2008 Annual Report

Dear Friends,

I hope this message finds you well. The February e-Community includes a link to our 2008 Annual Report. Please take a few minutes to read about the scope of our work and impact in the community. If you would like to be added to our mailing list to receive a hard copy report, please email your name and address to Courtney Calvin.

The annual report includes just a few of the faces from our giving community. From our donors and worksite partners to our member agencies and those they serve, everyone plays a special part in our work at Community Shares. Just as our incremental gifts add up to make a monumental difference, each person who chooses Community Shares as their partner in philanthropy adds to our changemaking power.

My thanks for your continued investment in our shared community.

Sincere regards,


Alyssa Kopf
CEO, Community Shares

P.S. For every dollar we spent on the giving campaign in 2008, our community of donors invested more than $10 in Colorado nonprofit organizations. In these difficult economic times, your gift to Community Shares makes an exponential impact. Join our giving community by making a donation today!

e-Community January 2009

Dear Friends,

I was asked the dreaded question on January 2nd, "What is your New Year's resolution?" As usual, I cued an interested face and quickly turned the tables, "Tell me about yours!" I have a hard time with resolutions because I hate making promises I can't keep. When I give my word, I take it seriously. It's generally a good quality except when it prevents me from setting an intimidating stretch goal or committing to a challenge I may not achieve.

When I started as CEO of Community Shares, the first thing I did was write the following quote on my white board: What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? When I am unsure of taking on a challenge on behalf of the organization, I look to the quote, make the commitment, and we work as a team to find a way to fulfill the promise.

Community Shares' mission is our unbreakable promise: We connect Coloradans to the charities and causes they care about most. In these times of economic turmoil, we have not scaled back our efforts. Our nonprofit agencies and those they serve especially need our support this year. Any setbacks or doubts fall second to our resolve to achieve our goals. Sometimes our resolutions are bigger than ourselves. Over the six years I've been with Community Shares, the most important thing I've learned is: when we work together, we cannot fail. In 2009, join Community Shares as we remain steady in our commitments, hopeful in our goals, and comforted knowing we are a part of a caring community.

Best,


Alyssa Kopf
CEO, Community Shares

Pay Yourself First in 2009

+ Say it with me: "2009 is the year I finally (insert resolution here.") A New Year has arrived and with it the annual self-reflection. For many, the turn of the calendar signals hope and the vow to correct our vices and mistakes of the year gone by. I am no exception and I thought it appropriate to share my New Year's resolution with you.

+ 2008 was a big year for me. I changed jobs, witnessed a seismic shift in the economy, and watched as millions of Americans came together for change. The comprehensive picture that 2008 paints in my head leaves room for only one acceptable outcome in 2009 - "2009 is the year I pay myself first."

+ Pay Yourself First. When I was in college, a wise man (my Dad), told me that the key to saving and ultimately accumulating wealth was to pay yourself before you use your income to pay anything else. As smart as my Pop is, he didn't make it up - click here to find articles all over the web on this concept.

+ I literally break my budget down into two columns: income and expenses. Income is the sum of all wages, salaries, and profits which allow me to maintain my quality of life both now and in the future. Expenses refer to consumption. They are payments I make in exchange for goods and services.

+ Where does philanthropy fall given these definitions?

+ If I'm being honest, philanthropy used to fall on the expenses side of my budget, but in 2008 I began to reexamine this. Philanthropy really is self-fulfilling in many ways. By giving back to my community I really am paying myself first - I'm adding to my quality of life.

• I profit from the feeling I get when I give back and the karma I rack up.
  
• My home is located in the community our nonprofits serve. This effects my home value and my children's education.
  
• I use local open-lands to recreate, relive stress, and exercise.
  
• I save on the amount of taxes that I currently or will eventually pay, and donations to local nonprofits are an investment in infrastructure and long-term sustainability.
• Need more evidence that charitable giving is not an expense? Just look at any charitable contribution letter. It will say clearly that, "No goods or services were received."
  

+ In short, by investing in my community I invest in myself.

+ In 2009 not only am I going to put savings first, I'm going to pay my community first too. I added a line item in the income portion of my budget for "Philanthropy." Many of you who engage in workplace giving are already doing this. Your donation is subtracted from your paycheck before it even gets to the bank. Since you never saw the extra money, you don't miss it.

+ I'm aware that what I give back to my community will return dividends many times over. What I learned in 2008 is that philanthropy is a central staple of my health and wellness and not just a luxury.

+ In 2009, I implore you to pay yourself first on both your financial and community balance sheets. In doing so I think you'll find that profitablity truly lies within.

(Click the quote below and sing it with me)

"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." - The Beatles

+ As a Community Shareholder you'll no doubt light the way for the rest of us to follow.

Community Shareholder
Jason Manke

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