We do sometimes get a bit of a puzzled look when we first explain our Family Friendly Workplaces (FFW) Conduit and how it works.

• It's one of those things where it makes sense once you've had it explained.

The Mechanics

Certified employers agree to make an annual donation to a family-supporting nonprofit of their choice every year they participate in the program. This donation is routed through the FFW Conduit.

• The employer cuts a check to us, and we turn around and cut a check for the same amount to the nonprofit the certified employer directed us to -- we don't skim anything off the top; 100% of your donation goes to the nonprofit.

Then how do you support yourselves?

It's true, we do not run off pixy dust.

Our funding comes from a variety of sources, including private donors, corporate sponsors, and grant dollars.

• You can think of these people as our investors, and, as with any investor, they want to know what they get for their investment. In this case, what kind of impact does our programing have on children, families, and the workforce.

That's where conduit funding comes in.

We keep a close tally of our annual conduit funding, and are then able to share that information with our "investors", demonstrating our impact. This number also combines with the qualitative impact of our programing and other data to show the impact of our work.

The bottom line: by running a conduit, we are able to have a positive impact on nonprofits working to support families right now, while also over the long term leveraging those donations to ensure we are able to continue operating.

• The alternative would be to charge employers some kind of fee to participate that we keep, but we think you'll agree this Conduit approach provides for more social impact, and good, than any fee ever could.