Business Profit 101 -- Uncle Sam gets his third up front.

Business Profit 102 -- When a company is growing as quickly as DD is, most of the profit has to be plowed back into business operations to sustain growth.

Still there’s some fun to be had along the way, and we thought you might like to know where your money goes after we pay for salaries and materials.

First, we take at least a tenth of pre-tax operational profit and redistribute it to the whole team (not including owners) as profit sharing.

Then we take another tenth and have great fun investing it in a number of mostly local non-profits that serve our community. Here are a few of our favorite current investments.

Southern Colorado Repertory Theatre – We founded DD to bring jobs to our community. Today, our unemployment level is below the national average. The new front line is quality of life. A small town needs a draw for tourists and new residents. We believe that the SCRT holds the potential to transform the history of our community, so we’ve invested heavily in this exciting adventure.

The Refuge – A gorgeous adobe individual retreat center tucked away in the hills outside Trinidad, the Refuge offers a quiet place for the beleaguered to renew, refocus, rejuvenate. The stories that emerge attest to the centrality of quiet as a vital foundation for a healthy life. Leaders so renewed are changing their world.

charity: water – A cause too cool for capital letters, this group is raising funds and awareness to drill wells around the world. 2 billion people have no access to clean water. 1 billion walk over 3 hours daily to get water. 25,000 people will die today from disease related to impure water. $3000 can dig a well that will supply water to 1000 people for 15 years. charity wants to make a difference. We want to help.

Christ in the Canyons Fellowship – It’s our local church. Not a sexy cause. Just a gaggle of salt of the earth folks receiving and extending grace. Failing and getting up again. Not much to look at. But still the greatest hope for the transformation of individuals and entire cultures the world has ever seen.

Other local non-profits – A handful of local organizations providing critical services to “the least of these”, including a pantry for the homeless, a shelter for battered women, a ministry to prisoners, a crisis pregnancy center and others.

Africa – Slightly less local than the above, this is a new front of interest for us. Some will remember that Mark’s brother, who helped launch DD, moved to South Africa in 2002 to explore ways that entrepreneurship could help address some of the problems that plague the continent. We look forward to partnering with Aaron and others who are exploring sustainable models that deal with Africa’s very in-your-face challenges.