On a recent vacation with a friend I stopped by a food court for some take out Chinese food and found myself eagerly cracking open a fortune cookie. The fortune read: You will be successful in your career! I had to chuckle and smile while saying to myself... Now I just have to find a career!
For the last fourteen years I have spent helping people and nonprofit organizations free via my website. After much soul searching I knew it was time to sell the site to a buyer who was interested in preserving the last fourteen years of my work but also saw the value in what it represented. Fortunately this has occurred and soon the keys to the site will be turned over to the new owners.
With that closure brings a new beginning. Yet it is undeniable that part of my DNA will forever be focused on helping people in some way shape or form. Why this is so important and part of my make up is a hard question to honestly dissect. However, I do try consciously to act not just from my heart but from my head as well. It is so easy to fall into a pattern of being drawn into emotional appeals. However, in the world of giving one size does not fit all.
All individuals have varied experiences we bring to the table and life lessons we were taught as a child. Some of these have stuck with us today and many more have drifted into oblivion. So, is there truly a natural instinct to help? Studies on compassion and benevolence suggest so saying this is part of the evolution of human nature in seeking the greater good.
Yet one has to ponder if this is truly part of the human experience why have things gone so awry?
I for one believe that giving is mostly a learned experience. Sure your parents can try to express the goodness of why you should give but when it comes down to it, it is an individual decision and a choice one makes.
In the current environment we live in today there is ample opportunity to give and help others. Yet, there are equally as many different obstacles and excuses we purposely place in out path to push aside that part of our humanity to reach out and help another.
In my opinion the number one killer of the natural act of giving is economic uncertainty closely followed by crime and violence.
Simply put, if you don't feel safe and secure yourself you are less likely to help someone else. On television I keep seeing the statistic that 48% of Americans believe that the United States is on the verge of a major economic collapse! That in and of itself is a big deal. The media for the past three or four years has tried its best to convince people that economic recovery is occurring now. Oh Really?
The sad part of all this is that "credibility" appears to be at an all time low. Who can you trust? Ten years ago people would have looked at you sideways if you said: Trust but verify!
My mind can't help but drift back into time hearing the famous Kojack saying: "Who loves ya, baby?" Who indeed!
Showing posts with label everyday philanthropist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label everyday philanthropist. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
A Typical Day ~ Nonprofitexpert.com
As a consultant for nonprofits that works via the web, most of my day is spent taking care of the website as well as answering the dozen or so questions that filter in from around the world….
A lot needs to be done when you have created a monster!
The site: www.nonprofitexpert.com has grown to over 770 pages. Within the site itself there are an amazing 85,000 plus links all pointing inward and there are another 28,000 external hyperlinks pointing to other sites, and of those over 17,500 are unique meaning not repeated. It is rather mind boggling when you think about this but everything has to be checked constantly to make sure all the links work and function. Beyond this additional content has to be continually developed and added to keep things fresh! This is why it takes ten hours daily Monday through Sunday and this has been done now going on thirteen years!
Monthly the site continues to receive 60,000 plus unique visitors with over 100,000 page views.
This morning’s emails:
A photographer in South Africa wants to connect with foundations to help tell their story.
Answer: A list of 121 foundations that have as a field of interest South Africa.
A medical student in residency in Washington state that has as a quarterly project to create an “imaginary project” to serve the indigent with questions of how and where to get funding and any another helpful information on the subject.
Answer: A link to the Washington State 2007 Charity Care Hospital’s report as well as a link to another report provided by the Washington State Hospital Association, and a suggestion to visit the CFO of the hospital where he is serving as a resident to ask for a dashboard overview of the current funding streams the hospital receives and pay close attention to the number of days in cash they have on hand for ongoing expenses as well as get a better understanding of the current bond rating which effects the hospital’s ability to raise capital and grow the services they provide.
A nonprofit in North Carolina that wants to know the possible pit falls for accepting a donation of property.
Answer: Without knowing what the property was used for in the past as well as how old the building might be and how long it sat empty, it would be hard to tell you all the risk.
I’ll try to help by listing a few: lead paint, asbestos tiles or other asbestos insulation around older boilers or heating units, you may also have underground storage tanks for either heating oil or older gas tanks depending on the facility.
Accepting a facility should require a title search as well as at the very least in my opinion what is called a phase one environmental assessment study which is not cheap.
Also, any building that sits empty even for short periods of time tend to fall in disrepair fast. Check the roof for leaks and visit the building during a downpour with heavy rains. The heating and air condition system can cost thousands of dollars to replace. A building inspector from the city or county might be a good friend to have when looking at a property.
Whew… all this before my first 9:00 a.m. and my second Diet Pepsi. I reserve Diet Mt. Dew for the afternoons depending on volume.
So now you know!
A lot needs to be done when you have created a monster!
The site: www.nonprofitexpert.com has grown to over 770 pages. Within the site itself there are an amazing 85,000 plus links all pointing inward and there are another 28,000 external hyperlinks pointing to other sites, and of those over 17,500 are unique meaning not repeated. It is rather mind boggling when you think about this but everything has to be checked constantly to make sure all the links work and function. Beyond this additional content has to be continually developed and added to keep things fresh! This is why it takes ten hours daily Monday through Sunday and this has been done now going on thirteen years!
Monthly the site continues to receive 60,000 plus unique visitors with over 100,000 page views.
This morning’s emails:
A photographer in South Africa wants to connect with foundations to help tell their story.
Answer: A list of 121 foundations that have as a field of interest South Africa.
A medical student in residency in Washington state that has as a quarterly project to create an “imaginary project” to serve the indigent with questions of how and where to get funding and any another helpful information on the subject.
Answer: A link to the Washington State 2007 Charity Care Hospital’s report as well as a link to another report provided by the Washington State Hospital Association, and a suggestion to visit the CFO of the hospital where he is serving as a resident to ask for a dashboard overview of the current funding streams the hospital receives and pay close attention to the number of days in cash they have on hand for ongoing expenses as well as get a better understanding of the current bond rating which effects the hospital’s ability to raise capital and grow the services they provide.
A nonprofit in North Carolina that wants to know the possible pit falls for accepting a donation of property.
Answer: Without knowing what the property was used for in the past as well as how old the building might be and how long it sat empty, it would be hard to tell you all the risk.
I’ll try to help by listing a few: lead paint, asbestos tiles or other asbestos insulation around older boilers or heating units, you may also have underground storage tanks for either heating oil or older gas tanks depending on the facility.
Accepting a facility should require a title search as well as at the very least in my opinion what is called a phase one environmental assessment study which is not cheap.
Also, any building that sits empty even for short periods of time tend to fall in disrepair fast. Check the roof for leaks and visit the building during a downpour with heavy rains. The heating and air condition system can cost thousands of dollars to replace. A building inspector from the city or county might be a good friend to have when looking at a property.
Whew… all this before my first 9:00 a.m. and my second Diet Pepsi. I reserve Diet Mt. Dew for the afternoons depending on volume.
So now you know!
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