A Sea of Grants

Well, today I was swimming in a sea of grants- surrounded by Word files, letters, statistics and online applications. Instead of actual swimming, I was copying/pasting and updating information like a madwoman. In good news, I started a grant application, completed it and submitted it- all in one afternoon. I was only going to start this grant application, but I wasn't sure if I could save it and re-open later, so I decided that I might as well just finish the grant right then. We've received a grant from this company for about 8 years- they were one of our first corporate donors. We apply for a grant from one of their local stores. They changed their grant process a couple of years ago to make it all online. This year's application is the same as last year and our program hasn't changed, so that made the grant pretty easy to fill out. I updated the info, but there weren't a lot of other changes to make. I'm still working on the big grant- I made some more progress, but there is more that needs to get done. Grant writing is tiring and by 4pm today I couldn't focus on any more grant writing.

Tonight, I chugged down to N. Attleboro for the DWC monthly networking night. This was one of the first networking groups that I ever joined and it has been a huge support over the years. Tonight's turnout was good with about 20 women. It was a really nice group of women. A number of women that I already know well and a number of new people as well. Small networking groups are actually some of the best because you get to know people more and that leads to developing better relationships. Sometimes, I get lazy and don't want to go to networking events, but they are so important to building a business- it is vital to attend. Just the simple act of showing up and chatting to people is a big step. You're not going to meet helpful people at every event, but you're meeting new people and you never know who you will meet. You also have to attend events consistently- it can be hard, but it is a commitment that has to be made. When you show up at events regularly, people get to know you and hopefully, they will want to help.

Well, that's the latest for tonight.  I'm off to eat my grapefruit and watch Jay Leno's headlines- love those! Until tomorrow friends...

Auctions and Grants

Well, today I was focused on fundraising. With the blizzard over the weekend, it's not a good time to contact any police/fire departments. A lot of them are wrapped up with the storm after-math. These are good days to focus on grant work and start applying for auction item donations- which is exactly what I did!

I love early stages of grant writing, when you blast through all the easy sections of the application and feel really good about things. Then the hard part starts and everything slows down. This grant is due the end of February. The good news is that they supported us in the past and the grant application hasn't changed. We are asking for continued funding for the same program. It is helpful when the application is the same, but it can be challenging too, because I feel that we should add new things, but our program is the same, so I don't know what to change. Obviously, I update our statistics, but other than that- there isn't a lot to change since they're asking the same questions and we're asking for support for the same program. Maybe that isn't something I should worry about, but I do.

I felt very motivated and decided to get cracking on getting gift certificates for the Date Auction. It is never too early to start. I filled out a lot of online applications for gift certificates to Boston restaurants and hotels. A number of businesses are using the Bidding for Good online application to handle charitable donations. I like that application because it is a streamlined process, very easy to complete and you get an email back to say that the donation has received. We already have our first auction item for the Anniversary Celebration. On Friday, I filled out an online application for Sturbridge Village passes- they emailed a ticket voucher today. Tomorrow, I'm going to work on some more auction items for the Anniversary event as well.

Well, that's the latest for tonight. I'm off to watch a new TNT show that I've been enjoying- Monday Mornings and eat my grapefruit. Until tomorrow friends...

Busy Donation Day

Well, today was a busy day. We donated to our newest department- Medford PD in the morning. This is our 181st department to participate in our program, which is pretty exciting. I met two detectives who work with the domestic violence unit and the Chief. They were very enthusiastic about our program. It is great when you meet with people who really understand and appreciate what we're doing and how important it is to have these items for children. Here is a photo from our donation.

After Medford, I zoomed up to Haverhill to donate to the PD. I don't know how this happened, but my excel list has a mistake on it- our past donation to Haverhill PD isn't listed, so I thought this would be a new department. I started having deja vu when I got to the police station, then I started to head over to a Family Dollar that I had googled last night and realized that I had definitely been there before. I checked my list of participants on our website when I got home and we have donated to Haverhill before. So, there will be no 182nd department to add to our list today!

I need to email the lady at Build-a-Bear and send her some of the photos from our recent donations because they have their teddy bears in them. I'm sure she would love to see photos of the bears in action.

By the time I got back this afternoon, I didn't have much time before I had to head to Attleboro for the Board meeting before our monthly networking dinner. It was a good meeting as always. I was going to catch up on some other things when I came back, but now I'm too tired. On that note, I'm off to eat one more slice of multi-grain bread with some Gouda cheese and tabouleh. I detoured to my all-time favorite grocery store after my Medford donation today- Market Basket in Chelsea- and loaded up on some good bread. They have an amazing bakery section (the whole store is pretty amazing). Until tomorrow friends...

Welcome February!

Well, February has come in on a high note. It started with my birthday which was a lot of fun- birthdays are a great way to start a month! Things are moving along well. Yesterday, I did another donation of over 250 stuffed animals, books and coloring books/crayons to the Dept. of Children and Families. Here is a photo from the donation. We went inside to do the photo, but you can tell how cold it was out!

Tomorrow, we're donating to two new departments- Medford PD and Haverhill PD. This will bring our total to 182 departments, which is exciting. I love it when we get to add new departments that participate in our program. Of course, it is hard to keep up with donations, but we do our best.

In really good news- our online donations through our Virtual Aid Drive soared in November and December. In early December, I emailed our database asking for their support to help us raise $1,000 in individual donations by the end of the year. When we send thank you notes to the people who have mailed stuffed animals to us, we've also started asking for their support with our virtual aid fundraising drive. I received the check yesterday from Aidmatrix- the company that runs the Virtual Aid Drive. We raised $1,200 in online donations which is a record for that amount of time. Between the two things, we've been able to increase our online support. This is a huge motivation to keep working on our online fundraising. I'm going to launch another drive next week to tie in with Valentine's Day- with a spreading the love theme.

In other news- the auction item hunt has officially started. I applied tonight for an airline ticket donation. Those are always some of the best auction items. We have a long way to go, but it feels good to get started.

Well, that's the latest for tonight. I just had some delicious leftover chocolate birthday cake and now I'm off to read some more of a mystery I started last week. Until tomorrow friends...

Building Blocks

Well, I can't believe we are almost at the end of January- which also means that we are almost at my birthday! (Feb. 1) I get very excited for birthdays- just like a little kid. So what's new? Well, we scheduled our next donation to DCF, it will be next week. I also heard back from a local organization which has made an annual $250 donation for about the past 5 years. I had written to them in November, at my usual time, but hadn't received a response. I was disappointed and wondered what had happened. It is a relatively small amount of money, but every donation is important and it is always disappointing when someone doesn't continue their donation. This afternoon, I received an email from the current President of the organization who apologized for not getting in touch- they have a $250 donation for Project Smile and wanted me to come back and speak at their dinner. I was so happy to hear that. Ongoing donations like that are so important- they are the building blocks of our financial security. I'll be speaking at their dinner next month.

It really is funny how I can repeat the same things at the same time every year without even thinking about it. I was getting nervous that I was behind on contacting sponsors for the Date Auction, so this morning, I emailed one of our sponsors who has been supporting the Date Auction for many years. I searched through my old emails to see when I had emailed the company last year- turns out I emailed them on Jan. 30.  The marketing director wrote back immediately to let me know that they were still working on their budget for this year. That's why it is good to email companies early, so it can be on their radar as they get their budgets together.

In other news, I think we might be done with getting food/beverage vendors for the fashion show. We have 5 food vendors which are going to provide an awesome sampling of items. It would be great to have one more dessert vendor- Christine, one of our shoe club members who has helped organize our past shows, is working on that. I'm waiting to hear back from other vendors that we've reached out to, so if we get them on board, that would be great. Otherwise, I think I'm done with reaching out to new food vendors. My time is limited, so I need to focus on where my efforts are most beneficial. Obviously, I'd love to have a ton of food vendors at the show, but we have a sufficient number and now I need to focus on additional fundraising things- including getting the show posted on our website. I also need to focus on our big fall events some more.

Well, that's the latest for tonight. I'm off to eat some leftover lemon meringue pie from my birthday party... lemon meringue pie is one of the most delicious things ever! Until tomorrow friends...

Moving Along

Well, today was one of those days where I started out with little motivation, but thankfully I picked up the pace and things moved along. Having a list is really helpful on days like this- it keeps you focused. So what's new? Well, I finally did some grant work on a large grant that is due in early April. It is a grant that we received in 2008, but were declined last year. The grant application is the same as last year and our program hasn't changed, so I'm not sure how to change the grant. I will add the latest letters of support from the departments that participate in the program, but considering our program hasn't changed, there isn't much that I can change in the grant. I was reviewing it today to see if there were things that could be improved on, but I was happy with the grant last year when I submitted it and I'm still happy with it this year. We fit perfectly into their funding priority. I don't know why we were declined last year, but hopefully they will support us this year.

I was working on following up with police departments that we've donated to in the past- I was mostly focusing on some smaller departments today. I spoke with a few departments that still had a good supply of items and left messages with a bunch of others. We donate to 180 departments, so there are always lot of phone calls to be made to follow up and see if more items are needed for children.

Our Date Auction sponsorship packet is now done. It is so important to keep reviewing things. I thought it was done, but then I took another look at it last week and realized it was missing a few things, so Lisa updated it again. I will start working on contacting financial sponsors next week. I've started researching potential sponsors and I've even started on contacting gift bag donors.

I was also working on obtaining new food vendors for the fashion show. We still have a few more spots to fill. I contacted a number of new restaurants today, so hopefully we will have some good news. It is a great event for a restaurant to participate in, particularly a new restaurant that wants to do some marketing.

Well friends, that's the latest for tonight. I'm off to eat some pineapple and yogurt- I've been off my nightly grapefruit routine lately! Until tomorrow friends...

Good News

Greetings! So what's the latest? Well, I was a bit out of commission yesterday recovering from a stomach bug- but I'm getting back to things today. In good news, we have a host for our April 25 fashion show at Copley Place. Jackie Bruno, NECN anchor/reporter will be hosting. She responded immediately to our invitation and sounds very enthusiastic, which is great. I think she will be an excellent host! We also have our liquor sponsor on board- Voli Vodka. They participated in our fall show and their cocktails are delicious. I'm working on lining up additional appetizers/dessert vendors for the show. So far, we are off to a good start.

In other excellent news, Sofft Shoes is returning as a sponsor for the Date Auction. I'm so happy about that. They have been a huge part of our event, almost since the beginning. Thanks to their support, the bachelors with the ten highest bids will come with a $150 Sofft Shoes gift card for the ladies with the winning bids. That's an excellent incentive to bid! We're also going to be partnering with Yelp again with a sponsorship trade.

Today, we did another donation to Boston PD. We donated over 275 stuffed animals, books and coloring books/crayons. Here is a photo from the donation. The photo is kind of funny with the boxes in different directions

Well, that's the latest for tonight. I'm getting tired- don't think I've fully recovered from the bug  yet. I'm not ready to start eating my grapefruit again! Until tomorrow friends...