501c3 transition complete & fundraising progress
Sarah Allen
We wanted to let everyone know about some exciting new developments...
Transition Complete!
We have completed the transition from School Factory as our fiscal sponsor and we are now a fully independent 501c3 nonprofit. As part of the transition process, we’ve clarified some of the different roles that volunteers play and upgraded resources like the Operations Guide and the public finance dashboard.
Last month I told you about a bunch of the people who made this transition possible. We really appreciate all the time and energy put in by members of the Board of Directors (Karen Herreid and Isa Herico), the transition team (Asheesh Laroia and Chris Koehnen), the Program Board (especially Ilen Zazueta-Hall and Laura Kirby for their leadership on specific projects like our strategic plan and Google Apps transition), our staff (Mary Jenn and Diana Luepke), and everyone else!
We’ve got core processes in place, and we will continue to build foundational structures for the organization. The first quarter of 2018 will be filled with projects like developing policies, improving communications, and developing our strategic plan.
Fundraising Success
Our first fundraising push was a success! Many volunteers participated in our Facebook campaign on Giving Tuesday by creating their own fundraisers, resulting in $4,402 raised through Facebook, with tons of donations that really add up! Thank you!
We’ve also received $17,219 in other donations and pledges from individuals and companies so far. This total of $21,621 is enough to cover our some outstanding transition costs, as well as baseline expenses through April 2018. This allows us to continue building the organization’s foundation, to raise additional funds, and to set the stage for new programs.
This kind of coordinated effort is new for us. We’ve always been very successful with local fundraising and a few large companies that make donations every year. By working together across the organization to communicate consistently with sponsor companies, we hope to simplify fundraising and building stronger relationships with the companies who host workshops and fund our programs.
Increasing Our Impact
Building relationships with our sponsors isn’t just about fundraising (though we are certainly doing that). We’ve seen with some companies where we are deeply engaged that our programs are infectious… we share our culture and practices with company employees which leads to a positive impact on their workplace culture. Even before it was in the news, most of us have had direct experience with how much even the good companies need to do more to create safe and inclusive environments. We have a lot of ideas on how to make this happen in a bigger way, and before we get there, we want to better develop and understand this ecosystem that we have built together.
Happy new year!
We are excited about what the new year will bring, and we hope that you are too!
Warm regards,
Sarah & the Bridge Foundry team