Take the Polar Bear Plunge for Longmont Humane Society

Since 1993, the crazies at Longmont Humane Society have been putting their comfort on the line and raising money for homeless animals by participating in the annual New Year's Day Polar Bear Plunge at Boulder Reservoir.

If you are yourself a bit mad, feel free to join us. Go to www.longmonthumane.org to print out a hard-copy pledge form, set up an online pledge page - or you can just make a pledge for a lunatic plunger.
Call seven-time plunger Clay Evans, 303-772-1232, for a pep talk if you're thinking about it.....

And actually, it's not as bad as it sounds. You'll be amazed how quickly you can scramble out of 33-degree water when you really, really want to.....

- Clay Evans, Longmont Humane Society

Women In Business Network Luncheon

On November 9, 2007, over 30 professional women gathered at the Women in Business Network (WIBN) holiday luncheon and silent auction. The WIBN luncheon is produced by Business Connection Network (BCN), a group that was founded by Corrinda Campbell. According to Corrinda (or Cori, as her friends call her), the WIBN luncheon was started because the largest amount of people who live below the poverty level are women under the age of 65. The luncheon is a wonderful networking opportunity – there is time both before and after the luncheon to network, and each participant gets to introduce themselves and their company during lunch. There are no membership fees to belong to BCN – you just pay for the events you want to attend. I’ve met so many great women through these luncheons – Shelley Mesh of Mary Kay, Rebecca Saltman of A Foot in The Door Productions, Kristine Wells of RBizness, Dana Lynch of Elements of Image and Pam Pressel of Capabilities, just to name a few. Many of the women who attend own their own businesses, and it is an excellent opportunity to meet new women, share resources and support one another. And yes, there are some brave men who attend as well. Douglas Martine of Blacktie Colorado is a terrific supporter of the WIBN luncheons and is not afraid to sit at a table full of women!

The November luncheon offered a silent auction to benefit Community Shares and I had the opportunity to speak about inspired philanthropy and what Community Shares does. The auction raised $840 for Community Shares, and it was the largest amount raised from a WIBN silent auction so far. There have been various ways that nonprofits have been chosen to be the beneficiary – in 2005, the luncheon attendees voted which nonprofit organization out of 4 should be the recipient. I remember this well because there were at least 2 Community Shares member nonprofit agencies as choices -- The Gathering Place and The Adoption Exchange. It was at the luncheon in 2005 that I met Brenda Roush, the Vice President of Development for The Gathering Place, and I am so grateful to know her. Brenda is amazing – maybe that’s another blog entirely.

In the photo are Lisa Specht, who is a mortgage broker and a yoga instructor, who donated 2 monthly passes to Corepower Yoga to the auction; me, wearing a hand-made shawl donated by Morning Dove Designs that I purchased; and Andi Pearson (my mom!), with Primerica Financial Services, who donated a Silpada Designs sterling silver necklace to the auction.

Many thanks to everyone who participated in the luncheon – and many many thanks to Corrinda Campbell!

- Mary Snyders

Women's Bean Project selected for HGTV's Denver Rebuilding Project!

Starting immediately, Women's Bean Project will be featured as part of HGTV's Change the World. Start at Home campaign.

We need your votes! The four projects with the most votes will receive support funding and highlights of the work will be featured on HGTV. Be part of the change and vote for Denver! Bookmark the site - you can vote once each day from each computer from now until the voting ends in late December. Forward to your friends and family and get them voting too!

Winners will be announced January 1st during the HGTV's coverage of the Rose Parade.

Thanks so much for helping us with this great opportunity!

-Holly Woodbury
Development Director, Women's Bean Project

Choice in Giving

I just had one of those days where I really enjoy what we do. I love the idea that we don’t tell people WHAT to believe in, we just give them options to give. I gave 2 campaign presentations today, and at one of them, the Executive Director of the organization stood up and said that she gives through paycheck deductions and loves how easy it is. That’s why Community Shares exists – to provide people easy, convenient and no-hassle ways to give. Its so critical that our average donor gives $7 a paycheck – so many of us can afford that.

There are so many organizations out there that think everyone should give to them. The truth is, we all have different passions, different experiences, different causes we believe in… which is why Community Shares is so crucial. And so relevant! When I give my campaign presentations – and when I spoke at the Women In Business Network luncheon – I encouraged people to think about what they believe in and why. That makes giving so much easier… and it makes saying no easier as well. Its ok to say, “No, I’m not going to give to one organization because I am passionate about something else and I give my time and money to what I am passionate about.” Its also ok to give to organizations once a year, and in small amounts. I say this because I have a friend whose mother died of leukemia. So every year when she participates in a fundraising event for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, I give. But I don’t’ want to get on their mailing list, and I don’t want to be solicited by them otherwise. I want to give only because I care about her and she asks me. And that’s ok – I have every right to decide my own philanthropic giving and have my own personal reasons for it --- we are all entitled to that right.

- Mary Snyders

Help Denver Hospice win $5,000!

The Denver Hospice was recently selected by the KMART Corporation to participate in a Christmas Tree Decorating Contest along with 7 other non-profits. The winning organization will receive $5,000! We have a 1 in 8 chance of winning...pretty good odds with your help!

Helping The Denver Hospice win is simple. All you have to do is Vote!

Visit The Big K store (originally called KMart) at 9881 W. 58th Ave. in Arvada. You may view our tree in the Garden Center Department. Just look for the one that has all the hand-made ornaments that were made with love by The Denver Hospice employees. Please fill out a ballot naming The Denver Hospice as your choice of the best decorated tree. You and everyone you know are eligible to vote once each day for the next 3 weeks. Ballots will be available in the Garden Center and at the Customer Service Desk. Voting ends December 2nd at 9pm.

Please cast your vote today and each day thru December 2nd and support The Denver Hospice.

We thank you for your continued support!

Jennifer Hunter
Annual Giving Coordinator, The Denver Hospice

Urban Servant Corps Open House

The Urban Servant Corps invites you to our 20th Annual All Saints Open House on Sunday Nov. 4th, 2007 at 1660 Ogden St, the 100 year old home of 9 of our 17 full-time volunteers. Come for a tour of our historic house, introductions to our placement agencies and volunteers, and ideas about how you can serve in the city.
The Open house is from 12-4PM. Agency recognition at 1:45, Worship at 2pm and Annual Meeting at 3:00. Snacks and hospitality will continue all day.

We're hoping for a great turnout!

Thanks,
Laura Folkwein
Executive Director, Urban Servant Corps
303-894-0076

2007 Harvest Run

Community Shares is the grateful beneficiary of the 2007 Harvest Run/Walk, produced by local credit unions. Alyssa and I accepted the generous $15,000 check at a recent Credit Union Association dinner. This fun, family oriented event began with just 5 credit unions from Boulder and Broomfield Counties, and has grown to over 10 incredible credit unions this year. This event is a partnership on many levels - the credit unions who produce the event; the event management company; local sponsors and donors; runners, walkers and families; and of course Community Shares nonprofit member agencies. It is only through strategic partnerships like these that we can grow throughout this strong, vibrant community.

- Mary

Fundraiser for the Carriage House

Carriage House is having a big fundraiser tomorrow, October 16th, 6:30 at Nissi’s in Lafayette. FACE will be playing, and we will have silent and live auctions featuring travel (a week in a timeshare –national or international, a week in a condo near Durango, two nights at St. Julien’s with a spa package, a night at the Boulderado), jewelry, and lots of restaurant gift certificates.

Click here for more information and to purchase tickets

Hope to see you there!
Joy Eckstine
Executive Director - Carriage House

KGNU Fall Membership Drive

KGNU Independent Community Radio will hold its Fall Membership Drive October 17-27, 2007. There will be special programming, so please tune in! KGNU needs plenty of volunteer help around the station to make the drive go smoothly. There are various telephone operator shifts available from 6:45AM through 9PM, even later some evenings. Nonprofits can sign up for "group phone shifts" and get some extra on-air acknowledgment of their organization. If you can help please call me at 303-449-4885.

- Shawna Claiborne, KGNU Membership Director

El Pomar Award for Excellence

Congratulations to Judi’s House and Environmental Learning for Kids (ELK) for being selected as finalists for the El Pomar Foundation’s Award for Excellence! Judi's House was nominated in the Self Sufficiency category and ELK was nominated for the Environment category. Judi’s House and ELK, both Community Shares Member Nonprofits, join the company of twelve other finalists from the Denver metro area: Brent's Place, Colorado Neurological Institute, Denver Health, Denver Red Shield Community Center, Inner City Health Center, KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy, Phamaly, Special Olympics Colorado, The Listen Foundation, The Rise School of Denver, Third Way Center, and Young Americans Center for Financial Education. On November 28th, one of the finalists will be announced as the proud recipient of the Spencer and Julie Penrose Award for Outstanding Nonprofit.

Judi’s House was founded in 2002 by Brian Griese to provide grief support to children, ages 3 to 18, and their adult caregivers. Judi's House joined Community Shares in 2007.

Since 1996, ELK has provided classroom and experiential field activities to more than 40,000 at-risk youth and their families across the Denver metro area. ELK has been a member of Community Shares since 2005.

Be sure to look for Judi's House and ELK as one of your workplace giving options this fall.

Thanks to Tony Hodess of Judi's House for providing information on the El Pomar finalists.

- Kyle

No summer rest for nonprofits...

Yesterday as I was driving, traffic slowed and I found my car creeping next to a Mile High Youth Corp van. It was full of young people in grey t-shirts enjoying a few moments of cool and rest before a very hot day working on a public improvement project. I was reminded of how nonprofits are humming with activity during the summer months.

There are few slow days for nonprofits here in Colorado. Trail maintenance programs and environmental education programs are in full swing. Summer education and recreation programs, food banks, and services for the disadvantaged of all sorts see more and more clients in the summer. Summer is also a time for fundraising. The Bubbly at the Brewery Dog Wash (Longmont Humane Society), Summer Art Market (Art Students League), and Community Shares' own Harvest Run are all great examples of the fun and frenzy.

I am new to Community Shares, but not to the nonprofit sector. I have been struck in my first few weeks at how important workplace and incremental giving is. While each animal, human, environmental, social justice, and cultural service agency is working to positively impact Colorado - the giving goes on behind the scenes. How refreshing it is to know that when each nonprofit staffer is doing their most to bring positive change to their community they are backed by the small but incredible gifts that continue week in and week out. Paycheck deduction is lovingly given by someone who knows that their gift is adding to the rising wave of support that makes each program and effort possible. This is giving that is truly effective and important. Effective and important all year long, not just when the temperature rises we are all distracted by the call of that familiar mountain trail, the patio or grandma’s shady garden.

- Julie

Building "My Space" in a Global Community

Our upcoming program, the My Colorado Project, is an online giving site that empowers the most exciting characteristic of the next generation of donors - their interest in leveraging technology to connect, network, communicate and collaborate.We are moving Community Shares’ incremental giving model outside of the workplace and into the online, networked lives of young people.

Instead of building a one-size-fits-all young donor program, which ends up not fitting anyone, we are giving young people the tools to create their own giving program and following them where they take us.

Over the past six months we have been encouraging Community Shares supporters to redefine the word “philanthropist” to include all people who give. We are also recognizing how young donors are changing the face of philanthropy. Young donors are more diverse, more conscious of philanthropy and its role in commerce and society, and are talking to each other more than ever before via email, the internet, text messaging and other social media.

You’ve probably noticed a lot of organizations are using the word “my” lately to appeal to the post-Boomer generations. My Space, My Hub, My Ebay, My AOL, My Yahoo, and now, My Colorado. I believe the desire for Generation X to personalize and individualize our lives is no coincidence. The Baby Boomers were always “talking ‘bout my generation”. They knew they were opening doors, opening minds, and challenging boundaries. Forty years later, there are so few boundaries left. Is it any wonder that everything popping up today is about establishing “My Space”?

Rather than all of these “my”, “my”, “my”s being selfish or self-centered, maybe young people are just trying to regain a little control over the information they receive, who they let into their lives, and attempting define themselves when every one of our biographies is one Google search away from anyone in the world. Doesn’t it make sense that this generation is seeking to build a virtual picket fence, to try to re-establish some limits and boundaries to create a manageable space in this great big world?

Generational differences are a very real issue facing the philanthropic community and understanding why young people need to create a unique, defined identity and establish a manageable workspace is essential if we want to engage the next generation of donors and nonprofit leaders. My Colorado Project is not just about Generation X’s need for self-determination, it is also an affirmation that each of us can still make an impact.

-Alyssa

Thank you!

Thanks to our supporters and sponsors for joining us for our Summer Celebration! It was great to see everyone! Click here to see pictures from the event.

-Community Shares staff & Board

Final Habitat

I took my 11 year old son to the Habitat House dedication ceremony on Saturday. He didn't say much but I could tell he was soaking it all in. It was a pride filled event that ended with both families cutting a big red ribbon across their front doors and taking that first step into official home ownership. The new duplex sparkled in the June sun and the sense of accomplishment ran high. The Nguyen family had a spread of Asian food for the welcoming. Habitat's ED, Lori Vacavlik, has overseen the construction of over 200 homes in her tenure. What a great accomplishment...

- Jesse

People's Fair features Community Shares' Partners in Philanthropy

Thanks to Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods for another great People's Fair last weekend! For the past 36 years, People's Fair has showcased local nonprofits and provided them the opportunity to exhibit, distribute information, and raise funds for their important programs and causes.

It was great to see a number of Community Shares members take part in the Fair. ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, Colorado Environmental Coalition, Sinapu, Habitat for Humanity, Empowerment Program, KUVO, Women's Bean Project, KGNU, Front Range Earth Force, and Project Angel Heart were among over 60 nonprofits in attendance.

The fair was also sponsored by Kaiser Permanente and attended by FireHouse Ventures, two great supporters of Community Shares and our member nonprofits.

The People's Fair aims to bring community together, which makes us proud to have so many of our partners in philanthropy participate in the event!

- Kyle

Rebels with a Cause

Over the last month I've had the pleasure of working with the staff and Board of Colorado Environmental Coalition (CEC) to plan their annual Rebel with a Cause celebration event. Each year this event highlights an individual who has worked to promote and protect the air, water and land of our state. Last night, CEC awarded John Fielder as the 2007 Rebel with a Cause for his photography of open space and wildlands in Colorado. Each of his images captures Colorado's beauty and speaks thousands of compelling words advocating for the environment. CEC also presented three Conservation Awards for outstanding environmental stewardship.

The passion and dedication shown by leaders in any field can be very humbling, inspiring and worthy of accolades. It's also important to recognize those that work behind the scenes to make a difference. This year, CEC made major strides to protect Colorado. Their work toward renewable energy, oil and gas reform, and water conservation deserves a great deal of respect. CEC supporters, staff, and Board are due many thanks and much appreciation by the state of Colorado. You are all perennial rebels with a cause!

Thank you!
Kyle

Building a House, Dedicating a Home

In January, Community Shares made a commitment to help build a house for Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver. Through February and March our Board, staff, friends, and volunteers from our member nonprofits and partner worksites all put incredible time and energy into the house. Now the house is complete and ready for the Nguyen family to move in. Habitat will be dedicating the home to the Nguyens this Saturday, June 2, 11AM at 4529/4533 W. Center St. Get Directions

For all that worked on the house, thank you! Come take a tour of the completed project and meet the family who will be living in the walls, floors, and roofs you built.

If you haven't volunteered for Habitat before, come out and see what a difference you can make by giving a day to a Habitat House.

-Kyle

Making your gift go further!

Community Shares values inspired philanthropy where people convert intention into action. Taking your community goodwill and putting it into action in a focused meaningful way. As you think about personally meaningful giving there are things you can do to leverage your community investment...

1. Consistent, long term giving is important. Consistent giving over time is very effective. The receiving nonprofit can plan more effectively, you will give more over time, and you will be more likely to see the return on your investment over the long term.
2. Give unrestricted funds as part of your giving. It is fashionable to ask “What percent of budget is spent on administration and overhead?” In other words, donors want all of their money to be spent on programs. There are good reasons for this but don’t force a nonprofit to invest in “program” only. Having a quality infrastructure is very important. Let the nonprofit decide where to best invest your dollars. Hold them accountable on delivering their mission and delivering quality programs but don’t “handcuff” them!
3. Participate in an employee giving program at your workplace. Payroll contributions through your company are a great way to give more money over time.
4. Ask your company to match your gift. Many companies will match your charitable giving to some extent.
5. Get your kids involved. Make philanthropy a family process! It makes giving money and volunteering fun and lays the groundwork for your kids to be the next generation of givers.
6. Get your friends and family involved in your cause! If you are passionate about something, tell your family and friends. They know you and will respect your interest. This leverages your individual philanthropy into something larger.
7. Venture Philanthropy. Groups like Social Venture Partners Denver can be very effective in making venture investments along with management, marketing, and IT expertise to nonprofits in startup phases.
8. Just do it! Every dollar counts just like every vote counts. It doesn’t take much to have a positive effect. Nonprofits are expert at leveraging every dollar. For example, $5 a month enables a sick child to visit a doctor twice a year at local nonprofit health clinics like Clinica Tepeyac.

- Jesse

Ambassadeering for Life

Congratulations to Project Angel Heart for the most successful Dining Out for Life ever, raising over $370,000! Alyssa was an ambassador at Montecito on 6th and Downing, while Beth and I were a few steps from the office at Wazee Supper Club. These were just two of over 360 participating restaurants this year donating 25% of all food sales to Project Angel Heart! It really is a lot of fun thanking diners for contributing to the cause and informing them of the great work Project Angel Heart does. The money raised on Thursday will help serve 375,000 nutritious, home delivered meals to 1,500 clients this year!

Project Angel Heart relies heavily on volunteers to make and deliver meals to their clients. If you're interested in volunteering, please contact Betty at 303-830-0202.

- Kyle

My Colorado

My Colorado is going to be so much fun! This new Shares program is designed to engage young community leaders (ages 24-39) in basic philanthropy, nonprofit board service, and community engagement. In other words, Community Shares would like to engage tomorrow's donors today....

Instead of asking for support from those with means, we asked ourselves how can we do a better job of giving someone the means to give? My Colorado is a consumer driven, "social philanthropy network" that is inspiring thoughtful community investment and and leadership in Colorado's next generation of philanthropists.

What has been especially rewarding is the collaborative relationships that have resulted from the initial planning stages of My Colorado. The Young Philanthropists Foundation, Gay and Lesbian Fund, Kroenke Sports Enterprises, Denver Metro Chamber, Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, Metro Volunteers, and Community Resource Center are among our partners on this project.

The program elements are named RIPPLE.

Our first year goals: Raise $50,000 for local nonprofits and have 400 participants.

My Colorado will launch on September 1, 2007. Please email jesse@cshares.org if you are interested in being part of the "RIPPLE 100", a set of young, very networked leaders that will help us launch My Colorado. - Jesse

Rich and Eric are rockstars!

This last month Community Shares was very fortunate to have Richard Male and Eric Hozempa lead a series of seminars for our member nonprofits on the topics of fundraising and corporate partnerships. Rich and Eric have a wealth of experience and create the perfect tandem for providing real solutions for the unique challenges nonprofits face. They are truly the rockstars of the nonprofit sector! For more information on Rich and Eric visit Richard Male & Associates.

Each session was attended by a diverse group of member representatives, providing a great opportunity to network and share tips with each other on their respective strengths.

Thanks to Tamara and the Daniels Fund for hosting our Seminars. It's a great place for nonprofits to hold meetings and they were able to accommodate all our audio/video and space needs.

- Kyle

Notes from the Road: Road Trip Part II

DAY TWO: 9:00 a.m.; Durango - A beautiful morning in Durango! As with most Colorado towns, it has grown signficantly since I was last there in 2001. I met with Ryan Demmy Bidwell, ED of Colorado WILD. CW works on protecting the natural resources of Colorado for its citizens. They focus on logging projects and ski area development issues.

CW has been instrumental in preventing the Village at Wolf Creek development (known locally as "the Pillage") from going foward. This real estate project is the brainchild of Red McCombs, a billionaire from Texas. He wants to build a very dense, 2200 unit "village" at 10,000 feet in the middle of a major watershed and habitat area. It reeks of political influence and good old boy backscratching. For those of you who haven't been over Wolf Creek Pass, think a more rugged, narrow version of Bethoud Pass with more severe weather. Call Ryan at 970-385-9833 if there is something you can do to help. They can always use pro bono legal work.

10:30 a.m.; The Million Dollar Highway - Winter is still happening in the high country! Great to see all that snowpack as I drove from Durango to Ouray. One of the prettiest drives in Colorado, it can also be a little much if you are prone to car sickness. There are signs like this every 100 yards.

2:30 p.m.; Paonia - I arrive at the world HQ of KVNF, Mountain Public Radio in Paonia. Paonia is on the road between Delta and Carbondale, southwest of McClure Pass. This is one of my favorite areas in Colorado. Sally Kane, the general manager of KVNF, gave me the grand tour of KVNF's new facility. It is a "green" building that truly integrates "community" and "radio" into one physical space. You can listen to their station at 99.1 FM or via a streaming broadcast over the internet. I really enjoyed visiting with Sally to learn about the joys and challenges of running a community radio station on the Western Slope. The state of the art facility is bright and full of energy. Volunteer DJ's have a gigantic volume of music to select from and local musical talent (including Joe Cocker) use the studio for live sessions. Call Sally at 970-527-4866 or visit their website to become a member!

This trip reminded me of the essence of Community Shares... a diverse family of nonprofits working hard to improve our quality of life and build community in Colorado! It also inspired me to continue to plan for expansion of Community Shares in order for us to achieve a more effective statewide presence to grow philanthropy and connect Coloradans to the causes and charities they care about most.

- Jesse

Notes from the Road: Colorado Road Trip!

Look out Jack Kerouac! I had the pleasure of driving 861 miles around the southwest quarter of Colorado earlier this week to visit several of our member agencies that operate outside of the the Denver metro area...

DAY ONE: 8:02 a.m.; Ellicott - With gale force winds drowning out most of her words, Donna Ralph gave me a tour of the Ellicott Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. They rehabilitate and care for injured wild birds and small mammals for purposes of release and education. These animals really get the best care possible. For example, it turns out that a Turkey Vulture they have will only eat road kill. Donna has to secure this special chow every couple of days. Here is a photo as a bird of prey takes a "fly by" over my head thinking that I may a decent meal. Ellicott wants to install "critter cams" in each holding area. Give them a call at 719-683-8152 if you can help. 9:58 a.m.; Colorado Springs - I'm on time and keeping a tight schedule. Inside/Out Youth Services educates and advocates for LGBT youth ages 13-22. Dr. Deborah Surat is the new ED of Inside/Out and comes to Colorado Springs from the Cayman Islands of all places! They serve over 400 youth annually and now have a huge drop-in center to help meet demand for the program. 10:47 a.m.; Colorado Springs - I drop in unannounced on Jeff Briggs of the Pikes Peak Justice and Peace Commission. Jeff updated me on the latest developments at PPJPC including a small incident at the St. Patrick's Day parade in Colorado Springs. Apparently certain officials felt that St. Patrick, himself a victim of conflict, would have been against any discussion of peace at such a public event. 11:05 a.m.; Colorado Springs - A little late, I rev up the Honda and head east to the new location of the Pikes Peak Gay & Lesbian Community Center. The Center has over 3,000 square feet of space to serve their support service and advocacy efforts. Ryan Acker, ED of the Center, told me that this was just slightly more square footage than the 300 sq. feet they had in their old location. The grand opening for the Center is on Friday, May 4th from 6-9 p.m. 12:10 p.m.; Colorado Springs - I'm really late now. The Citizens Project, which works on civic engagement, equal rights, and respect for diversity, is also in new office space. After a wrong turn into the local War Veterans clinic lobby, I managed to find my way to visit with the CP team of Barb Ferrill van Hoy and Christina Student. They are working on an exciting collaborative in Colorado Springs called the Diversity Forum which includes corporate, government and nonprofit members. 1:05 p.m.; Colorado Springs - Katie Groke Ellis, public affairs coordinator for Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs, caught up at one of their women's health care facilities in Colorado Springs. I know Katie is working hard to mitigate damage to women's health and safety from this week's US Supreme Court decision. 1:43 p.m. After brief stop for a Mountain Dew and package of beer nuts, I head to Durango for DAY TWO of the road trip! To be continued....

- Jesse

Notes from the Road: Ride that Bike!

Did you know that 1/3 of all Coloradans can't or won't drive a vehicle? This is 1.5 million people that need to use public transportation, walk, or bicycle to reach their destination.

I had a great visit with Dan Grunig, Executive Director of Bicycle Colorado last week. Click on this link to hear a short interview with Dan. Bicycle Colorado is a longtime Community Shares member agency. Their mission is to encourage and promote bicycling, increase safety, improve conditions, and provide a voice for cyclists in Colorado.

When you think about it, using a bicycle reduces wear and tear on our roads, increases the health of the population, reduces air pollution, and decreases our energy dependence just to name a few benefits.

One way you can support Bicycle Colorado is to buy a "Share the Road" license plate when you license your car. Give Dan a call at 303-417-1544 if there is something you can do to help.

- Jesse

Handcuffs

Imagine a business forced to spend 90 cents of every investment dollar on the production of its widget. There would only be a tiny residual budget left for retaining quality personnel, marketing, new product development, financial management, customer service....

This "handcuff" is commonly applied by a funder or donor to a charity. A charity breaks out its budget by program and administration costs. The idea is that the most of the budget should be allocated to "program." A fashionable question donors or funders ask nonprofits is "What is your admin and fundraising percentage?" In other words, how much do you spend on infrastructure vs. program? If the answer is 20% or higher, the common perception is that you are not efficient or effective.

This notion, while well intentioned, is harmful to the continued growth of the sector. Sure, we want a nonprofit organization to invest our donations wisely. As donors we want to see the most bang for the buck, the most food available to malnourished children, the most affordable housing available, the most beds possible in a shelter, the most meals given out at Thanksgiving....

However, 99.9% of the people running the nonprofits that deliver these services want that too. Sure, there are a few bad eggs that misuse donations for high salaries, perks, or other trappings, but the vast majority of people in the sector are completely committed to making the most out of any gift. They understand their obligation to be efficient and effective in their work, delivering measurable results.

So why the overfocus on an organization's administrative costs? David Miller, the CEO of the Denver Foundation, made some outstanding points in an opinion column in the Denver Business Journal a couple of years ago. He wrote, "The infrastructure needed to run a nonprofit agency or a business is an integral part of the organization. It is impossible to produce high quality products or programs without quality planning, financial management, marketing, personnel, and other 'backoffice" operations." He went on to say that costs are important but not determinative. "The cities with the smallest police department budgets rarely have the lowest crime rate; Sports teams with lowest player salaries rarely win the World Series or Super Bowl."

David's commentary is right on the money. Donors should respond to results and achievement of mission. Paying attention to costs is important but should not be the overriding reason to make an investment. The old saying "you get what you pay for" is true in the noprofit sector just like anywhere else.

Don't handcuff your favorite charity working on a cause you care deeply about. Give them unrestricted funds to invest where they have the greatest need. Hold them accountable to delivering meaningful, tangible results. If they don't deliver, then invest your money elsewhere.

- Jesse

Monday Morning

I try to catch up on my reading over the weekends... I start out strong (up at 7 a.m. reading three weeks' worth of The Economist) but fade quickly (falling asleep at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday while tucking the boys in bed). However, I did come across an interesting article this past weekend and it reminded me of a few things. onPhilanthropy posted their "The Year in onPhilanthropy: The Biggest Stories of 2006" a few weeks ago. Their list in order:

1. Warren Buffett
2. Clinton Global Initiative
3. Google
4. Richard Branson
5. Celebrities
6. Senator Charles Grassley
7. Cause Marketing
8. The Nobel (Grameen Bank)
9. Blogs and Media
10. Don't Compete, Collaborate.

Some of these stories will have staying power (collaboration) and some will not (celebrities). However, what is important to remember is that philanthropy is core value in America. We are the most generous nation in the world and that is something to take pride in, to nurture, and to grow. We give about 2% of our nation's GDP to "charity" each year! This amounted to over $275 billion invested in 2005 in the independent/nonprofit sector both here and abroad. The next closest country is Canada at just over 1% of GDP. 75% of this annual giving comes from individuals like you and me. We don't get headlines, we don't have a product to sell, we just want to help out.

We are also a nation of volunteers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 61 million Americans volunteer an average of 52 hours of time annually (over $16.3 TRILLION dollars of donated time at $5.15 per hour minimum wage).

The point is that inspired philanthropy and volunteerism are a key thread to the fabric of our society. It helps make this country tick. It makes a huge difference in quality of life, both in the US and globally. People are identifying who and what they want to support with their time and money in a meaningful way. It is your hard earned money and you can make a social investment with high returns.

The return is most people will use a service provided by a nonprofit/charity over their lifetime. That could mean using a low cost health clinic, needing hospice care, hiking/fishing on protected open space, a better education for your kids, fresh drinking water, relief from a natural disaster, attending a community theatre performance, and the list goes on.

You probably won't make an annual Top 10 List of philanthropic headlines (unless you bought Berkshire Hathaway stock in 1968!), but you already know how important your contribution is. That is the beauty of "inspired philanthropy", where good ideas, inspiration, a lot of hard work, and a core value of giving can lead to great things.

- Jesse

Notes from the Road: Reducing your waste size...

I made the white knuckle trip up the turnpike to Boulder yesterday. It is a weird feeling to be in "stop and go" traffic with an average speed of 65 mph! However, the trip was worth it as the destination was Eco-Cycle's annual Zero Waste awards luncheon honoring businesses that have comprehensive programs to drastically reduce their refuse.

Eco-Cycle is one of the largest nonprofit recyclers in the US and is known for its innovative approaches to reduce our impact on the environment. They started out with being the first curbside recycler in Boulder. Here is a quick streaming video on Eco-Cycle.

You can bring almost anything to their CHaRM recycling center at 5030 Old Pearl Street. In addition, Eco-Cycle also has an amazing recycling plant where tons of materials enters a conveyor belt on the front end and just a trickle of unuseable trash comes out the back end. Set up a tour of that facility with your kids or classroom! It is really cool.

Zero Waste is now a primary focus of Eco-Cycle. It is a paradigm shift where all facets of the product pipeline from materials, production, seller, and end consumer contribute to making a product and its collateral completely resuseable. The goal is that nothing gets thrown away. It can all be reused. Please watch this Zero Waste video to learn more. Call Anne Mudgett at 303-444-7826 and maybe there is something you can do to help.

- Jesse

Notes From the Road: Kids in Denver need YOU!

Colorado is known for its highly educated workforce. We are second or third in the country in terms of college degrees per capita. However, it is disturbing that most of our educated workforce is moving in from out of state. In other words, we aren't doing a great job of creating an ongoing pipeline of educated workers from within. There are many reasons for this including the fact that Colorado ranks almost dead last in terms of public funding for higher ed.

Another important factor is our high school drop out rate. Our largest school district, Denver Public Schools, has a high school dropout rate of nearly 40% with a couple of its high schools at over 50%! Hard to believe but nearly 4 out of 10 ninth graders won't graduate from high school in DPS. The new leadership at DPS has a strong plan to help mitigate the dropout rate which, among many things, includes a community wide call for youth mentors to help kids stay in school!

Colorado Youth at Risk (CYAR) has been a long time member of Community Shares. They have paired over 2,500 kids with adult mentors over the past 14 years. CYAR is part of the Youth Mentoring Collaborative in Denver. This unique partnership includes CYAR; Big Brothers, Big Sisters and other youth mentoring organizations. One of the great aspects to CYAR is they provide both initial and then ongoing training to its cohort of mentors so they feel well equipped to provide support to the kids. Have a listen to this short interview with CYAR's Executive Director, Hollen Ferrendelli, on the rewards of mentoring if you have time...

Becoming an adult mentor can be a very rewarding experience and Denver's kids need mentors more than ever! It is estimated there are over 35,000 "at risk" kids in DPS from single parent, low income households. CYAR has 40 kids in its program at any one time. If you would like to support Colorado Youth at Risk or become a mentor, please call Hollen Ferrendelli at 303-623-9140.

-Jesse

Notes from the Road: Ten Bucks to say "Aahh"

$10 will buy you a couple of venti lattes or 4 gallons of gas OR...

The award winning Clinica Tepeyac provides a full spectrum of health care services for $10 a visit. That's right. Ten bucks pays for a full doctor's visit. As is typical of a nonprofit, community based health care provider, Clinica generates less than 10% of its revenue from client fees and fundraises to make up for the rest.

David Lack, Executive Director, calls Clinica an additional "safety net" under the primary health care "safety nets" in the Denver Metro Area. Located in the Globeville neighborhood (North of I-70; East of I-25) in close vicinity to a community garden, school, and rec center, Clinica provided affordable health care to over 7,000 patients in 2006 and expects that number will grow significantly in 2007. With six exam rooms, a full time doctor, a part time PA, full support staff, and an onsite lab and pharmacy, Clinica Tepeyac delivers quality health care to the uninsured at an incredible price!

David is an expert on national health care issues that affect us all (cost, insurance, quality of care, etc.) and sheds light on the subject in this recorded interview. If you have 15 minutes, take a listen! If you are a health care professional who would like to donate time/services to Clinica please call David at 303-583-0148 or email him.

- Jesse

Notes from the Road: Hoopin' it up...

Last Saturday, I was invited to come to a basketball tournament at Bruce Randolph Middle School with one of the Colorado HAWKS teams playing in it. I brought my two boys to the game and they have never been so quiet! They were in awe of the very tall 12 and 13 year olds playing some great basketball. I'm 6'2' and felt small too. However, if that is what it takes to get the Wolff brothers to take a break from the seemingly continual conversation we have, I'll bring them back every weekend to watch a game.

Greg Willis is the ED of the program and was also coaching the team. I met many of the kids on the team and came away impressed with their confidence, maturity, and politeness (as well as how talented they are). The sense of community was strong in the gym with a constant buzz of conversation between the kids, coaches, and parents. It was just a great example of how athletics at a local level can help build community and build lives.

The mission of the Colorado Hawks is to create an opportunity and an alternative to gangs for at-risk, disadvantaged youth. They provide a year-round, culturally diverse, educational and basketball program for 200 boys and girls aged 10-17 years. The program draws to it youth who need assistance academically and socially to achieve self-sufficiency and productive lives. The ninth and tenth graders practice and compete April through August, and then play on their high school team September through March. The fifth through eighth graders play year-round. In 2002, over 80% of the kids in the program received college scholarships. Westword named it the best nonprofit athletic progam in Denver in 2004 and HAWKS won the El Pomar Foundation Award for Excellence in 2005! Check out their website at www.coloradohawks.org or give Greg a call at (303) 393-4475 to see how you can help.

- Jesse

Notes from the Road: Family Self Sufficiency

I had the opportunity to visit with Stride today. Located just north of Alameda and Sheridan in Lakewood, Stride has been helping families (90% are single parent) achieve economic self sufficiency for 16 years. They take the long term approach to helping a family move from poverty ($18,000 per year for a family of four) to financial independence. Stride assigns caseworkers to a family for three years to help them permanently exit from the poverty cycle. The Stride program provides some initial money for removing emergency finanical needs but then focuses on providing the family with someplace to go (transitional housing) and connections to services, education and jobs, etc. What impresses me is their very high success rate (500 families served with 70% staying out of poverty). The three year commitment is what they feel it takes for a family to become self sufficient. The leverage can be huge as the grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren are all effected in a positive way and for the long term! Visit www.stride-co.org to see how you can help a proud family get on its feet again. As many of you realize, there is a very fine line (much finer than we often think) between the "haves" and "have nots". It doesn't take much (a medical condition leading to huge bills, a lost job, divorce, etc.) to land someone in a difficult predicament financially.

- Jesse

Habitat House: warmer weather makes all the difference!

You may have read about the Community Shares’ staff Habitat experience on Thursday, February 1 – it was cold, grey and started snowing at about 2:30 pm. Even with longjohns on under our jeans and ski socks, we were still cold and shaking. I wasn’t sure if this was for me – at least not in February! However, the weather took a turn for the better, and after volunteering on Thursday, Saturday was absolute heaven. The weather was warm, the sun was shining and there was a very productive energy in the air.

The weather was only part of what made volunteering Saturday a wonderful and satisfying experience. The volunteers were all my friends – I recruited, and they came. (Does “If you build it, they will come” apply here?) Many of the crowd already knew each other. Those that didn’t were quickly welcomed and by the end of the day, we were all sharing jokes about the movie “Talladega Nights.”

Everyone donned their fancy safety goggles and hard hats, and this time, we actually put the correct names on our hard hats. (Kyle had the name “Mary” on his hat on Thursday and never responded when people called him that name!) We figured out that if you take off your stocking cap and wear your hardhat directly on your head, it doesn’t fall off as easily when you lean over. There is a lot of leaning over when you are hammering window frames, door frames and wall frames! (And since all of the subflooring was secured down, I couldn’t lose my hardhat in the crawl space, as I had on Thursday.)

Seven wall frames were built, and six of those had to have windows and/or doors put into them. Again, very satisfying to start with just subflooring at the beginning of the day and end the day with 7 walls up – ok, 6 walls and one wall frame -- satisfying nonetheless.

Part of what also made it such a great day is the supervisors that are employed by Habitat – they are not only skilled in home construction, but they are really good at working with people like me who don’t use a hammer on a regular basis and who have no idea how to read a home blueprint design. It takes a special kind of person to get 5 giggly women – two with gorgeous fingernails – to use all of their arm strength to build frames and lift up heavy pieces of plywood. Many of us had sore arms the next day. At one point, the side of the duplex with the most women volunteers had more walls up than our guy friends on the other side – and we made sure to point that out to them.

As I wrap up, I want to once again thank my friends for all of their hard work and incredible energy. Thanks also to the Habitat guys – Spencer, Brady and Adam, who put up with our silly jokes all day, and still motivated us to build 7 walls from scratch. Thanks to Habitat for all the good work they do, and for providing this opportunity.

- Mary

CSC Staff hammers Habitat House....

The hardy team of Community Shares enthusiastically embraced our sponsored Habitat House on a very cold and snowy first day of February. Marty, Alyssa, Mary, Jesse, Kyle and I, along with CSC board member Greg Trainor, wore our nail pouches with pride as we hammered, sawed, carried, cut twice/measured once, slipped, and froze our way to finishing up the subfloor and door/window frames for the house.

Everybody's individual talents really shone on the different projects we worked on. Marty "Numbers" Kennedy took charge of any project requiring measuring or counting out studs for framing. Jesse proved he was the glue that holds us together by laying down beads of adhesive for the subflooring. Kyle and Alyssa built access panels to the crawl spaces beneath the floor. (Does that mean they're subversive or excellent at forging into unknown territory? You decide.) Mary and I got to crown studs for most of the morning. That's a real job, we swear! Email me and I'll tell you how it's done.

I think these photos really say it all. Those are not Kyle's every day glasses... he just likes retro look safety glasses.

- Beth

Habitat House: the first day of work

Alyssa and I arrived at the Habitat House at 9AM this morning for the first day of volunteer work along with eight of our friends. The snow was coming down at a steady pace and the bitter cold had us anxious to get to work so we could stay warm. Some of the cement for the foundation had already been poured and the rest of the foundation is scheduled to be completed on Tuesday. Much of our day was spent clearing snow and moving building materials so construction can continue over the next week as planned.

Sorry, we forgot the camera this time so we don't have any proof of our hard work! We'll be sure to get some photos this Thursday when the whole staff volunteers on the house.

- Kyle

Notes from the Road: Children's Outreach Project

You can't miss the Children's Outreach Project (COP on 8000 Pecos) as it is a large blue and white igloo. Denver has its big blue bear and a big blue igloo. An igloo is a very appropo architectural design in Denver this year! The inside of COP is unique too. Executive Director Stephanie Baer leads a team working with a unique, mixed population of 50% kids with special needs and 50% typical children. There is a fantastic ratio of 3:1 (staff/pupil) at the COP. They need new board members, donated books for their library and a new building. I learned a lot about early childhood education by interviewing Stephanie.

- Jesse

Notes from the Road: Association for Senior Citizens

This morning I met with Tee Tanaka, associate ED at the Association for Senior Citizens (ASC). Tee has traveled all over the world as an international banker. He led trade missions to Asia for former Colorado governor Roy Romer. Today, Tee works on providing a variety of services to local senior citizens in need. ASC has a food bank serving over 200 people a week and they just purchased a facility for housing. It isn't sexy but it is an essential service for others at its very core. As our population ages, more and more seniors will need support for their basic living needs. Unfortunately, my experience has been that this can be a "forgotten" generation with little resource allocation. Liz Cahill, Executive Director, started the ASC 20 years ago and has often gone without pay for weeks at a time in order to keep the doors open... Click on link above to contact ASC if you want to help.

- Jesse

Notes from the Road: Centro Humanitario

2007 is here and I wanted to renew my commitment to learning more about the issues and challenges that face our 121 partner member nonprofits this year! I plan on hitting the road each week to visit 2-3 nonprofits and will post what I learn here. Hopefully it will provide you with some inspiration, ideas and calls to action.

Today I visited Centro Humanitario para los Trabajadores and met with Harold Lasso, program & policy director, who has spent his life working on migrant worker issues. 90% of Centro clients are homeless at some point yet they want to work and learn new skills so they come to Centro Humanitario to help break the poverty cycle. The center serves over 1,000 people per year, placing them in jobs, providing skills training, and protecting their rights as legal citizens/workers. They work out of a converted garage that has almost no heating in the winter and no cooling in the summer. Check out my interview with Harold. Maybe there is something you can do to help.

- Jesse