This is one of those posts that will typically not get a lot of reads.
When I write about topics like poverty, hunger or HIV/AIDS, many tend to
skip the post.
I will keep this post short.
The federal government released poverty numbers this past week.
One in five children in California live in poverty.
One is six children in the US live in poverty.
No matter why you read my blog or why you connect with me personally, I ask you to please consider these numbers.
So much wealth. So much privilege. Yet so many live in poverty.
As fundraisers and people who work with non-profits, we can take action. We can also build bridges with communities whose main mission is not ours, and become
stronger. We can find connections with our work to poverty, to hunger
and to class. In the Los Angeles area, where I live, it is not
difficult to see hard-core class distinction.
If you would like more information on poverty in the US, please click here.
Thank you for reading.
Homeless youth
People we don't see.
Showing posts with label poverty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poverty. Show all posts
Monday, September 21, 2015
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Onto my next big adventure
Although I try to keep this blog all about fundraising, this time I have to add a little bit of personal information.
Me and my family are moving to Los Angeles. This has been a big dream of ours, to be closer to the ocean and the chance to surf and sea kayak a couple of times a month versus once or twice a year. Plus, at 49, I am done with winter.
The big move happens next week, with my last day as Director of Development and Public Affairs at Urban Peak being July 2nd.
I will always feel incredibly humbled and intensely grateful to have had the chance to fundraise for Urban Peak and to support one of the most amazing program staffs I have ever seen. Ever. 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on holidays, in heat, in frigid temperatures, in surroundings that most people would not even want to think about, the program staff at Urban Peak rocks it for youth with nothing, youth experiencing homelessness or on the verge of homelessness. Youth that most people would rather not even think about. Youth that in many cases have had their voices ripped from them.
There folks are my heroes. They are rock stars.
How was I so lucky to have had the opportunity to fundraise so they can do what they excel in? I have no clue. Yet I have been deeply touched. I will never be the same human being I was when I first began working here because of these people.
Youth homelessness is many times overlooked in the overall conversation around homelessness. This is one thing that has become super clear to me while at Urban Peak. The unfortunate reality is that without agencies like Urban Peak, young people who have been totally crapped on by society have very little chance of going beyond poverty, violence and hopelessness to move from a life on the streets to a life where they are housed, safe and living on their own without needing help from anyone. Like I have told many donors, if we can get into relationship with a youth living on the streets, that youth has a very big chance of not holding a sign asking for money when they are my age.
All of the successes with youth at Urban Peak happen because we have an incredibly passionate and compassionate group of people. They don't make a lot of money. They don't get recognized like sports stars. But they are the true agents of making this world a better place not only for the youth served by Urban Peak (2,385 last fiscal year) but for each one of us.
Please support your local agency that serves youth experiencing homelessness. If you are in the position to make a financial contribution to the agency you have just read about, please click year here.
And please stay tuned for the Los Angeles fundraising adventures!
Thank you for reading.
Friday, January 30, 2015
Passion for the mission
I think of this often.
Does a member of your fundraising team need to have a passion for the mission of the non-profit?
I say yes.
I bring it up often when interviewing. I believe hiring the right people for your team is the first key to a successful fundraising team. Or any team for that matter. And I talk a lot about our mission when interviewing.
After all, we serve youth experiencing homelessness, youth who have nothing. We don't do the mission or the youth any justice if we can have folks out there building relationships in the community who don't have a passion for our work.
It's not difficult to figure out in the interview process. As a fundraiser, I want my team to have as many tools as possible to take out and build relationships and partnerships with. Their work will be so much easier if they are passionate for the cause.
Another reason I want members of team to be passionate for the mission is that I will know that coming to work and rocking it will fulfill them personally. Between being personally fulfilled, working with other who are equally passionate for the mission, being empowered and supported on all levels, and working with an elite team of fundraisers they will inevitably love their work!
I would love to hear what other fundraisers think.
Thanks for reading!
Does a member of your fundraising team need to have a passion for the mission of the non-profit?
I say yes.
I bring it up often when interviewing. I believe hiring the right people for your team is the first key to a successful fundraising team. Or any team for that matter. And I talk a lot about our mission when interviewing.
After all, we serve youth experiencing homelessness, youth who have nothing. We don't do the mission or the youth any justice if we can have folks out there building relationships in the community who don't have a passion for our work.
It's not difficult to figure out in the interview process. As a fundraiser, I want my team to have as many tools as possible to take out and build relationships and partnerships with. Their work will be so much easier if they are passionate for the cause.
Another reason I want members of team to be passionate for the mission is that I will know that coming to work and rocking it will fulfill them personally. Between being personally fulfilled, working with other who are equally passionate for the mission, being empowered and supported on all levels, and working with an elite team of fundraisers they will inevitably love their work!
I would love to hear what other fundraisers think.
Thanks for reading!
Thursday, January 9, 2014
An amazing non-profit employee
For those of us who fundraise for a non-profit, working at an agency filled with amazing, committed staff makes our jobs so much easier.
I am one of the luckiest guys in fundraising as I get the opportunity to fundraise for an agency that is filled with employees that bring it every day and are incredibly committed to the cause of serving youth experiencing homelessness. Every day I am blown away by their work and by their effectiveness in changing lives, in supporting youth, and in simply just showing up to serve those who are in need.
One of our employees that consistently rocks it for the youth and for our mission, and one who on a daily basis blows my mind with how incredible he is in supporting the youth we serve, is Clayton.
Clayton works in our Drop-In Center and supervises the staff there. The Drop-In Center is open Monday- Friday and is a place where youth experiencing homelessness can come by for a hot breakfast, to do laundry, take a shower as well as receive any of the dozens of services that our staff is there for to provide them.
I have met amazing youth at the Drop-in Center and spend a lot of time there as it's just across the street from my office. Sitting in the office for even the shortest of times one gets an immediate feel for what the youth we serve go through every day as well as the challenges brought to staff every day.
I have watched Clayton for almost a year and his patience, kindness, directness, empathy and compassion shine through in every interaction he has had with a youth. A youth could be screaming at him and this wonderful man, a veteran of the Iraq war, will simply stand there and listen. And listen. He then calmly will give guidance and support to the youth, and in a very calm and quiet tone take a situation that would freak most of us out and end it with there being some kind of resolution within the youth.
Watching Clayton invigorates me and strengthens me. It makes me want to be a better person. He 100% makes me a stronger fundraiser as after watching him in action I come back to the office and share what I have seen or learned with donors.
Clayton is also a rock star in my eyes because of his team. Our employees who work in the Drop-In Center are rock stars, each as an individual and as a team. Every day they are they for the youth we serve, in so many ways. And every day they greet me with kindness and a smile, the same way they greet the youth.
I'm sure your organization has a Clayton, or several Claytons. Thank them. Let them know they rock. Let them know you as a fundraise are way grateful for all they do. Introduce them to donors. Your entire fundraising world will change for the better.
Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Don't be afraid to share your mission
I have been wanting to write a post about this for some time.
Then this morning I saw an encounter between one of the youth we serve and one of our staff.
We serve youth experiencing homelessness and youth on the verge of becoming homeless. 98% of the youth we serve have experienced some type of trauma. Many of them feel safer on the streets than they did at home.
In my short time here I have met some amazing youth.
And the work our staff does is not always pretty. I hear the "F" word often, and when a traumatized young person is trying to express what they need it does not look like a scene from the "Sound of Music".
Having given hundreds of tours here, I realize that what happens here does not always leave a good taste in someone's mouth. Our work is vital. Our staff change lives every day. I would even say that they save lives every day. They give hope to someone who has none. They give a voice to someone whose voice was stolen from them with brutal violence.
This is the reality of our mission.
And I try to talk about it with donors just as much as possible. I also spend a lot of time bringing donors here to see for themselves the amazing work our staff does.
As fundraisers it's vital that we tell stories. I believe that it is also vital that we tell a variety of stories. Not just the "Sound of Music" stories but the brutal, raw, reality-based stories that are so ingrained to our work.
Homelessness is not pretty. Nor is sexual trafficking, rape, drug abuse, alcoholism, prostitution, physical abuse and many other horrible things that happen to youth you are experiencing homelessness. These are important parts of our stories because they show the "why".
Success comes in many forms. The obvious ones would look like a youth entering our shelter, moving into their first apartment, celebrating a few weeks clean. The not so obvious ones look like a youth walking into our drop-in center for the first time, a youth looking at a staff member directly in the eyes, a youth breaking down.
Don't be afraid to share your mission, to share the stories of what really happens at your non-profit. You might be surprised in the affect it has on those who support you.
Thank you for reading.
Then this morning I saw an encounter between one of the youth we serve and one of our staff.
We serve youth experiencing homelessness and youth on the verge of becoming homeless. 98% of the youth we serve have experienced some type of trauma. Many of them feel safer on the streets than they did at home.
In my short time here I have met some amazing youth.
And the work our staff does is not always pretty. I hear the "F" word often, and when a traumatized young person is trying to express what they need it does not look like a scene from the "Sound of Music".
Having given hundreds of tours here, I realize that what happens here does not always leave a good taste in someone's mouth. Our work is vital. Our staff change lives every day. I would even say that they save lives every day. They give hope to someone who has none. They give a voice to someone whose voice was stolen from them with brutal violence.
This is the reality of our mission.
And I try to talk about it with donors just as much as possible. I also spend a lot of time bringing donors here to see for themselves the amazing work our staff does.
As fundraisers it's vital that we tell stories. I believe that it is also vital that we tell a variety of stories. Not just the "Sound of Music" stories but the brutal, raw, reality-based stories that are so ingrained to our work.
Homelessness is not pretty. Nor is sexual trafficking, rape, drug abuse, alcoholism, prostitution, physical abuse and many other horrible things that happen to youth you are experiencing homelessness. These are important parts of our stories because they show the "why".
Success comes in many forms. The obvious ones would look like a youth entering our shelter, moving into their first apartment, celebrating a few weeks clean. The not so obvious ones look like a youth walking into our drop-in center for the first time, a youth looking at a staff member directly in the eyes, a youth breaking down.
Don't be afraid to share your mission, to share the stories of what really happens at your non-profit. You might be surprised in the affect it has on those who support you.
Thank you for reading.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Rock it in January!
Sometimes I think January can be the new November.
Or whichever the second-biggest fundraising month is for you.
Several years ago I began making a concerted effort to spend the last few days of the year connecting with as many donors from the previous year who had not yet given during the current year.
Of course that type of effort can really happen all year, and in my development office it does. Still there are those who really don't respond until the end of the year.
The first year I did this we reached out to hundreds of donors. Many board members helped with calls and it made for a lot of excitement at the end of the year.
What I learned was not only did we increase giving for the last week of the year, but because of all of the connections and conversations January became our second-biggest fundraising month of the year!
In a fundraising world where everyone is always so "busy", our best successes can come from simply doing what we do best: engage with donors.
This year our team is all set to to completely engage the last two days of the year. We will be full force with lists and email addresses and phone numbers all ready to ensure that every donor has an opportunity to support us before the end of the year.
Between the phone calls, two email blasts and a gorgeous postcard that landed the day after Christmas, my hope is that we are definitely on people's minds as they consider a year end gift.
And it doesn't end at midnight on the 31st. On January 2nd we are right back, engaging, answering questions, thanking, expressing our gratitude. By the first full week in January we have the opportunity to connect with people about our upcoming Gala, our goals for the new year, our excitement of successes in the past month and pretty much anything that will help us engage with our donors.
Happy New Year! My wish is that 2014 is filled with peace, love and more passion for fundraising!
Or whichever the second-biggest fundraising month is for you.
Several years ago I began making a concerted effort to spend the last few days of the year connecting with as many donors from the previous year who had not yet given during the current year.
Of course that type of effort can really happen all year, and in my development office it does. Still there are those who really don't respond until the end of the year.
The first year I did this we reached out to hundreds of donors. Many board members helped with calls and it made for a lot of excitement at the end of the year.
What I learned was not only did we increase giving for the last week of the year, but because of all of the connections and conversations January became our second-biggest fundraising month of the year!
In a fundraising world where everyone is always so "busy", our best successes can come from simply doing what we do best: engage with donors.
This year our team is all set to to completely engage the last two days of the year. We will be full force with lists and email addresses and phone numbers all ready to ensure that every donor has an opportunity to support us before the end of the year.
Between the phone calls, two email blasts and a gorgeous postcard that landed the day after Christmas, my hope is that we are definitely on people's minds as they consider a year end gift.
And it doesn't end at midnight on the 31st. On January 2nd we are right back, engaging, answering questions, thanking, expressing our gratitude. By the first full week in January we have the opportunity to connect with people about our upcoming Gala, our goals for the new year, our excitement of successes in the past month and pretty much anything that will help us engage with our donors.
Happy New Year! My wish is that 2014 is filled with peace, love and more passion for fundraising!
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Would someone please return my phone call?
Getting a message like this is a fundraisers worst nightmare.
Well, one of them. At least to me.
As one who works daily to build strong relationships, when I hear a message like this I cringe. It doesn't say much about the value of a relationship when a donors call or email is not answered quickly.
On my team, our rule is within 24 hours. Return a call or respond to an email within 24 hours. Of course a call that came in at 5pm on Friday means a Monday return. I'm not crazy. I'm simply paying attention to building a lifelong relationship with our donors.
It is critical. It says a lot when you return a call quickly. It says even more when it takes you a couple of days.
I know, you're busy. So is your donor.
Return a call soon. Respond to an email soon. This will change your relationships with donors for the better. They know you're busy so the quick reply means even more.
While I'm on the subject I'll share a few other ways I like to communicate with donors.
Every Monday I change my voice mail. I let folks know which days of that week I am in and which days I'm not in. I would like to get to changing my voice mail every day yet for know the weekly change works.
I use my "out of office" for email not only when I am out for a day or more, but also on days when I know I am going to be slammed.
I also have sued my "out of office" email to support a campaign. For instance, leaving a message that says "I hope you received our Winter Appeal. If you didn't please let me know." can remind a donor to make their donation or entice someone to ask about donating.
A lot rides on our being successful in relationship building. The entire mission of our non-profit depends on our success. The people we serve depends on it.
Thanks for reading!
Dan
dan.hanley@urbanpeak.org
Well, one of them. At least to me.
As one who works daily to build strong relationships, when I hear a message like this I cringe. It doesn't say much about the value of a relationship when a donors call or email is not answered quickly.
On my team, our rule is within 24 hours. Return a call or respond to an email within 24 hours. Of course a call that came in at 5pm on Friday means a Monday return. I'm not crazy. I'm simply paying attention to building a lifelong relationship with our donors.
It is critical. It says a lot when you return a call quickly. It says even more when it takes you a couple of days.
I know, you're busy. So is your donor.
Return a call soon. Respond to an email soon. This will change your relationships with donors for the better. They know you're busy so the quick reply means even more.
While I'm on the subject I'll share a few other ways I like to communicate with donors.
Every Monday I change my voice mail. I let folks know which days of that week I am in and which days I'm not in. I would like to get to changing my voice mail every day yet for know the weekly change works.
I use my "out of office" for email not only when I am out for a day or more, but also on days when I know I am going to be slammed.
I also have sued my "out of office" email to support a campaign. For instance, leaving a message that says "I hope you received our Winter Appeal. If you didn't please let me know." can remind a donor to make their donation or entice someone to ask about donating.
A lot rides on our being successful in relationship building. The entire mission of our non-profit depends on our success. The people we serve depends on it.
Thanks for reading!
Dan
dan.hanley@urbanpeak.org
Monday, August 19, 2013
921 volunteers representing 921 homeless youth
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!
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!
Thursday, April 18, 2013
One night of homelessness
A couple of months ago, shortly after starting my new job at Urban Peak, I decided that I needed to spend a night out on the streets. At Urban Peak we serve youth experiencing homelessness, over 2500 a year. On any given night, there are 700+ youth calling the streets home in Denver.
It is 27 degrees as I write this and tonight it will be in the low teens.
I have never been homeless and wanted to get a very small glimpse into what our youth deal with every day.
I asked a co-worker of mine to join me. He works with out Education and Employment and also our street outreach. He said yes.
I didn't want to do it by myself.
We will start at 5pm and stay out until 8am. We will walk around the city, find something to eat, try to sleep, try to stay warm. Because Denver has a campaing ban we cannot openly sleep anywhere so will have to be creative around that.
Wherever you live, there are youth experiencing homelessness. It's a shame. And the folks who work at Urban Peak deal with the reality and brutality of homelessness every day.
I love that at Urban Peak we don't ask what's wrong with you. We ask what happened to you.
Drug abuse, sexual abuse, sex trafficking, alcoholism, extreme poverty, physical abuse, parent in jail, getting kicked out because of one's sexual orientation, and the list goes on and on.
The streets become a safer place for them.
Urban Peak is usually a youth's last resort. The last thing they want to do is trust another adult.
Yet they come in. They grab breakfast at our drop in center. They may confide in one of our employees. They can do laundry and take a shower. They can seek overnight safety in our shelter.
And that is just the start of what we provide. And we have been doing this for 25 years.
I wanted to let all of my friends and fundraising peers know what I am doing tonight. I would love it if you shared this so we can get more and more people thinking about youth who experience homelessness. A national number around this is 1 million every year. Can you imagine?
I will write about my experiences. Meanwhile, please think about youth experiencing homelessness. If you are in a position to donate, a small donation goes a long way at any agency that serves youth experiencing homelessness.
Thank you for reading!
It is 27 degrees as I write this and tonight it will be in the low teens.
I have never been homeless and wanted to get a very small glimpse into what our youth deal with every day.
I asked a co-worker of mine to join me. He works with out Education and Employment and also our street outreach. He said yes.
I didn't want to do it by myself.
We will start at 5pm and stay out until 8am. We will walk around the city, find something to eat, try to sleep, try to stay warm. Because Denver has a campaing ban we cannot openly sleep anywhere so will have to be creative around that.
Wherever you live, there are youth experiencing homelessness. It's a shame. And the folks who work at Urban Peak deal with the reality and brutality of homelessness every day.
I love that at Urban Peak we don't ask what's wrong with you. We ask what happened to you.
Drug abuse, sexual abuse, sex trafficking, alcoholism, extreme poverty, physical abuse, parent in jail, getting kicked out because of one's sexual orientation, and the list goes on and on.
The streets become a safer place for them.
Urban Peak is usually a youth's last resort. The last thing they want to do is trust another adult.
Yet they come in. They grab breakfast at our drop in center. They may confide in one of our employees. They can do laundry and take a shower. They can seek overnight safety in our shelter.
And that is just the start of what we provide. And we have been doing this for 25 years.
I wanted to let all of my friends and fundraising peers know what I am doing tonight. I would love it if you shared this so we can get more and more people thinking about youth who experience homelessness. A national number around this is 1 million every year. Can you imagine?
I will write about my experiences. Meanwhile, please think about youth experiencing homelessness. If you are in a position to donate, a small donation goes a long way at any agency that serves youth experiencing homelessness.
Thank you for reading!
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