Missouri Organization Empowers Individuals to Make a Difference

The Heartland Foundation located in St. Joseph, Missouri supports forward-thinking projects that create opportunities for progress and change. At the Foundation's emPowerU campus housed in a transformed warehouse building located on a federally designated Brownfields site, the Research and Solutions Center offers a unique environment for diverse groups of all ages to gather, discuss and promote leading edge ideas designed to improve a community's health and vitality. From this innovative center, a continuum of multiple activities are introduced that lead to participatory projects that encourage civic engagement, promote health, build workforce development skills and address economic realities.

Projects tackle such issues as building strong educational systems through business partnerships, health improvement for school-age children, youth civic engagement, and community collaboration and transformation. Community members gather at the campus and throughout the region to discuss various issues confronting the community. Though topics may change, the guiding principle remains clear - through collaboration and new ways of thinking individuals can improve their communities and themselves.

Youth and adults return from their visits at emPowerU with a commitment to improving their community. After completing the emPowerU immersion and the Foundation's nationally-recognized emPower Plant curriculum, one group of students from the Benjamin Banneker Charter Academy of Kansas City planted an inner-city garden with Jump Starters funding support through a partnership with Heartland Foundation and Learn and Serve America. In less than five months the garden yielded over 500 pounds of produce for the Harvesters Food Network.

Heartland Foundation's work spans a 30-county region and beyond encompassing a four state area: Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, and Minnesota. For more information see heartlandfoundation.org.

Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter?

In this world of 24-7 access to information -- non-profits are rapidly jumping into the fray along side corporate America. Whether it is twittering about new projects or using Facebook as a platform to reach more people, new ways of networking seem to be popping up everyday.

Recently, The Washington Post published a controversial article on the benefits of using Facebook to raise funds and profile of non-profits. The authors stated:

The Facebook application Causes, hugely popular among nonprofit organizations seeking to raise money online, has been largely ineffective in its first two years, trailing direct mail, fundraising events and other more traditional methods of soliciting contributions.

This article has been received with mixed review. Many vocal bloggers suggested the authors do not "get-it." And that their conclusions were merely old news, and that to view these applications merely through the fundraising lens is limited. They argue that success is predicated on using these sites as a general communication platform, as well as a fundraising tool.

What do you think?


What have you found most useful? for networking? for fund raising? What works for you?