Millman No Restrictions Golf Foundation

Over the past decade or more the ranks of disabled veterans has swelled. Many times they experience trouble reintegrating into civilian society. Some experience PTSD, others are fitted with prosthetics. All too often they retreat from the world and into their own safe spaces.

Millman NRG Foundation has worked alongside several veterans’ organizations and disabled support groups to give back to these individuals a social activity and a sport they can participate in. No Restrictions Golf (the NRG in the name) holds several events each year to share their passion for the sport and demonstrate to those who may believe they can no longer enjoy a sport how they may participate in golf while accommodating their new circumstances.

This nonprofit was founded by Scott and Teresa Millman, a couple passionate about helping others including veterans, those with disabilities and children. Scott is a USGTF Master Golf Instructor with over 25 years of teaching and playing experience and Teresa has achieved success in both the financial and nonprofit communities.

Scott explained their motivations, “Teresa & I felt a strong need to give back to our community. Starting the Millman NRG Foundation was our way of sharing our love of golf with others. Our goal is to make the game more inclusive and accessible for all. Both of us have had family in the military, we felt we needed to let all of our service men and women know that we are grateful for their sacrifices and that we are here to support not only them but their families as well.”

Scott and Teresa Millman, Co-founders of N.R.G. Foundation

If you would like to volunteer with the Millman NRG Foundation, you can visit their web page here; or donate the cause here.

The Extra Mile

Cancer is a word that has chilled most of us in one way or another. Maybe you mother, sister or wife has had to deal with the terrifying diagnosis. Or, your father, brother or husband has been through debilitating treatment.

Luckily, there are many nonprofit organizations (NPOs) out there that have as their mission the eradication or more endurable treatment of the disease. Many of them extend their networks as civic minded organizations hold fund raisers and awareness events so that the goal is not forgotten or put aside for other important issues.

There are facets of dealing with cancer that don’t always get recognized though when an event comes up that focuses on diagnosis or treatment. One of those is spending dwindling precious time with a loved one as they face a terminal prognosis. Matt Dimmer discovered that after his father underwent routine gall bladder surgery and was found to have Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer.

An LA-dwelling Detroit native, Matt and his wife had just moved to Los Angeles from Chicago when the family got the news. Fortunately for Matt, he had the means to travel home often and mark precious milestones with his father and his family as his father’s health declined. About a month before his father’s passing, Matt stepped back and recognized his advantage and was pained to think of others who were too far away and unable to afford the travel involved to share their loved one’s last holiday...or weekend...or day.

The experience led Matt to form a nonprofit that seeks to enable others without the means to travel to sick loved ones to say a precious goodbye. The Extra Mile (thextramile.org) seeks to collect American Express points, travelers’ surplus frequent flyer miles and, of course, cash to help reunite loved ones going through an experience similar to Matt’s own.

As Matt explained his mission to me, “Saying goodbye to a dying loved one  should be a human right that no one should be denied, and I intend on making that happen.”

If you would like to donate or get more involved with The Extra Mile, visit their web site at thextramile.org.

Raison d'etre

So, I've let you in on my journey moving from one business sector to another. I'm now eight or nine months into a pivot from the traditional "work for a big company and collect a steady paycheck" model and have joined the "let's strive to make the world a better place and be a 'job creator' yourself" movement.

In the course of this pivot, I have met with many nonprofit professionals in the greater Detroit area. Professionals from the Detroit Zoological Society, Southwest Solutions the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan (and so many others that I don't mean to slight, but there isn't room or audience attention span enough to list them all here) have been very generous to me and given me a good bit of their time to discuss my efforts and the state of the nonprofit environment today.

Many epiphanic ideas have come my way along the way. My instructor in WC3D's grant writing certification program offered me one of my most eye-opening realizations: nonprofit organizations (NPOs) are businesses.

They may not generate revenue in the traditional "buy low/sell high" paradigm, but they still need to afford rent, utilities, supplies and professional services like any other business. It's just that instead of sales being the lifeblood of the business, it's donations and grant funding that keep the doors open and the machinery humming.

Also, instead of creating widgets for sale, the NPOs product is community impact; sometimes improving early childhood reading scores, sometimes job placement for returning veterans, but some improvement for some identified constituency is the NPO output.

Which brings me to...wait for it...this blog's NEW raison d'etre: giving exposure to NPOs tackling issues with unique approaches or outcomes. I have also learned over the past few months that there are several NPOs out there that are getting great work done in the greater Detroit area, but never seem to get any press.

I would like to broadcast their good work here. So, while I continue to look for stories to tell on my own, I am also inviting you, dear reader, to tip me off to NPOs that are approaching issues in never before tried ways and/or achieving great things that others aren't. I am sure you are aware of, or are involved in organizations who really need their stories told and I am looking to do some storytelling.

Give me a hand, and let's help great groups get exposure.

--Thomas