Hello all,

My name is Kristen Vosberg, I looked over your grant proposal work this month. I
appreciate the trust you have put in me during this process, I paid close attention to your
work and offered you feedback in the following areas:

Expanding your ideas: There were some ideas that I thought could use additional
clarifying words or sentences. I made suggestions regarding what details to include and
communicated what questions I still had about your ideas as a reader. Given your word
count limitations, I included suggestions for straightforward answers to these questions
at a maximum of one sentence. Additionally, we can talk in-person about weather or not
you think expansion is necessary in all instances; it was a bit difficult for me gauge what
your audience already knows or doesn’t know, but I look forward to talking with you
about it.
Word Choice: With the word count limitations in place, I offered suggestions about how
to communicate more of your ideas in less words. One example came with the word
“adaptive”. Instead of a sentence like “exorcize suited for those with disabilities”, a
phrase like “adaptive exercise” could communicate similar ideas in less words. Again, I
was not sure if your audience would be immediately familiar with the phrase “adaptive
exorcize”, so I left this comment as a suggestion instead of a revision. I’m looking
forward to talking to you about edits like these in our meeting, as I can garner more of a
sense for specific language used and recognized by those in your field.

Contradictions: There were at least two instances where you expressed the idea that,
regardless of weather or not the funding was received, KEEN had measures in place to
sustain its efforts for the fiscal year. I made comments about whether or not this
sentiment should be expressed, I thought it took away from the main idea of your work.
However, talking with you about this in our meeting will give me a better sense of the
expectations about this in your field, and weather or not your audience expects to hear
about your “back up plan”.

My in-line edits focused on sentence structure, concise language, and paragraph

organization, as the document was grammatically sound overall. I hope you find my edits
useful in your writing process, I think this document is ready for submission once
appropriate edits are made and a thorough copy-edit is performed to catch any typos or
formatting issues. Thank you for the opportunity to work on this with you, best of luck in
all that you do!
Sincerely,
Kristen Vosberg
kvosberg@depaul.edu
Amount requested: $15,000

Term (State the proposed grant period in numbers of whole months (enter "12" if a one-
year grant is requested).) 12

Project/program title Enter the name of your project/program. For operating requests
write "general operations of the organization." General Operations of the Organization

Proposed number of people to be served: 150

Brief Description of Request  (150 words) KEEN’s Mission is to empower youth with
disabilities by providing free, non-competitive one-to-one programs of exercise,
fitness and fun, led by volunteer coaches.

KEEN Chicago (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now) is requesting $15,000 from the Henrietta Lange Burke
Fund for General Operating support in 2022. Keeping the safety of our community in mind,
fFrom March 2020-June 2021, we paused our in-person programming in an effort to keep our
community safe., We were successfully in transitioning to virtual program offerings, developing
processes that are viable for the foreseeable future.  Through the remainder of 2021 and into
early 2022, we will both continue our virtual programming while gradually restoring our in-
person program.  Securing this funding from the Henrietta Lange Burke Fund will provide our
organization substantial support as we continue our reopening process with the goal of
continuing to offer virtual programs, restoring all 20 of our previously offered in-person
monthly sessions by spring 2022, and then expanding our program within high need
communities in Chicago.

Purpose (Describe the need being addressed and your organization's unique role in
meeting those needs, including anything that would distinguish your organization from
others providing similar services in the communities you serve) 300 words

KEEN’s ’s vision motion for accessible adaptive exercise directly corresponds to a need
expressed noted by the Center for Disease Control (CDC); the CDC assessed that
cChildren with disabilities are 38% more likely to be obese than their counterparts.
According to an Ability Path report, 39% of youth with physical disabilities report never
exercising at all. Exercise and movement is crucial to our well-being, and, without
access to other remote services that are able to meet their needs of disabled youth,
KEEN Chicago’s programs have become more important than ever throughout the
COVID-19 pandemic.: a A space where Aathletes of all abilities can come together and
excersize as a way move in order to cope with and process the changes happening
around us.

KEEN Chicago serves Athletes with a wide range of needs and is inclusive to all
disability types.  Our participants are diagnosed with a range of disabilities including
autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, physical and/or intellectual disabilities, mental
health diagnoses, and chronic illnesses. Our participantsting families are representative
of other minority groups: 50% identify as Hispanic, 24% as African American, and 8%
as Asian. We serve numerous bilingual and low-income families and our programs are
always free for all of our Athletes so that there are no economic barriers to
participation. 

Perhaps wWhat is most unique about our programming at KEEN Chicago is the sense
of community, support, and acceptance our families experience that they don’t find
elsewhere. Violetta, a KEEN parent states, “KEEN offers our kids a sense of self-
respect. In such a creative and active setting as well.”  Karina, another KEEN Chicago
parent, comments that “kids with disabilities know isolation. KEEN is the only space
they have where they can be free.”  Chicago aAthlete Danny, 16 years old states,
“KEEN lets me have fun with my friends,” and Lexi, 21, adds, “KEEN is the best fun all
day!”

Description of Activities (Describe the request's activities providing detailed information

about how it will address the stated need and the intended impact. Include the number of
individuals served through this request and the number of hours participants will be
involved. If the request is for program/project support, note whether this is a new or
existing program. If it is an existing program, indicate how long it has been in operation.)
600 words

KEEN ChicagoHICAGO (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now) mobilizes thea vision of an inclusive
future; one with intentional community spaces that uplift youth with disabilities ages 5-
21.  Since 2004, KEEN Chicago’s programs have provided a community of support to
families, disability awareness efforts for our volunteers, and most importantly, an
opportunity for youth with disabilities to have fitness, fun and friendship while
celebrating their abilities in a comfortable environmentat their level while celebrating
their abilities.

KEEN Chicago offers weekly opportunities for exercise and engagement at no cost to
families, creating accessible spaces for members of the disabled community to explore
different sectors of fitness and physicality. KEEN Chicago’s main in-person
programming consists of sports, swim, trampoline, and dance sessions across many
Chicagoland locations. Throughout the pandemic, KEEN Chicago has maintained
frequent accessible virtual recreation and exercise sessions for our KEEN Athletes. Our
online programs have helped our Athletes with disabilities and their families stay active
and connected, working to reduce the impacts of social isolation, improve mental health,
and increase access to inclusive exercise.

We plan to begin the reopening process during the summer of 2021 and as the situation
allows, we will continue but reduce the frequency of virtual programming at a reduced
frequency, meeting online biweekly in fall 2021., while also In addition, we will gradually
rebuilding our in-person program, eventually safely restoring our more than 20 monthly
accessible exercise and recreation sessions. We anticipate this phased reopening
throughout 2021 and 2022 will require additional expenses to ensure the safety of our
community. This comes during a during a time when raising funds will be a greater
challenge, which is why we are approaching the Henrietta Lange Burke Fund for
assistance.

We have 150 enrolled Athletes engaged in our programming who we expect to reach
through our funding effortsofferings. As we continue to re-open our in-person
programming in fall 2021, our goal is that participating Athletes will join us for a
minimum of two separate hour-long sessions, (either online or in-person), each month,
and that they will continue their participation in 2022. Below are some of the initiatives
that this funding will support:

KEEN CHICAGO ONLINE

We will continue providing a biweekly virtual program. During KEEN Chicago Online, we
offer a number of structured exercise activities such as: dance, yoga, soccer, strength
training, exercise games, and more. 

ACTIVE-AT-HOME KITS
Since many of our Athletes do not have access to the supplies they need to stay active
and engaged at home, we have been sending supplies to our Athletes to help them stay
healthy and connected during this time. We will continue this project as needed in
2022. 

KEEN CHICAGO IN-PERSON PROGRAM

We will begin to resume our traditional in-person programming safely according to CDC
guidelines. We anticipate a gradual re-opening of our sports, swim, and dance
programming. We also expect to begin a new music program to be offered in fall 2021.
While prioritizing safety, we aim to be running ten in-person sessions each month by the
end of 2021, and to resume our full schedule of 20 in-person monthly sessions by
Spring 2022. After all of our sessions are fully resumed, we then anticipate growth of
our in-person programs within high- need areas of the city, including Chicago’s south
and west sides. The majority of funding received from this grant will go to support our in-
person programs. 

Funding received from this grant will go to support all of the above mentioned initiatives,
as well as the continuation of our “Keeping up with KEEN” Podcast, where our Athletes
are invited to create short Podcast episodes and share with us about things they enjoy.
This initiative started as a way to keep our Athletes connected throughout the pandemic
and we hopeaim to continue our Podcast indefinitely.

Sustainability Plan (How will the organization and/or request activities be sustained?
Describe the overall sustainability plan for your organization and/or your project/program
in terms of staffing and finances. How would the proposed activities and/or your
organization be affected if you do not receive the requested funding?) 600 words

KEEN Chicago has been providing free sports and recreational programming in the city of
Chicago since 2004. Although it hasn’t always been easy to sustain our efforts as a small,
community-based program, we have developed many strategies that mark our successdone so
successfully. Our use of volunteers aids with our self-sufficiency, as we have many invested
volunteers who not only assist with programming related tasks, but have leadership roles in
fundraising as well. Utilizing volunteers not only helps us to be able to provide disability
awareness and education to the general community but also works to keep our own costs down
so we can be more sustainable as an organization.

As KEEN Chicago continues to grow, we have become more diverse and agile. We began
working to en working to diversify and expand our funding sources from, not only retaining our
historic donors, but also working to seeking and securinge funding from new donors. and
funders. We have recently added a spring fundraising event and an annual virtual race, in
addition to our annual fall gala, to help with expansion and sustainability efforts.

As an organization we are determined to meet the needs of our community as they do not have
access to other services or support systemss. We aim to meet our fundraising goals every
calendar year, but, in case we are not able to do so, we do keep money in our reserves so that
the direct services we provide to our families are not affected if we are not able to do so.
Receiving these funds from the Henrietta Lange Burke Fund will aid significantly aid in our
ability to thrive and grow as the pandemic easesnds. Receiving this funding will allow us to
confidently and securely reopen, and even grow, and enhance our programming. But, our goal
is that if the funding is not received, wWe continue to work towards establishing will have
sufficient reserves and enough alternate funding sources that services to our families regardless
of funding outcomes. will not be significantly impacted.  

Challenges (Describe the challenges to the success of the activities in the proposal and
how these factors could be overcome.) 500 words

The last two years have been a huge challenge for our program generally.in general, and They
have required a number of shifts in our program and fundraising strategies. As the majority of
our athletes do not have access to other recreational programming outside of our KEEN
sessions, we remain dedicated and determined to continueing our services, providing a means
of connection, and improving the lives and fitness of the athletes we serve regardless of the
obstacles we may face.

 One huge challenge will be figuring out the best way to re-open our in-person program while
ensuring the safety of our community. Since the community we serve is particularly vulnerable
to COVID-19, we want to be sure that all safety guidelines are in place so that our community
can reconnect safely. This means adapting our entire program to accommodate COVID-19
safety measures around things such as equipment sanitization, capacity limits, social distancing,
and mask wearing. KnowingDue to the importance of in-person programming for our
community, we are already working on developing these safety guidelines and figuring out how
they may be implemented so that we are able to overcome this challenge with ease.

A second challenge continues to be ensuring that we are able to sustaining our fundraising
during a time when fundraising is in flux and  large in-person events are still not safeable to be
held. We were able to put aset a plan in place forand experienced success in 2020, and our
2021 fundraising efforts have already started strong. As a community, Wwe are working to
expand our outreach to new grant funders and sponsors as well as plan virtual fundraising
events in an effort to overcome this challenging yeare and fill any gaps left by cancellation of
large in person fundraisers during the second year of the pandemic. 

Additional Details (Add additional information, if necessary, to clarify any answer you provided
previously.) 300 words

Goals (State the specific goals and expected outcomes/success indicators of the
requested project/program/organization, including how you plan to meet these goals and
outcomes. Include a timeline for accomplishing your goals for the term of the grant
request. If this is an existing program, state the outcomes of the most recent year of the
project/program/organization.) 600 words

One of our outcome goals is to increase the number of children and young people who have
access to safe, inclusive spaces. We will collect qualitative and quantitative data on this
measure, with the goal of at least 80% of participants reporting access to safe, inclusive spaces.
In 2020, we were able to collect the following qualitative quotes  on this measure and will have
quantitative data to add in late 2021/early 2022.  Violetta, KEEN Parent, says:“Other programs
have such a long waitlist, KEEN is inclusive.” Marcos, KEEN Parent, says: “It’s comforting for us
to come to the KEEN events and sessions, Marcos thrives. We feel accepted here.” Cameron,
KEEN Athlete, says “KEEN has taught me to like myself more.”

Second, we aim for our parents and guardians to be better equipped to support their children
through their experiences with KEEN Chicago. We will again collect both qualitative and
quantitative data on this measure with the goal to report that at least 75% of our parents and/or
guardians are better equipped to support their children in at least one area through the
resources they identify and through the relationships built during participation in our program.
On last year’s survey, 58% of respondents stated their family benefited from respite time
provided. 55% of caregivers stated they benefited from friendships with other parents and
networking. Jody, KEEN Parent, says “KEEN’s great for networking with other parents, I’ve
made lifelong friends with some of these moms, we can bounce ideas off of each other.”

Third, we work so that children and young people are less socially isolated. We aim to report
that 75% of our participants feel less socially isolated due to their participation with KEEN
Chicago. According to last year’s survey results, 60% of caregivers reported that their Athlete
was more willing to participate in group social activities because of their participation with KEEN
Chicago and 50% reported improved social skills/new friendships. Hilda, KEEN Parent, says
"Sammie gets to be with her peers, and people that aren’t just us. She doesn’t get much of that
outside of therapy.”

A fourth outcome is that children and young people from diverse groups are more physically
active, aiming to report that at least 85% of our participants are more physically active due to
their participation with KEEN Chicago. Results from our 2020 survey showed that 65% of
participating athletes had reported improvements on the health and wellness of their Athlete
related to their participation in KEEN Chicago programs. In addition, we collected the following
qualitative data. Cameron, KEEN Athlete says “Soccer is a lot of fun, I don’t get to play it outside
of KEEN.” Miriam, KEEN parent“Before KEEN, Leon had no experience with exercise,this
program is different.”
Measurement Tools ( Describe in detail how your organization will measure and monitor
success for the project/program/organization.) 600 words

Evaluation of KEEN Chicago’s programs consist of surveys sent to our families. To measure
results, we design our questions around our programs' benefits to the family and inquiries into
their child’s engagement and participation during KEEN sessions. On these surveys, we
typically ask for feedback and evaluation of our programs, but also inquire as to whether
participation in KEEN’s sessions has increased participation in other social or recreational
activities outside of KEEN sessions. We send a similar survey to our volunteers to gather data
on their volunteer experience and whether their role as a volunteer with KEEN Chicago has re-
shaped how they view disability and informed their professional decisions. For the first time in
2021 we also aim to develop an evaluation tool so that we can secure direct feedback from the
population we serve. We are in the process of developing a simple 3-question tool that can be
answered with thumbs up or down responses in order to gain a better understanding of the
impact of our programming related to the goals noted above directly from the Athletes with
disabilities that are enrolled.

Our program utilizes a database to track and store information related to the diagnoses of the
Athletes we serve as well as attendance during our programs in order to track progress and
reach. Additionally, we collect regular qualitative data from our Athletes and their caregivers to
better understand how their experience in KEEN Chicago’s programming is improving their
quality of life.

Learning (Describe if/how you have used evaluation results (qualitative or quantitative) to
make changes to improve the performance and impact of your
project/program/organization.) 600 words

At KEEN, we value the collection of program data and strive to integrate feedback received into our
onboarding, orientation, training, outreach, and program efforts. 

We regularly use feedback provided to us from our families to adjust and improve our program impact,
especially during this time. We are constantly analyzing our program outcomes to figure out where the
gaps are in our program, the best time and type of programming to offer, and what types of programs
have the most impact in order to improve the services we offer to our families. For example, historically
we have had a very long waiting list for swimming, and based on that and family feedback, pre-COVID we
were working to expand our swim program to meet the needs of our families and we anticipate that the
swimming expansion will occur after we resume our in-person program. Additionally, we have been
working to develop relationships to host programs on the South side of Chicago and expand in that
geographic area, since, based on survey results and demographic information, there is a high need for
programs there.

During COVID-19, collection and evaluation of qualitative and quantitative program data has been
essential in figuring out our path and how to best serve our families. We have learned that virtual
programming does not meet the individualized needs of all of our participating Athletes, and have
therefore worked to develop on-demand opportunities as well as send supplies directly to our Athletes’
homes. Additionally, quantitative results showed us that addressing mental health needs in our
community has become equally important as addressing physical health needs, so we have worked to
address that area. Meeting the needs of our Athletes to the best of our ability during what has been such
a trying time has been important to us, and data on the impact of our programming has helped form our
trajectory and helped us to better meet the needs of the community we serve.
Match with foundation:

State the connection between the request and the mission of the specific foundation to
which you are applying

KEEN Chicago shares with the Henrietta Lange Burke Foundation the goal to provide quality
human services programming to underserved populations. Our community of individuals with
disabilities ages 5-21 does not have access to community or recreational programming that
meets their individualized needs outside of what we are providing. Our sessions work to
improve access to inclusive exercise, spread the message of disability inclusion, and address
physical and mental health concerns for our population of individuals with disabilities. The
focus areas of our programming are very much in line with this foundation, and we appreciate
your consideration and support.