Our Philosophy

What We Aspire To Be

We could write paragraphs upon paragraphs about our philosophy when it comes to our approach to charity and how we arrived at those conclusions.

But instead, we ask that you watch this TedTalk that describes our philosophy rather perfectly while using humor to get their point across.

Perhaps almost if not important than who we are; is who we are not.  More specifically:

What We Aspire Not To Be

As a nonprofit that supports other nonprofits, we have heard some horror stories about working with other grant awarding organizations and private foundations.  We believe that we can learn a lot from organizations engaging in #CrappyFundingPractices as a shining example of what not to do.

We also believe that we can maximize our potential for positive impact by identifying gaps in funding and seeking to fill those.

To gain a better understanding of what we try to focus on funding, please watch this satirical video that addresses the question of:

What If Pizza Shops Were Funded Like Human Services Nonprofits? 

Pizza Shop Owner:  "That won't cover my costs."

Large Foundation Representative:  "Oh I'm sure you can just find someone who will be willing to make up the difference."

Pizza Shop Owner:  "Who?"

Us, we believe we can maximize our potential to make a positive different by finding gaps in funding and making up the difference.

Large Foundation Representative:  "Of course but just imagine how much more efficient you would be with 20% less than what you should be given."

As a comparatively small private memorial foundation, we do not have the same resources that larger corporate foundations do.

But if there is another organization willing cover most but not all of a program, we can try to cover the rest.

Large Foundation Representative:  "100% of what we give to you must be spent on ingredients.

Okay, we do not pay for overhead.  Okay?

See none of this money can be used for:  Utilities, rent, marketing, pizza boxes, or your salary.

Especially not your salary ... no no."

We have zero issue paying for overhead, salaries, and benefits for the people doing good work and making a positive difference in the world.  In fact we want to pay for overhead costs if it means the organization as a whole can operate more efficiently. 

Pizza Shop Owner: "No Pizza boxes?  And how am I supposed to deliver them?"

...

Large Foundation Representative: "Okay.  You can spend 5% on pizza boxes, 10% on dough, 5% on tomatoes, 10% on cheese, and the rest on spices.

See it's all spelled out here in this pizza making plan."

Pizza Shop Owner: "I'm the one who knows how to make the pizzas."

Our motto is "Help us help you help them."  If you are a nonprofit that truly listens to the voices of those that you are trying to help, then we will listen to you.  Our favorite TedTalk is called "If you want to help someone, shut up and listen."  If we can be assured that you listen to them, then we will listen to you about what you need to best be able to help them.