NPO’s making a difference
Human Trafficking, something happening in our own back yard.
Check out what this NPO is doing to change whats going on in their community.
Watch the video here.
Charities and Non-Profit Organizations
Check out this old video from CSPAN about NPO’s entitled “Charities and Non-Profit Organizations: Are We Being Taken When We Give?”
What do you think about this?
Watch the video here.
NPO’s in the News
Measure to Eliminate Nonprofit Mail Discounts Could Cripple Fundraising. With the Postal Service looking to downsize, some of America’s favorite nonprofits that rely heavily on direct mail fundraising could become a new kind of charity case.That’s because legislation to restructure the money-losing agency includes a provision that would eliminate reduced postage rates for nonprofit mail.
Read more here about what may happen with these NPO’s.
NPO’s Need Help
A recent Thursday brought reason to celebrate at Jacob’s Ladder, a nonprofit organization in Charlotte that helps people get ready for employment.On that day, six people who had completed the organization’s intensive four-week program got jobs ranging from food service to retail.
Read more here about Jacobs Ladder Non-Profit.
A Small NPO Helping in a BIG Way
The most common non-profits you have heard of are NPO’s that operate on huge scales. Everyone has heard of the Salvation Army and the Make a Wish Foundation, but the majority of NPO’s are all on a smaller scale. These smaller non-profits just wish to see change in their communities. This can be providing shelter, food or clothing.
Otis Vernon, the owner and operator of the Vernon Ranch, is a name you may have never heard but he is doing big things in his small community of Ashland, Alabama. On his 60-acher farm his has goats, cows, chickens, pigs, donkeys and a handful of dogs. Vernon is working with the local schools in his county to help provide a health start to each student’s morning.
Vernon is making it possible for each child in his community to have breakfast at their school if they would like it. Vernon said, “Growing up my family sometimes didn’t have the money to feed me and my siblings, so I wanted to help those who may be in the same situation”. While Vernon would love to help on a larger scale he does what he can. “I know one day I will be able to help large quantities of people but I do what I can right now”.
Vernon provides the poultry, beef, eggs and large varieties of fruits and vegetables to the schools. He also has a team that handles preparing the food. Vernon referred to himself as a “down home farm boy”. “I didn’t know what a non-profit was but I knew that there were people in need and I knew I could help”, said Vernon.
Not only is he giving these kids a free breakfast but it is also very healthy. Vernon’s farm is entirely organic. “All of the animals are free range and are not harmed in anyway, other than the butchering”, laughed Vernon. Vernon stated, the food is a different taste when animals are free range and the garden has no pesticides. He also said that goat meat was some of the best meat you could ever have.
Raised in western Alabama, Vernon moved to Ashland around the age of twenty-five. He was married and had children and did a little farming for his family and really enjoyed it. He knew he could help more people. Around his fortieth birthday he decided to try something knew. He was getting older and no longer had children at home and he began looking into what exactly it would take to start a NPO. He had always given food to personal friends but never thought feeding schools would be possible. He says today his farm is ten times larger than when he farmed just for his family.
Right now while the NPO is still in the beginning stages he has a sign up process for people to receive the free breakfast. Families must make under a certain bracket of money to become eligible. Vernon hopes one-day people will see the importance of his NPO and people will donate to his cause. He hopes that one day every child will have the chance to have the free meal with no sign up process necessary, also he would like to expand and move to the other counties around him. He also couldn’t stop talking about the people who help run his organization. He said without his teams help it wouldn’t be possible. He started with his wife and his team has grown to over fifty people, from those helping on the farm and in the schools.
Wal-Mart gives $375,000 in grants
Wal-Mart’s Washington State Giving Council announced that it has awarded 11 grants totaling $375,000 to nonprofit organizations across the state. The grantees, including community food banks and local Meals on Wheels programs for low-income seniors, are focused on addressing hunger needs, part of Wal-Mart’s historic pledge of $2 billion cash and in-kind donations through 2015 to fight hunger in the U.S.
Read the full article here.
Gains in a recession
A local NPO in Indiana has made gains in these hard economic times. Check out the full article here.
Lakeland Local
For all of the Lakeland, Flordia natives. Did you know that Arts in the Park is a non-profit? Here is a run down of what they have as income and assets.
It’s crazy how much information the internet can give out about these companies.
NPO’s in the News
California is beginning to scrutinize how helpful NPO’s really are, Check out the full article here.
USA.gov
Found this website while researching NPO’s. They help you with almost everything and it’s a very simple layout to find everything.
From writing grants to deciding what to what your NPO needs to consist of, check it out.
Click here to check out the website.
Kinda Creepy NPO Commercial
While looking at different Non-Profit commercials I stumbled across this one. While you get the general idea the end is in a different language.
While it is creepy is gets the point across in a very strong way.
An NPO in my neighborhood
Check out this NPO in my area. Its called Ruffner Monuntain Nature Center.
Searching for NPO’s in your area.
Today I was surfing the web and came across this really cool website. You can type in a 5-digit zip code and find NPO’s around you. The crazy thing is it tells you it’s assets and income. Thought it would be pretty cool to share. Click here to check it out.
Camp Springville-Helping Kids
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- Kids strike a pose with their counsoler
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- Kids woshiping in the atler.
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- Some of the kids inline for the slide.
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- The Ministry team at the Lakefront.
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- Arts and Crafts room
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- Some of the volunteers in the mudpit.
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- Little boy playing in one of the boats.
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- Sercive time fun, playing bucket stack.
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- Young lady in arts in crafts paints a bird house.
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- Playing on the Iceberg
There are many camps in this world but none compare to camp Springville, well in my opinion. Some see it as just another camp but camp Springville does so much for the hundreds of kids that come to visit. It’s a place for children ages 6-12 to get away from their homes and have fun and grow in a relationship with God.
The camp is only three days long to be able to turn over the large number that come through the camp all three weeks it is open. The first batch of kids arrive on a Sunday afternoon at 1PM. After going into lice check and housing, kids go to their cabin or lodge and begin to unpack and make their beds. Soon after they can choose to go swimming or hang out in the recreation hall that has arcade games, ping pong tables, pool tables and foosball. 4PM we begin orientation where all the campers and counselors attend, which could be from 300-600 people depending on the week. Dinner and the first service are held after orientation.
The service is a Pentecostal type service but the camp is open for whomever to come. Each night the camp holds a 2-hour service for the kids that is very fun and upbeat. The kids play games, sing songs and have a serious time of worship. A lot of children that come to camp Springville have never even heard about Jesus. While some children that attend come from nice homes, so children are not as fortunate. One of the camp staffers, Hannah Salsman, talked with a young boy named Mario. When she asked what his favorite thing about camp had been Mario responded with saying, “having my own bed, at home I don’t have one”. Salsman said that it was so hard to hear that but it helped remind her why she volunteers at the camp and loves being apart of the children’s lives.
After the first of arriving to camp the kids get to pick out activities that they want to do, from swimming in the pool, going to the lake, doing arts and crafts, and more. The lake has many different activities like a 60-foot slide, a zip line into the lake, the blob, an iceberg that you can climb and boats. The kids have a one-hour shift in the mornings and a three-hour shift in the afternoon to choose what activity that want to do.
Mike Sharp, the camp director and coordinator says that he loves to see the children play and have fun but the services and gaining a relationship with God is what is most important. He picks out the best of the best when it comes to the guest speakers. Lindy McDaniel, a camp staff member says she loves to see the children interact with the speakers and loves to see the children’s faith grow as they pray for their families and friends and develop a stronger belief in God. “Camp Springville was the camp I came to growing up. It’s amazing to see how I began to learn about God here and see where my relationship with Him has developed. I just imagine what these kids will continue to do with their lives”, said McDaniel.
“This years theme was Make Your Mark, we taught the kids to make their mark on this world and show their family and friends who God is. This camp will continue on for years to come so kids will have somewhere to escape the world, focus on God, enjoy life and equip them to share the Gospel. I will do all I can to unsure kids enjoy their time here at Camp Springville”, said Sharp.
How Gmail Can Help Your NPO
Check out this video on how Gmail helps the staff at non-profit East Bay Community Recovery Project.
Grant Writing Tools for Your NPO
- Prove that you have a significant need or problem in your proposal.
- Deliver an answer to the need, or solution to the problem, based on experience, ability, logic, and imagination throughout your proposal. Make sure your proposal describes a program/project for change.
- Reflect planning, research and vision throughout your proposal.
- Research grantmakers, including funding purposes and priorities, and applicant eligibility.
- Determine whether the grantmakers’ goals and objectives match your grantseeking purposes.
- Target your proposal to grantmakers appropriate to your field and project, but do not limit your funding request to one source.
- Contact the grantmaker, before you write your proposal, to be sure you clearly understand the grantmaker’s guidelines.
- Present your proposal in the appropriate and complete format, and include all required attachments.
- State your organization’s needs and objectives clearly and concisely. Write well. Do not waste words. Use active rather than passive verbs. Use proper grammar and correct spelling. Be clear, factual, supportable, and professional. A well-written proposal is a key factor in the grantmaker’s decision-making process.
- Be clear about why you are seeking a grant, what you plan to do with the money, and why you are a good fit with the grantmaker’s priorities. Prepare an interesting, persuasive and unique proposal.
- Always cover the following important criteria: project purpose, feasibility, community need, funds needed, applicant accountability and competence.
- Answer these questions: Who are you? How do you qualify? What do you want? What problem will you address and how? Who will benefit and how? What specific objectives will you accomplish and how? How will you measure your results? How does your funding request comply with the grantmaker’s purpose, goals and objectives?
- Demonstrate project logic and outcome, impact of funds, and community support. Be specific about broad goals, measurable objectives, and quantified outcomes.
- Always follow the exact specifications of the grantmakers in their applications, Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and guidelines.
- Follow-up with the grantmaker about the status, evaluation, and outcome of your proposal, after it is submitted. Request feedback about your proposal’s strengths and weaknesses.
Strategic Planning for NPO’s
- Be sure your organization will benefit. Assess the community climate and the organization’s senior leader’s skills to know if the timing is right. Make sure the organization has the capacity and energy to begin and successfully complete this process.
- Adopt simple, clear terminology. Define strategic planning and gain support for its meaning. Keep in mind that planning terms are used differently in different cultures. For example, objective means different things in different places. This may be particularly confusing for Board members who are involved with other professional and volunteer activities.
- Set realistic time frames. Ten year plans are unrealistic in most cases. In the non-profit world, three years is as far into the future as most groups can consider. Also, implementation plans are greatly limited by budget cuts, staff shortages and increased work loads. Be real about what the organization can take on.
- Integrate the planning with Board development. The planning process brings a natural, positive opportunity for Board members to be more actively involved in the organization. The Board can create new expectations for membership, expand its roles and influence fundraising.
- Engage stakeholders. Strategic planning offers an ideal way to connect with those in the community. The conversations often lead to new initiatives which meet funders’ preferences for supporting collaborations.
- Involve employees at all levels. Staff members have a unique ability to assess the needs, know what programs are not working and offer creative solutions. Since people support what they help create, their input should be requested early. And they must know that their thoughts matter—that this is not just an exercise.
- Ask clients what’s missing. It’s common to confer with “experts” in the field. But the people who live real lives that are the focus of an organization’s mission often know what is best needed. Collect client comments, take them seriously and deliver feedback when the planning is completed.
- Design the implementation process before goals are set. Strategic plans fail because they are not implemented. To counter this common problem, establish and publish the implementation steps before the plan is finalized. People will have more trust in the process and much time will be saved.
- Charge one person with implementation leadership. Plans have no inherent value without action and it can be difficult for busy employees to remain focused. Put one person in charge and hold them accountable.
- Revisit the plan. Build in regular dates for reviewing, evaluating and changing directions as needed. The strategic plan should accommodate a few turns and occasional revisions. The end date should always be kept in mind, however, and a formal date for starting the next plan’s development should occur before the end of the current plan.
5 Internet Marketing Tips for any NPO
1. Create a simple yet informative Web site. Of course, you need a Web site to be known online but you do not need to make it so fancy just to attract site visitors. It is best to make it navigation-friendly so people would stay and feel free to check on the site details. Give enough information about the organization like its history, mission, vision, objectives, events, and some future plans. Make sure that your links are working, and that your contact details are correct.
2. Use social media networks in promoting your site. Create an account and interact with other users around the world. Social media site users are mostly real people who may be moved by your goals and possibly donate some amount at some time, or offer free service that would be of great use for the organization. You may draw a huge number of visitors to your site through this. Plus, there are specific social media networks or groups within larger networks that cater to nonprofit organizations.
3. Post organizational blogs. You can do this within your Web site or through another domain. It is just important to have one as blogs are the best ways to gather comments from your site visitors. It does not need to be complicated. Even just a 150-word blog post will do. This initiates interaction with your site visitors. A video blog would also be effective if you have a series of video documentations that can be uploaded online.
4. Join forums that cater to the nature of your organization. This also leads traffic to your site. It boosts your online presence and credibility as people recognize you. Remember that you are dealing with a virtual community where you do not physically meet people. It is important to gain their trust as much as possible.
5. Stick to your advocacy and be partners with other NPOs related to you. This strengthens the name of your organization on the Web, making you more credible.
These are just simple steps to market your NPO online and there are surely a lot more out there. However, these special tips would really help your organization to be recognized; and attract more sponsors and volunteers from around the world. This will help in the self-preservation of the organization and in the fulfillment of its goals.
Google Helps in Humanitatian Aid
Check out this video how, with the help of Google. Non-profits can successfully do their job.
Sam Mooty Digital Media Blog 