“When you’ve seen one foundation…you’ve seen one foundation.”
Sorry grantseekers, but the old saying above seems to be true.
Why do all foundations seem to do their own thing? It’s complicated, but here goes…
CORPORATE FOUNDATIONS reflect the values and interests of the companies that support them. For instance, the Lincoln National Life Insurance Foundation makes grants in communities where Lincoln National Life Insurance is located. The importance of diversity is a key belief of this organization. The presence of diversity is a key filter in Lincoln National Life Foundation’s grantmaking process. Are you with us so far?
PUBLIC FOUNDATIONS, such as community foundations, reflect the communities they serve. You’ll see community foundations make grants to support health, recreation, education, welfare; anything that the IRS says can be a charitable cause. Most community foundations want to be broad and inclusive in their grantmaking so they can appeal to a wide range of possible donors. Over a year’s time you will probably not see all of a community foundation’s grant dollars go into one field (like the arts or education) or benefit the residents a single city or town.
PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS, like the Dekko Foundation, reflect the passion of the donors who started them. In our case, we keep our eyes glued on the mission that Mr. Chet Dekko set on the day he started the Dekko Foundation. That mission is: To foster economic freedom through education.
From time to time our board of directors might change the strategies they use to accomplish our mission. Once in a blue moon you might see them announce changed or tweaked grantmaking priorities. Because we’re so focused on our mission, you might see our board make a very large grant if they see a project related to our mission that’s especially promising. That means that we’ll have to say “no” to other things, but if it gets us to our mission, it’s worthwhile.
In a nutshell, all foundations make grants differently because grantmaking reflects the mission and passion of the organization.
We have a section on our website called “Grantseeker Support.” We’ve stuffed it full of everything we can think of to explain our Dekko Foundation what’s and why’s. Check it out at: https://www.dekkofoundation.org/grantseeker-support/ You can call us at 260-347-1278 to ask any remaining questions. We welcome your call.
Why are foundations all SO different?
/1 Comment/in Uncategorized /by Sharon SmithSorry grantseekers, but the old saying above seems to be true.
Why do all foundations seem to do their own thing? It’s complicated, but here goes…
CORPORATE FOUNDATIONS reflect the values and interests of the companies that support them. For instance, the Lincoln National Life Insurance Foundation makes grants in communities where Lincoln National Life Insurance is located. The importance of diversity is a key belief of this organization. The presence of diversity is a key filter in Lincoln National Life Foundation’s grantmaking process. Are you with us so far?
PUBLIC FOUNDATIONS, such as community foundations, reflect the communities they serve. You’ll see community foundations make grants to support health, recreation, education, welfare; anything that the IRS says can be a charitable cause. Most community foundations want to be broad and inclusive in their grantmaking so they can appeal to a wide range of possible donors. Over a year’s time you will probably not see all of a community foundation’s grant dollars go into one field (like the arts or education) or benefit the residents a single city or town.
PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS, like the Dekko Foundation, reflect the passion of the donors who started them. In our case, we keep our eyes glued on the mission that Mr. Chet Dekko set on the day he started the Dekko Foundation. That mission is: To foster economic freedom through education.
From time to time our board of directors might change the strategies they use to accomplish our mission. Once in a blue moon you might see them announce changed or tweaked grantmaking priorities. Because we’re so focused on our mission, you might see our board make a very large grant if they see a project related to our mission that’s especially promising. That means that we’ll have to say “no” to other things, but if it gets us to our mission, it’s worthwhile.
In a nutshell, all foundations make grants differently because grantmaking reflects the mission and passion of the organization.
We have a section on our website called “Grantseeker Support.” We’ve stuffed it full of everything we can think of to explain our Dekko Foundation what’s and why’s. Check it out at: https://www.dekkofoundation.org/grantseeker-support/ You can call us at 260-347-1278 to ask any remaining questions. We welcome your call.
Tales from the Raccoon Road
/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by Sharon SmithIt seems like every week someone on the Dekko Foundation staff is on the road!
We work in places where Mr. Chet Dekko, our founder, had an interest. So, even though we all live in Indiana, we often find ourselves in Alabama, Iowa, Minnesota and, in the luckiest and rarest winter instances, Florida.
Since Mr. Dekko’s business model called for him to seek out small towns and rural areas, we work in some very remote places. So, in honor of summer road trips, we thought we’d share some tales of travel across our grantmaking areas:
We could go on and on, but for your sake we won’t…only to say that the travel is all worthwhile because it takes us to some of the most wonderful and caring people imaginable. People who want to make sure that children and young people in their communities have everything that they need to grow and thrive.
Dekko Foundation grantseekers, you’re so wonderful you’re worth a 10-hour O’Hare flight delay…well almost!
Time management…simplified!
/1 Comment/in Uncategorized /by Sharon SmithBoard. Budgets. Email. Fund development. Staff. Program problems. Program evaluation. Social media. Millions of things distract a nonprofit leader’s attention. Only one thing draws it back in: intentional focus.
Mr. Chet Dekko, our founder, carried with him a set of handwritten note cards held together with a rubber band. One of them stated: “Concentration of effort is the key to human accomplishment.”
Building on Mr. Dekko’s belief, we’ve observed this profound point from some of the most effective leaders across our grantmaking areas: The things their organizations CHOOSE NOT TO do have as much to do with their success as the things they choose TO DO!
Hmmmmm.
May we suggest? Kid Power!
/1 Comment/in Uncategorized /by Sharon SmithToday, more and more people like to gain information, and be inspired, by watching videos. Telling a nonprofit’s stories via video seems like a no-brainer. But professionally-prepared videos can be uber pricey.
We’ll share our secret…we’re harnessing kid power!
Many teens have built great video skills, and they need the chance to put their talents to work in a real-world situation. With just a bit of adult message planning and support teens can tell a great story.
We used a teen intern (Ms. Lauren Butler) and an elementary-aged narrator (Miss Emma Shuman) to send this important message about the kind of grants we want to make. Our cost? A teen intern salary and a teeny weeny paycheck for our narrator.
What do you think?
The joy of socks!
/3 Comments/in Uncategorized /by Sharon SmithParenting. Is there a harder job anywhere on the planet?
No pay. The hours stink. And those instructions? They work with every kid but yours!
Often the parenting years are also the “getting started out in life years” when money and time are especially tight. That’s why, eight years ago, we started something called, ‘before5.”
before5 is really just two incredible women (Diane Shoppell and Jonell Malcolm) with a passion for helping other parents. These two meet parents wherever they are, and help them to understand how to nurture their children simply by going about their daily lives. The before5 team explains the complicated subject of child development using simple props like a laundry basket full of socks!
Did you know that the core of a child’s personality (especially social and spiritual aspects) are formed by the time a child is five years old? The name before5 refers to the importance of these years when so much growth and development takes place.
This link fast-forwards from early childhood to adolescence and makes the point that nurturing a child in the early years is critical to a well-adjusted and happy teen (and adult).
You might also want to visit our before5 website. If your own children are beyond that age, why not refer a younger parent?