespread economic vitality in North and South Omaha) Transformational (i.e., a proposal that will help energize, recharge, or spur significant and favorable advancements in North or South Omaha's function or appearance)

Community Needs

Quality of Life (i.e., create or enhance natural spaces, mixed uses, parks, safety, etc.) Sustainable Community (i.e., create or enhance housing, services, education, civic uses, recreation, etc.)

OtherExplanation

ProposalDescriptionAndNeedsAlignment

The EFG Academy will address both the Quality of Life and Sustainable Community needs by creating and implementing a program that provides highly contextualized education information and training that, by targeting youth development, will actively contribute to a sustainable community. The physical development of the facility/facilities, on the ABIDE Network campus, will provide a brick-and-mortar environment conducive to the affirmative understanding and internalization of those educational materials.

VisioningWorkshopFindingsAlignment

The program aligns with the Visioning Workshop in the area of “Sustainable Community Needs – Youth”. The project is intended to create a long lasting, scalable program that expands its reach throughout the identified areas of need.

PrioritiesAlignment

The program aligns with LB1024 priority by addressing the disproportionate impact that Covid had on the African American community in general and African American youth in particular. African American kids have suffered the greatest setbacks in education as many didn’t (and still don’t) have access adequate technology and/or adult engagement to enable them to take full advantage of the remote learning setting brought on by Covid. That being the case, African American youth have suffered the largest education regression effects. This applies to academic, emotional and socialization effects.

EconomicImpact

EconomicImpactPermanentJobsCreated

Between 1 and 3 jobs will initially be created. As the program scales the number of permanent jobs will increase.

EconomicImpactTemporaryJobsCreated

Between 2 and 4 temporary jobs may be created by end of funding schedule. These positions will have the potential to be permanent. Work to the physical location will be done by existing ABIDE Network staff or established contractors.

EconomicImpactWageLevels

Program Director wage will be $60/coaching hr. Lead instructors and assistants’ wages will be $20/hr.

EconomicImpactAlignProposedJobs

I am unsure how I would do that.

CommunityBenefit

The program will benefit the community by educating and empowering youth with strong ties to the community. This has the potential to show both short and long-term benefits to the community. In the short-term, youth with positive activities to do help contribute to a positive overall neighborhood environment. In the long-term, youth that grow up with hope, a positive mindset, goals, and strategies to achieve those goals, reflect those qualities back to the community around them, pass them on to their children directly and to the children around them indirectly by living a good life and setting a good example. That is the dynamic of generational change. One of the often overlooked aspects of community health is mental health. Youth with positive attitudes, growth mindsets, goals, and hope have been proven to be more mentally rigorous and well adjusted.

CommunityBenefitSustainability

The program will, through educating and empowering youth with strong ties to the community, stabilize and strengthen the foundation of the community in both its current day-to-day as well as its long-term function and quality of life. Youth with a well-developed emotional IQ, a sense of belonging and hope, and both long and short-term goals make the world around them a better place now and in the future. Those youth, as adults, often contribute directly and indirectly to the betterment of the neighborhood, continuing the cycle of growth and improvement.

BestPracticesInnovation

The program will use established best practices in community engagement, youth counseling, golf and life skill training, tuition assistance and scholarship financial modeling as established by the Hogan’s Jr Golf Heroes program.

OutcomeMeasurement

While the outcomes of programs like this can be difficult to measure, improved educational outcomes and participation in the community are two outcomes that are able to be quantified.

OutcomeMeasurementHow

Tracking beginning and ending grades and a simple questionnaire would provide sufficient information to track and measure those outcomes and can be completed by project staff.

OutcomeMeasurementCoinvestment

Yes, this funding will act as a catalyst for co-investment by facilitating further outreach to potential investors/contributors by enabling increased time spent in pursuit of further funding. It will also act as an anchor investment establishing by establishing credibility and trust with other potential investors/contributors and members of the community.

Partnerships

Yes

PartnershipsOrgs

I have partnered and will continue to partner with LivingWell Golf, the ABIDE Network, LPGA Member Judy Rhodes and Schmidley’s Family Driving Range. These partners have assisted in securing golf clubs for youth that need them to participate in my camps, securing training facility space, golf training, providing outdoor training space and with advertising and promotion. I am planning to further my coaching certifications with the USGTF (United States Golf Teachers Federation) by becoming a Master Golf Coach and o entering the PGA Membership program. Completing those two steps will greatly assist in developing partnerships with the USGTF, the PGA of America and the LPGA of America.

PartnershipsMOU

There is a lease with the ABIDE Network in place.

Displacement

No

DisplacementExplanation

PhysicalLocation

The EFG Academy will be located on the ABIDE Network campus at 3223 N 45th St, Omaha, NE 68104. The EFG space on the ABIDE Network campus is approximately 1,300 sq ft and currently includes two full swing hitting bays, two putting surfaces, a chipping area with two stations. The space also includes an unfinished area for an office and study/media room. The space is within QCT 54.

QualifiedCensusTract

Within one or more QCTs

AdditionalLocationDocuments

PropertyZoning

Yes

ConnectedToUtilities

ConnectedToUtilitiesConnected

Yes

ConnectedToUtilitiesUpgradesNeeded

No

DesignEstimatingBidding

Yes

DesignEstimatingBiddingPackageDeveloped

No

DesignEstimatingBiddingCostsDetermined

GeneralContractor

No

GeneralContractorPublicCompetitiveBid

GeneralContractorPublicCompetitiveBidWhyNot

RequestRationale

o Rent - $12,000  Turf - $4,000  Putting Platform Materials - $1,000  Swing Analyzer/Simulator - $500  Video Projector - $350  Training Aids - $1,000  Youth Clubs (10 sets) - $5,500  Tables/Desks - $400  Multimedia Equipment (Computer, Monitor/s, etc) $1,000  Advertising Promotion - $3,600  Physical Improvement - $5,800  Covid Safety (exhaust fans, heaters, masks) $500  Salaries - $86,600

GrantFundsUsage

o The grant funding will enable the project to get physical upgrades completed, equipment acquired, advertising and promotion to secure paying clients, school outreach to secure free students and training to begin immediately. o It will allow for, on a fulltime basis, school outreach to expand over the next year to continually increase the program’s reach to include scaling up to multiple program sessions per day in Summer 2023. o It will allow for, on a fulltime basis, outreach to secure co-investors, development of current partners, outreach to secure future partners and scaled program expansion to other locations.

ProposalFinancialSustainability

Yes

ProposalFinancialSustainabilityOperations

The future of the program is built around a sustainable model that includes paid participation by individuals and families financially able to pay offsetting the costs of families that qualify for tuition assistance and scholarship participation. The model program was the Hogan’s Jr Golf Heroes program that became what is currently the PGA First Tee program.

FundingSources

I am currently exploring future funding possibilities through the PGA of America, the LPGA of America, the USGTF and other sources including both State and Federal sources.

FundingSourcesPendingDecisions

FundingSourcesCannotContinue

Yes. Without LB1024 grant funding the program cannot immediately function as outlined.

Scalability

Yes, the program is scalable. Program reach can be expanded through increased outreach through schools, increased advertising and promotion, and increased program sessions. During the Summer months the program could include up to four two-hour sessions per day.

ScalabilityComponents

FinancialCommitment

Please describe the organizational and/or personal financial commitment to the proposal. – All existing equipment purchases and current expenses have been paid for by the principal contact.

ARPAComplianceAcknowledgment

1.0

ARPAReportingMonitoringProcessAck

1.0

LB1024FundingSourcesAck

1.0

PublicInformation

1.0

FileUploads

Additional Location Documents (see application for list)