Discovering the Community First Foundation, Secret Families, The Key to Being Immortal

"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal."

— Albert Pike

Friday morning, I’m sitting on top of a mountain, the snow is coming down, it looks like we might have got 4 or 5 inches. It’s beautiful here; the trees are dusted with snow, the sunrise should be amazing, we shall see. I am blessed to live on top of the world.  

I attended a meeting yesterday, we have a small group that meets to help each other learn about our community, opportunities to make an impact, and maybe help a fellow business owner with a resource. The speaker was Dana Rinderknecht – from the Community First Foundation. Dana leads Colorado Gives Day and is the Director of Online Giving. She’s had a 12-year run at the Community First Foundation and has with her team changed the world. 

The foundation has been around for 40 years; they were the fund-raising arm of a hospital. When the hospital merged with another, they split off and formed their group. Their role is to connect donors and nonprofits. In 2007 the name of the group was changed to the Community Frist Foundation, and at that time, they launched Colorado Gives.  They created a safe secure place where folks can give securely. In 2010, the first-ever Colorado Gives  Day, they raised 8 million dollars in 24 hours.  

Today, 2600 nonprofits benefit from this fund. They have raised 217 million just on Colorado Gives Day. The benefit to the nonprofits is that not only do they get from the Colorado Gives Day, but also 365 days a year.  Their current asset base is around 400 million dollars; they are a force of good in our community.

Colorado Gives registration opens in March, and all nonprofits can register.  Financial data, asset size, board terms, insurance information is required to help vet each nonprofit. The web site above gives great information on all registered nonprofits. They vet their nonprofits strongly, making sure that if a donation is made, it’s put to good use.  Colorado Gives Day is Dec 10th – make sure you log in and give, give, give, and then give more. Give until it hurts! I will be donating in the name of our first granddaughter; I think it important to teach our children the value of philanthropy. 

I encourage you to visit

https://communityfirstfoundation.org/

sign up and begin giving if only a few dollars, every penny counts when helping our communities.

After the meeting, I spent a few minutes with a friend that has developed a new client engagement tool. I was struck by the simplicity of his program and think that many of my friends and clients could benefit from his system. I left there, connected with my team, and headed to meet a fractional CFO, COO company. I think there might be some synergies between our firm and theirs; their leader is a friend, he has an amazing history, it’s fun working with intelligent people. 

I had a couple more meetings and then ended up at our condo to pick up my Queen to return to our mountain house. I ran a call with a new opportunity, she had a small firm but is looking to grow, we helped direct her to some much-needed resources and will be doing a risk management review to confirm she has a viable risk management program.

I like to keep busy. I don’t understand people that diddle, dawdle, and don’t spend their days running from one thing to another. It’s how I’m wired and many of the people I work with, that is how they work as well. I could never work in a cubicle; I need my freedom to be out in the wild, out in the jungle if you will to find new opportunities and connect with smart, accomplished, motivated humans being.

I met eight new people yesterday, eight new humans that seem to have moxie, a mission, and might help us achieve our goals. I spend my day talking to strangers, that is my job, trying to find pain, heal pain, and show love. I was able to take a deep dive with all eight learning about their history, what made them tick, how I might work with them moving forward.  

On our way home, we stopped for dinner at Brooks Tavern, the best place to eat in Conifer, CO. We sat at the bar, were greeted by many of our new friends and ran into a couple we met last Friday. Chris and Mazie are a couple about our age, they are joyful and happy, and we learned that in a couple of weeks, they will be dressing as Santa and Misses Clause and visiting a children’s hospital. 

Their work seemed to bring my day full circle. I started learning about a major philanthropic group in our community and then met a couple that embodies personal philanthropy. That was the theme of my day, helping others, either by group or as an individual. 

It's the time of year when we can help others, if you are in the Muncie, Indiana area, make sure and check out:

https://www.secretfamilies.org/

It’s a local nonprofit helping with a beautiful story, individuals, families, and groups can contribute their time to help shop, wrap, and deliver gifts to families in need. The families are nominated through local school systems. This little idea of Al and Chris Holdren has become a major driver of philanthropy in East Central Indiana.  The event is held the first Saturday in December, it is something my family did, and we have many beautiful memories working with our local community and helping those that are at a time of need.

Thanksgiving is next week, and you can fill your stomach with all kinds of food and drink, but I think the main point I would like to make today is don’t just fill your stomach but also fill your heart. No matter where you live there are opportunities to do things for others, giving of money, your time, and your energy will help fill your heart and improve your community. Join me in doing some good this season, give, give, give, and give some more. You are blessed; it’s time to share your blessings with others.  

"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal."

— Albert Pike