We're Appealing

Dear friends,

I bet you can’t believe what you see here, our very first annual report. We’re very excited to share this with you as a sign of our thanks for your partnership on this journey. We haven’t always felt as confident as we do now.

When I first met Devote, a young single mother from DR Congo, she couldn’t seem to get her eyes to meet mine. She kept her face blank with almost no emotion. I was worried for her. Even as I was inviting her into our program I was asking myself how a short-term training position with us would make any difference.

That was back in October. In February, Devote smiled for the picture you see in the center page of our annual report. I’m sure you can sense the transformation. She told our colleagues who interviewed her how, after being initially afraid in her training, she had persevered, and was now feeling strong and confident in a full-time job. She told them,

“I hope for everyone to have this opportunity.”

We couldn’t agree more. That’s exactly why we're looking at 2016 as our year to start growing significantly. It’s time. And we’re ready. With the help of so many of you, we’ve spent the last two years building capacity in our staffing and systems. Our community has been so responsive, and now more than ever, our country seems in need of and ready for some new big ideas to help refugees integrate in our communities.

So here we go!  Our goal is to raise $35,000 within the next two months to support scale-up activities. We’d like to grow both production and training by 50%, enabling us to train 30 refugees in one year. If we succeed, we'll be on our way to provide a viable model that can be replicated to serve many more refugees. 

We’d love your help. And this month we have a great opportunity to tell you about.

Three generous friends of ours have agreed to send us a $250—bonus!—contribution for any of you who become a monthly donor. They will do this for up to 30 donors who sign up by June 15. Would you consider becoming one of our new 30 monthly donors? 

Of course, you should always feel free to give in any way that fits your budget and vision. And any contribution you can make at any level toward our $35,000 goal would be a huge help. This is a very ambitious goal for us. The beauty in monthly donations is that they contribute stability and allow us to budget more effectively as we plan for growth.

We’d like to offer you two ways to help us meet our goal and partner with our three friends who’ve pledged to match your gift:

• Become a sustaining donor by visiting the newly designed support page on our website. Click “Give Monthly” and make your contribution. Do this by June 15 and we’ll get the $250 bonus.
• Sign up to receive our new Granola of the Month subscription and you can designate a portion of your purchase towards a donation. By selecting a $20 donation or higher, you’ll also qualify for the bonus. Visit our GOTM page and select your subscription option.

If you would prefer to send a one-time gift, we welcome these! Visit our support page, and select “Give One Time”. If you'd prefer, feel free to send a check to the address below. 

In closing, we hope that you feel as gratified as we do that 50 refugees have overcome fear and found opportunity. We hope you’ll join us in taking this next big step toward growth and extending this opportunity to many more. Thank you in advance for your continuing partnership. 

Sincerely,

Keith