The Desert Rose Foundation, Inc. was formed in January of 2001 and received the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit determination letter from the IRS in March of 2001. The foundation was then incorporated in the State of Indiana on April 9, 2001 as a nonprofit corporation. The Board of Directors composed the By-Laws.

The foundation was formed as a result of a college survey conducted for a Sociology class in 1998. Fifty surveys were distributed in Martinsville, Indiana pertaining to the need for a shelter for victims of domestic violence in Morgan County. 76% of those surveyed indicated they had been victims of domestic violence and approximately 1/3 of those surveyed admitted to having spent time away from home due to domestic or family violence. The issue of having to leave Morgan County to seek safety is the main complaint of those who participated in the survey.