Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Wednesday Happenings

Today was a little bit of everything- I worked on a grant (I'm about halfway done), reached out to calendar participants, followed up with potential event sponsors and worked on auction items. I also sorted my desk- somewhat. There is still a lot more to do. In good news- there was a guy who was the winning bidder on a autographed sports picture at the Wine Fest silent auction last month. I had left him two messages but never heard back. The paperwork was still on my desk so I decided to give it one last shot. He answered the phone, was very happy to hear from me, (he said he didn't get the messages), gave me his credit card info over the phone and is going to pick up the picture next Tuesday. I was so happy that I followed up with him again. It inspired me to follow up with other potential date auction sponsors. You never know when that last phone call or email can be the one that gets through to the person and gets a good result. I didn't get through to any sponsors, but I'm glad that I reached out to people.

There is so much work that needs to get done- I know I go through this every year, but it doesn't make it feel any better. I have another meeting next week with the event planning company about the large fundraiser that I want to do next year in Boston. They submitted their proposal, but there are significant changes that need to be made. Hopefully, we can work it all out- it all will come down to making the numbers work. I am excited for the event- it will be fabulous!

I was going to go back to work, particularly on emails that need to be sent, but I'm getting tired. I'm going to have some crackers/cheese and then head to bed. I already had my watermelon and blueberries tonight. I love good food! I also want to read, but my eyes are hurting, so that probably won't be happening. Until tomorrow friends...

Monday, June 27, 2011

Mixed Day

Well, today was a mixed day. We received a $500 grant from a local Foundation- we had applied for a $3,000 grant. I don't mean to sound ungrateful because I appreciate every donation that we receive. It's just that it is disappointing that they were only able to fund 20% of what we need. They did say that we could apply again at holiday time for a specific program which I will definitely do. I was really hoping that they would fund the entire grant. I definitely wasn't taking it for granted, but I was optimistic. The support our calendar every year and they awarded us grants before and it had been 3 years since we had last applied for a grant. Anyways, the good news is that they did make a donation, I can apply again at the end of the year and we have other grants that we're waiting on. I have another grant that I need to work on this week. On Friday, I mailed the other grant that I was working on.

So what else happened? Well, I did photos with babies from a moms group in the Attleboro area. They were such cute little kids- 5 little ones all under ten months old! The photos came out very cute. It was challenging to get them to look at the camera- babies don't exactly take direction!

In other news- we have a few more people signed up for the date auction. One girl who had been recommended to me decided that she didn't want to participate, but then another girl who had actually been auctioned off a couple of years ago asked to participate, so that worked out well. Things are moving along well with that. Tomorrow, I need to follow up with more date auction sponsors. I can't believe we are already 2 1/2 months until the event!

Well friends, that's it for tonight. I'm going to read for a bit. I started A Thousand Splendid Suns last night- very good so far, quite sad though. I already had a slice of lemon meringue pie- I'm holding off the urge to have some watermelon now- it is so delicious! Until tomorrow friends...

Friday, June 24, 2011

Productivity

Well, things were moving along today. Remember last night I was writing about the good idea that I had for a potential calendar sponsor? I'm happy to announce that I spoke with the company today and they thought it was a good idea too! They committed to sponsoring a month in the calendar- they are a Cambridge ambulance company. We are going to do photos with some of their paramedics with their children for the calendar too. I'm glad that they are involved and we are one step closer to getting all our ads sold!

In other fabulous news- we got our first firefighters signed up for the date auction! I am so happy about that. I reached out to a fire fighter who had participated in a recent charity date auction and he agreed to do participate in ours and he recruited 3 other fire fighters to participate too! The fire fighters are a huge part of our event so it is great to get some commitments now. We signed up another girl today too. Things are moving along well. No more news about date auction sponsors, but I'm still working on it.

Both of my calendar photo shoots were rescheduled today because of rain- that was a little frustrating, but there is nothing we can do about it. One was moved to next Thursday and the other will be in July.

Well, those were the two big highlights for today that I wanted to share. I can't remember what else happened today- I'm getting tired. I want to be super productive tomorrow, so I'm going to bed early- well, it's already 12:25, if I can get to bed by 12:45 that will be an early night for me. I'm also trying to load photos onto FB from our Smiling Stiletto Shoe Club party tonight, but FB is loading pictures super slowly, so I might have to give up on that until tomorrow. Until next time friends...

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Updates

So what's new? Well, one grant was mailed today. I finally stopped checking it. I'm almost done with the next one. It is a fairly simple grant. We haven't applied for support yet from this business. I'm a little stuck with one of the answers- it isn't even a complicated question, but I need to get the wording right. I think we fit in perfectly with their funding. The goal is to get the grant ready to be mailed tomorrow. There is another grant that I need to start working on immediately after that.

We got another sponsor back on board for our Anniversary sponsorship. We are doing pretty well with sponsorship for that. I wish things were moving at the same pace for the date auction. We got more commitments for gift certificates for the couples to use today. Tomorrow, I need to follow up with people who signed up for the date auction, but haven't submitted their info yet. I reached out to a potential sponsor again today. I had contacted them last month and was told to send the info to a person. I emailed her, but never heard back. I called today and was told to speak to someone else. I emailed her and left a message. Our event would be a perfect marketing opportunity for them. I will follow up with her next week if I don't hear back.

Tomorrow, I have 2 calendar photo shoots scheduled, both local. Hopefully, it won't rain- this summer has been a little dicey so far with the weather. I also need to work on calendar sponsors- I have some good ideas for people to contact about sponsoring. I hope they think it was a good idea too! I scheduled one more photo shoot today and spoke with another police department to reach out to officers who would like to participate. I have quite a few other departments that I have to follow up with again.

I worked on getting auction items for our Anniversary Celebration last night and today- it felt like it had been a little while since I had been contacting auction donors. It hasn't actually been a while- sometimes, my perception of time is so off. Yesterday, I went looking for an email which I could have sworn was sent to me early last week- it turned out it was sent on Monday! I did get some commitments for items which was good. I picked up a restaurant gift certificate on my way home tonight.

Well friends, there is a lot more to write about, but I am very tired. I went to bed super late again for the last two nights. I don't know why it is such a struggle to go to bed at a decent hour. Last night, I was feeling very motivated and did a good amount of work, but I feel so tired in the morning- it isn't good. It is almost midnight, so I need to stop and get ready for bed. I already had my watermelon, so there will be no more late snacking (and I had cheese and crackers and olives right before that too!). Until tomorrow...


I spent quite a

Monday, June 20, 2011

Monday Marvels

Well, there really wasn't anything to marvel about today, but I liked the title! Today was a pretty good day though. I submitted a Foundation grant- which is always a great feeling of accomplishment. I did my usual sitting and staring at it for an excessive period of time until I finally clicked the submit button. They won't make a decision until September, but that is OK. We received funding from them 4 years ago and we applied for the same program. They ask you to apply for the same program if you already had past funding for it. Our program has expanded greatly since the originally funded it, so hopefully that will help us. Tomorrow, I have two more grants that I want to finish. One is due this week and the other needs to be submitted as soon as possible.

I did another donation of over 250 stuffed animals, books and coloring books/crayons to the Department of Children and Families today for children entering foster care. It is one of my favorite donations to do. The woman who I work with there is so nice and she is so happy to have our donations. I didn't get around to calling any other police/fire departments today to make follow up donations- I have to work on that tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I also need to work on setting up more calendar photo shoots. It always takes a long time to get the photos scheduled. I'm trying to get more police/fire departments involved, but I haven't heard back from a lot of people yet. I also need to keep working on getting auction items donated for our Anniversary event. The Wayside Inn gift certificate for dinner for two arrived today which was good. They have donated for the past couple of years. We also received a ticket donation for a Stadium theatre production. They are a beautiful theater in Woonsocket. They have donated for the past couple of years as well. Those are both good auction items. In other good news, TV Diner is donating a really cool certificate for the auction- it is different from what they have donated in the past. More details coming soon on that one.

I need to work on the date auction too, particularly recruiting fire fighters and other bachelors. We still need more ladies to sign up too. I also need to keep working on getting financial sponsors- we are still short on our sponsor goal.

There is so much to work on! I don't want to get overwhelmed, so I need to stop thinking about everything that needs to get done and focus on the most important things right now. My priority for tomorrow is grant writing, calendar work, contacting police/fire departments and doing some work on auction items. I just wrote my list!

Well, that's it for tonight. I was just watching Jay Leno- he had a lady who just turned 100 as a guest. She is very active and has all her faculties- quite inspiring! On that note, I'm off to check out the new books that I got at my Meet Up book swap tonight, then write my list (or copy from above), until tomorrow friends...

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Moving Along

So what's the latest and greatest? Well, today I had a meeting with a large event planning company in regards to an event that we want to do next summer in Boston. It was a very productive meeting. They are really excited about the event and they're going to get back to me with an official proposal. I would love to work with them, it will come down to cost. It needs to be something that we can afford to undertake. I wish I could go into more details about the event we want to do, it will be really awesome, but I want to wait until things actually get rolling.

What else is going on? I scheduled another donation of stuffed animals and other items to the Department of Children and Families for next Monday. I've been reaching out to other police/fire departments to make follow up donations. Yesterday, I did another calendar photo shoot. This one was with a group of twins- they were very cute. The pictures came out really well. I was pretty impressed with one of the little girls- she climbed the chain link fence surrounding the playground and dropped down onto the ground very nimbly. The fence wasn't very high, but it was still very cool to watch her scale the fence! I have some more photo shoots scheduled, but we still have a lot more to do. I also have more calendar ads that need to be taken care of. Calendar ads and scheduling photo shoots are a priority for tomorrow.

I've been working on grants as well. One more is almost done, but there are still a lot to work on. There is a Foundation grant that we applied for in March and we haven't heard anything back yet. They don't publish online when they make their grant decisions, hopefully we will get some good news soon. Two grants that I'm working on are due before the end of June.

Well, there is a lot more to update on, but I'm getting tired now. I did really well last night- I went to bed earlier and definitely had more energy this morning. I need to keep that going! I'm going to read for a bit, write my extensive list, eat some more blueberries and head to bed. Wish me luck for a very productive day tomorrow- there is so much that needs to be worked on. Until tomorrow friends..

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Good News

Well- we have good date auction news: the New England Patriots cheerleaders will be making a special appearance from 7-9pm during the event! I'm really excited about it. They did a fabulous job when they attended in our very first date auction. I also think it will help draw even more people to the event.

In other good news, one of the guys who signed up for the date auction recruited 5 single ladies to participate too. That means we are now more than half way towards our bachelorette goal. We still need a lot more men, but it always takes longer to get the guys to sign up.

In not so good news, we got rejected from the large grant that I applied for a couple of months ago. That was the complicated grant that I spent a lot of time on. Someone had recommended that I apply for it, I actually didn't want to apply and now I wish that I didn't spend the time on it. We fit into their funding guidelines, but it wasn't a particularly strong fit. I can take some of what I wrote and use it in other grants, but it is still disappointing. I didn't get to any grant writing today- I have to do it tomorrow, it is so important. I was going to work on it tonight, but I was too tired.

Well friends, that's it for tonight. I am off to read for a bit and then actually go to bed at a decent hour. Last night was another late one- I need to get out of this habit. I just started a good book called Violets of March- I sat outside tonight in a rocking chair on the porch and read, rather like a grandma! It was so relaxing. Until tomorrow friends..

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

More Hours Needed

Could we please add an extra hour into the day? This hour should ideally be between 12-1pm, because that is when I feel most productive. If it isn't possible to add an extra hour, then how about sending me over a personal assistant who will work full time and without a salary. Why do I feel like that isn't going to happen either?

So what's the latest? I have about a million things to work on and I feel very far behind. There are two new grants that I've started work on today. They are relatively simple, but still time consuming. I started work on them, but then I needed to take some time following up with auction item donors for the anniversary celebration and working on the date auction. I then went back to work on reaching out to people to be featured in our 2012 calendar. It takes a while to hear back from people which can get a little frustrating- in my perfect world, people would respond immediately! I've reached out to some new mother's groups in order to get more children featured. It is important that we keep broadening the calendar and getting new people involved. I didn't get back to the grant writing after I stopped to work on other things. I was going to work on it tonight, but I'm tired. It is hard some times when there is so much to get done.

Anyways, enough griping. I've also been going to bed way too late these last couple of nights. There is no legitimate reason for it- I'm not doing anything particularly productive during those late hours and I wake up feeling tired. Right now, it is 12:30 and my goal is to have the lights out in the next 20 minutes. I also need to write my list- it is going to be a lengthy one. Until tomorrow friends...

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Welcome June

How did it become June already? I know that is a stupid question, but things are moving so quickly and I have so much to do! Our first calendar photos in Douglas came out great. I've been reaching out to schedule more photos, I have one scheduled so far. It takes time to hear back from people and then set dates for photos. I need to send invoices to the calendar sponsors who have committed to returning. I also need to work on getting a couple of new sponsors and getting in touch with other past sponsors.

I always feel like I'm behind on things- even though things are moving at the same time frame as last year. I get anxious because I still have so much to do for the date auction and I worry that I'm running out of time- I know we aren't really, but I still get anxious. We need to sign up more guys/ladies to be auctioned, need more sponsors, more gift certificates donated for the couples to use, more gift bag donations, event volunteers. I also need to figure out what to do about food for the event. We can now bring in outside food to Gypsy Bar. Cabot Cheese and Pretzel Crisps are already on board for the event. I would like to do more food, but I need to keep the budget tight. I'm going to reach out to some caterers and see if they would like to donate food. We don't need a lot, but it would be great to have more food. We used to have pizza at the date auction, it wasn't a huge quantity- we definitely could do with more.

We did a follow up donation of stuffed animals, coloring books/crayons and reading books to Sudbury Police department today. The officers were talking about how valuable it is to give out the stuffed animals to children- what a difference it makes for the children. It is great to hear from the officers about the times when they give out our items.

Well friends, that's it for tonight. I am tired. I had been doing well with getting to bed earlier, but I slipped back to old habits the last couple of nights and I feel it in the morning. I meant to go to bed early last night, but I got engrossed in reading a supplement in Boston Magazine about all the fun events going on in the city this summer- so many things that I want to check out. Until next time...