We are struggling with our fundraising here at the Community House, and so we invite you to donate if you feel the goodness in what we are doing here.
But we are not trying to rely only on public support. We have been seeking grants. This tripped us up when we tried to submit a grant to the Community Foundation a group here in central Illinois. They stated they would not grant to Foundations. Not even operating foundations. So what do we do? I have signed up for the "Assurance Program" at the Foundations Group, the organization that helped me start this project, and they have hopped on board to help me through the process of what we call "A Walk Out." Here I am transitioning from a private operating foundation to a public charity. In case you are wondering, the paperwork that needs to be filed with the IRS is an 8940. Certainly, the first year I was obliged to be determined as a Foundation given that the entirety of our funding came from an individual endowment, funds that had been left to me as an inheritance from my step-mom Sue. But now that we are up and running, the goal is to become more of a publicly supported organization. When I first asked about this, I was somewhat shocked to learn that the process takes 5 years. Five years of operating as a public charity before we will be formally designated as such. So, if that is the direction I want to go, now is the time to get started. Can we do it? That is the question of the day. Here is a little piece of information, a total of 1/3 of the revenue stream needs to come from small donations (less than 5,000/ person), however, if a person donated 10,000, then 5,000 can still fall into the 1/3 bucket. Also, if you are charging fees for any of your offerings, those go into the publicly funded bucket as well. Finally, if the NFP is already holding assets, including cash, they are not included in the overall revenue stream. So, if I want to create one last endowment now, before the walk-out, those monies won't be held against our determination as a public charity. Looking at the entire picture, I believe this goal of meeting the standard of public support shouldn't be too hard to accomplish.
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We just completed our First Apprentice session coming up with the Qualities of Good Service, and if anyone embodies these, it is for certain that it is Griffin Heating and Cooling. Owned and operated by Doug Ingersoll, this company has come to the rescue of the Community House Network on more than one occasion. Today he is installing a new furnace and AC unit. The old spider furnace, or body burner we liked to call it, is now gone and we have an efficient new furnace provided at cost. Doug saw the good work we were doing and wanted to help out. His prices was nearly $10,000 less than the competitors. That is a lot, lot less. We are still figuring out our funding so this act of altruism has saved the day for us. We are ever so grateful to him and his team. https://www.griffinheatingcooling.com/ This weekend we are going to celebrate the life of Gene who passed away last December. It was a tragedy for our kids who have been a big part of the Art Garage and all the activities at the Community House.
I feel like I am part of the family, and I can't envision what the project would be like without this amazing family. Gene was the paternal figure for all his grandchildren. He is also one of the few parents who have been involved at all in our activities. Often in our community, the grandparents take over responsibilites of the parent. In this case, Gene took on the role. He would sit the kids down on the porch and talk to them about right behaviors, making the right choices, and not getting involved in dangerous activities. His own children struggled with addiction, and I believe he wanted to prevent his grandchildren from taking the same path. He showed up to our functions, and checked on the kids when they were at the art garage. He loved them and it showed. So when he passed, I knew there would be a void. I didn't want the lessons he taught to be lost. Maybe we could help keep his memory alive. So we created the Neighborhood Hero Award. To be given to a member of the community on the 6th of March. This was Gene's birthday, and also the day we celebrate Harriet Tubman's birthday (her actual date of birth isn't known). So Happy Birthday Gene, and we hope you are still with us in spirit. We will do our best to keep your memory and love alive. This journal, besides sharing the progress of our emergence as an operating foundation, is also meant to be a useful reference or blueprint for anyone wanting to start their own NFP. The biggest challenge for me, has been a lot of the compliance elements of the program. It is almost tax time, and I am a bit freaked out. This year has been less complex for reporting than in the future I am sure because the funding has been entirely from a single endowment provided by myself to the foundation. Still, I am required to report all of the financials with regards to the use of our funds. I will create a breakdown that will be made visible soon.
I actually like data entry, and creating graphs, and all sorts of crunching numbers, but when it comes to filling out forms, that is a different story. Luckily the Foundations Group that has been instrumental to me starting this project has a program that will do this work for me. I will try to share all that I learn for those who cannot afford their services. Stay tuned for more information! What we have been waiting for has finally arrived. Our 501-3C status has been approved. There is no doubt in my mind that the Foundations Group was the critical factor. Also, finally filing the 990 with the IRS. Late, yes, but as is apparent by our success, better late than never.
It is interesting that I have been waiting on this status in order to begin formal fundraising, and I can tell you now, I think that was a mistake. All donations made from our original filing in October 2020 would have been approved for a tax write-off. So many things are in full movement right now, I am not sure even how to begin this whole fundraising effort. Early in our start-up, we had made a decision to use a relationship approach to fundraising, based on the book, "The Generosity Network." I believe we have been working on our relationships, but so far we haven't had much success in raising funds. Still, I have faith. Keep your eyes open for our donate button as I make an attempt to navigate this process. And if you like what we are doing, please donate. You can even officially write it off. I was looking at some notes I had written down when contemplating this project. One thing that is very important to me is to empower people to live their best lives. That really is the crux of the project. But the truth is, that even in being empowered, it doesn't mean I have to do it alone. I live my best life when I find the common purpose and share vision and my gifts in collaboration with others.
This project is attracting people who have good hearts, and want to give. Recently we had someone donate some food items that we couldn't immediately see us using in our after school programming. There was an initial thought that perhaps we could serve a role as a food dispensary. I was pretty tired at the moment, but it didn't feel right. It didn't feel as if it fit with our mission. I realized that we do not want to become simply a place to give things away. If we are not teaching someone something with our gifts, if we are not empowering them, we are creating dependence. Once that part of the vision was clarified again, we came up with half a dozen things we could do with the food. All of these things inspired creativity, would bring the community together and also would feed our neighborhood while lifting people up. The point is that the vision is beginning to live not just within me, but within our team of amazing leaders. Of course we don't want to create dependence. We want to empower people to be less dependent. But it is not about being completely independent either. We want loving community. We want connection with others. We want to share our gifts and realize our interdependence. I have consistently struggled with how do I loosen the reigns. I don't want to be a dictator. I want to support the growth of others, and make it less about me and more about what the community members can bring to the table. I can see that it is working. I am able to step back, and people can step in and shine their light. This was ever so apparent when during my time visiting my mother in Chicago, the team held a successful community event that even received media coverage. Thank you team! In a project like this, it is so important that we allow others to contribute their own personal vision and mission to the energy of the project. No one has been more influential to bringing clarity to our vision that Kelly Beal and her personal mission to bring more kindness to the world through Keegan's Krew Anti-Bullying Campaign. It is only through allowing her own passion to come through that a clear direction for our shared vision is being realized at the Community House. Loving kindness really is the cornerstone for us all. You can check out the story here. https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/local-news/the-community-house-invites-community-over-for-friends-themed-friendsgiving/ The Community House Network is built on a philosophical framework that believes that in order to bring positive change you must focus on the positive. It doesn't mean you have to ignore the negative, but we can know the negative is there simply as a contrast to the beauty of all of the positive things we each hold within us.
There is a great deal of research around this. In fact their is an entire field of study devoted to it, called Positive Psychology. The pioneers of this field investigated the best of humanity throughout the world. They discovered that humanity has a lot in common when it comes to goodness. The research showed 6 core themes to our strengths and virtues. Each month we focus on one of these themes at the Community House. This month it is Courage. However, it is also the month of Thanksgiving, and that is most often associated with gratitude. Gratitude is such a powerful virtue. Gratitude opens the heart to receive. No wonder gratitude is associated with the theme of Transcendence. Today I have so much to be grateful for. I am thankful for my family, for all of those who have joined me on this journey. I am grateful for a second chance at life through this beautiful process of recovery. I am thankful for all of the opportunities and even responsibilities that have been presented to me. I am thankful for true friendship! Join us on Saturday, November 27th at 1PM for a Friendsgiving. Have some delicious food to celebrate and give thanks to all we have been given. I can hear the people in our community crying tonight. A young boy was shot over at Cooper's gas station. That is not the first time, and probably won't be the last. "Why isn't anyone doing anything?" I can hear them cry. "Where are the police?" "How can this violence continue?" I myself ask those questions too. I am angry too. Last summer, I stopped a fight in the middle of the road in front of the Community House. Two gangs of boys had started jumping each other. I called out for them to stop. I told one boy that I knew and his brother to go home. I finally called the police. The police arrived and said they were told not to do anything when there was this type of fighting. What is going on? There is open drug sales and drug use down in front of the gas station. Just yesterday when I went to get gas, there were two men standing in front of the store, simply waiting. Waiting, I presume, for customers. I have even seen people injecting drugs out in the open, just sitting on the curb facing the street. This kind of emboldened behavior is a signal that there is absolutely no fear of police. My neighbor with a developmental delay, had drugs given to her in a box of chicken. She was so afraid the police were going to get her, she came to me. Another neighbor informed me of the use of one of the abandoned stores on Sheridan being used as an illegal night-club. He said he informed the police, but they are actively ignoring it. What is going on? And now this. A young boy gunned down. The kids from the Art Garage knew this boy, and they are afraid. They asked me to walk them home from the Community House. They are angry and shocked and confused. What kind of world are we living in? Our goal at the Community House is to help them to become Ambassadors of Kindness. To make a decision to help make this world a better place. To do what they can to spread peace, and stop the violence. I think we need to stand up for peace! What do you think? Join us on November 11th at the Community House 2223 N. Sheridan Rd. During our open hours from 3 to 6PM There is so much that we need to heal in our world.
We can start with ourselves, but how? First, can we even identify those aspects of our lives that are sick? Maybe it relates to our physical health. Maybe our emotions are unbalanced. Maybe our relationships are sick. Or perhaps we are spiritually sick, that is, I don't know who I truly am. I am sick in spirit. This month we will begin hosting a healing circle at the Community House. It will be emergent, as is most of our programming, welcoming in what will serve our community and individual needs most. It will include some form of meditation and prayer, and some form of alternative healing (bioenergy, sound healing, etc). Healing has been a critical part of my own journey. It has made it possible for me to be myself and to live an unconventional life filled with joy and spontaneity. No matter what your issue, there is hope for a better life when we open ourselves to the possibility of healing. In just a few days it will be one year since the Community House Network was officially filed as a NFP. It is hard to believe it. In many ways so much has happened, and still we are struggling to fulfill the vision.
The hardest part is getting others to see what has taken me more than two decades to come into clarity. I am like the conductor of an orchestra where the music hasn't yet been transcribed onto sheets. People are playing old familiar tunes, when what we want is a completely new sound. There are a few ideas I am toying with to help people realize the vision. Those on the team need to know that it is possible and not just a pipe-dream. First, is the use of established research, books, videos and existing successful models that reflect play-based, discovery based, self-directed learning. Although, I have had extensive training in the scholarship of leadership and learning, it is somewhat unfair for me to assume that others should just naturally know these facts. Most of what I believe is unconventional, and although it is steeped in a depth of both research knowledge and personal experience, how can I expect to transmit this to those who have neither the knowledge or experience to back it up? Second is to create a clear curriculum for them to follow. If they can see how it is done, and see the results in action, then perhaps they will be able to trust the process. Trust really is the main thing. Trusting the process. It will start to take form through the action. If we work small, taking little steps into this new arena, people will start to see it happening. This can build faith in the process and then we can build on the momentum. I so desire at this point to be able to take a little break, but in order to ensure that this train doesn't go off the rails, that might not happen for some time. I am working on an emergent curriculum, based on our formational documents. I am happy to share it here. Remember it is a work in progress. https://docs.google.com/document/d/16QgPgjGLdRwxc3-Qrqz4Ubc33sgil9CZdZ6DTQbMEH4/edit?usp=sharing |
AuthorAn Idealist-Realist. Striving to Bring those Idealistic Dreams into Reality. Archives
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