Make Some Good News!
Did you know that YOU are MAKING good news?
Since 1990, extreme poverty has been reduced by 50 percent. Take that in for a moment. Dining for Women has been here for 13 of those years – you are part of something big! If you ever doubted that you are changing the world, doubt no more.
With the UN ambition to end extreme poverty by 2030, the UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon has been stressing the importance of funding the implementation plans to achieve these goals. “Implementing the 2030 Agenda will strengthen our collective ability to address short-term risks and build long-term resilience,” he recently stated.
At DFW, we are 100 percent behind the UN Sustainable Development Goals and we, as members of DFW, are part of the larger movement to MOVE THAT NEEDLE on extreme poverty!
That is why in the next few weeks, you will receive a letter asking you to contribute to our 13th Month Annual Appeal in support of DFW’s mission to educate and engage people to collectively act on behalf of women and girls in the developing world. Your gift WILL strengthen our ability to serve more girls and women and to strengthen the community of global citizens we have – which is growing all the time!
Our 13th Month Annual Appeal is the time of year when we ask all our members to make one additional donation to DFW. As we have in the past, we continue to rely on your 13th Month gifts to fully fund our important work each year. Monthly chapter donations do not sufficiently cover our four programs (Grants, Member Education and Engagement, Grassroots Advocacy, and Partnerships) as well as the administrative expenses that are critically important to the strength and sustainability of our organization. Your gift will allow us to fund our grants, conduct rigorous screening, vetting and monitoring of our grantees, provide educational materials that foster informed global citizens, launch our grassroots advocacy program, expand our number of chapters, and ultimately help even more women and girls.
As a result of your generous gifts last year, we were able to accomplish a great deal toward our 2020 Vision, including an exciting partnership with the Peace Corps Let Girls Learn Program, the establishment of volunteer committees for Grassroots Advocacy and Diversity, and many initiatives that are laying the foundation for significant growth in the number of DFW chapters across the U.S.
Our Grants Program connected members with organizations producing outstanding results. (Have you seen Breeze of Hope’s Google Hangout? What an inspiring organization!) We also determined this year that, since our inception, we have educated 28,000 people about global issues affecting women and girls and, conversely, how women and girls can affect global issues. This exciting statistic secures DFW as the largest educational giving circle in the world and with untold impact beyond our chapter meetings.
The goal of this year’s annual appeal is $360,000, and we are already well on our way! To date, we have raised approximately $55,000 toward our goal, and excitement is building with fundraisers planned by many of our chapters over the next few months.
Marsha Wallace, DFW Co-Founder, points out that “last year 2,011 members (25 percent) generously participated in the 13th Month Annual Appeal. This year, we are aiming for 100 percent of members making one additional gift, at whatever level they are able. The DFW Board of Directors continues to be a 100 percent giving board, and our staff is 100 percent giving as well. Whether it is $5 or $5,000. Every gift counts.”
That is what we ask now. Will you please participate in this important appeal to help us reach our goal of $360,000? We thank the generosity of those who have donated $55,000 already! If everyone can participate at a level that is generous for them – whether that is $5 or $5,000, we WILL be a big part of bringing extreme poverty down another 50 percent.
Let’s make some MORE GOOD NEWS together!