Thankful for our opportunity to serve

Even in a year of worldwide economic woes SOFTIN has much to be thankful for on this day of Thanksgiving. Our funding level has suffered, yet our level of service grew substantially to our highest level yet. Our collaborations with other nonprofit organizations grow stronger. Our volunteers… from Vivy Vague selling family-made candles and baskets, to Dave Bacon (my son) working on illustrations for the Bentwing Books, to the many hours of loving labor our Board of Directors puts in… remain steadfast and dedicated to our mission of providing at-sea educational adventures to special-needs people.

It is a good Thanksgiving!

Capt. David Bacon
Executive Director,
SOFTIN
dbacon@softininc.org
www.softininc.org

PS: We are planning for next year and I’m glad to have you with us.

Corporate Charity Fair a big hit

SOFTIN was invited to an unusual and wonderful event…. A corporate Charity Fair. FLIR Corporation in Goleta, California does this each year. For many years, the company funneled employee contributions and corporate contributions to one of the big national charity organizations. But at the request of a number of their employees who wanted to see their contributions go to helping a variety of nonprofit charitable organizations, FLIR management came up with a bright plan… invite numerous charities (ranging from very small to very large) to set up display tables at a 2-hour Charity Fair in the large and tastefully decorated company break room.

FLIR employees came in and talked with all of us, gaining helpful insight on all the wonderful charitable work being done locally, regionally and nationally. The employees even had a fun method of engaging in a raffle, based upon cards on which they gathered signatures from the nonprofit representatives they spoke with. Subsequently, FLIR awards donations to the various attending organizations.

The event was a positive and engaging experience for all. I doff my hat in admiration and appreciation to FLIR Corporation and especially to the staff members who worked very hard to create and manage the Charity Fair.

Working at SOFTIN is a joy,

Capt. David Bacon
Executive Director,
SOFTIN
dbacon@softininc.org
www.softininc.org

Girding up for insurance renewal

We look forward to insurance renewals with some trepidation. Will the costs go up? Will the coverage go down? We are diligently working on coming up with tax-deductible donations to cover our insurance bill, anticipated to be near $1,700.

SOFTIN Directors firmly believe in the importance of insurance. We carry liability insurance to protect people and assets. We also carry a Directors and Officers policy to protect our people and or organization. Every nonprofit organization should put good insurance coverage high on the list of financial priorities. It is always best to do things right.

Keeping SOFTIN on the level,

Capt. David Bacon
Executive Director,
SOFTIN
dbacon@softininc.org
www.softininc.org