What is the relationship between Footnotes Counseling Services and Footnotes Trauma Foundation?

Footnotes Counseling Services (FCS) and Footnotes Trauma Foundation (FTF) are two separate entities. FCS provides individual, couples, and family counseling to those seeking trauma-informed mental health care. FTF was born out of necessity, love, and a concern for those who have suffered trauma and need financial assistance in order to receive trauma informed mental health care. This need came to light when former FCS clients—individuals who, themselves, suffered from trauma—found the deep-rooted care they needed at FCS and wanted to make this care available to more people. These former clients requested a tax-exempt option to sponsor others who struggle to afford the unique mental health care offered at FCS. There was a need and there were donors wanting to fill that need--thus FTF was born.

Though Footnotes Counseling Services and Footnotes Trauma Foundation work together to provide care, the funds for each entity remain separate. FCS does not pay for business, salary, or general operations expenses of FTF. Neither does FTF pay for business, salary, or general operations expenses of FCS.

How was Footnotes Trauma Foundation Founded?

Twelve years ago, in 2010, therapist Amanda Gerdts started Footnotes Counseling Services (FCS), which focuses on trauma-informed client care. As FCS grew and became known in the greater Mankato community as a leader in trauma-informed mental health care, more clients were drawn to the business. Throughout the years, certain circumstances would not allow for individual clients to pay the full price of therapy costs. Because of the importance of consistent care and healing, especially on the road to recovery, Amanda would supplement the cost of certain client sessions with her own money. This worked while the needs were relatively small, but as the volume of people grew that were asking to be served and would qualify for financial assistance, caps for the number of people and sessions needed to be implemented.  

Around that same time, former FCS clients, who themselves suffered from trauma, wanted to make the trauma-informed care they received available to anyone who needed it. These former clients asked for a tax-exempt option to donate to and sponsor others who struggled to afford the care they needed at FCS. Because of these frequent requests to donate and the need in the community, Footnotes Trauma Foundation was born. 

Our funding goals surround the desire to have enough funding so that we do not need to turn away those in need due to funding caps. If they qualify and we have funds, we want to help! 

Who receives scholarships? How is scholarship eligibility determined?

Currently, our focus is on providing trauma-informed therapy scholarships for sexual abuse survivors and and military veterans suffering from post traumatic stress symptoms. In order to maintain a high quality of care for scholarship recipients and to be sustainable as a non-profit, Footnotes Trauma Foundation is limiting its focus to these groups. As FTF grows in the next 5-10 years, we want to expand our care to serve more people who are suffering from trauma, whatever that trauma may be.

In order to be eligible for a scholarship, Footnotes Counseling clients who have been sexually abused or are veterans suffering with post traumatic stress simply fill out a one-page form. Clients requesting funding must be assessed and approved by a therapist to assess for goodness of fit for our programing and to be sure they qualify under the 2 scholarship criteria of trauma need and financial need. FCS therapists bring the request to the FTF Board of Directors for approval, and once it is approved, the client is able to have supplemented sessions. It is not a needlessly overcomplicated, exclusive process. If the need is there, we want to help. 

What is the 100% Model?

The 100% Model means that 100% of the general public donor dollar given to Footnotes goes directly to the scholarship fund for client mental health care with no general operations costs paid by the public donor dollar. Donors can be confident that their donation will go directly to a qualifying person in need. 

If I donate money to Footnotes, what does it get used for?

General public donor dollar, unless otherwise specified, goes toward direct client care: funding scholarships for sexual abuse survivors and military veterans suffering with post traumatic stress symptoms.

We also rely on grant funding and business or corporate donations to keep the lights on and the doors open. Priorities for grant funds and Community Impact Partners go to nonprofit staff wages, running developing and increasing programing options for supplementary care and direct client care, building renovations and or rent, and expanding our Resource Center (which offers book and resources as well as self-care items and gifts; this is owned by the non-profit and all funds go back to the non-profit).

How does sharing a building with Footnotes Counseling Services work?

Footnotes Counseling Services and Footnotes Trauma Foundation employees do share a building, as each entity impacts the other. For example, FTF employees benefit from close interaction with FCS therapists and employees, who themselves are serving clients in need. Similarly, FCS therapists and employees benefit from knowing how scholarship funding is going, and who in the community is serving clients through donations. 

Though FCS and FTF operate in the same building, each of their respective tasks and funds remain separate. 

If FTF is requesting funds for building renovations, it is a project that will directly impact and support the goals of the foundation and would otherwise not be pursued by FCS had it not been for the relationship with the two entities.

What do grant-awarded funds generally get used for?

Depending on the foundation or individual, grant-awarded funds are used for a number of things. Most often, funds are given for scholarship funds, ensuring that Footnotes Trauma Foundation clients are served first and foremost.

FTF’s current greatest need is general operating funds to be used for things like managing donor and scholarship funds, evaluating client scholarships, investigating further sources of funding, building community education programing and ties, finding supplemental ways to help clients, overseeing building projects, managing volunteers, strengthening donor relations, and planning our reach for years to come. 

What is the significance of the name, Footnotes Trauma Foundation?

You have to know where to look to find the information that you need to fully understand. This is true with complex people as it is also true for complex literature. The footnotes are often missed or overlooked, so it is with trauma and the natural impacts that relationships and trauma interplay on a person’s mental health. It is vital to seek truth about and understand the interplay between our distress and how those signals of distress had roots in being functional in a time, moment or place of overwhelming dysfunction. It’s not hard to find the information if you know where to look.

Trauma blocks love and connection, internally and externally. People do what they do for a reason, if we can understand, work with and grieve those reasons then setting a new pathway becomes natural, healing opens us to learning, love and connection.

Who are major donors?

We have been blessed by funds from The Antioch, BENCO, Consolidated Communications Community Fund, the City of Mankato Community Grant Fund, the Tailwind Group, Christensen Farms, and 4imprint–so far. We have also received many in-kind donations and volunteer support, listed below: