Inside Program Expansion
Inside Program Expansion
- Sponsoring Organization: JUMPSTART USA
- City/State: Spartanburg, SC
- Grant Program: GrantsPlus
- Grant Amount: $100,000
Project Summary:
JUMPSTART (www.jumpstartvision.org) began in South Carolina in 2008, and in 2015, JUMPSTART USA was formed to expand the program nationwide. JUMPSTART disciples current and formerly incarcerated individuals and assists with re-entry to society. They accomplish their mission through community partnerships to address the spiritual, educational, employment, healthcare, housing, and family relationship needs.
JUMPSTART is active in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, and Florida and will expand into Texas this year. Its Outside Program, fully developed only in South Carolina at this stage, is a 12–24-month transitional program that provides housing, case management, transportation, mentoring, employment, life-skills training, and other evidence-based services that have demonstrated benefit in helping returning citizens reenter society as productive citizens. JUMPSTART desires to eventually develop the Outside Program everywhere it operates.
JUMPSTART’s Inside Program introduces Jesus Christ to participants and helps them discover a greater life purpose. The 40-week intensive discipleship process offers unique peer-to-peer assessments to ensure accountability and drive growth. The class curriculum transforms lives through worship, fellowship, discipleship, mentoring, serving others, living purposefully, and re-entry education. Over 225 well-trained volunteers facilitate classes every week across five states. That volunteer base is growing rapidly. As one example, the ministry in North Carolina, which launched in 2022, expects to activate more than 85 volunteers in 2025, up from 30.
In South Carolina, JUMPSTART’S state of origin, roughly 1,000 participants enter the program annually, with an average successful completion rate of 40%. Those who drop out and don’t complete the 40 weeks are welcome to take it again the following year. However, released graduates who successfully finished the 40-week Inside Program had a 96% success rate in staying out of prison.
The $100,000 GrantsPlus Grant will allow JUMPSTART to expand their Inside Program into seven additional prisons in North Carolina, covering all direct costs for the next three years, and reaching approximately 600 participants.
“This grant from We Raise was an answer to prayer and God’s perfect timing,” said George Benner, Executive Director, North Carolina, and National Operations Advisor. “God is opening doors to prisons, and JUMPSTART is growing fast. We recently received approvals from wardens for seven new prisons in North Carolina in 2025. This grant will help to fund JUMPSTART for those prisons, reaching approximately 600 incarcerated men and women over the next several years. God is opening hearts of the incarcerated, staff, and volunteers. God is moving and JUMPSTART is blessed to be a part of it. We can now reach more men and women for Christ – discipling them and sharing the love of Christ. Praise God for it all!”
In addition to the grant award, We Raise will also provide JUMPSTART with critical capacity building services, including a resource development assessment, incentivized crowdfunding campaign, and research, to help strengthen and sustain their program.
