There is not a day that goes by that I am not thinking about (or physically working on) HBI.
My thoughts range from the programs and projects that we are facilitating or organizing, our fundraising and donor base development, ongoing efforts to build our "stakeholder" pool, the work to develop a greater structure that will ensure that we have a sustainable infrastructure to carry our work into the future, and the many people we are fortunate to serve.
Today my time will be spent working on the fiduciary reports and programmatic updates that I will deliver to the HBI Board of Directors at our next Board meeting in 1-week. The work that goes into ensuring good communication between the staff of HBI and our Board of Directors is very important; and often times an "under the radar screen" type of activity that many people do not realize is seminal to the work of any good non-governmental organization.
Yesterday I had an e-mail exchange with Karen (HBI's Nursing Care Coordinator and Project Coordinator who lives and works out of Arequipa, Peru). She "said" (wrote in one of her e-mails) something that really had a strong impact on me. She said that she loves the work that we are doing so much that it rarely feels like work - and more specifically feels like a "lifestyle." She said that she was not worried about getting burned out by her seemingly endless 14-hour work days - because she knows how much of a difference we are making in people's lives.
Working with people like Karen is an amazing privilege and makes such a huge difference in my life.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
A "Power" Post
I am going to start a series of new posts to the HBI Blog Spot. These new "power posts" are brief insights into the work that we are doing to grow our NGO.
My first "Power Post" -
Next weekend is a new fundraising venture for HBI. Today, Ben Grass and I spent most of the morning and afternoon planning the event, organizing our thoughts, compiling the supporting documents, and making copies of the HBI video/DVD. The new fundraising event is something we are calling "HBI Connect Dinners."
The HBI “Connect Dinners” are fundraising and social networking events that bring compassionate and concerned people together around the central cause that is building cooperation and collaboration. The “Connect Dinners” will involve an introductory video that describes the mission, vision, values and focus of HBI. In addition, dinner hosts will be provided materials and information to facilitate discussions about HBI and the work of the organization.
Hosting an HBI “Connect Dinner” will involve a few things: (1) Willingness and ability of event hosts to provide food and drinks to the invited guests (it is envisioned that Connect Dinners will involve groups of 15-20 participants) and (2) willingness of event hosts to ask family, friends, colleagues and congregates to participate in an HBI “Connect Dinner.” Each dinner guest will be asked to contribute a small donation to HBI. This donation will be tax deductible.
The goal of the Connect Dinners is to generate greater interest in HBI and to attract donations to extend and expand the work of Health Bridges International. I guess this is a good time to mention how much work it takes to continuously raise money for an organization like HBI. I think that there is a unique "learning curve" that any new not-for-profit organization must commit to tackle when they are working to increase their donor base and grow their financial coffers. We are on the steep side of that learning curve.
I am not complaining. I guess I am just mentioning this fact because it is an important part of what where we are focusing our efforts on at this time. We know that great programs and projects need money to facilitate them - it is, however, not always easy to step outside of your comfort zone and ask people to open up their wallets, purses and checkbooks to you.
We believe very strongly in the Mission of HBI and know that the work we are doing is a very important part of ensuring hope for people living in desperate poverty.
My first "Power Post" -
Next weekend is a new fundraising venture for HBI. Today, Ben Grass and I spent most of the morning and afternoon planning the event, organizing our thoughts, compiling the supporting documents, and making copies of the HBI video/DVD. The new fundraising event is something we are calling "HBI Connect Dinners."
The HBI “Connect Dinners” are fundraising and social networking events that bring compassionate and concerned people together around the central cause that is building cooperation and collaboration. The “Connect Dinners” will involve an introductory video that describes the mission, vision, values and focus of HBI. In addition, dinner hosts will be provided materials and information to facilitate discussions about HBI and the work of the organization.
Hosting an HBI “Connect Dinner” will involve a few things: (1) Willingness and ability of event hosts to provide food and drinks to the invited guests (it is envisioned that Connect Dinners will involve groups of 15-20 participants) and (2) willingness of event hosts to ask family, friends, colleagues and congregates to participate in an HBI “Connect Dinner.” Each dinner guest will be asked to contribute a small donation to HBI. This donation will be tax deductible.
The goal of the Connect Dinners is to generate greater interest in HBI and to attract donations to extend and expand the work of Health Bridges International. I guess this is a good time to mention how much work it takes to continuously raise money for an organization like HBI. I think that there is a unique "learning curve" that any new not-for-profit organization must commit to tackle when they are working to increase their donor base and grow their financial coffers. We are on the steep side of that learning curve.
I am not complaining. I guess I am just mentioning this fact because it is an important part of what where we are focusing our efforts on at this time. We know that great programs and projects need money to facilitate them - it is, however, not always easy to step outside of your comfort zone and ask people to open up their wallets, purses and checkbooks to you.
We believe very strongly in the Mission of HBI and know that the work we are doing is a very important part of ensuring hope for people living in desperate poverty.
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