A technology business incubator in Hartsville? Most Certainly is our reply!

Hartsville, South Carolina is the site of the newest Technology Business Incubator in the State. Hartsville is the regional hub of this Clemson-pushed initiative to find innovative ways of bring new jobs and new opportunities to SC as technology opens doors never before imagined.

Why Hartsville?  That is an interesting question. One answer is because we have some leaders with a vision to point out that Hartsville would be an excellent location for such a venture to see how a smaller, more rural area might foster business innovation. Another answer is that the vision had support from others who believe it is important to "try new new things" that have a good chance of being the next major successful initiative. The list of people speaking at the Ribbon Cutting showed some of the talent behind the philosophy. Senator Gerald Malloy laid down the challenge of "the next step."  Speaker Pro Tem Jay Lucas highlighted the strength of cooperative efforts underlining the work of the city and the initial funders and founders of the program -- Duke Energy, The Byerly Foundation and Clemson University.  Mayor Pennington pointed out the importance of the City Council to go out on the limb to support such a new venture and he spoke of the efforts of city leaders to work toward maximum success as Hartsville serves as the regional hub of this initiative.

Cooperation, Collaboration, Cash, are all elements that a community does require to continue becoming an even better place.  Barbara Steadman, who serves as a member of the Foundation for a Better Hartsville, which took this project as one of its first has an interesting blog post on the effort.

Why Hartsivlle? Because Hartsville is a can-do, will do community that will put in the effort to make new things work. Ben Chastain, a 2010 graduate of Coker College, is the executive director and his energy will power the initial effort of idea searching and idea hatching. This is an exciting opportunity for all of us in this community and in the Pee Dee Region. Now, help make the next thing happen!! Share your thoughts with Ben Chastain and see if you are not ready for the next Genentec.

Byerly Foundation seeking grant-concept letters from now until September 16

As the executive director of The Byerly Foundation in Hartsville, SC, I wanted to ensure that I put the notice of the opening of the 2012/13 grant cycle on my blog. The Foundation only funds projects having direct impact on the greater Hartsville, S.C. area and with this mission we are striving for high impact.  Here is the news release that went out in early July:

July 1, 2013

Hartsville, S.C. -- The Byerly Foundation will be accepting grant-concept letters from now through September 16, 2013 for the 2013/2014 grant year.

The fundamental mission of The Byerly Foundation is to help the Hartsville, South Carolina area become one of the best places in the world in which to live. All of the grants approved by the Board must have a direct impact on the immediate Hartsville, SC, community. The Foundation has focused its grant making on education, economic development and quality of life projects.

Grant making process begins with Concept Letter

The Foundation's grant making process generally begins with a concept letter of one to three pages. The Foundation funds grants to non-profit 501(C)-3 organizations, schools, colleges, and government-sponsored community projects. Grant making for private foundations is regulated by the U. S. Tax Code. Persons with questions about eligibility should call the Foundation (383-2400).

Concept letters are requested because the Foundation Board desires to minimize the investment of time and resources for organizations to request grant funding. The Board does not require a fully developed grant request but does need certain specific information. The concept letter must include:

• Name of organization and stated proof of eligibility
• A description of the project envisioned by the organization
• The outcome(s) that will result from the implementation of the grant project
• The amount of funding being requested from the Foundation
• The total cost of the planned project and the sources of other funding
• The list of officers and board members of the organization
• An explanation of how the project will make Hartsville a stronger community

The executive director of The Byerly Foundation, Richard Puffer, is available to help answer questions and provide any other guidance that organizations may need as they think about applying for grants. The Foundation's email is byerlyfdn@yahoo.com.

The concept letters may be sent to The Foundation at P.O. Box 1925, Hartsville, SC 29551 or dropped off at the office at 101 North Second Street. They may also be submitted as attachments to an email message.

Grant making timeline

1. The announcement of the grant-making cycle will be in July.
2. Concept letters will be accepted through September 16.
3. The Board will begin reviewing grant requests in October.
4. Organizations being considered for funding will be notified in November.
5. Often, organizations in consideration are asked for additional information.
6. Final grant decisions are generally made prior to December 31.

The Byerly Foundation Makes Grants for Hartsville-area projects

The Byerly Foundation was established in 1995 with the sale of The Byerly Hospital to Hospital Management Associates. The proceeds of that sale were put into a private foundation managed by a volunteer Board of Directors. The Foundation has been making grants for the Hartsville area since 1998. Richard Puffer is the executive director of The Foundation and the Chairman of the Board of Directors is Charles J. Hupfer. Other members of the Board include: David Blackmon, Jerry Cheatham, Rob Tiede, Steve Avant, Monty Bell, Brianna Douglas, Johnna Shirley, Barry Saunders, Alvin Heatley and Todd Shifflet.

For more information, contact: Richard Puffer. He can be reached at 843-383-2400 or by email at dpuffer@gmail.com.

Libraries - have role as community conectors and community builders

The Hartsville Memorial Library is reaching beyond its normal services to add some gaming opportunities for teenagers -- whose major complain is often "there is nothing to do."  Here is something to do:

Saturday, July 20th

Hartsville Memorial Library
Teens in Hartsville will meet from 10:30am - 1:30pm for X-Box and Wii games. Ages 12-19
FREE Pizza!For more information call 332-5115 and ask for Lori Strickland.

CONGRATULATIONS  to the library for this idea.

Urge teens to attend. After all, this is something many of them like to do. I remember last August when I was at Coker on a Friday night about 8 p.m. and started hearing students coming into the Science Building. They were there to play some computer games -- sponsored by the Math Club but focused on Call of Duty. They were still there when I left about 9:30 - so this sounds like a great idea and a great way for the library to exert community leadership and expand connections.  

No such thing as "free money" -- Thinking about Grant Making and Grant Writing

Are there some things people should be thinking about when it comes to seeking grants for their programs and projects? Okay, that might be a dumb question. A better way to start the blog post might be to state emphatically that THERE ARE THINGS people need to think about when embarking on a grant-seeking mission.  We have not held a grant preparation workshop in several years but here are some ideas we might be sharing in such a session...


1 -- There is no such thing as free money
   
Most philanthropic organizations are not in the change-giving (money giving) business. These groups are in the change-making business. Foundations have missions they are working to accomplish. Most of the time they do not have the infrastructure to achieve the missions on their own so they work with groups who are in the same change-making business to make things happen.

Lesson 1 -- If you are seeking grants to help make change happen be certain that the organization you are asking for financial assistance has some of the same mission you do. For example, The Byerly Foundation has to reject a great many grant requests for really solid programs because they do not serve Hartsville, S.C.

Lesson 2 -- You need to be specific in what you plan to use the funds from the grant to accomplish. Then, if you get a grant you MUST use the funds for that stated purpose. The organization considered the purpose of the funds as well as the credibility of the organization in determining the approval. Unless funds were requested for "general use" grant funds are to be used to implement the specific request. If changes are required they must be discussed with the granting organization.

Lesson 3 -- Have some specific ideas about how you are measuring success of the grant. Granting organizations may come back with some ideas too but nearly every grant maker wants to know what the grantee organization views as success. Sometimes you even have to include funds in the request that go toward helping measure the success of the programs. While it is cliche', the idea of 'bang for the buck' is as important in the non-profit field as it is in the for-profit arena.

2 -- Foundations are in the change-making business, not the change-giving business

The Byerly Foundation Soliciting Grant-Concept Letters

The Byerly Foundation is soliciting grant-concept letters from now through September 16.

The Byerly Foundation has a mission that is hyper local. It is the goal of The Foundation to help others in the area make Hartsville one of the best places in the world to live. The Foundation can be a catalyst in this work with strategic grantmaking. The Foundation can also be an assistant in this work with partnership grantmaking. Since it began making grants in 1998, The Foundation has combined grantmaking tactics to help in the continuing construction of the community we call Hartsville, SC.

Following is the news release announcing the grant cycle. This release can also be found on the web site:

July 1, 2013

BYERLY FOUNDATION WILL BE ACCEPTING GRANT CONCEPT LETTERS UNTIL SEPTEMBER 16

                Hartsville, SC – The Byerly Foundation will be accepting grant-concept letters from now through September 16, 2013 for the 2013/2014 grant year.

 The fundamental mission of The Byerly Foundation is to help the Hartsville, South Carolina area become one of the best places in the world in which to live. All of the grants approved by the Board must have a direct impact on the immediate Hartsville, SC, community. The Foundation has focused its grant making on education, economic development and quality of life projects.

Grant making process begins with Concept Letter

The Foundation’s grant making process generally begins with a concept letter of one to three pages. The Foundation funds grants to non-profit 501(C)-3 organizations, schools, colleges, and government-sponsored community projects. Grant making for private foundations is regulated by the U. S. Tax Code. Persons with questions about eligibility should call the Foundation (383-2400).

Concept letters are requested because the Foundation Board desires to minimize the investment of time and resources for organizations to request grant funding. The Board does not require a fully developed grant request but does need certain specific information. The concept letter must include:

·         Name of organization and stated proof of eligibility

·         A description of the project envisioned by the organization

·        The outcome(s) that will result from the implementation of the grant project

·         The amount of funding being requested from the Foundation

·        The total cost of the planned project and the sources of other funding

·         The list of officers and board members of the organization

·         An explanation of how the project will make Hartsville a stronger community

The executive director of The Byerly Foundation, Richard Puffer, is available to help answer questions and provide any other guidance that organizations may need as they think about applying for grants. The Foundation’s  email is byerlyfdn@yahoo.com.

The concept letters may be sent to The Foundation at P.O. Box 1925, Hartsville, SC 29551 or dropped off at the office at 101 North Second Street. They may also be submitted as attachments to an email message.                                                                            

Grant making timeline

1.       The announcement of the grant-making cycle will be in July.

2.       Concept letters will be accepted through September 16.

3.       The Board will begin reviewing grant requests in October.

4.       Organizations being considered for funding will be notified in November.

5.       Often, organizations in consideration are asked for additional information.

6.       Final grant decisions are generally made prior to December 31.

The Byerly Foundation Makes Grants for Hartsville-area projects

The Byerly Foundation was established in 1995 with the sale of The Byerly Hospital to Hospital Management Associates. The proceeds of that sale were put into a private foundation managed by a volunteer Board of Directors. The Foundation has been making grants for the Hartsville area since 1998. Richard Puffer is the executive director of The Foundation and the Chairman of the Board of Directors is Charles J. Hupfer. Other members of the Board include: David Blackmon,  Jerry Cheatham, Rob Tiede, Steve Avant, Monty Bell, Brianna Douglas, Johnna Shirley, Barry Saunders, Alvin Heatley and Todd Shifflet.

                                                                                     ###

Values involved in community building as part of THE WORK OF HOPE

In Chapter Three of THE WORK OF HOPE by Rich Harwood, there is a discussion focused around what the research team discovered as key values across our country.  Those key values include: Compassion; Children & Families; Simpler Living; Openess and Humility; and the Common Good.

The common good, for example, seems to have some very real meaning to some folks while being a bit more of a strange concept to others, who are involved in just meeting their own needs. if you explore the Harwood book, you will find many observations highlighting the values mentioned above.

In this weekend of thinking about the freedom we enjoy as Americans, it is important, I THINK, to also consider the work that is involved in ensuring this freedow and this way of life is perpetuated through the bad times as well as good. And, this particular weekend in 2013, the issue is even greater as we hear how the people in Egypt determined, with the military's assistance, that maybe democracy is not always the way to go.  For me, that is scary and one reason for these blog posts about Hope and community building.

Compassion and Community Building - according to Rich Harwood

Rich Harwood has put some of the major concerns he has heard from people across the nation into a new book to spark conversations on what we need to accomplish to rebuild stronger communities, stronger connections among people and new ways forward in what I might call here the American Dream.

Rich has written THE WORK OF HOPE with funding from the Kettering Foundaiton, which has funded much of the work that has built to this current reflection of thinking of people across America. In getting into his book, I have been using Facebook and this forum to share some ideas hoping others will go to the book to see how what Harwood is reflecting compares to their own thoughts and feelings.

In the third chapter he discusses some of the key values noted in the community discussions and he starts with the idea of Compassion. This is one snippet from the chapter:

What does it mean to be compassionate and for compassion to en-

gender a sense of hope among people? The answer, is that more people

must be willing to step forward and be in relationship with others—to see

and hear one another, to acknowledge each other’s pain and aspirations,

to know that we cannot go it alone in life. Then compassion can be a

guiding force for the nation and produce the hope people yearn for. 

 

The ebook is a great resource and one that will allow a quick read and much more time for consideration of the content.

July 3 -- An important day to ponder patriotism, freedom, responsibility and #beinganAmerican

Hard to believe that something happening 44 years ago would still have so much resonance today. Semper Fi - Marines

Which makes me think, to whom do we owe our freedom? Who are the patriots?

Patriots are not just the warriors.... 

We do not only owe the freedom we celebrate tomorrow to warriors past and present. We owe OUR freedom to patriots who had the courage to stand for elections and engage in the daily battles for the policies that have shaped and reshaped our lives; we owe our freedom to women who braved ridicule to demand the vote -- for decades before they got it; we owe our freedom to those who act to show what it means that "all men are created equally."

Patriots exercise their freedoms...

We owe our freedom to those who exercise their freedom by being in church on Sunday or Wednesday or any day they feel like it (and to those who do not attend a church -- that is their right); we owe our freedom to those who understand that building a country and keeping it Great requires sometimes not getting only what you think you want but also helping others get what they think they need.

Patriots balance rights and responsibilities...

Our freedom is not free -- it comes with responsibility -- and let's be thankful for those who throughout our history have understood the balance of rights and responsibility. That is the only thing that makes the lives lost in all those battles have any meaning.

It is FOURTH OF JULY week -- celebrate/remember/recommit