Posted by Ashley on 21 Feb 2008 | Tagged as: Non-Profit Organizations, Non-profit News, Uncategorized
Hey if you’re interested in checking out another blog related to Non-profits check out my friend Shari Hoffner’s website www.betweendreamsmag.com/nonprofitnews.
Posted by Ashley on 13 Feb 2008 | Tagged as: Feature Story
Two women with vision and passion, two ill children, two dreams granted, and many more to be fulfilled!
The Dream Factory’s purpose is to grant dreams for children ages three to 18 who have critical or chronic illnesses and have not had a dream previously granted by another organization such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Two examples of a critical or chronic illness would be cerebral palsy or hydrocephalus. These children are the heartbeat of the Dream Factory and granting their dreams is the desire of this organization with the help of funds and volunteers.
The Dream Factory sent Aubrey to Myrtle Beach with her family for the first family vacation they have ever been on. Her dream: to visit T.I.G.E.R.S. (the Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species) in Myrtle Beach, SC where they raise baby “ligers” and train rare animals to act in TV commercials and movies. Then they sent Chris to Atlanta, GA where he witnessed a NASCAR race. His dream: to attend a NASCAR race with “unfettered access” to the cars and drivers (Dream Factory of Florida).
Neither of these dreams could have come true without the help of Julie Duncan and Madonna Abruzzese. Julie’s interaction with the Dream Factory began 13 or more years ago when her sister, Ronda Pierce, became the area coordinator for a chapter in Memphis, Tennessee. In September of 2006, Julie attended a national seminar for the Dream Factory where the idea for a Florida chapter blossomed. By November of that year, the Florida chapter was born and Julie took on the position as area coordinator. But as the wife of a military man who could be relocated at any time, Julie knew she needed dedicated people to help her develop the chapter and keep it going if she had to move with her family. Mrs. Madonna Abruzzese came to the rescue.
Mrs. Madonna Abruzzese, a Massachusetts girl, arrived in Florida with her husband and twin boys in July 2006. It wasn’t until February 2007 that she met Julie Duncan at a Brandon Chamber of Commerce meeting and became involved with the Dream Factory. But, Madonna has been involved with community service ventures since she was young. Between eighth and twelfth grade she dedicated over 2000 hours of her time to community service in the local hospital and with many other organizations.
“I guess you could call me a ‘career volunteer,’” said Madonna, who is the current Executive for the Dream Factory of Florida. In March of this year she will be taking on the role of President of the chapter because, as predicted, Julie Duncan and her husband John will be moving to Washington state because of his military status over the summer. Madonna can definitely be defined as a “career volunteer” because this position isn’t paid and yet can be the hardest career one could ever have.
“It’s the hardest job you’ll ever love. It’s like being a mother, its very hard and challenging but it’s worth it,” said Madonna. “Trying to remind myself that my family comes first and the nonprofit comes second (and really should take third place to by business, but it shares second place) is the hardest part of working for a nonprofit.”
She also spoke about the joys of running a nonprofit organization, “Going out, talking to people and sharing what I do is great. It’s a joy to see people fall in love with the organization and want to donate or get us in contact with people who can help us help the kids.”
I asked Madonna what two things were essential for the organization to function and she replied, “Number 1 is the children… #2 is the money. If there isn’t anyone to raise money for, then what’s the use of the money?” Unfortunately, money has to be one of the essentials of all nonprofit organizations. Without funds and fund raising nonprofits could not even exist. As a result, the majority of people who work for nonprofits don’t make a salary because all of the funds are necessary to support the vision of the organization.
“If anyone is serious about nonprofit as a career and expect a salary, they need to expect that money will almost always be minimal,” Madonna commented. As she said before, “it will be the hardest job you ever love” because you get to pour out your energy, passion, inspiration and vision all for the sake of the good of others.
If you want to get involved with a nonprofit that raises money for critically and chronically ill children the Dream Factory is a great place to investigate. At all 37 existing chapters 100% of their funds goes to granting dreams for such children and raising awareness. They have chapters in 19 states, so look up the closest chapter to you and give them a call to see how you can volunteer. The contact for the Florida chapter is Madonna Abruzzese. She can be reached by phone at 1-813-480-6313 or via email at ladyabruzz@aol.com. For further information on the Florida chapter visit dreamfactoryflorida.com and for national information visit the national website at dreamfactoryinc.com. If you have a critically or chronically ill child who has a dream visit the national website previously mentioned and get in contact with the chapter closest to your home. They are always looking for more children with dreams in their heads to be granted!
Posted by Ashley on 13 Feb 2008 | Tagged as: Non-Profit Organizations
Compassion Alliance is supported by Southeastern University’s students who give freely of their abundance during chapel services. Check out their website here for more information on how this non-profit Christian organization is changing the world.
Posted by Ashley on 13 Feb 2008 | Tagged as: Non-profit News
Welcome to wordpress.com and Non-Profit News. This is a great place to ask questions about non-profit organizations in general and talk about the good and bad sides of being involved with a non-profit. Feel free to ask questions, post responses and inform bloggers on anything and everything non-profit.
Posted by Ashley on 12 Feb 2008 | Tagged as: Nonprofit Resources
The book Forces for Good was written by Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant about the six practices of high-impact nonprofits. About.com said “The book does not get bogged down in reams of data… rather is carried by stories told– stories that are dramatic, heart warming . . .” “Whether you’re a nonprofit leaders, a philanthropist, a business exec, a donor, or a volunteer, you will find something that inspires you to be an even more effective catalyst for lasting social change.” (thesocialedge.com) According to Crutchfield and Grant, high-impact nonprofits (i.e. those who have “created real social change…have come up with innovative solutions to social problems, and have spread these ideas nationally or internationally”) demonstrate all or most of six practices:
1. They both advocate what is urgently needed and commit resources in response to that need
2. Are “pragmatic idealists” who combine social values with business “smarts” to “make markets work”
3. Build a community of evangelists as a powerful force for social change by communicating their mission, vision, and values as well as creating meaningful experiences
4. Adopt and maintain a network mind-set to share resources and empower other organizations
5. Constantly adapt and modify their tactics and initiatives while maintaining “the balance between stifling bureaucracy and unbridled creativity”
6. Support growth by developing high-impact leadership internally, widely distributing authority as well as responsibility among those involved in the given enterprise
Crutchfield and Grant devote a separate chapter to each of these six, then suggest in Chapter Nine how to put them in action. By now they have answered the original question. Great nonprofits are great because they are “working with and through others, as counterintuitive as that might seem. It’s about leveraging every sector of society to become a force for good….[moreover] high-impact organizations bridge boundaries and work with others to achieve greater levels of change than they could accomplish alone.” (Amazon.com product page for “Forces for Good”)
Posted by Ashley on 07 Feb 2008 | Tagged as: Non-Profit Organizations
Christian Surfers USA
If you’re a surfer and you love Jesus you should definitely check out this non-profit organization. Christian Surfers is supported by CJ Hobgood, Bryan Jennings, Jason Andre and many more crazy surfer dudes out there. They are doing great things all over the world through their God-given surfing talent. To see some cool pics and hear what some of the pros have to say about Jesus see www.christiansurfers.com/2/awareness/5questionsseries/CJ07/
Posted by Ashley on 07 Feb 2008 | Tagged as: Non-Profit Organizations
KLD Youth Foundation and Christian Surfers, Bahamas, two dynamic and growing non-profits, are joining forces to help the poor and needy in the Caribbean Islands. They are currently sending missionaries to the Bahamas to “Paint the Town”. More info. on these 2 interesting non-profits and ways you can get involved with them coming soon.
Posted by Ashley on 06 Feb 2008 | Tagged as: Non-Profit Organizations
Habitat for Humanity of Lakeland
- www.habitat.org - (863) 688-4660 - more
Global Servants
- www.globalservants.org - (863) 607-9959 - more
Community Foundation of Greater Lakeland
- www.cfgl.org - (863) 607-9800 - more
Rose Height Elk Lodge
- maps.google.com - (863) 682-5664 - more
We Care of Polk County
- maps.google.com - (863) 701-8070 - more
Blessed Hope Foundation
- maps.google.com - (863) 619-6553 - more
Genesis Zoological Center Inc.
- genesiszoological.org - (863) 965-8706 - more
For more see this link: http://www.superpages.com/yellowpages/C-Charitable+&+Nonprofit+Organizations/S-FL/T-Lakeland/
Posted by Ashley on 06 Feb 2008 | Tagged as: Non-profit News
It is thought by some that Nonprofit organizations sap money out of public and private investors and dispense it on foreign soil adding to the depletion of the American economy. However, a study done in Colorado has proven that nonprofit organizations are significant contributors to the growth of jobs and production. In Colorado alone the nonprofit sector contributes $2 billion to the state’s economy and over 123,000 full-time employee positions. These numbers make Colorado’s nonprofit sector the third largest industry in Colorado! They contribute more to the gross state product than the mining, transportation, utilities and agriculture industries combined.
The first part of this study was done by The Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, and its director, Lester M. Salamon. The second part of the study was performed by Denver’s Corona Research, Inc., and its principal Kevin Raines. The study was sponsored by Qwest, Community First Foundation and the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority. To see the whole article you can visit http://www.ColoradoNonprofits.org or http://prnewswire.com.
Posted by Ashley on 29 Jan 2008 | Tagged as: Feature Story, Non-Profit Organizations, Non-profit News
Overland Missions may have only started eight years ago as a Christian missionary non-profit organization, but they have grown immensely because of their divine backing
Overland Missions began back in 1999 by Philip Smethurst and now this missionary organization deploys expeditions to countries all over the world. Overland is actively working in 17 countries dispersed among Africa,
Dave Philips, director of operations, sitting in the Overland Missions office at Destiny Christian Church on Merritt Island
“There is a different dynamic involved when raising money for the Lord…we raise money by faith,” said Dave Philips,
The employees act as public relations person’s who speak in public forums about Overland Missions and tell the audience about what God is doing in these foreign countries through the help of
According to Dave, each person must know what their vision is, how that connects to Overland Missions, be able to communicate that vision effectively and act in complete integrity with the funds one is blessed with. Those who want to work for a non-profit must be aware of the fact that they must be skilled communicators who possess high moral standards if their organization is to succeed. As a vital piece of the non-profit’s framework, each person should understand the weight they carry.
Dave also spoke about other hardships of working for a non-profit organization. As a non-profit employee, particularly for a Christian missionary organization, you have two full time jobs: to put in 40+ office hours a week and to raise money so you can eat! Some people coming into a position at a non-profit have worked in the business world and earned enough money to support them while they work for the Lord. Others come right out of school into this field and must find a way to support themsleves. Dave was one of those kids who joined Overland Missions when he was fresh out of college and the organization was in its infancy.
He talked much about the “frustrations of the twenties” when he first became a recon man for
Dave Killough, Expedition Operator, putting in hours at the Overland Missions office on Merritt Island
I also spoke to another Dave on staff, Dave Killough, who is the expedition operator. He says the most difficult part of working for a non-profit such as
For those looking to do an internship with a non-profit, Overland offers internship and full time career missionary opportunities. Both positions begin with three months at their Africa base near
