Entries by Sharon Smith

You give us hope!

By Sharon Smith, Program Director One of my most memorable days at the Dekko Foundation—and I’ve had lots of memorable days—happened one summer about ten years ago.  One of our grantees from Lamoni, Iowa named Benita Booth, was driving through Indiana on her way to the east coast. She wanted to stop in to see […]

Just do it!

If you’re putting off calling our foundation to ask a question, then we have a question for you. Why? Organizationally, we’re 36 years old, and it’s hard to imagine there’s a question we haven’t heard.  Plus, our board of directors has sized our staff so that, during business hours, there’s always someone around to help […]

Grant Rant

Maybe it’s all the rain we’ve had this spring.  Maybe it’s all of the division along political lines.  Whatever it is, we’re grumpy.  We have something to get off our chest.  We feel a rant coming on! SO many people misuse the word grant! Since we work in the world of grantmaking, we notice it. […]

Like eating the cone without the ice cream

If you think of the Dekko Foundation only as a place to get grant money, you’re missing something big that could help you accomplish your mission! Mr. Dekko’s endowment allows us to make about $10 million in grants each year—and we know, money helps.  But it’s obvious to us that we have a lot more […]

We really like how you think!

    Mr. Dekko left us with two major things. A savings account or endowment that has grown to about $228 million. The mission to foster economic freedom through education. When we’re at work we talk about economic freedom all the time.  We define it as: “The ultimate liberty to make choices about one’s own life.” […]