Proposal for the Implementation of the 2014 Caesars Foundation / Meals On Wheels Association of America Partnership January 13, 2014 The Meals On Wheels Association of America is grateful to once again receive support from, and have the opportunity to work collaboratively in partnership with, Caesars Foundation. Our 2014 partnership will mark the beginning of an expanded relationship that includes essential elements of transparency and accountability in working together to advance our shared goals of providing nutrition and other assistance to seniors. The Caesars Foundation grant of $150,000 will be leveraged to achieve the maximum benefit for both organizations through three major components: Expansion of the successful Van Donation Program Continued support of the National March For Meals Campaign Engagement of Caesars HEROs with local Meals on Wheels programs In addition, and in keeping with the spirit of Caesar Foundation s desire for its grantees to work in tandem, we will continue to look for additional ways to collaborate and partner with AARP Foundation toward our common goals of ending senior hunger and isolation. We have already initiated conversations toward that end. Expansion of the Van Donation Program As the demand for nutritious home-delivered meals increases, the need for fuelefficient and versatile delivery vehicles continues to rise. The high cost of delivery vehicles often forces local Meals on Wheels programs to use them well beyond a reasonable useful life. The donation of delivery vans to local Meals on Wheels programs not only increases delivery reliability, but enables these programs to redirect their limited resources toward serving more meals and/or building additional capacity. 1
Implementation: In 2014, the Association will arrange for the donation of one delivery vehicle to each of three member programs that demonstrate a significant need for such assistance. Our desire is to allow Caesars employees in each location to determine which Meals on Wheels program has made the most compelling case for support. We propose the process below be used to guide the program: 1. Caesars Foundation will identify three of its properties to participate in the van donation program, ideally in locations where a vehicle was not donated in 2012 or 2013. The employees of the identified properties will be engaged in the selection of the winning Meals on Wheels programs. 2. Once the three properties are identified, the Association will send a Request for Proposal ( RFP ) to its Member programs within a reasonable radius of those properties, (e.g., 50 miles). The RFP will ask several questions through which programs can substantiate their need for a vehicle. Questions may include: how a delivery vehicle would assist their communities the extent of the challenges the program has or is facing the nature of the clientele who will be receiving meals enabled by a new vehicle the annual number of meals expected to be served the expected number of miles to be driven by a new van the kind of vehicle requested what opportunities exist to publicize the donation and the local Caesars property brand how Caesars employees may be able to be engaged 3. The Association will collect the proposals, ensure they are complete, and send them to the designated properties for review by the Caesars employee volunteer reviewers (e.g., HEROs). Caesars employees will assess the proposals based on need, the potential for greatest impact, and related criteria, and will then select the program that has made the strongest case to receive a vehicle. 4. The Association will purchase the vehicle using the donated funds and will ensure that it is wrapped with logos from Caesars, the Association and the local program 1. 1 As advised by Caesars Foundation, the expenses associated with wrapping the vehicles will be covered under separate funding provided by Caesars to the Association and not be pulled from the grant itself. 2
5. Caesars will hold a vehicle donation event in each winning program s community. The Association s President and CEO, or her designee if she is unavailable, will participate in all three events. In addition to the award ceremony, officials from Caesars and the Association will participate in a meal delivery using the donated vehicle. Both Caesars and the Association will seek to generate press coverage for the award event. 6. The Association will provide Caesars Foundation with transparent accounting for all of the costs incurred through the implementation of the vehicle donation program. Continued Support of the March for Meals Campaign In 2002, Caesars Foundation (as the Harrah s Foundation) was the first prime national sponsor of the Association s March for Meals campaign. March for Meals was established to provide the nationwide network of Meals on Wheels programs with an opportunity to engage their local communities and local media under the visibility of a national campaign umbrella. Past support from Caesars Foundation has enabled the March for Meals campaign to grow and become an integral source of support, visibility and funding for Member programs nationwide. The Association will significantly expand the March for Meals 2014 campaign at both the local and national levels. The successful Mayors for Meals component will be embedded into a broader Community Champions initiative. In addition to mayors and other elected officials delivering meals, we will expand participation to include sports, business and media figures, as well as other prominent persons in local communities. To garner even greater national exposure for March for Meals in 2014, two new bookend events will be held in Washington, D. C. to open and close the March for Meals campaign. The opening event may involve either a Congressional or Administration Senior Hunger Briefing and related activities, perhaps coupled with a meal delivery by our Washington, D.C. Champions. This would create an opportune venue to raise awareness among Members of Congress, Congressional staff and other senior Washington policy makers about the important work undertaken by Meals on Wheels programs to address the needs of the growing senior population. This should in turn encourage more Members of Congress to deliver meals in their local communities. The closing bookend event will be a fundraising event scheduled for the evening of March 31, during which Caesars Foundation and any other national sponsors will be recognized and thanked. We also plan to highlight some of the March for Meals events and activities from across the country. An additional goal of this event would be to solidify relationships for the 2015 March for Meals campaign, which is planned to be even larger and more significant than ever. 3
Implementation: The remainder of the 2014 Caesars Foundation grant (in excess of the amounts used for the van donations) will go toward underwriting the costs of implementing the two afore-mentioned bookend events. Following the combined events, the Association will provide the Foundation with a clear accounting of how its grant was used to support the March for Meals initiative. To help augment support for March for Meals, we would like to request that during the month of March, Caesars sponsors a charity Round-Up at its properties. This would allow customers to round up their bills, with the balance being donated to the Association. This approach is commonly implemented to support other causes at pointof-sale by scores of national partners. The Round-Up program would further reinforce Caesars support of Meals on Wheels among its customers and employees. We would gladly look into the details of what is entailed. Engagement of Caesars HEROs with local Meals on Wheels programs As part of our effort to build ongoing connections between Caesars property employees and local Meals on Wheels programs, we will begin an engagement process in 2014 designed to lead to active participation by all Caesars properties and HEROs in filling volunteer opportunities where there is alignment between employee interests and local Meals on Wheels program needs. Implementation: The first step in this process would be for Caesars to provide a single point of contact at each of its participating properties (e.g., HERO Chairs). The Meals On Wheels Association would then contact local Member programs asking them to provide a description of volunteer opportunities (e.g., meal preparation, meal delivery, graphic design, communications, marketing, etc.). Through the Caesars coordinators, HERO volunteers could then sign up to fulfill these opportunities and connections would be made directly between them and the program volunteer coordinators. This effort would serve to build engagement of Caesars employees, strengthen local connections, and enable Meals on Wheels programs to have greater impact and build capacity. A win-win-win for all! Overall Partnership Objectives All of the joint efforts from the Van Donation Program and the expanded March for Meals campaign to the Round-Up and Volunteer Engagement Initiative are designed to accomplish the objectives outlined in our original proposal to the Foundation. These objectives are repeated below: 4
Building capacity of local, Meals on Wheels member programs to enable them to serve more seniors in need and expand their impact; Driving Caesars employee engagement and pride; Engaging elected officials, celebrities, and other Champions to advocate an end to senior hunger and isolation; Activating communities in areas in which Caesars employees, friends and family live and work; Strengthening Caesars customer affinity/brand loyalty; Raising national awareness of the issue of senior hunger in America; Helping local Meals On Wheels programs to build community support, capacity, awareness and funding; and, Enabling the Meals On Wheels Association to advance its mission. We strongly believe that the partnership summarized in this proposal will deliver effectively on our shared objectives and are very excited about the opportunities they present for both our organizations. Through our renewed partnership and the impact your grant will enable, 2014 promises to be an exciting and mutually rewarding year. 5