NW Hope-Net
How Does It Work?
The NW Hope-Net "E-Net"
When we send out E-net Inquiries and Alerts requesting information on what help churches have given to various individuals - or alerting churches to individuals potentially attempting to abuse the system with fraudulent or unnecessary aid and assistance requests. If anyone on the net has any information about that particular individual or situation, they respond back to NWHN. We then take all of this information and add it to the client’s file so that two months from now ... six months from now ... should that person approach a different church on the net with the same story, and should that church contact us to ask if we had heard of them, we could respond with the information on file. In doing this, several things happen:
- The church knows not to expend additional staff resources attempting to verify this couple’s request
- The church makes an informed decision about how they spend the limited resources they have for benevolence
- The church saves money, which is now available for the next person who approaches the church with a more legitimate need
- If enough churches respond in similar fashion, this couple's attempts to defraud the system come to an end, and they are potentially compelled to face the realities of their situation. If they eventually come to the end of their resources; they may actually turn to the Church for real answers, and for true hope in Christ.
- Everybody is empowered to be better stewards of the funds God has prompted His people to give to their respective benevolence ministries.
What Is The E-Net?
The E-net is an ever-growing network of churches who are linked together via e-mail, sharing information with one another, working together to effectively steward their respective benevolence budgets.
A Powerful Tool
When churches do not communicate with one another, they are unfortunately left open to becoming easy prey to scammers, system abusers, and those who choose chronically dependent lifestyles, as opposed to Biblical self-sufficiency. The E-net is a powerful tool churches can use to partner together to form a "safety net" for the overall community. The simple act of cooperative partnership results in the majority of available resources within a community going to those who have the most legitimate need for those resources.
Time Saved = Money Saved
In today’s economy, it is often necessary for one person to go to multiple organizations in order to raise the funds necessary to meet their need. This process costs both churches and clients a great deal in terms of time, staff resources, gasoline, and emotional outflow. The E-net enables churches to make a single inquiry and quickly determine whether or not the person approaching them for assistance has a history of abusing the system, using aliases, etc. NW Hope-Net also has client files dating back to 1991, so we are able to establish whether or not a person has a history of behavior. All of this enables NWHN to assist churches in making the most appropriate decisions on how they steward the benevolence funds that they have been entrusted to administrate.
This is the picture of the E-net in action, and why it always pays for itself several times over no matter what the monthly support amount is. We will always be able to give you good information, and as the churches in our expanding territories come on board, that information will get better and better.
