Olive Branch Mission - Frequently Asked Questions

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long has the Olive Branch Mission been in existence?

140!!! 140 years ago in the city of Chicago, Rachel Bradley founded a series of ministries known then as the Rachel Bradley Missions. Several years later, she organized the Wells Street Mission to begin the work of meeting the needs of people who lived in Chicago's skid row district. In 1891, the Wells Street Mission moved to 95 South Des Plains Street and it was there that we first used the name Olive Branch Missions.

Does Olive Branch Mission only serve homeless people?

No! Olive Branch Mission also provides services to children and youth that are not homeless through our mentoring programs, after-school programs, and summer day camp. We have exciting educational programs for college students, pastors in training, persons studying for missionary service and other related interests. In addition Olive Branch Mission works with many working poor through job training, computer training, free medical care, and food baskets.

How much of your budget is government funding?

Olive Branch Mission averages less than 25% of its annual total revenue from government sources. The rest of our funding comes from private companies and foundations, college students in our college program, and individual donors and churches who believe in the life saving work that we do.

How many people are touched through the ministries of Olive Branch Mission?

Every night we house between 80 and 100 women and children in our family shelter. Every night we provide shelter for 20 to 40 homeless men in our overnight warming center. Every night we provide shelter for 20 to 28 men in our Life Transformation Addiction Recovery program. Every day we provide hundreds of breakfasts, lunches, and dinner to those who need our care.

Is Chicago the only place where the Olive Branch Mission has offices?

No! The founding ladies of Olive Branch Mission declared in their prayers and in their earliest written diaries that the world needed Jesus. In our earliest newsletter logo the phrase "The World for Jesus" appears. As a commitment to the heritage and principles of our founding ladies we have prayerfully considered where the Lord has opened doors for us to serve people in need. One of these opportunities was offered in Flint, Michigan by invitation of the East Michigan Conference of the Free Methodist Church to come and offer support to the historic Oak Street Mission and the Flint First Free Methodist Church. Olive Branch Mission at Oak Street recently received the Human Service Agency of the Year Award from the Mayor of the City of Flint. A second important opportunity was launched during the summer of 2002 when the Board of Directors of One Accord Initiatives invited Olive Branch Mission in to run its recovery home for Women with Children. The program is located near Jamestown in western New York. This home will be known as the Daybreak House of Hope and we are planning to launch it formally in the coming months. In addition to Flint and Jamestown, Olive Branch Mission has been invited to explore ministry opportunities for Homeless Boys in Jamaica and Addiction Recovery and HIV/AIDS Intervention in Central and East Africa. Services in Nairobi, Kenya will begin during the current fiscal year and we anticipate that our operation in Jamaica will be online within 18 months. We are excited that we have an opportunity to carry forth the vision of our founding women and declare "the world for Jesus!"

How long do homeless people stay at the mission?

It depends on needs of the individual/family. Some people stay for just a night in our overnight warming centers; in our family shelter people remain up to four months. Those in our addiction recovery program remain approximately 7-8 months.

Do people in Olive Branch programs have to pay for services?

No! Through the generous support of people like you, area churches, private companies, and the Chicago Department of Human Services, Olive Branch can offer services at no cost to the people who need it most.

Are there any religious restrictions placed on people receiving services from the Olive Branch Mission?

No! The Olive Branch Mission will serve anyone in need regardless of a persons race or religion. However, we are unapologetic about the fact that we serve Jesus Christ and Olive Branch Mission is a place where those who are seeking can come to know Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord!

Why did Olive Branch Mission move from West Madison to Saint Ritas Monastery on South Claremont?

In 1995, Olive Branch Mission moved its central program facilities to 6310 South Claremont, deep in the heart of Chicagos South Side. The West Madison locale was in an area slated for commercial development by the City of Chicago. As the neighborhood changed, the people served by the Olive Branch Mission were dispersed and we found ourselves increasingly isolated from the people who needed us most. Simultaneous to the redevelopment of the West Madison locale, the Augustinians were looking to transition from their monastery at 6310 South Claremont. In an effort to preserve the dignity of those that we served, and to provide needed services to a community in need, we moved our main program facility to Saint Ritas Monastery.

Are donations to Olive Branch Mission Tax Deductable?

Donation made to the Olive Branch Mission are Tax Deductable. When you make your donation, be sure to specify if you need a tax receipt. Receipts for donations worth USD 500.00 and below can be issued at the donations drop off location (6310 S Claremont, Chicago IL, 60636). Those for donations worth over USD 500.00 are issued at the adminstration building (2636 West Marquette Road, Chicago, IL, 60629-9809).

How dow I make a donation to Olive Branch Mission?

Olive Branch Mission accepts donations of various kinds. You could donate your time by becoming a volunteer in any of our programs (Details available from the website). You could also make an inkind donation. We accept a wide variety of items to cater for the needs of those in need. This includes clothing, household furniture, household equipment, stationery, recreation items and toys, domestic tools & utensils e.t.c. We also accept cash donations. This can be done online by use of a debit/credit card or electronic check. You could also mail a check to the official Olive Branch Mission address available at the bottom of each webpage (2636 West Marquette Road, Chicago, IL, 60629-9809).

Are user/member accounts with Olive Branch Mission safe?

Data handling and storage is done with strict adherence to security standards and the user privacy. Information transmitted or transactions made on this site are protected with up to 256-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption. Security sensitive information is also stored in an encrypted form in secured environment.

Where can I get my tax receipt?

Since donations made to Olive Branch Mission are tax deductible, users who make their donations online can print tax return receipts for their online account

Where can I veiw my donation/gift history?

If you have made your donations online, you can also view and print reports of your gift history from your online account. If you have made other gifts outside the online system such as by mailed check, you can email a request for a tax receipt to be mailed to you.

What is an electronic check?

An electronic check works like a regular check, only instead of providing payment by physically handing or mailing a paper check, the user provides the routing and account information that is printed on their paper check so it may be processed electronically.

What is a routing number?

This is a nine (9) digit number used in processing check payments and is found on the bottom left corner of your check leaf.

What is a recurring donation?

This is a repeating donation that you specify by providing the amount, funding source, start and end date as well as how often (period). The specified amount is paid from the funding source every period specified between the start and end dates or until you cancel it.

Are there any new features on the website?

To facilitate a smoother experience for our website users, we have made some changes/enhancements.

Users have the opportunity to create online accounts that handle their profile data and financial information. This is done with strict adherence to security standards and the user privacy. Information transmitted or transactions made on this site are protected with up to 256-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption.

Security sensitive information is also stored in an encrypted form in secured environment.

The site allows members to save financial transaction information in their secure online accounts. This includes defining funding sources so that the user can always select them from file while making a donation.

The site offers the option of making a one time or a recurring donation.

The site allows donations to be made by Debit/Credit card as well as by electronic check payments. An electronic check works like a regular check, only instead of providing payment by physically handing or mailing a paper check, the user provides the routing and account information that is printed on their paper check so it may be processed electronically.

For those who opt not to create online accounts, it is still possible to make one time donation to Olive Branch Mission.

Users can print donation receipts every time they make a donation.

Since donations made to Olive Branch Mission are tax deductible, users can print tax return receipts for their online account.

Users can also view and print reports of their gift history.