Breaking the Silence is Kristi House’s program to forever end the silence on child sexual abuse in our community. Core to this effort is building awareness of Kristi House and the staggering statistic that child molesters are not strangers; in more than 90% of sexual abuse cases, the child and the child’s family know and trust the abuser. And further, one out of four girls and one out of six boys are sexually abused by the age of 18. In seconds, their childhoods are shattered, their innocence stolen forever. Worse still, the effects haunt them for years, increasing the likelihood of drug and alcohol dependency, eating disorders, teen pregnancy, delinquency, violent crime and debilitating fear.
Kristi House is hosting a series of facility tours and informational sessions to acquaint those with the concern and the capacity to help with this new awareness crusade.
Our 2009 Annual Breaking the Silence luncheon is being co-chaired by Barbara Hinterkopf, Judy Zeder and Rachelle Fortner and sponsored in part by Grove Isle Hotel & Spa, where it will be held. If you are interested in being part of this drive, please contact Development Officer Bianca Fernandez or call (305) 547-6802.
Government Grants
Our Kids of Miami-Dade/Monroe, the Department of Children and Families and the Victims of Crimes Act (VOCA) provide restricted funds for Kristi House. The Department of Juvenile Justice has also supported Kristi House Prevention programs. As with many state and federally funded programs, monies are never guaranteed.
Private, Corporate, and Family Foundations
Through referrals, personal contacts and corporate recommendations, Kristi House seeks funding from private, corporate, and family foundations to offset decreases in State and Federal funding. Grants from such foundations cover a range of programming, therapeutic and technological systems. If you are aware of a foundation with an emphasis on health and human services, education, or children's issues, please forward the appropriate contact information to our attention.
Touch A Heart Dinner & Auction at Four Seasons
Held every year Kristi House's exquisite Dinner & Auction raises money in support of Kristi House programs and services. It is generally held on the first Friday evening of November. The evening's events include live and silent auctions featuring rare wines and exquisite vacations to elaborate dinners and VIP tickets. <more>
Heal a Heart Happy Hours
This successful format, hosted at popular and emerging restaurants and lounges county-wide, offers a low-cost event that enables Kristi House to introduce itself to new audiences, many of whom then become regular supporters of our cause. Next event.
Holiday Greeting Card Drive
The Holiday Card drive, held every November, raises money for valuable programs and services. Kristi House volunteers take greeting card orders from the community in exchange for donations to the Center. Holiday Cards are then mailed to the donors' recipients acknowledging that a gift to Kristi House was made in their honor. Please drop us an email to order yours electronically and help Kristi House save on postage!
Make a gift today!
What is planned giving? A planned gift is a charitable gift that is integrated into your overall financial and estate plans. Planned gifts can provide positive tax savings to you and your estate, while enabling a more significant gift to Kristi House.
The Heritage Society
The Heritage Society is made up of donors who have indicated they have left a gift bequest to Kristi House in their wills or trusts. Heritage Society members are recognized for their generosity in many ways and play a vital role in the future growth of Kristi House.
Planned gifts include:
Wills and bequests
- Life insurance, annuities, IRAs or Retirement plan beneficiary
- Large capital gifts of cash, appreciated stock and/or mutual funds
- Real estate
- Endowed gifts
- Retained life estates
- Tangible personal property
Gifts Through Your Will
Leaving a bequest to Kristi House doesn't have to be a complicated process. A general bequest is one of the most popular ways to make a gift by will. You simply leave Kristi House a specified dollar amount, provide a percentage, or assign the remainder of your estate.
Sample wording:
- I give the sum of $___________ to the Trustees of Kristi House, Inc., a charitable organization located in Miami, Florida.
- I give ____ % of my estate to the Trustees of Kristi House, Inc., a charitable organization located in Miami, Florida.
Charitable Remainder or Lead Trusts
Trusts can be structured for either an immediate or deferred payout to you or your beneficiaries over a number of years. Kristi House then receives either the balance of the trust or initial payments upon the completion of the trust.
Gifts Restricted to Endowment
Rather than making an unrestricted bequest, you may wish to limit the scope of your bequest to support the Kristi House Endowment Fund. In order that the bequest will always be available for Kristi House's use, the last
sentence should be included.
Sample wording:
- I give _________ to the Trustees of Kristi House, Inc., a charitable organization located in Miami, Florida. This gift shall be held in the permanent Kristi House Endowment Fund, income only from which may be used to support the charitable purposes of Kristi House, Inc. If, in the future, it becomes impractical or impossible to use the income from this fund as set forth above, the Board of Trustees of Kristi House may allocate the principal and/o income as they judge best, provided that it is consistent with the general intent of the gift.
Kristi House, Inc.