Fundraising “Show Me The Money”

“Show Me the Money”, became a well-known phrase 20 years ago spoken by Cuba Gooding, Jr. in the movie Jerry Maguire. Just like money was so important to his character, fundraising is vital to Land of Promise (LOP) and account for a portion of our nonprofit income. Fundraising is when our organization focus on the money we need to reach our mission. LOP participated in our first fundraising event on March 5, 2017, when we teamed up with the Hunger Walk/Run. So many of you joined us by donating your money, participating in the walk, and encouraging others to donate. Thanks to you, we raised $7,010.00, which will be utilize to feed food insecure children.

Show me the money, may have been our initial reason to participate in the Hunger Walk/Run, but I learned so much more. The participants demonstrated overwhelming passion to the cause. For instance, my sister, Theresa, who is not in the best physical condition with decades of knee and hip problems, made the decision to walk. She said, “Children that are not receiving enough food to eat are more important than a few aches and pains that I will experience.” You may be thinking, that she is my sister, and of course she is going to support LOP. She could have just donated her money, which is probably the decision I would have made in her physical condition. Instead, as always, she thought of others above herself, she increased awareness of food insecurity and raised the most money.

Michelle, is another teammate, who is unemployed and probably should have utilized her money to feed herself. She gave what she had, encouraged others to give and was the team cheerleader on the walk. I have not seen Michelle in years, and what I learned is she also had bad knees, but never complained. Michelle truly appreciates the sheer joy of giving; she believes 100% in the cause and started strategizing for our next fundraiser. Theresa and Michelle have the characteristics needed for any fundraiser.

As the money trickled in, I never gave up or got discouraged because I knew there were so many caring people giving their all. What I learned is that fundraising is so much more than the money. Fundraising is also about raising public awareness to a cause, a compassionate community in action, and connecting with like-minded people.

Thank you to all who donated and participated in this fundraiser. Land of Promise relies on kind people like you to address food insecurity.