May 9, 2008 is a date that will forever be remembered in Operation Kids history. It was the first time we ever assembled—in the same room—our Board of Trustees, National Advisory Board and Whole Child Committee. It was important in many respects, but perhaps the most important reasons have to do with how we are improving how we help kids.

Anyone who has ever written a mission statement for a business or project knows that it can be a difficult process. If every word is to actually mean something, you need to be economical with the word count but accurate with the vision of the effort. A new and refined mission statement came out of this session, and it not only reflects the values and goals we have always maintained, but it also reflects who we are today based on what we have learned:

OK Foundation is a full-service, charitable partner dedicated to effective giving. We manage client giving and support a researched community of charities serving the most important issues facing kids – including their education, health, safety and well-being. By so doing, we improve the lives of children, and increase the accountability and effectiveness of charities serving them. Our clients know…their giving is “OK.”

This statement portends new and better ways to give for donors and more effective uses of donated funds for children in need. More will come on this later, but the most important highlight is that Operation Kids, which is the project arm of the OK Foundation, is expanding on a model that has been our most successful to date – that of being a “charitable giving strategist.” There is really nothing like this in the charitable world, and we are excited about what it means.

Let me give you analogy to describe this concept. (more…)