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Tweet or Not to Tweet?

oceangrand — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:41:50 +0000

Social Media for Your NonProfit

I am writing this after spending the morning on Twitter and FaceBook. You may not have any idea what I am talking about or know just enough to believe it is a waste of your time. That is the whole reason we at Ocean Grand have decided to put together a series of ongoing articles around “social media” for non profits. Read on to learn how social media is here to stay and how you can get on board to help your nonprofit become more successful.

The key to getting, keeping and engaging donors, funders, and corporations is by building a relationship with them. There is no alternative to building relationships, the relationship comes first and always first. There is also no alternative, not even through social media, to engage your non profit supporters in the “flesh”. However, social media is a great platform to tell and retell your story (read more about “your story” here). The more ways you are able to get the information and successes out to people who are interested in them the farther your reach. Social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc) is another way to get your story and successes out to those that want to know about them, plus find some others that maybe interested in the mix.

Social media is also a way to keep donors and others up-to-date with your cause and what you’re doing to impact the world in a simple and easy way. A couple “tweets” (tweets are short messages on twitter) a day will help all those following the progress of your non profit to know what you’re doing today to help the cause. Likewise, it is a great way to invite people to your fundraisers, events and projects. By using Twitter, others who get your tweets can pass the message along very easily, possibly generating lots of buzz about your upcoming function. If those tweets are also posted automatically on your FaceBook “wall”, then you have reached two audiences that otherwise would have had no idea what you were doing. For example, maybe you are holding a fundraiser or event in Virginia. Several tweets throughout the day from your mobile phone and everyone around the world knows how it is going.

This morning I wrote an article on “What Have You Done Lately That You Are Proud Of?” When I posted the article from the Ocean Grand blog http://www.oceangrand.org the post was tweeted and then also sent to our FaceBook wall. Almost instantaneously several people joined our twitter following who were not following before. The link to the article in the tweet was also clicked on and read by many from our twitter following. It was a quick, easy and effective way to let those that were interested know there was a new article.

The Virtual Water Cooler

Social Media is the present day water cooler and unlike the water cooler in your office, it is an ongoing global conversation. If you want to be more successful in the non profit world, you want your non profit activities to be a part of that conversation. From Twitter and FaceBook conversations I have connected to other non profit organizations who were ecstatic to find out about all the free information and help we provide to non profits at Ocean Grand. Through those same social media channels I have also made new friends and reacquainted myself with old friendships halfway around the world.

The Afternoon Coffee Break

As I’m going throughout the day I hit points where I need a pick-me-up and many times caffeine does the trick. However, while I am getting my afternoon infusion I also check in on my FaceBook and Twitter accounts to see what is happening around the world. Inevitably I run across a quick conversation or am able to offer some input that renews my inspiration to motivate me on to the end of the day. It has been well documented that the human brain needs breaks throughout the day and can be much more productive once given one. You would be surprised at all the little notes of encouragement you can get on Twitter and FaceBook that can get you through the day.

Each platform of Social Media has its own nuances and particular use, but the lines quickly become blurred once you start integrating them together. We will show you how to get the best use out of each in further articles. We are going to focus on FaceBook and Twitter below and give you some quick instructions on getting started.

FaceBook

The simple explanation: FaceBook is a platform where you can add “friends” old and new to your profile. Then you can message each other back and forth, add video and share pictures. You are able to keep tabs on your “contacts” and and they can do the same with you. It’s a quick glance at what everyone you know around the world is doing, interested and involved in. As a nonprofit, you can also create a “cause” page where people can join to be involved and even donate online to your nonprofit.

FaceBook Steps:

Sign up and create an interesting profile. Add a photo and definitely put up a “cause” page so others can join into your non profit work.
Use the siteâ€™s feature to search your email address book for people you know.
Each time a friend adds, look at their friends for others that you may know and add them as a friend.
Use your existing friends as a way to find more friends. Try to stay within the boundaries of people you actually know and have some type of relationship with.
Create a “home like” feel to the information you put on your site. You want people to get to know you better or all over again if it has been a while.
There are a ton of “applications” you can use that will allow you to share books your reading, videos you like, blogs you read etc.
The number of “friends” you have depends upon you but the more friends you can connect to the farther your message will go out to the masses.
Keep in mind, as a non profit you want people to both get to know you and your non profit so try to think of ways that you can introduce what your non profit is doing.
Make sure you are actively getting your donors and those interested signed up and promote, promote, promote your FaceBook link so people can connect to you.
Focus your efforts on building relationships and letting people know what you are doing. A few “What am I doing” updates a day goes a long way. Likewise, reply and respond to other people’s updates.

Twitter

Twitter uses quick posts of 140 characters or less to let people know what you are doing throughout the day. The same goes for your responses to others’ posts. Unlike FaceBook thereÂ are not pages or places to put video and “causes” but instead you do short updates, “tweets”, throughout the day and reply to others’ tweets. In some aspects “less is more” and keeping track of your and other people’s tweets can be managed easily by using TweetDeck http://www.tweetdeck.com. Throughout the day “tweet” several times and let people know what you’re up to; you will be amazed at how interested they are in the little things you do each day. Respond to a few tweets. You can find others to “follow” (when you follow someone you are able to see their tweets) that you may have interest in and again you will be amazed at what you learn.

Twitter Steps:

Sign up and create an interesting profile. Add a photo.
Use the site’s feature to search your email address book for people you know.
Find people you maybe interested in following at Twitscoop http://www.twitscoop.com/ by searching topics you’re interested in.
You can always find more people to follow by reading the posts of those you are already following that seem like interesting conversations.
The number of people you follow or allow to follow you depends upon you but the more people following you the farther your message will go out to the masses.
Keep in mind, as a non profit you want people to both get to know you and your non profit so try to think of ways that you can introduce what your non profit is doing without giving a sales pitch.
Make sure you are actively getting your donors and those interested signed up and promote, promote, promote your Twitter link so people can connect to you.
Focus your efforts on building relationships and letting people know what you are doing. A few “What am I doing” updates a day goes a long way. Likewise, reply and respond to other peoples updates.

Remember that all the information, pictures, video and updates are able to be seen by all your friends or followers so keep that in mind when you put information on the internet.

If you contact me I can help you integrate your tweets to automatically be posted to your FaceBook which keeps you from needing to update two different places.

To Tweet or Not to Tweet, That is the Question

Social Media is a great way to get your message out and also connect people across the globe to your non profit cause. It is time well spent if you keep focused while using these media. It is easy to get caught up in it; however, now is the time to get involved because Social Media looks like it is here to stay. This is just a brief introduction to the Social Media arena and we will cover each separately and give more detail on how to use these great platforms to your advantage other posts. Stay tuned. In the meantime, sign up for an account and begin getting a feel for them.

Don’t forget to add us as a friend on FaceBook and follow us on Twitter. The links are to the right of this post and also below.

FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=32978279968
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ScottRingo

Actors Are People Too!

oceangrand — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:30:14 +0000

How Actors and Entertainers Can Jump On The Fast Track

If you are an actor, actress or know an actor or actress, you need to read this article on how you can better launch your career by focusing on what many actors do once they are successful. Read on and I will show you how you can begin to network like crazy in circles of successful actors like you never thought possible.

We have all seen the commercials and ads when a famous actor or celebrity jumps onboard with a charity or “save the world” cause. Suddenly that actor seems more “touchable” and real. It helps us consider what we could do to make a difference in the world and focus our attention on those that need our help. The fact is, lots of well known actors do all types of non profit charity work and not only does it bring awareness to the cause, but helps them network with others in their field. Many successful actors actually own non profits which promote their cause and accept donations. Why then, if successful celebrities and actors can own their own non profit, promote great causes, take advantage of the high-end networking, and accept loads of donations, don’t up-and-coming actors take advantage of these same opportunities? Most simply do not know how easily it is to jump-start their career and influence by doing so. In this short post I will explain the benefits that every actor or person in the entertainment industry can leverage by owning their own non profit and shift their entertainment career into high gear.

The Power of Networking

Everyone knows that networking is powerful in any career or endeavor. Sometimes the toughest decision is where and how to network the most effectively. In the world of entertainment, competition is fierce and “who you know” is many times critical to getting the gig, the audition, or being cast. Sure, once you get the part or gig then you must turn on your best social skills and network like crazy with those for the short time you are working with them. However, what if there was an easier and more effective way to network 24 hours a day with actors, directors, producers, and support staff even when you are not on the set or even employed? What if that networking tool could even financially support you while you were between gigs? How exciting would it be if you also learned that the same avenue of networking could be highly satisfying in itself, and help make the world a better place? The type of networking I am talking about can do all that plus include you in circles of influence and contacts that you never thought was possible until you were walking the red carpet. What is this amazing tool? Read on.

When the Director says “Cut”

Even if you were on a set or playing a gig there is work to be done and little time to network and when the director says “cut” everyone is in a hurry to get to their family, gala, fundraising dinner, etc. Wait, what if you could be involved in those people’s lives and interests after the final scene of the day? You can and its not hard. What if you were off to the same galas, fundraising dinners, and nonprofit volunteering that the other stars were off to? That is where the “real” mingling takes place. Even if you were between acting or music gigs you could still be off to the same events. There are two easy ways to do that and one that assures you more success than the other. Follow along.

Scenario One

Say there was a particular actor, director, producer or casting director you knew being associated with would give you much better exposure? With very little research you could find with which non profit causes and charities they were involved. If they are involved with a cause then most likely others are also involved that are in your industry. If those charities and causes are something that you are interested in then simply get involved with the cause. Here is where you need to check your heart and integrity because if you are not sincerely interested in those same causes there is no integrity in you being involved. Once involved, focus on helping and being involved with that non profit, they will appreciate your help. Stay involved to help the nonprofit and you never know, you might find yourself networking with those in your industry that will give you a leg up. See http://oceangrand.org/6-steps-to-making-a-bigger-splash/ on how to get seriously involved in helping a non profit in the right ways.

Scenario Two

Most people in non profit work associate with others in the non profit arena. Instead of waiting until you are famous to find a cause you could help to make the world a better place, start now. You could easily start, build stable funding, and run your own successful non profit. I am sure you are saying “Yeah, if I had that kind of time.” You eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, right? Then you have time to create and manage a well funded and world-changing non profit. Really. Once you are finished reading this article jump over to http://oceangrand.org/6-steps-to-non-profit-freedom/ for all the information you need to, step-by-step, get a non profit successful over breakfast, lunches and dinners.

By starting your own non profit or charity you get to decide what world-changing task you are going to focus on. You create the non profit around your passions and interests. Then you start networking with all the other non profits in your city attending their fundraisers, benefits, and likewise them attending yours. If you have a world-changing non profit cause and you begin to network, it does not have to be long before you are in the same room and at the same events that those you would like to network with about your career. However, this time you are the one with whom they are wanting to be involved. Now you have two levels in which to network with them. You would be amazed at who you might have involved in your non profit.

No More “Starving Artist”

One of the great advantages of the second scenario is that your non profit can employ you. Yes, say goodbye to the days of the starving artist. Once your non profit has steady donations coming in it can employ you with a salary for the work you do on its behalf. Not only are you building a successful non profit that can change the world, but it can provide you an income while you are between or in addition to gigs. Now you get paid on and off the “clock.” Meanwhile your non profit cause is networking for you 24 hours a day as those involved are telling others about the great charitable cause of yours that they are involved in.

Why Not “Arrive” Through the Back Door?

While many are trying to network, get auditions and gigs through the front door, by starting a non profit you may just find that you “arrived” through the back door. You can change the world even before you become famous, supplement your income, and be working on your career all at the same time. If nothing else, you can leave a legacy for your family and friends to carry on when you depart. You may have noticed that a lot of charities are focused around the arts and could be an easy passion for you to discover. We at Ocean Grand would enjoy helping you start, learn to fund, and run a successful nonprofit. You never know, you might be starring in your own movie one day that documents the success of the non profit you started.

6 Steps to Making a Bigger Splash

oceangrand — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:32:14 +0000

You, yeah you!

Everyone is involved in non profit work, however, some are more focused on changing the world with their involvement than others. Read on and figure out how you can make a lasting impact in that which you focus your charitable giving and involvement.
We all give money to charities and we all volunteer doing charity work, some just have more to show for their giving and time than most. You may not have even realized you had even been involved charitably. Let’s face it, whether the most you’ve done is give someone holding a sign a dollar, let all your friends know about a benefit walk-a-thon or volunteered some time to help a friend, we have all been involved in charity work. The fact is, unless you live under a rock you are going to be involved in charity work again one day. Wouldn’t it be great if you focused your involvement in a way that had a measurable impact?

Many people get to the end of a year and receive a few statements from charitable organizations that show a few dollars here or there that they contributed charitably and can count on their taxes. However, to most it seemed like we gave money and time in more ways to make a difference in the charitable arena, didn’t it? There are a couple easy ways to start focusing your efforts this year on making a bigger and more meaningful impact on the charitable things you do, while knowing exactly what you did and the significance of that impact. I will show you 6 simple steps you can take to make the most of your charitable efforts.

Stop Shrugging Your Shoulders and Make a Difference

1. Focus Your Non Profit Activity

While being involved in random charitable activities is good, focusing your nonprofit activities and giving to one or two causes helps you make a larger and more memorable impact. Being focused on a few charities can help you keep focused and plan out your year and involvement. Likewise, the charities that you focus on can better count on you for your involvement making it easier for them to plan budgets and events knowing they can count on you for your contribution and volunteerism. Focused involvement can also help you get excited about the significant difference you are making in the world by your charitable activity. There are some easy steps to help you discover what you might like to be involved in and then how to focus your efforts on those charitable causes.

Steps to Better Focus Your Non Profit Involvement

Take a week and decide what you are passionate about being involved in.
Narrow your passions down to a couple that you would be excited about pursuing this year.
Do a google search, ask friends or contact us to find charities that you could make an impact in around your passions.
Look at your budget and decide what you would like to designate financially to making an impact this year.
Look at your schedule and figure out how many weekends or evenings you could devote to helping those charities.
Contact the charities and let them know of your desires and availability to help.
Stay focused and make your giving and volunteering a priority by putting it on your calendar and following through.

2. Streamline your Giving

Many times, people fail in their commitments to give to charities because they simply forget to write the check. Likewise, many non profits fail to make it easy for donors to make financial gifts by not setting up online giving. Make your giving automatic by setting up reoccurring gifts online either through your bank or the charities online giving. By setting up automatic payments you will be assured that your financial gift is not forgotten and always delivered right on time.

Another way to make your charitable giving more significant is to save up your weekly or monthly contributions and purchase or give toward more tangible needs that the charity has. You could even save up your charitable contributions for several months or the year and give toward something with which you can feel like you made a memorable impact. For example, saving up several months and paying for the entire roof for an orphanage may be a better way for you to see your financial gift at work than giving a few dollars here or there. Plus it is more fun to give to items or projects in which you can look back and see you had more tangible impact. Ask the nonprofit what significant items or goals you can give toward in larger chunks to develop more excitement in your giving.

3. Volunteer Intentionally

Volunteering spontaneously when a charity needs help is great. However, you will be able to account for your impact and make your efforts count more if you intentionally volunteer for specific events during the year or consistent weekends. It will be easier to volunteer and be involved if you can look back at the year and know for example that you volunteered one weekend a month or for two significant events during the year. You will be able to look back at the year and know you had a consistent impact by the events or weekends for which you volunteered.

4. Multiply your giving by getting others involved

Your personal involvement in a charity is a great starting point, however if you had friends, family or even neighbors involved in the work with you, you can have a larger and more fulfilling impact in your efforts. Organizing a simple fund raising dinner at your home, or even a larger event and inviting friends, family and neighbors to attend can be a great way to make a huge impact You will develop stronger relationships and be able to use your influence to impact your charitable projects by simply getting others involved with you. It can be a lot of fun when you have many you know involved in changing the world as a group rather than attempting to stay involved with the efforts by yourself.

Matching gifts are also a way to multiply your contribution’s impact. Let the nonprofit know that you will match other’s gifts up to the amount you can afford, and you will give the nonprofit the motivation to find others that will give, which will double your giving efforts.

Some Ideas that can get others involved:

A fund raising dinner at your home
Matching gifts of either equal or double amounts
Benefit Concert
Organize a Car Wash
Walk-a-thons, bike-a-thons, running and swimming events
Craft Festivals
Rummage Sales
Golf Tournaments
Tennis Events
Bingo and Casino Nights
Wine Tasting Parties
Auctions

Any non profit should jump on the opportunity to let you organize and hold any of the events above.

5. Start Your Own Nonprofit Focus

While it can be very satisfying to give your time and finances to any number of great non profits, nothing is as exciting as custom tailoring your charitable activity directly toward one of your own passions. Many spend time raising funds, giving financially and volunteering their time to a nonprofit that has a great cause. However, they wish they could spend those resources and time on a non profit that matches exactly their passions. Creating and running your own non profit cause and organization is not as hard as it may sound. Imagine making an impact in the charitable arena custom tailored to fit your lifestyle and passions exactly. I know from experience that it is highly satisfying and not at all hard. Everyday at Ocean Grand, we enable and empower individuals to create their own non profit focused on the charitable activities that they are willing to invest their time and resources in and many even employ themselves it its full time work. For more information see http://oceangrand.org/6-steps-to-non-profit-freedom/ for how easy it could be for you to create your own highly focused non profit.

6. Social Networking

Facebook and other social networking sites provide you an easy way to let others know what you are focused on, recruit friends to help, and let them know how they can get involved. By setting up a “cause” or page associated with your social media account, you have an easy way to get those you know involved and contributing to the charitable organizations and activities you are passionate about. If you have a facebook account you can see http://apps.facebook.com/causes/201049 for an example.

Conclusion

Most everyone can make a bigger splash with their charity involvement and charitable giving. Whether you simply focus your giving better or start a non profit to benefit the causes you’re passionate about, we can all do a better job of supporting charitable activities. A non profit could be the beginning of a world wide revolution, a great alternative to a 401K, the answer to a person’s medical bills, or an honorable memorial to a love one that has passed away. There are non profits focused on just about every type of challenge you can think of. The question that remains to be answered is what are you going to do to change the world to be a better place?

Regardless of whether you believe you are involved with charity and nonprofit work, you are in some form or fashion, it may be hard to pinpoint your impact. Why not take a couple minutes, implement a couple of the ideas above and make your impact measurable this year? Believe me that it is a highly satisfying activity to get to the end of a year and be able to quantitate your impact in changing the world to be a better place.

The Wonder of a Star

oceangrand — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:29:31 +0000

Have you ever sat on a clear night and gazed up at the stars in wonder? Last night I woke up in the middle of the night and was having trouble getting back to sleep. After laying in bed for 20 minutes, I decided to get up and take a walk around the house, jot a few things down on “Things” a killer to-do list on the Mac. As I walked into the family room, a twinkle caught my eye outside through the glass sliding door. We live on a saltwater inlet, so just outside our back door is a beautiful view of the night sky over the water. Through the pines was one lone star twinkling as if to say “look at me and be amazed.” Stars amaze me because not one twinkles like the other. It also amazes me that the light we are seeing from a star has many times taken 10,000 years or more to reach us and the star may cease to exist. The reason being that the light from the star took so many years to get to us that the star burned out many years before.

For me gazing at the stars puts many things back into perspective because of the magnitude of the universe and the realization of what you’re actually gazing at. Standing on a planet that is spinning about 1,038 miles per hour on the equator or if you live in the U.S. and Europe the speed is around 700 to 900 mph. The earth is also hurtling through space at 67,000 miles an hour around the sun. When we look into the sky, we are looking into the endless vastness of space and some 9800 stars are visible to the naked eye at any one time.

I am reminded of the hope that the rhyme, “Star light, start bright, the first star I see tonight, wish I may, wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight” gives us. There is a magical thing that happens in our minds when we believe there is hope that someone or something cares about giving us a break of unprecedented magnitude. For many that hope that someone cares is what gets them through the cold winter nights, the time to the next hot meal, the pain of a medical condition, or even the death of a loved one. Some non profits even encourage our hope by touching us with plays, the arts, music and stories of hope found.

Though many have never had the wish granted they wished on a star, millions have been touched by the kindness of a non profit and its volunteers that cared about them. For many in need, with hurt, sorrow, or even requiring counseling to get through trauma, the people involved in a non profit cause became a star that granted their wish.

The people involved in non profit work and those who donate to it are stars that shine beautifully even in the darkest night. Rarely are they thanked, and many work in obscurity but the twinkle in their eye is far more brilliant than any star in the night sky. For many, their involvement starts with seeing a need that requires a solution For others, their passion stems from a need in their own life, and countless others the dream to be a part of a story that is bigger than themselves. Whatever the motivation, the results are the same- a light streaming from the darkness of time and space to bring hope to someone who needs it.

Just like the star that I was gazing at, many who are involved in nonprofit work are never recognized until their life has passed away. However, the light that their life shined on others continues long after they are gone, brightening lives and restoring hope.

While reading a book last week, it posed the scenario that in 100 years no one that remembers you would still be alive. Few will remember your name, what you did for a living, or even how much money you made. That is an interesting observation and while I have as many ancestors as you, how many of those ancestors left a lasting legacy? The majority of people that have lived life upon this earth have left without anything to show for their life other than a few memories they have left their children- some good, some bad. Unlike the star whose light continues to shine well after its gone, rarely do we find individuals who are willing to focus their lives or assets on legacy-building tasks.

Making a legacy-building difference in the world is a task which we should all be willing to engage in and teach our children to engage in. Just a few hours a week or even a month can make a memorable difference to the lives of people you touch. Anyone can leave a legacy; it simply takes the desire and willingness to care about others. Why not commit this year to begin to build a legacy for you and your family?

Here are some simple steps you can take to begin building your legacy:

Volunteer with a non profit or ministry.
Start a non profit of your own.

Starting and running a non profit does not have to be difficult; see Many try with little success to put it all together themselves.

The second type of individuals start their nonprofit and and with the help of professionals get their image polished up and looking like the nonprofit is a success from the beginning.Â Many allow us to â€œbrandâ€ for them a professional image and â€œstoryâ€.Â We provide them with a great looking custom logo, business cards, printed brochures, website, and even letterhead and business cards.Â They let us help them with some initial fund raising ideas and in a short amount of time they have decent initial funding flowing through their nonprofit.Â It only takes a little effort along with some great looking materials to make initial your initial fund raising work.Â They then begin paying themselves a salary and concert more of their time and efforts into their nonprofit.

We at Ocean Grand have a desire that each nonprofit we set up has the success of the second example above.Â We are even willing to donate up to 50% of our work at creating and printing your image to show you how serious we are about you being a success.

If you are not seeing the success in your nonprofit that you dreamed of,Â let us help.Â Get in contact withÂ us and letâ€™s see what we can do to get you on the road to finding the funds and success that you need ,so your nonprofit can help the people you have a passion for.

It does not have to be difficultâ€¦and Ocean Grand is here to make sure itâ€™s not.

401K Alternative

oceangrand — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:30:57 +0000

Just in recent years have corporations and churches discovered the benefit of encouraging each of their employees and staff to have a personal non-profit project. Just like a 401K plan is an essential part of a person’s savings and retirement, so is a 501C3 Plan on a non-profit basis.Â In these economic times everyone is looking for a safer place to put their finances and many are realizing that a nonprofit of their own is just the place they can invest their money, get a good return, and use it again later in life to fund their retirement.

501C3 Plans may even be more beneficial to a person upon retirement than a 401K because the PlansÂ can employ them after retirement, giving them a consistent income for the rest of their lives. The corporation or church can even set up their 501C3 so that a portion (example 10%) of all donations that go through their project is donated back to the church or companyâ€™s endowment. Their non-profit project with 501c3 status can help the charities they are passionate about today and continue to employ them when they retire.

The biggest benefit to an employee is that others can contribute to their 501C3 Plan just like an employer contributes to their 401K plan. With many contributing to their 501C3 Plan, their fund could grow to millions making it something that could employ and benefit others than just themselves while giving back to the community and the world.

Why The CDP Program is Different

oceangrand — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:11:22 +0000

Most people who are doing non-profit work need an organizational structure within which to do their work, accept donations, and find ongoing funding. Many set up a non-profit 501c3 which costs thousands of dollars to start and maintain (which we can also do). However, this can be accomplished much easier and less expensively by setting up their own 501c3 through Ocean Grand and the CDP program. With a 501c3 nonprofit set up through CDP, all of your administration, paperwork, banking, and staying within the IRS guidelines are taken care of, leaving you free to spend more time doing the nonprofit work you like. Ocean Grand can set up an individual or organization with full nonprofit status in a few weeks for just $385. Ongoing costs are minimal, saving you time and making the most of your fund raising efforts.

Many families, individuals and organizations actually doing nonprofit work funnel their funding through an already existing organization that charges them 6-15% for administration fees. Ocean Grand greatly reduces those fees by administering everything your organization does, including all your banking and filings for 6%. Ocean Grand also eliminates the need for forwarding agents or others to get you your funding once it comes in. All donations go to one address and you can wire money, or disburse one or multiple checks to anywhere you or others are in the world. For nonprofit work outside the United States, this is especially beneficial because the individual or organization has instant access to funds whenever and however they need them.

Unless you absolutely know that your organization and nonprofit has to be set up with a 501c3 through the IRS, the CDP Program will most likely give you more freedom, greater support, and we know it will cost you less money to run.

Your Legacy

oceangrand — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 21:12:36 +0000

The majority of people that have lived life upon this earth have left without anything to show for their life other than a few memories they have left their children- some good, some bad.Â At Ocean Grand we are passionate about helping people leave a legacy for future generations that show a personâ€™s life and the things they were passionate about for generation after generation.

At Ocean Grand, we have an open door invitation to people who are legacy builders to leave the story of their life and the what they lived their life for to those that will come behind them.Â A family or corporate non-profit project can begin a legacy so that others will have no doubt that their life counted and the legacy they left continues counting everyday.

Neil Youngâ€™s song â€œOld Manâ€, has two verses that convey that we are all looking for something more.
â€œLove lost, such a cost, give me things that donâ€™t get lost. Like a coin that wonâ€™t get tossed, rolling home to you.
Iâ€™ve been first and last. Look at how the time goes past. But Iâ€™m all alone at last, Rolling home to you.â€
Start your legacy today and make a difference that wonâ€™t get lost or tossed.