Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Organizational Announcement and the Tenderfeet Foundation

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Tenderfeet has enjoyed a great relationship with Lahash International which started in 2005. Through the advocacy and hard work of Lahash, Tenderfeet has gone from being on the brink of closing, to enjoying a wonderful facility to serve the children of the slums.

It's been a challenging journey, but God has been faithful and shown His wisdom throughout. All the while, the Lahash leadership and finance team has shown the love of God through their efforts and steadfastness.

Since 2006, most of the coordination and fundraising has taken place from Houston, Texas while the financial database and wire transfers have been handled from Portland, Oregon.

Starting in October 2009, discussions began on spinning off the Tenderfeet portion of Lahash as a separate organization to be headquartered in Houston. In other words, all activities related to Tenderfeet would take place exclusively in Houston and handled by the new organization, rather than being spread out over two cities through Lahash.

The goal is to increase the organizational efficiency so that both donors and the Tenderfeet project itself can be served in the best way possible.

This organizational change is mutually agreed upon and there are nothing but positive feelings shared by all. Mama Margaret fully supports this change.

Spinning off the new organization has been a time-consuming process, because it includes applying for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, setting up online donation, as well as coordinating the many steps of a transition plan. Now that process is complete.

This new organization is called the "Tenderfeet Foundation" and has achieved 501(c)(3) status.

The Tenderfeet Foundation will be responsible for the fundraising and partnership with Tenderfeet. It provides a mechanism through which donors can be enabled to assist in Tenderfeet's mission to serve the needy in the slums of Kenya. In terms of the sponsorship programs, the children being assisted, and the operations of the school -- nothing is changing whatsoever.

For any current Lahash donor that wants to continue helping the school, contributions can be made through the Tenderfeet Foundation at this link: Tenderfeet donation. The Tenderfeet Foundation will be using the same online system (Groundspring/Network for Good) that has been used by Lahash.

To cancel your Tenderfeet sponsorship through Lahash, please log into the account page and cancel your recurring Lahash donations. Of course, if you are sponsoring Tenderfeet as well as other Lahash projects, please only cancel those contributions going to Tenderfeet. Starting in September, any donations made through Lahash will be assumed to be for Lahash programs only and will not be forwarded to Tenderfeet.

If you would like to discuss these changes on the phone, please call me at the number 713-584-3975, or you can email me at dmitchell@lahash.net. My new email address is dax@tenderfeetkids.org and you can reach me that way as well.

I'm glad to answer any questions or discuss any concerns.
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