Question

Topic: Taglines/Names

Name For Not For Profit Foundation?

Posted by Anonymous on 5/20/2012 at 1:00 PM ET 250 Points
My husband recently passed away and I am setting up a Not For Profit Foundation in his memory. My husband dedicated his life to serving and saving others.

As such, it will sponsor at least 1 EMT and/or Paramedic student per year to attend their certification program via a scholarship for the tuition costs.

It will also offer CPR courses in accordance with AHA guidelines to various organizations at no cost to them.

I'm not sure whether I would like his/our/family name incorporated, but would welcome suggestions with/without it. For that purpose here, let's say the names COULD include John and Jane Smith.

Thanks for any/all suggestions!!
To continue reading this question and the solution, sign up ... it's free!
SUBSCRIBE
Or, SIGN IN

RESPONSES

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 5/21/2012 at 6:25 PM Accepted
    What a nice tribute.

    As far as naming goes, by saying "John and Jane Smith..." you've used up 4 words, and it'll be hard to put the rest of the meaning of your foundation in 3 words. You could simply use your last name + the key benefit, for example: "The Smith Foundation For Service" or "The Smith Foundation: Saving Lives"
  • Posted on 5/22/2012 at 8:11 PM Author
    Thanks for the reply. I didn't know there was a word limit for a Foundation name (7 words). With that being the case, then I would probably opt to leave out the family name and look for something that describes its meaning. I can always put a tribute/in memory of statement in the mission statement or something.

    I like the saving lives suggestion. Our Paramedic class had a graduation quote "that others may live." Unfortunately, I have no idea where it came from and I would probably be violating a copyright or something if I used that.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 5/22/2012 at 11:26 PM Member
    (Aside: The "7" limit isn't for Foundation names - it's generally the number of things that people can keep in their short-term memory. Too long, and people can't remember the whole name easily. Therefore, try to keep the name to about 7 words.

    Also: That Others May Live is already the name of a 501(c)3 organization: https://www.thatothersmaylive.org/)
  • Posted on 5/23/2012 at 11:31 AM Author
    I didn't know that (7 words/short term memory). So that is definitely something that I want to keep in mind when choosing a name. Thanks. I'm hoping if I take it slow and build it right, years from now, the Foundation will be successful. And, having a name that's easy for people to remember is definitely a part of that.

    I figured that name was taken as I knew my graduating class didn't make it up and had to have gotten it from somewhere.

    I would close the question and give you the expert points as you have been VERY helpful. I'm just hoping that if I leave it up a couple more days, I may get a few more suggestions.

    In the meantime, thanks again Jay Hamilton-Roth
  • Posted by peg on 6/1/2012 at 8:29 AM Accepted
    Although there is a cause to your foundation, the tribute is also important, so I would encourage you to keep the name in the foundation's title. Also, you have the advantage of a very targeted interest, so your foundation can be more specific (therefore more memorable) than most. For example:

    -- John Smith Emergency Care Education Foundation
    -- John and Mary Smith Foundation for Rescue Certification and Training
    -- Smith Family Foundation for Medical Emergency Training

    The specificity of your foundation name will save you from some of the deluge of unsolicited and totally unrelated funding requests you are bound to receive.

    About the very important romantic and emotional notions that go along with any foundation's cause -- these are best expressed in a tagline rather than in a name. Then, the tagline can change over time if the foundation's focus changes a little, which is a fairly frequent occurrence. Initially it might be something such as "Honoring those who dedicate their lives to saving others," when later it might become "Supporting Citytown's first responders." Either would be possible without changing the foundation's name.

    It's a wonderful tribute and a marvelous idea. Best of luck with it.

BACK TO TOP

Post a Comment

Related Discussions

Community Info

Top 25 Experts
(Taglines/Names)