Our group has decided to donate our funds to the Ronald McDonald House Charity. We determined which non-profit to donate to by looking about the company’s financial numbers as well as how the representative was. The contributing factors play a big role in determining what makes a good,stable non-profit. We felt that our money would be doing the most good here, since the Ronald McDonald House is expanding their facility. Working in a group environment has been wonderful and it is really easy to come up with solutions because, for the most part, we can come to a consensus to an idea. For disagreement, we just talk about the pros and cons of each side and form our solution based around those.

I interviewed my mom because I have always been really close to her and I wanted to learn more about her than what I already knew. It’s kind of weird that I’ve known my mom ever since I was born and I didn’t even know most of the stuff she told me. One thing that I thought was interesting is that it was really different growing up in the Bronx than it is today, in the sense that, you could walk across the street or even on the sidewalk without worrying about being mugged or being hurt. One thing I learned from this experience is that you should ask questions more often to your family and friends to get a better understanding of how they grew up.

It is important to create your purpose, vision, and mission statements because it is an easy way to keep track of your goals and how you propose to achieve them. It was kind of difficult making it because I never really thought donating to charities was such a complex task. Most people think that donating to charity is just writing a check but when you plan it out, you get more out of the experience. When I start calling non-profits, I hope to meet an enthusiastic board member that is grateful for the thought of receiving the donation. I think it is key that the person on the phone doesn’t sound gloomy while you’re talking to them. I am looking forward to the upcoming weeks on this program!

From the brown paper bag activity, I learned that there is more than meets there is more to my classmates than just what I see when I am in the classroom. Some of these things that I learned about my peers can  be answered by asking questions but for the most part, we don’t ask. The items in the bags gave us a bigger insight to my group members and helped me in understanding who they were, what they like to do outside of school, and their favorite sports teams. For my group team members fundraiser, a team member’s dad’s company is generously donating a check for our fund. We are also raising extra money through a bake sale!!

The board panel meetings showed us what was beyond the numbers of the non-profit. It is one thing to have outstanding ratios but if you have terrible people representing your organization, then do you really have a good company? This year’s board panel meeting was truly outstanding! Sure, if we read the questions that were given to us as a basic guide to ask,  the representatives spewed out the answers. But it was the heartfelt questions that really got them thinking. When you want to gain people to join your donation cause, you have to be enthusiastic and quick to the point or you might lose out on getting that money. It was kind of neat how even though these organizations were based off a different cause, yet they still held the same moral beliefs. All of the representatives this year had a great understanding of how their non-profit worked and they seemed t0 loved their jobs, which is awesome!!! It is going to be tough when we have to narrow down to which charity we will be giving our funds to. Whichever way our group chooses to go, we will end up helping people and that’s all that matters.

During this week of our MSP journey, we evaluated the numbers that we got from looking at the organization’s 990 tax form. We then went over the process of rating our non-profit based on the ratios that were calculated. The charity that I have been researching is the Ronald McDonald’s House Charity Fund. I was pretty proud when that non-profit got a quantitative rating of a 10 out of 15. You can tell that this company is managing themselves really well and not giving all of their money to staff. Another way to evaluate a charity is by going through a process called qualitative rating. This is stuff that is beyond the numbers and the tax forms. During our board panel meeting this week, we will understand how non-profits work, how many paid workers and volunteers this organization has, and the mission and purpose of that charity. One great memory that I can remember from last year about the board panel meeting was one of the ladies worked for her organization for only a week but she still had lots of information to share. Personally, quantitative and qualitative data are both equally important because an charity can have horrible numbers but can be a giving non-profit (vice versa). I am really excited for the board panel meeting this week and I hope that everyone else is too!!

A 990 Tax form gives an overview of how the non-profit is using its funds; whether it is in a positive manner or not. It is important to look at this before choosing the organization because it shows how much of their money is going back to the community and not just the staff. You want to make sure that the non-profit will be using your donation money effectively. Currently, I do not have a person coming to the board panel meeting. I contacted the Ronald McDonald House Charity and got transferred to a board member but he was unavailable at the time so I left him a voice mail. I also contacted the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and I got the same results. As of right now, both charities haven’t responded to me but I will keep trying to reach them. The receptionist was very excited about the program and how high school students are becoming more involved in their communities. I finished calculating the Ronald McDonald House Charity tax form and it is an overall great non-profit! I am looking forward to the board panel meetings to understand how these organizations operate.

Being able to participate in the Main Street Philanthropy program for the second time is just truly wonderful. Since I participated in this “journey” last year, I already knew what I was getting into. I am so happy that others get to experience the MSP program for the first time and I can’t wait to see how this affects their lives in a positive manner. This time around I wanted to go another route when it came to choosing the nonprofit organizations that I was interested in donating to. Yet again, I chose Health Research and Education because this issue really hit home due to the adversities that I have faced throughout my lifetime. Animal Care was also a unique topic since this is currently my 3rd year in the Veterinary Assisting Program. Getting to play with dogs really brightens up my day and I hate seeing animal’s rights exploited. The final MAD card that I chose was Religious and Spiritual Organizations. I view myself as a very religious person and I just want to spread the word of the Bible because I love God. I learned that there are so many people that need help for different reasons. From the Make a Difference cards I learned that even though my peers had similar interests, we also had many differences when it came to things we were passionate about. When my classmates explained their reasoning behind their choices, I saw them in a different light and it just felt like we became a bigger family from this experience. This time around, I will cherish every moment of being in this program. I hope to make donating and charitable work a part of  my life outside of  MSP. The journey of the program makes the destination  more valuable. I can’t wait to learn more about my fellow peers throughout this 10 week program.