Charitable donations

I just want everyone to know that I took the bull by the horns and emailed 200 people with the information regarding charitable contributions to Encephalitis Global. I got two responses telling me what a great website we have here and that it's a great design (whop dee do) but today we got one contribution from a third person I sent it to.

Please folks, get the word out to everyone on your email lists. It only takes a cut/paste and an email telling everyone about our non-profit organization. We do not charge membership fees or dues. We use the money we collect for attendance at our Faces to Faces to pay for the website; we need money to pay for our registration as an official not-for-profit organization; we need to be able to send a representative to a conference once in a while (and for this we only reimburse registration fees; the reps pay for their own hotel and airfare); we need money for postage to 'get the word out'; etc. Every year we must let the government know how much money we've collected and where we've spent it so we're not just hoarding it away.

Aren't we all concerned about 'awareness'? Don't we all want the world to know about encephalitis and the residuals? It won't cost you a penny to email the 'request for contributions website' to everyone you know: churches, family, friends, coworkers, doctors, etc.

This is our first attempt at something like this. Let's all get involved.

Thanks, from the bottom of my heart.

Ingrid/Tarrytown, NY
HSE 12/95 (I was 45 years old)

"Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most." -- Ozzy Osbourne

By WendyStation
Posted August 29, 2009 at 2:02 pm
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Well said, Ingrid.

To raise more professional awareness on the topic of encephalitis, we need to be in closer contact with the professional community around us.

For example, this year I took part when the CORD (Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders) people discussed rare disorders with government leaders at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada.

Friends... here is the link to Encephalitis Global donations information:
http://www.encephalitisglobal.org/MakeaDonation.asp

Please feel free to share this link anywhere... and everywhere.

By one_lil_red_hen
Posted August 30, 2009 at 6:38 pm
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I have an idea... have someone write a proposal and submit it to the many organizations that provide funding to non-profits each year.

By IngridGuerci
Posted August 31, 2009 at 3:20 pm
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Hi Hen, it would be great if someone from the group could volunteer to do this for us. Wendy spends all day working on this site; I work full time and just can't do it. If we need a professional, I am sure we will need money and we are short on that as well. That's why Wendy came up with donation tag.

Wendy and I have been maintaining the previous sites and this one for about 9 years now and nobody has lifted a finger to help us except to help put together our past Faces to Faces meetings.

Ingrid

By mooseinmotion
Posted September 1, 2009 at 11:32 am
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It sounds like we need to get organized as a volunteer non-profit raising "grass roots" contributions funds for now. I just happen to have been a non profit consultant for the arts and need based organizations and can volunteer some time. Step one is a little bit of simple education on how to raise grass roots funds. and then we can break into committees and get organized and go from there. Anyone into it?

Moose

By mooseinmotion
Posted September 1, 2009 at 11:34 am
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P.S. Raising funds is really not as difficult as it seems as long as it is ORGANIZED! Think about it 1000 contributions of only $30 in one year is $30,000! That is grass roots fundraising--anything under $100k.

By WendyStation
Posted September 1, 2009 at 1:53 pm
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Quote from MooseinMotion, "....Anyone into it?" Absolutely, Moose! Any suggestions you may have, would be sincerely appreciated.

You can email directly to Ingrid and Wendy via admin@encephalitisglobal.org , if you wish.

Thank you for your offer to help!

By one_lil_red_hen
Posted September 4, 2009 at 5:39 pm
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What can I do, I was the Secretary/Treasurer of a non-profit group who rescues horses, rehabilitated them, and then found them good homes.

Writing a proposal amounts to stating your mission statement. You know your purpose and function and the community you serve.

What the dollar amount of funds you are requesting.
What those funds will be used for.

Pretty much it's a business plan with a request for funding.

There are numerous corporations and individuals who offer grants to worthy causes.

It may be a one time donation for things such as equipment, or office space. Or for things such as attendance to Faces to Faces conferences, expenses to cover speakers, the cost of printing and mailing information packets to those affected by E.

So, what types of things would you do, if you had 30K? I really liked the stamps that Ingrid sent to me. Just about everyone uses stamps, so an extra charge for those would help raise funds. That's a grass roots fund raising idea on the smallest of levels. But it serves two purposes, it gives people something they can use and it also provides, if you will, advertising or public awareness of this thing we call E, website on stamp.

Also, welcome cards, funding to be able to send welcome cards to friends and family members of survivors with key information on what a survivor needs during recovery, or other vital information. A request for support of this website and the public awareness program can be solicited at that time.

It's as simple as printing a 3x5 card, personalizing it with the survivors name and mailing it. Non-profits can receive a reduced rate for mailings at the US Post Office.

How about newsletters, you can sell ads to corporations, car companies, drug stores, medical supply companies, they pay for the ad space. That money is used to produce and print and mail the newsletters.

Newsletters can provide the latest information is research on E. Legislation, but cannot endorse any particular political views or candidates, but information about what a particular law would do. There could be a Dear Wendy or Ingrid or someother name write in column that with questions, maybe our sweet doctor or one of his associates at John Hopkins could answer two questions a month.

Feature story of a survivor each time the newsletter goes out. Details of their encounters with the medical community, how they overcame it. What special things happened to them, etc. etc. What was the one thing that made the biggest difference in their recovery. How their family or friends responded to their illness, both at the beginning and end.

I know there is a lot of that information that pops up here, but a well written story inspiring family and friends to become involved in spreading the word or providing financial support would be invaluable.

There are so many things that can be done. But... it won't work if there isn't corporation from the President and Vice President of this organization. It isn't something that is just going to fall in your lap, there will be necessary information that they will have to provide in order to move this puppy forward.

Any takers???

~hen

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