Feed More’s Post

Yea it’s a five minute video, who watches those anymore! However, if you followed us over the course of Serve Week 2024 (The Ocho) this is an awesome wrap up and great work by the team. We try and use LinkedIn to open a window into our culture. And while Foundry Commercial isn’t perfect and we will always have work to do in pursuit of our standards, I think this is one of the things we get really right. We are a services company and spending time with these amazing organizations, which we encourage you to check out and support, reminds us what true service looks like. It is a week where we try to give back and we always end up getting so much more than we give. Great job Lauren and the entire Serve Week support team. #foundrycommercial #itspersonal #theocho #serveweek2024

NYC Meal Pack for 9/11 Day (mealsofhope.org) is an volunteering engagement for 2 hours. As you head towards the packaging area, you are in a sea of humanity. Half the crowd heading out after completing their shift and the other half heading in. The teams are assigned a table and instructed on the various tasks to be performed. It is a mini assembly line which completes packaging an meal packet. As minutes tick by, you raise your head to take a look around. You observe various teams huddled around tables cranking out meal packages. All activities in unison. A bell rung at an table signifies a box is complete. The "I" sees the "We" in action. Actions for the same purpose. The purpose is advancing the (same) goal. During those two hours you are not thinking about commonality or differences. Not about comfort or discomfort. Your focus is on your action. Actions guided by purpose. As progress is made, a warm feeling of content starts building up. There is no sense of success v failure. It is simply about degree of accomplishment. This small experience shapes a powerful mindset which can be applied to other areas. As the saying goes, if you feel stuck, change your perspective. Giving is an opportunity. I feel lucky that I got a chance to be with like-minded individuals again this year. Got to see some new faces, and meetup with familiar ones. 🖖 #911day #mealsofhope #NYSE #ICE

This is a great article for my nonprofit friends out there. Check out Blue Avocado's tips on how to keep your nonprofit finances and records organized. https://lnkd.in/dk3Zj_wJ

Being in the nonprofit space for awhile now, I find that individuals' expectations for the volunteer experience vary. If they have personal connection to the mission, there seems to be more consistent engagement. But not always. Comment below on some of the aspects of volunteering for an organization that draw you in and your thoughts on what keeps you engaged?!

Walk in the Park: Dog Distraction Class It’s a different kind of walk in the park at See Differently’s weekly dog distraction classes for our pups in training. At these sessions, volunteers guide the pups through various exercises designed to help them stay focused (despite lots of tempting distractions like other dogs, toys, and people). Sofie and Bree from the puppy team lead the class with lots of tips and tricks to keep the students on the right track! Teaching our dogs these skills early on is essential for them to become well-trained and reliable companions. We're looking for more volunteers to help raise and train our next generation of See Differently guide or assistance dogs. We have various volunteering opportunities to suit everyone. Click the link to learn how you can get involved >> https://bit.ly/3hmWCky #SeeDifferently #Volunteer #GuideandAssistanceDogs #Support #Donate #PuppyVolunteering

CALL TO ACTION: We’re calling on local businesses, organizations, and caring community members to support this heartfelt initiative. 🌟 Support The Lotus Flower Project’s 4th Annual Thanksgiving Giveaway! 🌟 Our Goal: This Thanksgiving, we aim to provide 50 families in need with all the fixings for a holiday meal. Every family deserves the chance to celebrate the season with dignity, and we’re committed to empowering families to create their own Thanksgiving baskets by selecting items they need from our pantry. This personalized approach allows families to prepare a meal that suits their unique needs and brings a sense of pride to their holiday. How You Can Help: We’re calling on local businesses, organizations, and caring community members to support this heartfelt initiative. Whether through food item donations, financial contributions, or volunteering, your involvement will have a meaningful impact. Together, we can ensure more families experience the joy and gratitude of the holiday season. If your organization would like to make a difference this Thanksgiving, please reach out to learn more about how you can participate! Let’s make this season one of kindness, comfort, and joy for families in our community. 🌽🦃🥧 Donations can be dropped off Discount Mini Storage of Jacksonville, FL 5134 Firestone Rd. Jacksonville, Florida 32210 PayPal: lotusflowerprojectinfo@gmail.com Cashapp: $Lotusflowerproject Venmo: @lotusflowerproject the_lotus_flower_project https://lnkd.in/edW64rM #ThanksgivingGiveaway #CommunitySupport #FamilyEmpowerment #TheLotusFlowerProject

Fatherhood engagement is much more than outreach or marketing. Father-inclusive practice recognizes the crucial role fathers play in their children's lives, and proactively engages and supports them in the parenting process. In turn, it benefits children, families, and communities. Join us next Wednesday to meet the dads from the Commonwealth Center for Fathers and Families (CCFF) of Kentucky, an innovative nonprofit focused on increasing positive fatherhood engagement and inclusion across Kentucky. https://ow.ly/Ivzs50R7RHk?

Walk the Walk As we gear up with our fundraising and awareness for the Orangeville Foodbank’s annual “Coldest Night of the Year” fundraiser it’s got us thinking about walking(LINK FOR FUNDRAISER??). There’s a good reason why we raise money and then still show up to walking a route that shows our commitment to ending hunger in this community forever. We all know the saying “Do you just talk the talk, or do you walk the walk?” Walking the walk (and I use this COMPLETELY METAPHORICALLY now, as I am aware many people in our community use assistive devices to mobilize around spaces and places) means showing up for what you said you would, it means being good on your word and embodying the commitment you made to something. And walking the walk might just be an act of revolution – because it’s a hard thing to do sometimes. Walking the walk requires that we examine our values, ideals and capacities – it makes us look at our truth. The BOSS team has been digging deep this winter. We put a “Stakeholder Survey” in front of you and took the feedback and results very seriously. We have looked at our mission, vision, practices and powered through challenges to apply for grants, certifications and implement strategic planning. All of those activities are “talking the talk”: deciding what it is we want to be in the world and how we want to make change. But next, oh, but next, we continue to walk the walk – with a bounce in our step. In February we will be bringing a new service to the community that fills a gap in mental health support for neurodivergent people and their support circles. The day service Architect program continues to absolutely shine with their collaborative community volunteering and engagement. On the advocacy and education side of BOSS we have seen a huge level of engagement from municipalities and corporations desiring education in Neuro-Inclusivity and Trauma Informed Leadership. Hey 2024, we are here to let you know that this year – we walk the walk. See you in the community, Kim and the BOSS Team.

Each week, we’ll be featuring one of our members from AFP-Central Iowa and giving them a platform to talk about their work and why it’s meaningful. • Next up, our AFP-CI Secretary, Carl Evans! • • Carl is the Grant Writing and Storytelling Manager for the Des Moines Area Religious Council. Through ongoing partnerships with local organizations, DMARC strives to fulfill its mission of working together to meet basic human needs for the greater Des Moines community. Last year, DMARC's food pantries were visited by over 65,000 unique individuals experiencing food insecurity, which was 20% more than the year before. Out of those served, 36% were children, and 10% were senior citizens living on a fixed income. The rising cost of food has made it more difficult for DMARC to secure the necessary funding that it needs to keep its food pantries open, but Carl and his team work tirelessly to ensure the mission never stops. Learn more about DMARC’s efforts at https://lnkd.in/gaPCuD_S and/or sign up to attend their upcoming Spring Greens fundraising event. • • • Three valuable lessons that Carl learned in his fundraising career are: 1 - Remember that you’re asking for the agency, not yourself. As Midwesterners, we’re taught growing up to not ask for things because there are others who need assistance more than we do. This can make it difficult to ask for help, especially financial assistance. By framing the ask around what your agency is doing to address a need in the community, and that the agency is lifting people up, you are putting the focus where it needs to be, on the person or family in need of support, and the community need the agency is addressing. 2 - Be honest and passionate about what you’re doing. People recognize when an individual is genuine about what they do and what they're asking for. I’ve had several donors and foundation members relate to me after the fact that they weren’t all that interested in supporting the agency I worked for, but after hearing the passion in my voice and belief that what the agency was doing actually made a difference, that tipped the scale in the agency’s favor for funding. Be real, share honestly about the work the agency does, and be vulnerable enough to let your passion for what you do shine through. 3 - Keep moving forward and say thank you. As a fundraiser, you’ll have more rejection letters than award letters. Even when you get a “denial of funding” letter, take that 20 seconds to thank the funder for all they do for the communities they invest in and for taking the time to consider your request, and that you look forward to hopefully partnering with them in the future. This creates goodwill and leaves a positive image with them. I mean really, who takes the time to thank someone for NOT funding them?!? I’ve been fortunate enough to have some of those very funders who have denied financial assistance give in subsequent asks. “No” can also mean “not yet” for a funder due to a variety of reasons.