Happy New Year!

2007 was a year of milestone events and significant accomplishment for me and my family. Of course we all know some milestones are actually stumbling blocks, but we won’t go there now. When I go back over my journal I can more easily see meaning in the mess of the moment and, as a result, breathe a sigh of contentment and gratitude. That’s one of the real values of journaling. But journaling for me offers more than simply perspective, it helps me organize my thoughts, mine the meaning of events in my life and relieve the stress of the daily grind.

Do you keep a journal? Would you like to? There are all kinds of journals: a diary, a learning log, a special purpose journal and a travel log, to name a few. Some people write in their journals every day and some only periodically. What matters is that you keep at it over time. Here are some helpful hints for keeping a journal in 2008:
> Buy a notebook to write in. My son is fond of nice leather-bound journals made by Moleskin, while I use the simple paper-bound version by the same maker. You can use the computer which makes review much easier, but the aesthetics aren’t nearly the same.
> Find a time and place where you will not be interrupted.
> Keep in mind - no one will be grading your work, just write.
> When you sit down to write, if you don’t have something already in mind, begin by recounting events in the immediate past. Some people like to start with their feelings while others log their food intake. It doesn’t really matter, just get something on paper and the rest will flow.
> Periodically go back and read a few of your entries (be sure to date each as you write them). I once had a professor tell me the Bible is really just a journal written by God’s people - warts and all!

Enjoy! And let me know how it goes for you.

All of us at The Thomas Scott Company, Inc. (d/b/a TheGrantWritingCoach) wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

This year the Moucka household was blessed with our first granddaughter (Annie) and an early Christmas gift of our first grandson (Jacob, both proudly presented below). It has been a busy and productive year in more ways than simply business!

Annie Diane Moucka

Jacob Charles Edwards

This week’s blog is a bit delayed due to a trip to New York. While in NY I met with a foundation interested in strengthening its grantees and it was quite enlightening.

Grantees (any nonprofit receiving a grant) are conduits of funding – they act as a magnifying glass, focusing financial resources on a problem in order to solve it. The problem is this: many nonprofits become less effective over time due to vision drift, a change of leadership, an ineffective board, dried-up funding, or any of a number of other causes. It’s like the magnifying glass gets smudged and cloudy and isn’t as good at focusing as it used to be.

More and more these days, foundations are using their funding strength to assist nonprofits in building their capacity (capacity = ability to solve a particular societal problem). A foundation may choose to hire a consultant to work with their grantees, or they may use their own internal resources to equip grantees in specialized applications. The important point here is this: both foundations and grantees need to utilize the resources offered by the other to improve their service. Foundations can do more than simply supply much needed funding, and nonprofits can do what they do better with a little outside assistance.

FLASH: The Moucka family has just added another grandchild! Jacob Charles Edwards was born today. Merry Christmas to ALL!!

Several people have asked me to help them understand the difference between donor advised funds (DAFs) and private foundations. To help clear the fog I have consulted with Don Kramer of Nonprofit Issues. Here are a few of the distinctions Don points out:

DAFs…
- are quick and cheap to establish
- have less administration hassles
- more tax advantages
- allows deductibility on cash up to 50%
AGI, appreciated property up to
30% AGI
- allows for anonymity
- ready access to professional advice
- simply report on individual tax return
instead of having to file form 990

Private Foundation…
- can be costly to set up
- deductibility of cash up to 30% AGI,
appreciated property up to 20%
- required to spend 5% of net investment
assets on charitable purposes
- possible to compensate family members
for administration time
- required public disclosure
- full control of investments
- must file IRS form 990
- full determination of charitable programming

These are just a few of the distinctives between DAFs and private foundations. For more information please visit: (http://www.nonprofitissues.com/public/features/ready/2000julrr.html)
A small fee may apply.