tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222188.post-12527434462968120632007-03-12T21:13:00.000-07:002007-03-12T21:44:45.037-07:00So over a month ago now, a couple of my friend from work did something pretty radical. After a year of spending time evaluating their strengths and weaknesses, talents and gifts, interests and more, they were about to be placed into optimal positions at work. But instead, they decided to strike out on their own and, 2 years earlier than planned, launch a non-profit they had been working on (<a href="http://sharefestinc.org/">Sharefest</a>). You might remember me mentioning Sharefest in some earlier posts, in particular, those about <a href="http://www.kirkanddonna.com/donna/labels/Extreme%20Home%20Makeover.htm">Extreme Makeover: Home Edition</a>. <br /><br />Sharefest is s a nonprofit ecumenical organization dedicated to positive change through tangible acts of service. It exists to bring together churches, community-based organizations and businesses to meet needs and foster hope and unity within the South Bay as a whole. As a non-profit, it relies heavily on donations and fundraisers in order to accomplish its purposes. <br /><br />When Bryan and Chad left <a href="http://kingsharbor.org/">King's Harbor</a>, I told them to let me know if they needed any help. Well, I've now (somehow!) agreed to do their grant writing for them. Having never <b>done</b> any grant writing before, I'll probably be finding some sort of a seminar to attend to get up to speed. Also, I'm contacting businesses and organizations all over our area, trying to determine who provides grants (or sponsorships) and gather what information we need in order to submit a grant application. It's a bit overwhelming. <i><b>On that note, if <b>you</b> know of any businesses (local, national or international) who provide grants for non-profits in Southern California (LA area), please let me know! Name, contact, url - anything you have is helpful.</b></i><br /><br />In additiion, for those of you who might not know, I joined the staff of <a href="http://freenode.net/">freenode irc network</a> in January. I'm still coming up to speed on my duties and responsibilities there. There is also a <a href="http://blog.freenode.net/">staff blog</a> to which I made my first <a href="http://blog.freenode.net/?p=21#comments">contribution</a>. <br /><br />And finally, I'm slowly getting back to work. A month out of the office with <a href="http://www.kirkanddonna.com/donna/labels/Health.htm">illness</a> has made it slow going. But with Bryan and Chad gone and trying to help our new administrator, Chad (there's a funny story about Chads and KHC - remind me to tell you sometime), get oriented and settled in, I feel like I really need to be in the office. Besides, it's really nice to be back at work - I really enjoy the people I work with! <br /><br />Ta!SportChickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07997629924285282687noreply@blogger.com