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Donor Base
The request for pledges not only meets our immediate needs but also forms a donor base of supporters that allow individual members, groups, and businesses a personal opportunity to invest in the vision. This allows for a sense of ownership by the community. Our strategy here will include regular thank you receipts to donors that will include their year-to-date donations.
Our new Monthly Builders program will identify various pledge levels for which we can acknowledge our ongoing supporters. In addition, our new One-Shot Boosters program will identify generous contributors who have given us that extra boost in a given month. Our goal is to secure 100 monthly pledges of at least $12 per month by January 1, 2010. Read more about donor programs here.
Sponsorship Program
Businesses and organizations have an opportunity to invest in the Catalyst vision by making a financial contribution. Depending on the level of sponsorship, Catalyst thanks and acknowledges the contributions of generous sponsors in a variety of ways. Read more about the Sponsorship Program here.
Fund Raising Drives
Starting November, we will begin implementing a monthly donation drive called $1DAYS that lasts for one week - the week that includes 2nd Saturday. This is an idea that community members conceived and brainstormed, and are now implementing themselves. The basic idea is to ask people for a simple $1 donation to accompany a fun photo of themselves that will become part of a collage of wacky photos of people who believe in the vision. This is exciting because this idea came from them!
Fund Raising Events
We are working with a professional dancer friend of ours who wanted to put together a fund raising event for Catalyst that also helps to elevate the visibility of dance in the city. He'll be organizing dancers within the community (modern, ballet, cultural, and street) to take up a block or a strip to perform a combination of choreographed pieces as well as allowing them to perform their own pieces. The idea is to have dancers in public who will perform on street corners near businesses and restaurants. We will help publicize dance performances at various venues that are coming up. The dancers will also promote participating restaurants that will donate a percentage of the days proceeds to Catalyst. We'll be organizing this event for Saturday, Feb. 13th - the day before Valentines Day. We may start with one location, then expand this to multi-sites on the same day and time (ie. 2nd Street, East Village, Pike, Pine, Bixby, LB Towne Ctr, West Side, etc.). Should be fun!
We're also working to organize fund raiser concerts with local bands and musicians.
Selling Merchandise
We've got two booths (sponsored to us by the East Village Association) for the East Village Farmers Market right in front of our Space. Great location! So at those booths, we'll have info on Catalyst and also the various communities in the network (greenLB, LBCreative, Pedal Movement, Teen Girls Empowerment). We'll be putting together Catalyst brand merchandise like water containers for reuse, shirts, mugs, etc.
We'll also be preparing a calendar for the 2011 year that will include festival dates, event dates, and other significant dates while featuring our various communities on each month. Each month will have business sponsors too.
Advertising Space
The Catalyst Space is an awesome location that also has good window space that has six vertical panels. We're within blocks of several coffee shops, galleries, hotels, the convention center, the civic center, the pike and pine avenue, and also home to several festivals, the farmers market, and adjacent to 2nd Saturday. So there's lots of foot traffic! We'll be allocating just one vertical panel to promote businesses that affirm our Common Community Values (Relationships, Partnerships, Contribution, Growth). For businesses that would like to purchase ad space on this panel, they will need to affirm those values and provide a logo. Logos will be attached to a sheet over the panel space. It'll be done creatively!
Partners Program
The Partners Program will include participating businesses and community members that affirm the Common Community Values. A business will purchase a Partners Package that includes a Catalyst logo sticker to be placed on their window or premises. The idea is that the business agrees to provide some kind of discount or buying incentive (buy 1 get 1 free) to a Catalyst "member". A member who affirms the Common Community Values can pick up a free membership card. With that card, they can get their incentives at participating businesses.
Use of Space
The Catalyst Space is a great place to have classes, workshops, or meetings. For any outside organization where the event or activity is not part of one of the Catalyst communities (ie. yoga class, club meeting, etc.), they can rent the space on a "Pay-What-You-Want" basis. The idea and value for us here is that we want people to give AFTER their activity after considering the value they feel that they have received from the use of the space. We suggest $25 per hour but emphasize the PWYW approach. Read more about the Catalyst Space here.
Workshops and Classes
Catalyst will also host various workshops and classes that are not currently provided through other organizations (Neighborhood Resource Center, universities, Long Beach Non Profit, etc.). Some of these may include The Catalytic Approach, How to Catalyze Your Local Group, Neighborhood, or Community, Finances for Emerging Artists, Event Planning, Understanding Your Myers-Briggs Personality Type, learning a craft, foreign language or a musical instrument, and more. Workshops will also be Pay-What-You-Want AFTER the workshop having considered the value they feel that they received from the workshop. Read more about workshops and classes here.
Grant Writing
We have attended some grant writing workshops and gained some great tips and approaches. We'll be seeking out funding sources and applying for grants to foundations and institutions.
So with all of these aspects gradually being implemented from now through next year, we are hopeful that this will be a comprehensive fund raising strategy that will allow Catalyst to be self-sustaining for a long time!
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