Business plan venn_institute

f
BUSINESS PLAN
for
2013
Lindsay Vessey
Executive Director, Venn Institute
5/20/2013

May 20, 2013 [BUSINESS PLAN]
| FORWORD 1
FORWORD
Religious freedom is of utmost importance because it touches all aspects of life – it shapes and
defines the essence of self. It's our first freedom - every other right emanates from the ability to
choose what one believes and express it in daily life. Out of the first freedom proceed other
freedoms - assembly, speech, press, suffrage and so on. You cannot have the other freedoms
without a robust culture of religious freedom
Making it personal: Imagine that getting a decent education and job was nearly impossible, or
you were unjustly accused and held in prison without your own legal representation. Perhaps
your family was forced to convert to another religion or face the consequence of death or
imprisonment. This is a reality for most religious minorities in our world and it's getting much
worse.
The Bad News: Recent data from the PEW Forum on Religion and Public Life indicates that
three quarters of the world's population live in countries with high or very high restriction on
religious freedom. Most of it is in the eastern hemisphere, but it is now proliferating the west as
well.
We are increasingly convinced that Americans need to understand the connection between
globally decreasing religious freedom, how that impacts us in America, as well as how it impacts
our ability to promote and protect religious freedom here and abroad. The manner in which
religious freedom is viewed and included in international documents and procedures will
increasingly impact the US legal system. This is evidenced by discussions on blasphemy and
Sharia courts in the US, as have already been legislated in some European countries such as in
the United Kingdom.
The Good News: Venn Institute has an audacious goal to change this trend so that the majority
of the world's population experiences religious freedom. How on earth do you plan to tackle this,
you might ask? Venn Institute is excited to reveal how we plan to make this a reality... read on!
Sincerely,
Lindsay Vessey
Executive Director
Venn Institute

| TABLE OF CONTENTS 2
BUSINESS PLAN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Table of Contents............................................................................................................................ 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ 4
ABOUT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM – CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS................................. 4
ABOUT VENN INSTITUTE ..................................................................................................... 4
THE NAME............................................................................................................................ 4
THE NUTSHELL AND VISION........................................................................................... 5
STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES ........................................................................................... 5
HUMAN CAPITAL.................................................................................................................... 6
FOUNDERS ........................................................................................................................... 6
BOARD MEMBERS.............................................................................................................. 6
OBJECTIVES AND GOALS......................................................................................................... 7
POLITICAL OUTREACH......................................................................................................... 7
SETTING THE BACKDROP ................................................................................................ 7
IMMEDIATE U.S. INITIATIVES......................................................................................... 7
IMMEDIATE U.N. INITIATIVES ........................................................................................ 8
FAITH-BASED OUTREACH.................................................................................................... 9
BUSINESS OUTREACH........................................................................................................... 9
WHY VENN INSTITUTE WILL BE SUCCESSFUL ................................................................ 10
THE COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE....................................................................................... 10
SWOT ANALYSIS ...................................................................................................................... 11
STRENGTHS ........................................................................................................................... 11

| EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3
LEADERSHIP ...................................................................................................................... 11
IRF EXPERT SUPPORT...................................................................................................... 11
NEW AND SMALL ............................................................................................................. 11
COLLABORATIVE APPROACH....................................................................................... 12
TECHNOLOGY ................................................................................................................... 12
ADVOCACY EXPERTISE.................................................................................................. 12
GROWING WEBSITE PRESENCE.................................................................................... 13
WEAKNESSES........................................................................................................................ 13
LACK OF FUNDS ............................................................................................................... 13
LITTLE KNOWN PRESENCE IN THE FIELD ................................................................. 14
NAME RECOGNITION ...................................................................................................... 15
GAPS IN CAPABILITIES WITH CURRENT STAFF ....................................................... 15
OPPORTUNITIES.................................................................................................................... 15
GENDER SPECIFIC VIOLATIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM................................... 15
DEMOCRAT CONSTITUENTS ......................................................................................... 15
THREATS................................................................................................................................. 16
NEW BURDENSOME REGULATIONS............................................................................ 16
DELAY RECEIVING 501C3 STATUS............................................................................... 16
MISCONCEPTIONS............................................................................................................ 16
MARKETING AND ADVERTIZING PLAN ............................................................................. 17
PARTICULAR PLANS............................................................................................................ 18
BUDGET ...................................................................................................................................... 19

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
ABOUT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM – CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS
Research tells us that religious freedom is being limited to fewer and fewer people every year.
This includes all faith groups. This is a fact. From what we know, Christians are persecuted in
more countries than any other religion; Muslims follow second and Jews follow third. Often
times these violations are brutal and involve torture, death, imprisonment, unrelenting
harassment and unbearable discrimination. Why? It's usually symptomatic of political
environments that encourage hostility towards certain religions, and government policies that
directly restrict religious expression or fail to take action against violators. According to PEW
data, governmental restrictions on religious freedom = higher social hostilities towards the free
practice of religious freedom. The result: minority faith groups worldwide experience
persecution from their government and other civilians.
If policies hostile towards religious freedom are removed and laws to protect faith-groups
upheld, Venn Institute believes that religious freedom can be significantly improved. It is
difficult to quantify the number of violations that would be reduced, but as research has proven,
fewer restrictions on a political level can be translated to improvement on a social level as well.
Venn Institute has a plan of action that is based on solid research, years of experience, and
proven successful methodology
ABOUT VENN INSTITUTE
THE NAME
The Organization is named after Henry Venn, an English minister who was one of the founders
of the Clapham Community. This group was instrumental in the abolition of the slave trade in
the British Empire as well as improving many aspects of British society from education, the
penal system, to animal welfare.
Not only does the name have a rich heritage in Henry Venn, but it also brings to mind the Venn
diagram. The Venn diagram was created and popularized by Henry's grandson, John Venn, who
was a mathematician. We chose the Venn diagram for use in our logo both for the significance
of the name, and because the it's a visual aid that depicts the rich symbolism of the effective
inter-working of political, faith, and business communities with a singular overlapping goal of
religious freedom. It also demonstrates the tenents of faith that some religions have in common
and portions that are unique, with the center representing the right of all individuals to have the
freedom to choose what they believe.

THE NUTSHELL AND VISION
Venn Institute is a new, one-of-a-kind organization formed by Lindsay Vessey, an expert on
advocacy for religious freedom.
Our vision is to collaborate with influential political, faith, and business members in the global
community, and activate them to help remove barriers to religious freedom so the majority of the
world's population can experience religious freedom. We hope to enable those who believe in
religious freedom - and have the fortitude to stand up against barriers to progress - to improve
religious freedom in their communities.
STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES
Article 18: We support Article 18 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, which states:
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes
freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others
and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and
observance.
Clarity: In no way shape or form does Venn Institute espouse the idea that all religions are
identical, or that all religious paths lead to the same end. We do not believe that all truth claims
are equally valid. This is not an organization that promotes such values in the interest of creating
an ecumenical movement. Neither does Venn regard such things as being essential to our quest
for religious freedom for all faith groups. This point is important - religious freedom should be
realized within the context of diverse beliefs and truth claims.
Conversion: Venn Institute supports the action of people to convert others to their religion
without coercion, government intervention or social hostility, but with the power of reason. We
believe that each person has the right to listen to the dictates of their own conscience and convert
to the religion of their choice.
Tolerance: Venn Institute rejects a definition of religious tolerance that restricts a person's or
group's ability to convert others, to express religion in the public square, or denigrates persons
who hold truth claims to be more valid than others.
Politics and Religion: Venn Institute supports the active role that religion plays in the lives of
politicians and those in positions of governance. These members should be able to publically
confess and display their religion. We affirm Article VI of the US Constitution which states that
no religious test should be required for public office. Venn does not support the removal of
traditional religious expression from government property or during government sanctioned
functions so long as they do not interfere with religious freedom and other basic human rights of
others. A naked public square is not necessary for the existence of religious freedom.

Courage and Fortitude: Venn Institute strongly believes that religious freedom can only be
realized through the courage of individuals to stand up for religious freedom and the fortitude to
act despite what terrible things may occur as a result. Struggle is unavoidable in obtaining
freedom. Religious freedom needs to be understood in this context. Courage and fortitude should
be grasped whole heartedly by all affected parties.
Decisive Action: Venn also is convinced of the need for well-researched and decisive action. We
will not succumb to a “talk fest” approach in which we constantly wait to take action for fear of
causing offense to any number of individuals. We will not seek out confrontation, but we will
also not be deterred from taking unpopular stances and actions on religious freedom. History
teaches us that when individuals and faith groups refuse to act decisively on behalf of persecuted
minority faith groups, soon all individuals lose their religious freedom. The persecution of Jews
in a predominately Christian nation such as Germany is an excellent case in point.
HUMAN CAPITAL
FOUNDERS
Lindsay Vessey - Executive Director – B.A. Inter-cultural Studies BIOLA University; M.A.
Political Science California State University Fullerton; Lindsay was the founder and Director of
the Open Doors USA Advocacy Program. Duties: Ensure performance on Venn’s objectives
and goals , manage Venn staff, oversee educational outreach to UN and US government on
religious freedom issues, direct research and execute plans for campaigns and group initiatives,
perform offline fundraising, oversee media relations, and develop relationship with faith and
NGO leaders to pursue collaborative efforts for website and architecting long-term campaigns.
Matthew Vessey - Chief Operating Officer/Secretary/Treasurer – B.S. Business Management
BIOLA University; previous financial analyst and business lender for 6 years; owned an online
marketing business; volunteer accountant for another non-profit. Duties: Oversee and manage
financial reporting and receipting, legal filings and agreements, website, online fundraising and
marketing collateral.
BOARD MEMBERS
Catherine Holtgrewe: Litigation Counsel for Career Development at Blackstone Legal
Fellowship
Jeff Hunt: Founder/CEO Discover Marketing
Mark Rodgers: Principal of The Clapham Group
Knox Thames: Director of Policy and Research at the U.S. Commission on International
Religious Freedom

| OBJECTIVES AND GOALS 7
OBJECTIVES AND GOALS
The following sections will outline activities for political, faith and business segments that the
Organization intends to use to fulfill its objectives.
We have chosen to work with political, faith and business segments because they are well
positioned within societies to foster change. We are not aware of any other organization that is
approaching IRF with these three segments together, which makes Venn Institute a unique and
innovative organization. The success of these objectives will be measured by reasonable goals
which may be adjusted as circumstances change.
POLITICAL OUTREACH
SETTING THE BACKDROP
The U.S: Religious Freedom became a formal part of the U.S. foreign policy apparatus in 1998
through the creation of the Office of International Religious Freedom (OIRF) at the State
Department and the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). The
combination of these entities and the level of interest in this issue with US federal legislators
provide ample opportunities to improve our nation’s support for international religious freedom
worldwide.
The U.N: Passage of UN resolutions and use of UN procedures sets a precedent for how many
countries worldwide view and protect or violate religious freedom of their members. Creating
accountability for the most severe violators of religious freedom is a long term project.
Our work will combine a focus on the U.S. government (OIRF, USCIRF, and U.S. federal
legislators) as well as developing relationships with various country diplomats at the UN for the
express purpose of establishing and using tools of accountability, creating bench marks with
consequences (like loosing foreign aid or negative press), employing quiet diplomacy with
diplomatic staff, filing reports of violations and requesting rectification.
We believe by addressing these areas and working with the relevant players in these spaces, we
could make a meaningful impact to create accountability for those who violate this freedom
IMMEDIATE U.S. INITIATIVES
 Collaborate strategically on the following urgent religious freedom issues
 Coordinate NGO and Congressional efforts to increase pressure on State Department to
designate Egypt as a ‘Country of Particular Concern'
 Limit and impose greater conditions on US foreign aid to Egypt

 Work with the Greek Orthodox community to create awareness and mobilize action on
behalf of Syrian Christian refugees facing an imminent water shortage.
 Cultivate Senate Champions for IRF and work to either make the IRF Caucus truly
bicameral (it is bicameral in name as there are no Senate members) or work with Senate
offices to create an organizing entity on IRF issues in the Senate.
 Publish op-eds on key IRF issues to help create awareness and action.
 Build strong support with Democrats
 Assist in US launch of Global Charter of Conscience, a comprehensive document drafted
by Os Guinness which charts a new way forward in promoting and protecting religious
freedom worldwide
IMMEDIATE U.N. INITIATIVES
 Create an effective accountability mechanism for UN member states
 Use our website to create greater awareness UN procedures and efforts to limit or
increase religious freedom
 Meet with UN country mission staff in NYC and Geneva to address religious freedom
violations and to strategize efforts with sympathetic countries for effective advocacy
efforts
 Serve as a key organizing partner for the US launch of the Global Charter of Conscience
in NYC and will organizing meetings and participating in events with various country
missions to support the launch
 Start a regular email outreach to UN country mission staff and develop relationships
 Partner with UN country missions and the NGO community to work against the
proliferation of defamation/blasphemy laws
VENN ACTION
Venn Action is the newly established 501 (c) 4, political action arm, of Venn Institute. Venn
Action can be run by the same board and staff members as Venn Institute. Through the (c) 4 we
are able to pursue more lobbying and political activities in support of Venn Institute’s objectives
without jeopardizing our non-profit status or being burdened with the ambiguous IRS guidelines
regarding quantity of resources and time that can be spent on political activity be a (c) 3.

We will continue to publish our signature product, the Congressional Scorecard on International
Religious Freedom, under Venn Action. We will also engage in quiet diplomacy, grassroots,
advocacy, and other activities to increase support and action for persecuted peoples.
FAITH-BASED OUTREACH
There are only a few organizations that focus on engaging faith-leaders from all backgrounds.
Venn Institute plans to activate various faith-leaders on several different levels.
Venn will consult faith-leaders on how to properly present their case persuasively to US
legislators to form policy, and how to enable their constituents to apply pressure to US
legislators. Many faith leaders falsely believe they are unable to take a public stand on religious
freedom issues. Venn seeks to educate and empower faith leaders to take decisive action to
promote religious freedom worldwide. As capacity allows, we will also be working with faith
groups and NGOs in other countries to pressure their own governments on this front. At times
pressure from domestic faith groups can be greater than external pressure.
Unfortunately, very few religious leaders are speaking out and taking decisive action on this
front. Resources allowing, Venn Institute would like to partner with a fellow to increase
understanding and dialogue in the public sphere, and help inform and articulate arguments for
faith groups, businesses, individuals, and governments to support religious freedom.
BUSINESS OUTREACH
Venn Institute will seek to activate international businesses who pay taxes to governments that
are religious freedom violators to promote religious freedom in their affected communities. As
revenue sources, these businesses have a unique opportunity to hold their respective political
bodies accountable.
Our plans include the following:
Networking with the International Business community. Privately and publically making the case
that businesses have a moral responsibility and the potential to use their power to improve
religious freedom for the citizens of the nations in which they are operating
Venn Institute will strategically partner with other influential organizations to create standards
for businesses to sign onto that show their support for religious freedom and call for policy
change. For example, China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam are regular violators of religious
freedom and they are also places that US based companies have a tremendous economic
footprint. Venn Institute believes it's essential for US businesses to play an active role in helping
improve religious freedom by requesting policy change and the tools to implement those
changes.

| WHY VENN INSTITUTE WILL BE SUCCESSFUL 10
Another avenue Venn will pursue is promoting businesses (not necessarily their products) that
publicly demonstrate support for religious freedom via our social media and website. Eventually
we will have a section on our website dedicated to businesses who have either signed on to
documents we produce or that have been involved in religious freedom issues. We hope this type
of exposure encourages other businesses to join our efforts and bolster their image.
WHY VENN INSTITUTE WILL BE SUCCESSFUL
THE COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
The majority of organizations engaged on IRF are faith, denomination, country, or region-
specific, academic (such as think tanks or programs located at Universities, or legal entities.
There are very few organizations which work on behalf of people all faith groups, including
those of no faith. Fewer of these NGOs have a robust advocacy effort with the US government or
other governmental entities. What is more common is to see these groups all focus on the few
cases which grab international headlines. While these efforts are important and can set precedent
for future treatment of religious minorities, they do not necessarily represent a more
comprehensive strategy.
A few examples of faith or denomination-specific groups in this space include the American
Islamic Congress, Hindu America Foundation, International Christian Concern, Jubilee
Campaign, Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and the US Conference
on Catholic Bishops.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide is primarily active on behalf of Christians, but does some work
for other faith groups. They are one of the few groups that have an active presence at the UN,
EU, UK, and are building a presence in the US. The Institute on Religion and Public Policy does
quiet diplomacy on behalf of various faith groups as does the Institute on Global Engagement
(IGE) The Church of Scientology is currently working with IGE to organize the most
comprehensive regular gathering of all types of organizations and government entities involved
in IRF as well as to keep everyone updated on opportunities to support one another’s efforts.
This is one of the best collaborative developments in the IRF community in recent years, but the
meetings are necessarily private and coordination is done behind the scenes by email. There is
still much room for the IRF community to grow in the area of collaboration.
The major secular human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights
Watch are most notable for how little they do in regard to IRF considering their size and
financial resources They incorporate religious freedom into various country or human rights
reports and have published a few on specific religious freedom violations; however, they
infrequently campaign on cases for victims of religious freedom violations.

| SWOT ANALYSIS 11
There are some legal groups who work on behalf of persecuted religious minorities worldwide.
The ACLJ, Advocates International, and Alliance Defending Freedom focus primarily on cases
of persecuted Christians. The Becket Fund for religious freedom does excellent work on behalf
of people of all faiths and chooses which cases to litigate very strategically. But they are
primarily focused on domestic religious freedom issues and are increasingly cast as one of main
organizations working against the HHS mandate. While a laudable and much needed effort, this
has pigeonholed their small international religious freedom program and made it more difficult
to work in a bi-partisan manner. There are many more secular and faith based groups that work
on domestic religious freedom issues.
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
LEADERSHIP
Venn has board members and staff with diverse but extremely relevant experience and important
contacts. These personnel have reputations as hard-working people who operate with integrity
and honesty. Our board members are actively engaged in providing support, advice, and
accountability; key factors which will contribute to our success. Our Executive Director has nine
years of experience working in this sphere and has already demonstrated unique contributions –
the creation of the Congressional Scorecard on International Religious Freedom as an
accountability mechanism in DC – for example.
IRF EXPERT SUPPORT
Venn has been contacted by numerous experts in the IRF field offering support for our efforts
not only verbally, but many have already collaborated or contributed to our website. We view
this support as a good indicator of our ability to work effectively within the existing IRF
community
NEW AND SMALL
As a new organization, we at Venn have been able to start from scratch in considering our
approach to improve IRF. We are not restricted by various policies, previous actions, or
personnel. Also as a small organization, we are not slowed by long bureaucratic decision
making. Although more staff will greatly contribute to our efforts, we recognize the benefits of
not having overstaffing creating unnecessary overhead and complicating our work.

| SWOT ANALYSIS 12
COLLABORATIVE APPROACH
Frequently non-profits view other organizations in their sphere primarily as competitors for the
same resources. While that is true to a degree, Venn subscribes to the elevation principle. This
means we seek to collaborate and promote those in our sphere who are doing good work. We
believe that this ultimately strengthens our ability to be more effective in the promotion of
religious freedom. As we create awareness and offer the information, education, and tools for
faith groups, businesses, and individuals to take action, the pool of resources will continue to
grow.
TECHNOLOGY
Venn staff are actively researching and constantly striving to improve our use of current
technology to facilitate Venn’s objectives. This can be see through our dynamic website, use of
Facebook and Twitter, online fundraising, and more. We plan to implement a greater variety of
technological advances as resources are available.
ADVOCACY EXPERTISE
As an expert on international religious liberty issues, Lindsay's work on behalf of persecuted
Christians has taken her to North Korea, China, Canada, Egypt, Chiapas- Mexico, Washington-
DC, and the United Nations in New York City. She founded and served as the Advocacy
Director for Open Doors USA.
Vessey has advocated on religious freedom issues both domestically and at the UN. She has
lectured on North Korea and advocacy for persecuted Christians at conferences in Toronto and
at Moody Bible College and Multnomah Bible College. Vessey has also been interviewed for
articles and on a variety of radio shows including programs on Voice of America and Radio Free
Asia, In the Market with Janet Parshall, the Don Kroah Show, the Frank Pastore Show, Moody’s
Prime Time America program, and the Janet Mefford Show.
Through the creation of the very first Scorecard on International Religious Freedom, Lindsay
was able to introduce a new level of accountability with federal legislators and establish herself
as an innovative and collaborative advocate for multiple faith groups. Despite working for a
Christian organization, she was able to score efforts for other faith groups increasing the
effectiveness of this new tool.
Lindsay started and led an informal India coalition for several years, helping NGOs focused on
India to collaborate in advocacy initiatives and media efforts. A group representing this coalition
traveled to India and published a report on their findings from violence against Christians in
Orissa, India at time when many groups could not gain access or reliable updates on the
situation.

| SWOT ANALYSIS 13
More recently Lindsay has partnered with a variety of groups to lobby countries at the UN
regarding the Defamation of Religions resolutions. As a result, this resolution has not been
reintroduced. Lindsay is also one of the most trusted IRF NGO advocates with a number of
Congressional offices and the USCIRF and considered a “go to” person to create awareness and
action on issues and to effectively collaborate with other NGOs in these efforts.
Congressional Scorecard: An accountability asset that scores legislators with a grade A-F for
their support of legislation and initiatives for religious freedom. It is available at
http://vennaction.org/files/IRF_Scorecard.pdf.
GROWING WEBSITE PRESENCE
The Website is an important ingredient for our success. It is a visual representation of the
organization and a mouth piece for the cause. The website is a professional and engaging asset.
We have had contributions from Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Tom Farr
Ph.D. (Director, Religious Freedom Project, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World
Affairs, Georgetown University), Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett (Chair of the United States
Commission on International Religious Freedom), representatives from the Khmer Krom people,
Macedonian Christians, Uyghurs, Coptic Christians and more.
WEAKNESSES
Every organization has weaknesses, but Organizations with foresight, Like Venn Institute, will
mitigate each weakness with either a planned action or workaround. Here we will discuss
weakness and mitigating factors.
LACK OF FUNDS
Currently, Venn Institute has not actively performed fundraising. This is intentional because we
wanted to develop the reputation and credibility as a professional, non-biased, helpful
organization before we focused on funding. We wanted to focus all of our energy on building
trust and respect with others to foster mutually beneficial relationships that are lasting. We
believe we are now in the position to begin fundraising and transfer some of our efforts to that
endeavor.
The functions that are most severely impacted from lack of funds in order of priority are staff,
travel and marketing. In order for the Organization to operate, at minimum it needs the proper
human capital to sustain activities essential to the Organization's objectives.

| SWOT ANALYSIS 14
To properly sustain the Organization's operations an annual staff salary budget of $676,000
(includes 40% gross-up for payroll taxes and insurance) is proposed to fund the following
positions:
Executive Director (Lindsay Vessey)
Political Outreach Director
Faith Outreach Director
Business Outreach Director
Director of Operations/Web Master (Matt Vessey)
Secondarily, a travel budget is necessary enable the staff to carry out their functions to the
fullest. We assume that all but the Operations director may travel at least once a month. To
account for minimal travel of flight and hotel stay for 3 days would average $1,200 for a total
annual initial travel budget of about $43,000.
Thirdly, a marketing budget is necessary to advance the Organization's objectives. Marketing
will primarily include creation of an introductory and education video, internet marketing
channels, and promotional items to potential and existing donors. An annual budget of $10,000
would sufficiently cover initial marketing projects.
LITTLE KNOWN PRESENCE IN THE FIELD
This will improve with time as we establish ourselves in the field. Lindsay has an extensive
network with politicians, government bodies, and NGO's that will prove beneficial. Jeff Hunt is
well connected with politicians; he has interacted on Capitol Hill in various circumstances
working for Senator Santorum and later as a consultant and then in campaign management. Mark
Rodgers was the former chief of staff to Senator Santorum, has extensive leadership experience
and contacts with government leadership, to businesses, to influential culture shapers. Catherine
has a stellar legal education and was one of the first hires on the Romney legal team. She has
now taken her career in a different direction and her legal experience both in the political field
and with social issues will be of great benefit to Venn. Knox is a top expert in this field and has
served for 15 years in various capacities including at the Commission on Security and
Cooperation in Europe, State Department, and in his current leadership role at USCIRF which
provides invaluable insight, expertise, and connections with the IRF community.
MITIGATION
Venn Institute will first and foremost leverage its human capital to raise interest for both the
Organization and the topic of IRF. Currently the Organization is in the midst of partnering with
well-known individuals like author, Os Guinness (author of the Global Charter of Conscience),
for strategic events that will help launch Venn Institute as a credible, creative, and relevant
organization.

| SWOT ANALYSIS 15
As a collaborative organization, we will continue to leverage this type of approach with other
influential members of society to build momentum and awareness.
Secondly, Venn’s website will be used as a tool to rapidly create awareness, share ideas, and
promote IRF issues worldwide. The website venninstitute.org is designed specifically to allow us
to achieve these goals.
NAME RECOGNITION
Venn Institute does not yet have the necessary name recognition to be as influential as necessary.
This will change as we pursue our strategy and consistently perform useful and collaborative
work in the field. Lindsay’s reputation and previous work has provided a good “jumping off”
point in that we have automatic credibility and name recognition within the small IRF
community, but we need to quickly move beyond this community to grow the organization.
GAPS IN CAPABILITIES WITH CURRENT STAFF
With the currently limited staff there are inherent gaps in our capabilities. Venn has some
capabilities to fulfill its objectives in the field of political outreach, but lacks capabilities for
high-level international business and faith outreach, and event coordination. These gaps will be
closed once the proper funds and staff has been obtained to fill those gaps.
OPPORTUNITIES
GENDER SPECIFIC VIOLATIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Religious persecution in many countries disproportionately affects women and girls as the most
vulnerable in many, particularly Muslim majority countries. Women of minority faiths often face
insurmountable obstacles in obtaining education and employment opportunities due both to their
gender and faith.
DEMOCRAT CONSTITUENTS
Because religious freedom is largely viewed as a conservative issue, many Democrat politicians
hesitate to engage on the issue. Despite great efforts to engage Democrats on religious freedom
from NGOS and their Republican friends, we still have precious little Democrat activity. Venn
believes that drawing key liberal constituencies such as women’s rights activists, gay activists,
and youth into the religious freedom sphere will produce greater incentive for Democrats to
become involved. Essentially, we must help people see the potential for partnership and action
outside of the traditional narrative which currently limits how various groups are approaching
religious freedom.

| SWOT ANALYSIS 16
THREATS
NEW BURDENSOME REGULATIONS
There are several possible scenarios that could negatively affect the Organization. Some of these
may include a removal of tax deductions for donations to non-profits, a burdensome increase in
the share that the Organization is responsible for FICA taxes, health care costs, and other
mandated employee benefits, and increased fees to maintain non-profit status. To mitigate this,
the Organization will set aside an appropriate reserve as it is able. These reserves will be
approved and recommended by a supporting counsel of Board Members.
DELAY RECEIVING 501C3 STATUS
We have not yet received our non-profit status. Venn has received state recognition, but it will
likely take about 1 year from our filing date to receive federal status. In the meantime, we are
operating underneath the umbrella of a 501c3 named Morning Star News. In this way, all
donations made to Venn Institute are tax-deductible because the donations are funneled through
a registered non-profit. This complexity may cause anxiety with donors unfamiliar with this
standard procedure in the non-profit industry.
MISCONCEPTIONS
There are several apparent misconceptions about religious freedom and the means to improve it:
1. It is too difficult to make progress in the field of religious freedom; religious freedom has
been a problem for thousands of years, there are too many problems to address, and any
change will simply take too long.
2. Some people believe that eschatology (Christian, Muslim, or Jewish) demonstrates that
we are in the “end-times” and efforts to improve religious freedom will be futile and
pointless (i.e., what's going to happen - is going to happen - regardless of what we do).
The first two assertions are related and somewhat common among Christian circles. Our calling
is not to try only if we can succeed in every effort. But it is to stand against evil which would
deny individuals this basic right. As no one knows exactly what the future holds or how it will
unfold, we must do the utmost during our lifetime to promote and protect religious freedom. We
will not save all victims or “cure” every bad piece of legislation. But our efforts will certainly
make a big impact and be worthwhile to those we are able to help.
3. Governments will not heed the call to improve the religious freedom abuses in their
country because doing so will show weakness and cause uncertainty.

| MARKETING AND ADVERTIZING PLAN 17
Every government is subject to internal and external pressure in their effort to maintain power.
The key to good advocacy is determining the right pressure points and mobilizing the right
resources at the right time to apply pressure on the best target. There are numerous examples of
how media, politicians, government entities, NGOs, and individuals have worked together to
convince governments to allow
There are several cases to highlight that demonstrate the effectiveness of advocacy for IRF, and
they are listed below (by no means an exhaustive list).
SUCCESS STORIES
Yucef Nadarkhani released after 3 years imprisonment. The IRF Caucus held hearing for him
and a resolution was passed by Congress on his behalf, H. Res. 556, called "Condemning the
Government of Iran for its continued persecution, imprisonment, and sentencing of Youcef
Nadarkhani on the charge of apostasy." Many international media outlets also carried stories on
his case increasing pressure on the Iranian government.
http://global.christianpost.com/news/congressional-resolution-condemns-iran-demands-youcef-
nadarkhanis-release-69779/#hYwyp0tSE96tyBFe.99
Defamation of Religions Resolution – through lobbying UN Country missions and picking off
more votes each year, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation realized it would likely not pass
in 2011, and so a compromise text was introduced instead. This was a significant achievement
that required years of media, grassroots advocacy, and lobbying to turn the tide and help
countries see why they should not be voting in support of the defamation of religions resolutions.
http://www.opendoorsusa.org/press/2011/March/New-U.N-Resolution-on-Religious-Freedom-
Drops-Defamation-Concept
Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh release from Iranian Prison. Several
organizations launched intensive advocacy campaigns urging the government to release the two
women. Among the official charges against them were anti-government activities, blasphemy
and apostasy
http://www.religiontoday.com/columnists/guest-commentary/story-of-answered-prayer-in-midst-
of-horror.html
MARKETING AND ADVERTIZING PLAN
We recognize that influence is an important piece to our success as an organization that seeks to
change minds, create accountability and galvanize support for our cause. That being said, not

| MARKETING AND ADVERTIZING PLAN 18
only is it important to become influential from the political, faith and business partnerships we
develop, the Organization will be more powerful if the public helps rally around the
Organization to the degree that they draw additional political, faith, and business leaders to join
us in our efforts. Like a foundation that supports a house, the masses can act as a foundation for
long-term support.
It has been mentioned previously that our primary target audience is the political, faith and
business segments; however, from a Marketing standpoint it would be unwise to exclusively
market our message to those groups. Recognizing that long-term strength can be found in
engaging the general populace.
Venn ought to include marketing to the masses in a strategic way that compliments any
marketing message to our primary segments. We are not advocating a "shotgun" approach, but a
strategic vertical approach.
The Organization proposes to use the following methods to market its message and engage its
audience. They will be employed as the budget is obtained.
PARTICULAR PLANS
Short Videos featuring key players in each segment. The purpose of creating videos is that they
are shareable, easily consumed, maintain longevity, and can communicate a great deal of
information in a short time. Possible to integrate with video advertising if appropriate. This can
be very expensive
Press Releases are inexpensive and shareable, but are usually short-lived content. This would be
an on-going effort to keep us in the public eye.
Radio Interviews have proved useful in the past to build awareness and generate momentum,
especially if picked up by a major station. These interviews are also short-lived and require
strong relationships for repeat interviews
Events: each event the Organization facilitates must always have a strong social media
involvement and attempt to promote other segments as much as possible. This will build the
Organization as one that is for the cause... not simply for ourselves.
Our website must always be used to promote other faith-groups, their circumstances and other
organizations that champion the IRF cause. The site will be used to galvanize support from
members of those faith communities and bring strength to the Organization's future engagement
with the three primary segments.

| BUDGET 19
Logo campaign: Currently there is no logo that symbolizes religious freedom for all. The
Organization nominates its own logo to be that symbol. A logo campaign can be a powerful tool
to be used by the masses in whatever way helps them express that they support religious
freedom. This will eventually bring immediate recognition among the general populace and the
primary segments. (Think peace symbol, etc.)
BUDGET
2013
6 Months
Income $ 163,800 100% $ 657,492 100% $ 682,826 100%
Fundraising Costs $ 32,760 20% $ 131,498 20% $ 136,565 20%
Gross Income $ 131,040 80% $ 525,994 80% $ 546,261 80%
Operating Expenses
Salaries
Executive Director $ 40,000 $ 72,000 $ 74,160
Political Outreach Director $ 68,000 $ 70,040
Faith Outreach Director $ 68,000 $ 70,040
Business Outreach Director $ 68,000 $ 70,040
Operations Director $ 30,000 $ 60,000 $ 61,800
Total Salaries $ 70,000 $ 336,000 $ 346,080
Benefits and Payroll Taxes $ 28,000 $ 134,400 $ 138,432
Total Payroll Expense $ 98,000 60% $ 470,400 72% $ 484,512 71%
Travel $ 21,000 $ 43,000 $ 48,000
Marketing $ 5,000 $ 10,000 $ 11,000
Contract labor $ 7,000 $ 10,000 $ 11,000
CNP Membership $ - $ 4,300 $ 4,300
Legal and Licenses $ 2,000 $ 2,000 $ 2,000
Accounting Software Fees $ 150 $ 360 $ 360
Internet and Phone $ 1,500 $ 3,000 $ 3,000
Supplies and Computers $ 500 $ 3,000 $ 3,000
Printing $ 500 $ 1,000 $ 1,000
Website $ 350 $ 350 $ 350
Social Media $ 500 $ 500 $ 500
Net Operating Expenses $ 136,500 $ 547,910 $ 569,022
Net Assets $ - $ - $ -
Projections 2014 2015

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