A Foundation Dream

Here's a reflection I wrote today:

When I was working on my undergraduate degree at Lakeland Community College, I had a dream one night. In this dream, I was inspired to start my own foundation to support non-profit organizations who improved community wellness. The next several months following that dream, I researched non-profit organizations and foundations to determine what roles they played in society and what further support was available to educate me through the creation process. My search brought me to the Council of Non-Profits and the library of information they had available to the public. It was at that point I realized that there was help to making my dream become a reality. I knew it would actually happen one day.

Reading Organizing: A Guide for Grassroots Leaders by Si Kahn and Starting and Running a Non-Profit Organization by Joan Hummel, reminded me of those nights I read about creating my own foundation. I wanted to learn about the framework of non-profit organizations. If I would be serving as a financial resource for them, I needed to know what to look for in a competent organization. Following the description of 20 qualities of a leader in Kahn’s book, I reflected my own qualities and what I would want in an organization I would fund. I would want to know if the group requesting funding has a leader with those qualities to utilize my funding in a positive and successful way. I learned program definition, community need, and agency credibility, as highlighted in Hummel’s book, would also be critical areas of information to review in the grant request process.

My goal for my foundation is to make a positive difference in the world. Choosing organizations with qualities I have learned about in my readings will help move me towards that goal. One day, when the ***** Foundation exists, the slowly dying or fading emotions, memories, ideas, or responses still capable of being revived in a community somewhere, will be revived into a dynamic movement creating a healthier community. That is my dream.

Stay sweet 'n smile.....................Mz.