I had the pleasure of working for the Kauffman Foundation for over 11 years and in the early years of the foundation I had the honor of working directly with Mr. Kauffman (Mr. K). One day Mr. K told us that “Money does not solve problems, people solve problems and if people work together there is nothing that cannot be accomplished”. I have always remembered that quote because in the foundation world we give away money and in Mr. K’s eyes that was not such a big deal. We have the easy job. The tough job lies in the hands to those of you who work in the nonprofit community who are working to provide quality programs to your clients.

Next month this foundation is going to begin discussing a $7 million Safety Net RFP. I encourage you to check our web site for deadlines and funding guidelines. We fund a lot of existing programs because they work. We are very open to consider funding “breakthrough ideas” that may be a big departure from the status quo. I challenge folks who are going to submit a proposal to us to dream big and don’t be afraid to propose a grant request that could cause a massive system change.

As Mr. K said money does not solve problems – People solve problems --but only if we dare to dream outside our comfort zone and think about how things should be. Good Luck!