This blog post is a call to action. A request for volunteers. 921 to be exact. If you live in or near Denver I would be very grateful if you joined us, and if you don't live here if you'd pass this along to friends who might.
As you may know, I work for an organization called Urban Peak. We serve youth experiencing homelessness and youth on the verge of becoming homeless from food, to emergency shelter, to GED training, transitional housing, job training and so much more.
We serve approximately 2600 youth every year.
In January, after the Point in Time count for of homeless people had been done, we received the information that this year's count increased: from 777 in 2012 to now 921 in 2013. This means that on any given day there are 921 youth calling the streets of Denver home. This is a huge increase.
To show our community and our supporters what this actually looks like, we are asking 921 volunteers to join us at our offices in downtown Denver on Tuesday, December 10th at 8:00am for a photo shoot. This photo shoot will coincide with Colorado Gives Day, a statewide day of giving to non-profits online.
I am ecstatic about this event and know that it won't be easy getting 921 people to join us.
Will you help? Will you spread the word?
Urban Peak's 921 photo shoot
Tuesday, December 10th
730 21st Street, Denver
8:00am
For mroe information please call me at 303.974.2949
Thank you for reading!
Homeless youth
People we don't see.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Monday, August 12, 2013
Having a Community Breakfast
After a few months of planning, our annual Community Breakfast is only a few weeks away. The excitement is building, especially because this will be my first one with my new organization.
I'm sure you've been to a breakfast like this. It's a wonderful way for a non-profit to take just an hour of someones time and give the the basic 101 on your organization, your mission and your successes. Ours is a fundraiser, and it's one of those where we offer a free breakfast and then ask for a meaningful gift at some point during the breakfast.
Some of you might be thinking, "oh, another event" and not in a good way. I guarantee you that a community breakfast can be fun in many ways and is a wonderful way to re-engage donors, introduce your mission to new potential donors and raise money all at the same time.
When we decided the general time of the year that we wanted to have the breakfast, we went to hotels and asked for space and a plated breakfast price. I have found that when you give the hotel the the opportunity to pick a date that works best for them, then that can relate to a less expensive breakfast.
Once the date and location were settled, I took this information to a board meeting. I told them that this is a huge opportunity for us to show what we do to potential new supporters and to raise money. I also told them how many table we wanted committed and by when we wanted them committed. Then I asked each board member to commit to hosting a table, which meant they would be in charge of filling one table at breakfast.
Because of that presentation and then a week filled with calls to known supporters, we were at 80% of our table goals in two weeks.
It's a free breakfast. Sure there will be an ask, and the ask is for an incredible cause.
We built energy and excitement around the event. We maintained consistent communication with all of the table captains. We began a list of people who wanted to attend so we could plug them into tables of captains who did not have their table filled.
I get even more excited just writing about. A room filled with 450 people, all a mix of levels on how they support us from never having heard about us to having donated and volunteered for years.
Have you had a community breakfast?
Thanks so much for reading!
I'm sure you've been to a breakfast like this. It's a wonderful way for a non-profit to take just an hour of someones time and give the the basic 101 on your organization, your mission and your successes. Ours is a fundraiser, and it's one of those where we offer a free breakfast and then ask for a meaningful gift at some point during the breakfast.
Some of you might be thinking, "oh, another event" and not in a good way. I guarantee you that a community breakfast can be fun in many ways and is a wonderful way to re-engage donors, introduce your mission to new potential donors and raise money all at the same time.
When we decided the general time of the year that we wanted to have the breakfast, we went to hotels and asked for space and a plated breakfast price. I have found that when you give the hotel the the opportunity to pick a date that works best for them, then that can relate to a less expensive breakfast.
Once the date and location were settled, I took this information to a board meeting. I told them that this is a huge opportunity for us to show what we do to potential new supporters and to raise money. I also told them how many table we wanted committed and by when we wanted them committed. Then I asked each board member to commit to hosting a table, which meant they would be in charge of filling one table at breakfast.
Because of that presentation and then a week filled with calls to known supporters, we were at 80% of our table goals in two weeks.
It's a free breakfast. Sure there will be an ask, and the ask is for an incredible cause.
We built energy and excitement around the event. We maintained consistent communication with all of the table captains. We began a list of people who wanted to attend so we could plug them into tables of captains who did not have their table filled.
I get even more excited just writing about. A room filled with 450 people, all a mix of levels on how they support us from never having heard about us to having donated and volunteered for years.
Have you had a community breakfast?
Thanks so much for reading!
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