Nonprofit of the Month: The Chanda Plan Foundation

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Josh

For the month of December, Nonprofit Gold is proud to recognize The Chanda Plan Foundation as the Nonprofit of the Month.

Pain and Suffering Led to “the Plan”
Can you imagine one day waking up and realizing you are paralyzed from an accident? For Chanda Hinton this scenario took place when she was only 9 years old and has dramatically changed her life. After 12 years of pain, weight loss and emotional roller coasters, Chanda knew that something needed to change.

Along with her sister, Crystal, Chanda came up with “the Plan” which would lead to The Chanda Plan Foundation. Through their initial conversations, these sisters discussed how alternative healing treatments could be utilized to help Chanda and other people with disabilities.

After finding her own alternative healing treatments which improved her endurance, strength and movement, Chanda knew she wanted all people with disabilities to have access to these services even if companies including Medicaid wouldn’t cover these expenses.

What Has Chanda Plan Foundation Accomplished?
Since the inception of the organization in 2007, the organization has worked towards four main goals:

Educate disabled community about integrative treatments and outcomes they can expect.
Change health policy to include integrative health care options within Medicaid.
Improve the health (mind, body and spirit) for persons with disabilities.
Improve access to integrative health care options to increase work and social activities for healthy living.

In four and a half years, the organization has become a major resource to the disabled community and has provided many individuals the opportunity to receive integrative health care including: yoga and acupuncture. Additionally, Chanda has become one of the strongest advocates for the disabled community and currently serves in many capacities to bring awareness and changes around the state of Colorado. She currently serves on the Denver Commission for People with Disabilities and as a Health Committee Member for the Denver Foundation.

The organization not only walks the walk by providing wonderful and innovative health care solutions but also is talking the talk by working with government agencies, local foundations and health professionals to bring about real change.

Small but Mighty
While the Chanda Plan Foundation might be small in staff and budget, the organization is a big player in the ever evolving world of the disability community. From their annual People to Know Event which brings amazing disabled individuals to share their stories (past People to Know keynote speakers have included comedian Josh Blue, climber Erik Weihenmayer, and actress Aimee Mullins) to the integrative health care being provided to the ongoing policy work being done, the organization will continue to be a mighty player in bringing about change for individuals and the disabled community for many years to come.

If you are interested in learning more about the Chanda Plan Foundation or would like to donate to the organization, please visit their website at www.iamtheplan.org.

If you are interested in submitting an organization for the Nonprofit of the Month, please email josh@npgold.org. I am always interested in visiting with organizations to learn about the “hidden gems” in the nonprofit sector.

My 28th Birthday, My 28 Wishes

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Josh

On December 23, I celebrated by 28th birthday. As I enter another year, I thought I would give my 28 wishes for the upcoming year in regards to many different areas of my life including: spirituality, professional, volunteer, family and personal.

Spirituality
Over the last five years, I have had the opportunity to work in the Jewish community. While I have enjoyed giving back to the community I live in, I have also struggled with maintaining my own spiritual growth. For the next year I want to meet the following wishes in regards to my spiritual growth.

Continue studying the weekly Parsha (Torah portion) with my Partners in Torah partner.
Take my son to monthly Tot services around Denver.
Participate in six Minyan Na’aleh programs during the year.
Attend Saturday morning services once a month.
Visit the United Church of Montbello three times in 2012. Click here to read about how my first visit to this church helped me spiritually.

Professional

As I enter 2012, I will be entering a new chapter of my professional career. While this is both scary and exciting, I look forward to finding a challenging area in the nonprofit world where I can grow professionally.

Find a volunteer coordinator or development associate position in the Denver area.
Start a networking club with five-six peers that meets on a monthly basis to talk about the nonprofit sector.
Participate in 5 Denver Young Nonprofit Professional Network events in 2012.
Attend three nonprofit lectures/conferences in 2012.
Find three additional clients who need help with social media, blogging, etc.
Start kash-ROOT, a kosher-community cafe.

Volunteer
As I leave one board of directors, I am looking forward to finding other volunteer opportunities which will allow me to give back to my community.

Serve as a strong chair for the YouthRoots programming committee.
Find a monthly service project for the Colorado State University Alumni Association can work with for 2012.
Volunteer on a monthly basis with one organization for the 2012 year.
Help the Young Philanthropists Foundation improve their Penny Harvest program.
Serve as a mentor to one person for 2012.
Serve on development committee for an organization.

Family
I am very lucky to have such a supportive and growing family.

Set up a twice monthly date night with my wife.
Continue having weekly breakfast with my parents.
Take a weekend vacation with my wife.
Participate in soccer/swimming classes with my son.
Spend a full day with each of my siblings doing something unique with each of them.

Personal
On a personal level, there are many things I hope to accomplish in 2012.

Work out three times a week.
Hike one fourteener.
Pay off one loan.
Learn how to better balance my work life and my personal life.
Unpack from moving into our house two years ago; getting rid of unneeded items.
Have Fun!

Thank you to all of my readers, friends and family for all the love and support you have given me both professionally and personally. I look forward to sharing many more exciting times with each of you.

My URJ Biennial Hangover

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Josh

Waking up in Denver today, I realized that something was missing. It wasn’t the fact that I woke up for the first time in my own bed in six days. It wasn’t the fact that I was able to hug my son good morning and get him dressed. It wasn’t even the fact that I was able to eat in my own kitchen.

What was missing was the energy of being around 5,000 like minded individuals who lived, breathed and took in all of the activities at the 2011 URJ Biennial. There have been very few times in my life where I have felt the power of having so many people embracing and learning more about how to be better professionals and individuals.

From amazing speakers including President Obama, Dr. Wendy Mogel and Dr. Jonathan Woocher to amazing musicians including Josh Nelson, Dan Nichols, Rick Recht, Michelle Citrin and Bryan Zive, this five day experience opened both my heart and my mind about what can be accomplished in our organization and for me professionally.

Looking back now, I realize that what I experienced will be very difficult to experience again. The passion of the leaders. The vision for better and stronger Jewish communities. The late night conversations. The 5,000 people joined together for meal and prayer.

However, I also realize how important it is to be in the current moment rather than looking at the past. In President Obama’s address to the over 5,000 participants, he highlighted the Jewish concept of Hineni - here I am. This concept is one which has been used as names for Jewish organizations and also for programs across the country at congregations and communities. In his speech, Obama used this word to say that he was here for the country and here not just for today but for the future.

Looking at my own life, I came up with my own statements about what I am doing professionally and personally.

Hineni, Here I Am… Helping youth and teenagers find their own Jewish journey.
Hineni, Here I Am… Challenging and improving the nonprofit community in Colorado and beyond.
Hineni, Here I Am… Helping nonprofits shine.
Hineni, Here I Am… Ready to take on new challenges and grow as a nonprofit leader.
Hineni, Here I Am… Exploring my own spirituality.
Hineni, Here I Am… Creating a better world for my son to grow up in.

What would be your Here I Am statement?

Biennial Day 1 – Woocher and Mogel

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Josh

Walking into the magnificent Gaylord National for the 2011 Union for Reform Judaism and being surrounded by 6,000 Jewish professionals, lay leaders and students was both exciting and overwhelming. Would the learning sessions grab my attention and give me a new perspective or would they just reiterate what I have learned as a Jewish professional for the last five years?

As I joined the 700 Education Summit participants, I felt the energy in the room that I can only equate to the first time I heard Barack Obama give a speech to 10,000 people in Denver’s Civic Center Park. When Dr. Jonathan Woocher got up to give his speech, “Jewish Education is Dead. Long Live Jewish Education,” I knew that I was going to gain something important both professionally and personally from this session.

Dr. Woocher challenged all of the participants to serve as change agents for Jewish education and that we need to educate the entire person not just the “Jewish” part. As I look back at the work that I have done as a youth director for two congregations I know that this is how I have approached my job because I am trying to help the students find who they are not just their own Jewish identity.

Woocher’s passionate and strong opening to the Education Summit both challenged and excited the participants to begin challenging how they are educating the Jewish youth. As I left this session, I felt a renewed passion for helping make the formal and informal education stronger and user friendly at our congregation.

From this session, I attended two discussions for youth professionals which gave me new ideas on how to fund youth programs and the importance of policies for our youth groups.

Wrapping up the evening, I was both entertained and challenged by Dr. Wendy Mogel’s speech at the plenary. As a Jewish professional, I pictured parents that Dr. Mogel was describing in her stories and how my interactions with them are similar to these hilarious stories. As a Jewish parent myself, I was being challenged not to act this way when my son gets older and to step back as an overbearing parent.

To have the first day bookended by these two dynamic and inspirational Jewish leaders, I know that my first URJ Biennial will be full of some wonderful Jewish learning opportunities which will impact my professional and personal life. I am looking forward to what the next two days hold for me and how I can become the change agent that Dr. Woocher challenged us to become.

Colorado Gives Day – Giving Guide

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Josh

This is the second part of a two part series on Colorado Gives Day. To read the first post, please click here.

As Colorado Gives Day has been going for six strong hours already, Nonprofit Gold would like to highlight the work of some of the amazing nonprofits in Colorado and why you should support them on Colorado Gives Day. Please note that this is not a complete list of all the organizations that Nonprofit Gold supports but is a highlight of some amazing organizations. All of the organizations are split into the categories they are listed as on the Colorado Gives Day website.

Arts, Culture and Humanities

Colorado Dragon Boat Festival - This organization works to bring awareness and knowledge about the Colorado Asian Pacific American communities to the general public through their annual Dragon Boat Festival. If you haven’t attended the festival, you are missing out.
Denver VOICE - This organization works to bring a voice to the Denver homeless population by giving homeless individuals the power to write in their own newspaper and then sell the newspaper.
VSA Arts of Colorado – This hidden gem in the arts district on Santa Fe works to bring arts to people with disabilities.

Education

cityWILD - This organization gives low income, culturally diverse students the opportunity to explore and learn through the outdoors and environmental service learning opportunities.
Destination ImagiNation Colorado - This unique organization gives students the opportunity to be creative through arts, science and technology and to work together as a team to compete against other teams across Colorado to showcase their projects.
Reach Out and Read Colorado – This organization works to bring literacy promotion to pediatric health care by providing books to children as they receive their checkups.

Food, Agriculture & Nutrition

LiveWell Colorado - This organization promotes healthy living through exercise and healthy eating.
SAME Cafe – This pay-what-you-can cafe works to eliminate hunger by feeding all people regardless of their economic status. (Nonprofit Gold highlighted the SAME Cafe during the SOFE experience. You can read more here.)

Philanthropy, Volunteerism and Grantmaking Foundations

Metro Volunteers - Works to mobilize and cultivate volunteers to work with nonprofit organizations around Colorado.
Young Philanthropists Foundation – Engages youth in philanthropy by providing opportunities for youth and families to give back to their communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. (Please note that Josh Gold currently serves on the Penny Harvest Advisory Board for the Young Philanthropists Foundation.)

Once again the organization’s highlighted above are only a small reflection of the many wonderful organizations participating in Colorado Gives Day. There are over 900 additional organizations who are creating change across Colorado. To find out more and to donate to an organization you are passionate about, visit Colorado Gives Day.

Colorado Gives Day 2011

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Josh

Have you opened your email inbox or mail box lately? If so, you know end of year giving is right around the corner. In the last two weeks, I have received 15 emails or postcards reminding me to give before the 2011 year is over.

While you have until December 31, 2011, 928 nonprofit organizations hope you will give to their organizations on December 6, 2011 for Colorado Gives Day. Colorado Gives Day is the brainchild of Community First Foundation to “increase philanthropy in Colorado through online giving.”

Last year’s Colorado Gives Day helped over 529 organizations raise $8.7 million in one day. This year’s Colorado Gives Day looks at growing with another four hundred organizations participating in the one day online event.

How Does It Work?
Individual donors can visit pages about different nonprofits across Colorado and choose specific ones which interest them or which they have donated to in the past. Each organization has set up a page about their organization which includes program information, financial statements, and staff size. Donors can then donate to the specific organization and have their donation counted on the Colorado Gives Day or donate now.

In addition to regular giving on Colorado Gives Day, there are incentives set forth for nonprofit organizations which receive funding on December 6. The first incentive is that FirstBank (a local bank in Colorado) has donated $500,000 for the Colorado Gives Day Incentive Fund. This fund will be distributed based on the individual charity’s amount raised divided by the total amount raised on Colorado Gives Day which is then multiplied by the total amount in the incentive fund. (See graphic below) So each organization that participates and receives money on Colorado Gives Day will receive a share of the incentive fund.

In addition to the incentive fund, this year there are prizes of $1,000 that will be given to nonprofits throughout the day based on money raised on December 6.

Outside of these two ways to increase the amount raised for individual nonprofits, there are many organizations which have set up matching amounts which will be given for the amount raised on Colorado Gives Day.

Why Colorado Gives Day is Successful
At first glance, Colorado Gives Day might seem overwhelming and confusing for many small nonprofit organizations. Some might ask, how can we compete for the incentive fund against the larger organizations? Others may look at this day as taking away from their own end of year campaign.

In response, by participating in Colorado Gives Day, organizations are able to inform new donors about their missions and also participate in a large “community” day of giving. For many organizations that have a staff under five, finding the time to do an end of year campaign can be very daunting but to participate in a day being run by others is easy to join on. Also, while the amount of money brought in from the incentive fund will seem very minuscule once it is divided by over 900 organizations, it brings about an excitement around end of year giving.

Another huge factor for Colorado Gives Day is that the organizations will receive 100% of the money donated to the organization tomorrow. All credit card fees and processing fees are covered if the donation comes through the Colorado Gives Day website.

Which organization are you going to give to on Colorado Gives Day? Nonprofit Gold will give you some ideas tomorrow of some amazing organizations doing great things in Colorado.