{"id":957,"date":"2026-06-17T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/?page_id=957"},"modified":"2026-08-14T20:12:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T02:12:47","slug":"blog","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/blog\/","title":{"rendered":"Blog"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-base-2-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e719dcd8 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8af32dba wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8af32dba wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-x-large-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"line-height:1.3\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"line-height:1.1\">2026-08-15<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-x-large-font-size\">Lighting the Path at Home: <br>Officially in California, <br>Deeply Rooted in Community, <br>and Ready to Build<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br>If our pages have felt a little quiet over the last two months, it\u2019s because we were hard at work behind the scenes.  While we&#8217;re still wrapping up our final paperwork to dissolve in Tennessee, we are so excited to share some big news: <strong>The Dancing with Fireflies Foundation is officially a fully licensed California 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation!<\/strong><br><br><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From our Secretary of State filings and Franchise Tax Board registration to our City business license and Attorney General registries, everything is fully squared away and approved. &nbsp;We wanted to make sure everything was done right from day one &#8211; and now, we\u2019re officially open and ready to get to work right here in Placer County and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><br>Coming Full Circle with Local Partners<br><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br>Even while buried in paperwork, we weren&#8217;t just sitting at our desks.  We were out building real community relationships.<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Back in July, a well-recognized local family &amp; youth resource organization in Roseville, CA reached out to invite us to a meet and greet.  Our entire board has a deeply personal history with this local organization that goes back years:<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Our President Jennifer led her old scout troops to volunteer there for tutoring and holiday toy drives.<br><br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Our Treasurer Vanessa spent hours there as a scout tutoring kids and putting together pinwheel bouquets for their child abuse prevention campaigns.<br><br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Our Secretary Amy\u2019s son built custom storage shelving for them for his 2020 Eagle Scout project.<br><br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Walking into their new offices and reconnecting with their team felt completely full circle. &nbsp; It honestly feels like this partnership was just meant to be.<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Through our meeting with their leadership, we learned firsthand just how deep the need is in Placer County alone &#8211; from the sheer number of teens without stable housing right here in our community, to the hidden reality and large population of child exploitation in our suburban neighborhoods.<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That is why working alongside groups taking direct action matters so much to us. &nbsp;Even better, there is some incredible hope on the horizon: they will soon be breaking ground on a brand-new youth transitional housing facility in Lincoln, CA!   Our goal here at Dancing with Fireflies Foundation is to have our Welcome Home Apartment Kits ready to support those very apartments, helping get vulnerable kids off the street and into a safe, hopeful space while equipping them with essentials to start their new chapter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><br>Turning Donations Into Action<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br>While this amazing partnership is just our first of many as we build a wider network of community care, our foundational project is officially ready to roll.<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thanks to the incredible generosity of our very first donors, we haven&#8217;t just been planning &#8211; we\u2019ve been ordering!  Our very first boxes of inventory and supplies have officially arrived.<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"593\" src=\"https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/26.08.15-Blog.1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1013\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/26.08.15-Blog.1.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/26.08.15-Blog.1-300x222.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/26.08.15-Blog.1-768x569.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\"><br>As a 100% volunteer-run grassroots nonprofit where every single one of us takes zero personal income, every resource goes straight into our mission. These boxes mean we are actively prepping and getting ready to build our very first Welcome Home Apartment Kits to hand off to youth very soon. <br><em>(If you\u2019re ever curious about what these boxes are filled with, you can check out our full, transparent itemized price list <a href=\"https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/transparency-impact\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"516\">here<\/a>!)<\/em><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><br>Thank You For Your Patience<br> The Best Is Yet to Come<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br>We\u2019re building things carefully and steadily, but our doors and hearts are wide open.&nbsp; Thank you so much to everyone who hung in there with us during our two-month administrative pause.<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We are active, we are official, and we are ready to bring some light to our community&#8217;s most vulnerable youth. &nbsp;Stay tuned &#8211; our very first kit builds are happening soon!<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\"><br>With gratitude,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The Dancing with Fireflies Team<\/strong><br><br><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"86\" class=\"wp-image-546\" style=\"width: 600px;\" src=\"https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/DwF-Separation-Straight-Line-1k.png\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/DwF-Separation-Straight-Line-1k.png 1000w, https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/DwF-Separation-Straight-Line-1k-300x43.png 300w, https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/DwF-Separation-Straight-Line-1k-768x110.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">2026-06-17<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-x-large-font-size\">From the Ground Up: <br>Moving Our Roots to California<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you saw our recent social media announcement, you know that the Dancing with Fireflies Foundation is officially on the move!  We are packing up our operations in Tennessee and transplanting our roots directly into our own backyard here in California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When you look at a nonprofit from the outside, you usually see the big, beautiful final results&#8230;the children helped and the goals met.  But running a true, legitimate, legal nonprofit is not a hobby project.  It is an immense amount of work, and so much of it goes completely unnoticed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We want to pull back the curtain and share the real story of our journey so far, because <strong>true radical transparency<\/strong> is one of our core values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><br>Pivot, Rebuild, and Protect the Trust<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It took months of intense, dedicated work to build our initial infrastructure from the ground up.  Our founder and president, Jennifer Heitz, single-handedly managed the heavy lifting&#8230;navigating the complex legal paperwork, opening accounts, conducting exhaustive research, setting up our digital presence, and building out our fundraising plans.  She even secured a pro bono partnership with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.AshlarNexus.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ashlar Nexus<\/a>, who generously donated their tech services to build and secure our website completely free of charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our original blueprint was intentionally built around a regional team to anchor our physical operations in Tennessee.  However, as we moved past the administrative setup and prepared to launch active field operations to serve the Tennessee foster youth, our out-of-state team members chose to step down from their roles rather than transition into daily operational execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This brought us to a critical realization: you simply cannot run an impactful grassroots nonprofit without boots on the ground.  Because the remaining leadership team all reside right here in California, the most responsible, logical choice to protect the foundation&#8217;s mission was to pivot and transplant our roots here.  This is our home, it is where our network is, and this is the community we are positioned to serve with maximum accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We officially set this structural transition in motion at our May 31st board meeting, where the resignations of the Tennessee team were accepted and finalized, the vote to relocate the foundation to California was passed, and our new local leadership board was established. Following that momentum, our board met again on June 15th to formally cast the votes approving our new California structural frameworks and legal transition plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These are massive milestones for us, but a geographical overhaul of this scale is still an unexpected, tedious, and costly undertaking that we did not initially plan for.  Navigating these compliance costs requires shifting resources that were originally earmarked directly for our launch.  However, it has allowed us to align our operations directly with the leadership that has championed this foundation from day one &#8211; and it ensures that every dollar eventually donated is backed by a bulletproof organizational structure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><br>Why the Paperwork Matters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We wanted to share a quick peek at what our &#8220;office space&#8221; looks like this week:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"707\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dwf-blog-20260614-b.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-961\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dwf-blog-20260614-b.jpg 707w, https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dwf-blog-20260614-b-265x300.jpg 265w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 707px) 100vw, 707px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\">This is our current master plan! It might look like just a notebook, some colored pens, and a screen full of legal text, but to us, this is the blueprint for our future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\">Right now, we are pouring our hearts into building and filing state documents, IRS forms, and structural frameworks. We are doing this because a 501(c)(3) is a <strong>&#8220;public trust.&#8221;<\/strong>  We are incredibly strict about following every single rule and regulation required of us.  We are putting in the heavy miles behind the scenes right now to ensure that our foundation is bulletproof, legally sound, and built to last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><br>Moving Forward with Absolute Intent<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a grassroots organization, everything we do is 100% volunteer-run.  We are pouring our own time, energy, and hearts into this because we want to do real, tangible good for foster youth by providing them with apartment kits and comfort care bags.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because we are volunteers navigating a massive legal relocation unexpectedly, we are asking our community for just a little bit of patience.  Taking the time to do this right means we can hit the ground running with absolute confidence the moment our doors officially open in California.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While our social media pages will be a little quiet while we clear these final legal hurdles, this blog is going to be our official <strong>&#8220;captain&#8217;s log.&#8221;<\/strong>  We will be posting updates here as we check off each step on our notebook roadmap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br>Thank you all for holding on tight, understanding the realities of this journey, and standing by us as we build this next chapter.  The best is truly yet to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><br>With gratitude,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The Dancing with Fireflies Team<\/strong><br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0009407c wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-contrast-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color has-medium-font-size has-custom-font-size wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/\" style=\"background-color:#fcf141\">Home Page<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;height:0px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer wp-container-content-9d1f8957\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2026-08-15 Lighting the Path at Home: Officially in California, Deeply Rooted in Community, and Ready to Build If our pages have felt a little quiet over the last two months, it\u2019s because we were hard at work behind the scenes. While we&#8217;re still wrapping up our final paperwork to dissolve in Tennessee, we are so [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-957","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=957"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/957\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1028,"href":"https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/957\/revisions\/1028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dancingwithfireflies.org\/dwf\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}