National Child Assault
Prevention Project

Organizing a CAP Project in Your Community

Although the National Center for Assault Prevention is not responsible for the organizational development of local CAP task forces, we have extensive experience helping projects get up and running. Below are some ideas and suggestions which we hope will save you time & energy while building a strong foundation for the work you are about to begin.

Three Areas of Focus

  1. Project Design:

    Before you can address funding or implementation issues, you need to decide what your CAP project will look like.

    Facilitators: Volunteers or paid staff?
    This is a crucial decision in the design of the project. It will affect funding efforts, scheduling, public relations, and a variety implementation issues. Both models can be extremely successful. If funding is an issue, trained volunteers may be your only option. Consider however, what we pay people to wash cars. We should make every effort to pay for good work with our children.
    Project Coordinator: Volunteer or paid staff member?
    A similar and important issue as you design the initial project. There is an incredible amount of work involved in organizing and implementing a CAP project. It should be established early in the planning stages if the coordinator will receive any monetary compensation (and how much) for his/her efforts. If a board of directors is established, will the agency formed become a 501(c)3 [private non-profit], an incorporated agency, or part of an established agency? These questions are particularly important if the project intends to do fund raising to support its efforts.
    Demonstration Pilot Project
    Demonstration projects allow decision makers and funding sources to observe your successes, and then continue to support the project. An administrator is also more likely to sign up for CAP knowing it will be a demonstration program for the district/county. Like all of us, educators are proud when their school is chosen for special recognition. Finally, starting with a small school or district allows your task force to evaluate its work and fine tune things without the pressure of running six or seven schools simultaneously.
    One & Three Year Master Plans
    To give possible funders a clearer picture of your project and where you see it going, you might want to develop one & three year plans. Include goals and objectives for the project and timelines for accomplishing them. This gives your backers a sense of continuity, as well as giving you some direction and a stronger sense of purpose.

  2. Community Resources:

    Many people have started CAP projects “from scratch”. They organized the initial efforts to bring CAP into the community and were part of the implementation process. However, no one has single-handedly initiated, implemented, and maintained a project. NCAP strongly suggests that, from the outset, this be a community based project. It is extremely important it be embraced as a community effort; with community responsibilities and enthusiasm for the importance of this work.

    As you look at organizing your local resources around CAP, there are a variety of options open to you.

    • Talk with local service agencies including rape crisis centers, women’s resource agencies, counseling and mental health groups. See if any of their staff would be interested in working with you to get this project off the ground.
    • Search for local service groups like Jr. Women’s Clubs, Junior League, Zonta, sororities or church affiliated organizations. They, too, might have members who might be interested in working with CAP. Some might even consider making it a project of their club or organization as a service to the community.
    • Seek support from the PTA, Home & School, PTO or whatever parent group is active in your area. Usually some parents in these organizations have time and will consider working to get CAP in their schools.

    Once you have a cadre of helpers, decide where your priorities are and what you want the CAP project to be. Do you want the preschool curriculum, the elementary model or the teen program? Do you want to present CAP in just a few schools or the entire district? Are you going to include in your long-term goals legislation to ensure continued prevention education for the children in your state or region? All of these issues and more can be addressed as you work with a group of committed community advocates.

  3. Funding Resources:

    For some, fund raising is a woeful chore met with distaste and disappointment. For others it's exciting and challenging. Whether you fall into either category or somewhere in between, there is no doubt that fund raising is an essential part of organizating a CAP project. Again, varied resources are available:

    1. Service groups such as Rotary, Jaycees, Lions Club, Civitan, Exchange Club and similar groups are often looking for speakers at their weekly meetings. An invitation to speak at one of these meetings could provide you with an opportunity to introduce CAP to the community. Many of our most successful projects received initial funding and support from such groups.
    2. Local business sponsorship is also a very strong possibility for funding. Many times, businesses provide funding for the initial training, training materials or the site at which the training might be held. They may also “sponsor a school” by covering the cost of workshops for staff, parents and children in a particular community.
    3. Agencies (Catholic Charities, Big Brothers/Sisters, mental health associations, counseling centers, etc.) may also be a source of funding or funding advice. Often, they are the ones who provide services to children and families and are aware of what is or is not happening in the community. Some of our projects have gotten started by becoming a project within a local community agency. In that way, they are quickly introduced to the community and more easily recognized and respected.
    4. Grants continue to be an excellent source of funding for CAP projects. Local government and private sector grants can be a source of short or long term funding. Most metropolitan libraries have directories of foundations and other grant-giving agencies.