Marc Sparks Charities

Marc is very active economically, physically and emotionally, in several charities:

The Samaritan Inn (www.thesamaritaninn.org) is a non-profit organization, which is the only homeless shelter in Collin County, Texas. Established in 1984, The Samaritan Inn has provided millions of meals and has helped thousands of homeless people regain their independence with comprehensive programs and the help of caring individuals and corporations. Sparks sits on the Finance Advisory Board and has been integral in bolstering both financial aid and long-term volunteers for The Inn, allowing the facility to assist an even larger demographic of homeless in North Texas. Sparks believes that most people are only two paychecks away from poverty and that everyone needs help at some point in their lives. “The need for The Samaritan Inn is intense, failure of this homeless shelter simply is not an option. We have now built a thrift store, Friends of the Inn, in hopes and prayer, that it will provide an income to support expenses of the Inn” Sparks states.

America Can! Academy (www.americacan.net) is a Magnet High School program providing education to 8,000 “at-risk” students each year. Sparks is a financial supporter and Academy Development Council member, having become involved in the organization through his foundation, Sparky’s Kids, which donates hundreds of new computers to multiple Texans Can! Academies across the state.

Sparky’s Kids (www.sparkyskids.com) is a non-profit foundation established by Sparks which provides free brand-new Dell computers to less fortunate but well deserving kids. Sparky’s Kids has given hundreds of computers away to date to kids involved in organizations such as Boys and Girls Club of Greater Dallas, Metro Ministries, the Samaritan Inn and Texans Can! Academy. Sparky’s Kids gave away approximately 500 new computers in 2005 and Sparks anticipates exceeding that number in 2006. “These computers are essential for education today… without them, these kids will end up in our prisons!”

C.A.R.E. (www.bigcatcare.org) The Center for Animal Research & Education was founded to provide for the rescue, rehabilitation and holistic nurturing of sick, injured or abused Big Cats thus ensuring a vital habitat and permanent safe haven for them to live in comfort and with dignity. Further, with public education and research, to ultimately ensure the future of the species.

Highland Park United Methodist Church (www.hpumc.org) HPUMC has close to a 100 year history of worship and outreach. The story of Highland Park United Methodist Church began in the fall of 1915 when students from Southern Methodist University attended the first worship services held in Dallas Hall. The University Church was founded in 1916 and by the end of the year with 225 charter members, the church changed its name to Highland Park Methodist Episcopal Church South. SMU deeded the land for the church and worshippers began meeting in a temporary structure known as the “Little Brown Church.” The current sanctuary was built in 1927, and an activities building along with Cox Chapel were added in the early 1950’s. December 2002 marked the completion of the 122,000 square foot Wallace educational building and the remodeling of the existing educational building while HPUMC’s pristine sanctuary and chapel remained untouched. HPUMC’s sanctuary was recognized as a “Recorded Texas Historic Landmark” in 1995.

Carpenters for Christ (www.hpumc-cfc.org) Carpenters for Christ’s goal is to do all that they can humanly do to see that poor housing is eradicated in Dallas and those persons’ lives are improved for generations to come.

Friends of the Inn Thrift Store (www.thesamaritaninn.org) The Friends of the Inn Thrift Store is a non-profit, five thousand square foot, sun filled retail space filled with gently used designer clothing, household goods and furniture.

All proceeds from the store are used to support The Samaritan Inn. Our residents work in the store each day to gain valuable job skills and to make their own contribution to our program,. Graduating residents are given vouchers so that they are able to get the things they need to set up their own households at absolutely no cost.

Our goal is to fund a great portion of the Samaritan Inn’s operating budget from income of the, “Friends of the Inn” Thrift Center.

Habitat for Humanity (www.habitat.org) Habitat for Humanity International is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry. HFHI seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world, and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action.

The North Texas Gateway Apartments 1.3 acres of land has been purchased directly across the street from the Samaritan Inn where construction of a twenty unit apartment complex will soon begin. The apartments will be donated to the Samaritan Inn upon completion and will provide transitional housing for people at a third of normal rental rates so that they can get further education or training or save money so they are able to manage market value rents.

In Collin County the average cost of a one bedroom apartment is $650 per month, plus a security deposit, utility deposits and an application fee are regularly required, this makes housing out of reach for most people who earn minimum wage. We see this problem often at the Samaritan Inn – whereby people have completed our program, they have secured employment and are ready to move out, but there is simply no affordable place to go.

The complex has been christened “Gateway” as it will be the final ‘gateway’ to independence for the people who have worked so diligently to get there.

Sourced from:

http://directory.leadmaverick.com/Marc-A-Sparks/DallasFort-WorthArlington/TX/10/5635/index.aspx

Marc Sparks History – Chapter 4

Marc Sparks latest endeavor of Splash Media, LP is the culmination of a five-year friendship and business relationship between Sparks and Chris Kraft. While Splash Media is a full-fledged video and film production company with three state-of-the-art “Live” studios in Addison, TX, Sparks’ entrepreneurial vision and Kraft’s technology expertise have led to Splash focusing on a B-to-B-to-C concept – providing video content, focused on consumer product training. Sparks and Kraft have launched TSTN (The Success Training Network) distributed via traditional television and Splash’s proprietary streaming platform, SplashStream.

Sparks’ business passion is clearly to build companies – often from ideas that others think are unreasonable or impossible. Taking that initial idea, he proceeds to establish not only the business model but the company culture and to develop both the short-term goals and the long-range growth plans. Sparks manages by example, setting the patterns for his entire staff to follow. He hires the best staff he can find and mentors them diligently in order to eventually take over when its time again for him to go and build the next venture.

Sparks says, “I’m a builder… I love to build a business from scratch – no office, no employees at first… many times, no capital… just an idea. I love to build the products, the sales teams, the customer service teams, the marketing plans, the culture, the collateral materials… all of it from scratch. It’s the most thrilling thing to me to see employees and customers who admire working in your office and buying your products… it’s a HIGH you can hardly explain. My biggest challenge is managing after “it’s built.” My weakness is also realizing when it’s time to let go so that the business can grow to the next level.”

Sparks is often asked two questions: 1) Aren’t you afraid of losing? and 2) How do you do it?

To sum up fear for an entrepreneur, Sparks says that he has no fear of losing at all. “It sounds a little weird; however, as long as I can pay my bills, I’ve always been happy. I have never said, I want to be rich or I wish I had a million dollars. Being rich to me is having great health, a healthy family, good friends, building a successful business from scratch and having hundreds of happy employees and thousands of successful customers… that’s a great day. I believe that God gave me a special ‘shut off valve’ that somehow eliminates the fear factor. I have so little fear, that I sometimes wonder if there’s something wrong with me.”

When Sparks moved to Dallas he had $120 in his pocket. “Over the last 30 years, many times I wished I had that $120 back so I could do it again.” The way Sparks sees it, “We all had nothing when we started and we will all have nothing when we leave, so as long as you have your health, faith, family and friends… what’s to fear? I truly love the journey of life.”

To sum up “how” he does it… Sparks says, “being an entrepreneur for 30 years has taught me that in order to be successful you MUST have:”

1. Faith

2. Passion

3. Tenacity

4. Focus

5. Monetization savvy, and

6. An Outrageous Sense of Urgency!

“You will rely on all of these qualities often as an entrepreneur. Without these qualities, you will fail in your entrepreneurial ventures… period. However, if you mix these few qualities with treating people the way you want to be treated… fairly, with respect and honesty… you will succeed.”

Surely, every entrepreneur requires an exceptional support system. Sparks has a steadfast relationship with his wife, who unconditionally supports her husband. While the hours he works are often very long, she understands her husband’s drive, tenacity and spirit. She also maintains a strong belief in Christian ethics, family priorities, and shares her husband’s passion of giving back to humanity. His wife has rigorously volunteered with the Meals on Wheels organization in Dallas since 1993. The Sparks family is actively involved with Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas. Sparks’ daughter volunteers at the church on a regular basis and attends Southern Methodist University where she will also receive her MBA. (No pressure from her dad, of course.)

To counter the stress, Sparks is a health enthusiast and outdoors man. He enjoys working out at least five times a week (reading email and his beloved business publications while on a treadmill), golf, fly fishing, traveling, and good movies. Sparks thrives on competition – in sports and in business.

Sourced from:

http://directory.leadmaverick.com/Marc-A-Sparks/DallasFort-WorthArlington/TX/10/5434/index.aspx

Marc Sparks History – Chapter 3

In 2000, Marc Sparks ran a tombstone ad in the Dallas Morning News, looking for a business model that “needed” an entrepreneur with his talent, experience, vision and tenacity. Out of the hundreds of opportunities that flooded his office, God shone the light for Marc on one in particular – a unique software start-up operation. While Sparks didn’t know how to even turn a computer on, much less know about software code, he forged ahead anyway as he clearly saw a perfect match.

Previously, Sparks was forced to leave a company he had devoted nearly 100% of his time to – and while his former ‘advisors’ and colleagues pointed fingers at him and the SEC investigated, he courageously sat front and center in a large first-floor office window, daring to start over. Daring to prove himself… once again.

Sparks took on a brash, young partner who had developed a remarkable software program but had no idea how to get it out of his garage, much less get it packaged, to market, manage customer service and technical support, and ultimately expand it into six additional software programs with substantial recurring revenue. In just four and a half short years, Marc A Sparks took GlobalTec Solutions from a small start up to a an extremely successful software company. As of June 15th, 2004, GlobalTec had a staff of just over 130 people. And it had become a leader in the “Business to Consumer” financial software marketplace.

An enormous focus of GlobalTec Solutions’ staff, and in-grained in its company culture, is to provide exceptional, focused customer service. Under Sparks’ leadership, GlobalTec initiated an annual convention for its software users. Attendance tripled since the inaugural “WizeFEST” in 2002 and now accommodates 3,000 GlobalTec customers at each annual convention. To attend a WizeFEST convention is akin to attending a Republican or Democratic Party convention. The frenzy and excitement is clearly generated by Sparks’ marketing fire, and his contagious enthusiasm.

While Sparks could write a book on what to do and – equally as important – what NOT to do, at times he says he wouldn’t wish his life on the Devil himself. Yet, at other times, he says he’s had a remarkable life and wouldn’t trade his experiences for the entire universe. “There is no other way to learn the remarkable lessons I’ve learned without being in the game.”

Throughout his career, Sparks has been in the wholesale furniture business, retail furniture business, commercial mortgage banking, restaurant, manufacturing, real estate, surety bonding, property and casualty insurance, software, and his latest business passion… LIVE, business television and now streaming of video and data.

Stay tuned for the next chapter in the Marc Sparks’ history where the next venture of Splash Media will pioneer a path for IPTV and ‘video based e-learning’ into the corporate world of global communication and training.

Marc A Sparks is a leading Dallas Texas start up entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Submit an application for seed funding to Marc A Sparks – the Dallas entrepreneur only at whoismarcsparks.com.

Sourced from:

http://directory.leadmaverick.com/Marc-A-Sparks/DallasFort-WorthArlington/TX/10/4820/index.aspx

Marc Sparks – Dallas Philanthropist

As a successful entrepreneur, Marc Sparks has gone by many titles and been called many names. The most important and proudest name is that of philanthropist. Among his many entrepreneurial endeavors, Sparks is also very actively involved in several charitable non-profit organizations. However, the one nearest and dearest to his heart for almost 20 years is the Samaritan Inn of McKinney.

The Samaritan Inn is a non-profit organization, which is the only homeless shelter in Collin County, Texas. Established in 1984, The Samaritan Inn has provided millions of meals and has helped thousands of homeless people regain their independence with comprehensive programs and the help of caring individuals and corporations. Sparks sits on the Finance Advisory Board and has been integral in bolstering both financial aid and long-term volunteers for The Inn, allowing the facility to assist an even larger demographic of homeless in North Texas. Sparks believes that most people are only two paychecks away from poverty, and that everyone needs help at some point in their lives.

“The need for The Samaritan Inn is intense, failure of this homeless shelter simply is not an option. We have now built a thrift store, Friends of the Inn, in hopes and prayers, that it will provide an income for the Inn” Sparks states.
“From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.” -Luke 12:48

Marc Sparks is a leading Dallas Texas start up entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Submit an application for seed funding to Marc Sparks – the Dallas entrepreneur only at www.whoismarcsparks.com.

sourced from:

http://directory.leadmaverick.com/Marc-A-Sparks/DallasFort-WorthArlington/TX/10/4672/index.aspx

Marc Sparks – Dallas Entrepreneur

Born June 8th, 1957 in Rockwall, Texas, Marc Sparks was the youngest of five children. After spending much of his youth growing up in Austin, Texas, Marc graduated from Westlake High School and immediately moved back to the Dallas area to begin his career in the wholesale furniture business with his father.

Being the youngest with four other siblings, college was never an option for Marc Sparks. In fact, from his earliest memories, it was always understood that Marc would follow in the footsteps of his father. Right out of high school Sparks immersed himself in the business and began learning every detail and angle of the wholesale furniture business from the ground up. He started by sweeping floors and driving a delivery truck for Freed Furniture Company and went on to work for several other retail furniture stores in the Dallas area. Throughout his experience in the furniture industry, Sparks always had a pressing desire and passion to learn more, to expand his horizons. Early on, his goal was to own his own furniture store. It didn’t take long for Sparks’ father to realize he could no longer hold back his son’s entrepreneurial passion. Therefore, it was amicably agreed between father and son to “set Marc free” to pursue his own entrepreneurial dreams and ambitions.

In the following years Sparks would launch several moderately successful business endeavors, and would soon begin the foundation of what would become a philanthropic legacy. However, like most passionate entrepreneurs, Marc Sparks would soon taste great success, as well as experience terrible failure, and begin to learn some of life’s most important lessons about perseverance, survival, and the challenges of being a true entrepreneur.

About Marc Sparks

Marc A Sparks is a leading Dallas Texas start up entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Submit an application for seed funding to Marc Sparks – the Dallas entrepreneur only at www.whoismarcsparks.com.

sourced from: http://directory.leadmaverick.com/Marc-A-Sparks/DallasFort-WorthArlington/TX/10/4656/index.aspx

Marc Sparks History

Marc Sparks has dedicated his life to this passage from the Bible.

Luke 12:48 From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.

Sparks truly realizes and understands that there is great responsibility that comes with success, A responsibility which requires unflinching focus and remaining always humble to that greater power that has helped guide him to his success.

Over the next several weeks we will define the many entrepreneurial and philanthropic endeavors that mark the cornerstones of the history and growing legacy of Marc Sparks.

For more information visit:

www.whoismarcsparks.com

www.TimberCreekCapital.com

sourced from: http://directory.leadmaverick.com/Marc-A-Sparks/DallasFort-WorthArlington/TX/10/4290/index.aspx

Dallas Venture Capitalist

Dallas venture capitalist, Marc Sparks is, “clearly the entrepreneur’s entrepreneur” (Marc A. Sparks). Because he is an expert Dallas, Texas venture capitalist, he has provided a very detailed question and answer guide from the areas of starting a business to staying motivated in your business.Since 1978, he has been the principal in many start-ups… some extremely successful, and some not so successful; however, Marc Sparks states that “the not so successful ventures are like taking a course at the World University for Entrepreneurs” and further states that “without experiencing the not so successful ventures, you wouldn’t gain the knowledge to succeed, know what to do with success or be able to fully appreciate success. God gives us challenges and even devastating circumstances in order for us to understand the responsibility that comes with success and to keep us humble. One never forgets when and where they get their scars in life.”

Marc is currently accepting applications, on his website Who Is Marc Sparks?, for companies seeking seed funding and other venture capital.

Marc Sparks has provided a significant amount of venture capital for Dallas based Splash Media. As one of the top Dallas venture capitalists, Marc Sparks has provided numerous opportunities to growing companies like Splash Media.

“Venture capital is a type of private equity capital typically provided by professional, outside investors to new, high-potential-growth companies in the interest of taking the company to an IPO” Venture Capital.

Dallas is the third-largest city in the state of Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The city is the main economic center of the 12-county Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area — at over 6.1 million people, it is the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States.

For More Information About Marc A. Sparks visit www.whoismarcsparks.com

For Information on Marc’s charities visit thesamaritaninn.org