Keeping it simple and fun attracts support for nonprofits
16:30, 10 June 2010
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I was invited to a friend's birthday party at a restaurant in my favorite neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, the Mississippi district. But instead of having a traditional birthday party, she made her party a fundraiser for a nonprofit she supports.She provided all the food and entertainment, and asked that people who attended to NOT bring her a present but, instead, to make a donation to a project she's involved with, The Perros Project. This tiny, all-volunteer organization is working to improve the conditions for stray dogs in a small village in Peru. My friend had little cartoon images of walnuts and eggs cut out, and ask attendees to use the cutouts to show their sponsorship of neutering a male dog or spaying a female dog (or both) and writing their names on the appropriate image, which she then taped to the wall. By the end of the party, one wall was covered with "nuts and eggs," and there was quite a lot of money in the pot for the Perros Project. And we were all full of pizza (yum).
A few things came to mind as I was enjoying myself at this party:
- This project was started by an American couple who were traveling through South America. There was one village in Peru in particular where the condition of the stray dogs were heart-wrenching. Through a LOT of persistence and questions, they found the ONE guy in the village who tries to help these dogs. They decided to help his one-man operation, both to help the dogs there and also to create a meaningful connection between that village in Peru and their home and friends in Portland.
That couple is leaving this week to return to Peru with friends -- all self-funded volunteers -- to help transform the shelter in that small town with various building and grounds improvements, as well as to bring information in Spanish that can be distributed locally to help educate people about stray dogs, about the importance of spaying and neutering, and the powerful, positive transformation you can experience by adopting a dog and making that dog a part of your family. In addition, some of the volunteers are veterinarians, and will be taking equipment and resources to spay and neuter some of the dogs.
Even if this group never goes back to that village, they have created a message that they, and the local people of the Peruvian village, will never forget. In all likelihood, this WON'T be a one-off activity. They have concentrated on something small, simple and doable, that will achieve immediate, visible results of some kind, as well as some long-term results, and therefore, it's been easy to attract funding and help. Those are great lessons for anyone who wants to volunteer abroad -- or involve volunteers from abroad -- as well as for those running small NGOs in the developing world. - So many people want to do something meaningful for their birthdays, but don't know how. Actually, so many people are looking to do something meaningful, period -- read the various question and answer boards out there and you will see what I mean). I realize that Miss Manners (whom I adore) and other etiquette gurus say that telling people what to buy you as a gift is a no-no, but I'm going to have to disagree: I think it's a fantastic ideas to encourage people to make donations to your favorite nonprofit for your birthday, your wedding, whatever, in lieu of gifts. It's a wonderful thing to do. Provide food and great music, and maybe do 10 minutes talking about your charity of choice. Don't make donations a requirement, however; people are coming to honor you and have fun, not to attend a fundraiser.
- There are lots of these kinds of programs to help stray animals and change attitudes about them all over the world, and can put your donation to immediate use. One I'm familiar with is also in Peru: Amazon Community Animal Rescue, Education and Safety (Amazon CARES), which is working in Peru's remote Amazon region. Another that I have supported works in Afghanistan, and they are the ONLY organization working in the country to improve the lives of stray dogs there: Mayhew Animal Home and Humane Education Centre (if you make a donation to Mayhew, be sure to designate it for their work in Afghanistan; I blogged about them here). I mention these because it would be awesome if you would donate to any of them.
Also see transire benefaciendo ("to travel along while doing good") for more information on how to do good, simply, in association with your travels.
