by John Workman, Nikita Sharma, Raymond Nichols, Tavone Lee, Ben Arrowood
All of us at B’More Clubhouse got the opportunity to be a part of the first ever Clubhouse Giving Day on June 1st along with 38 other clubhouses. It was a day organized by Clubhouse International to commemorate the end of Mental Health Awareness Month with the hope of sharing more about the clubhouse community and raising some money as well.
We started preparing for the day towards mid-April. The first task we did was set up a profile on GiveGab, our fundraising platform. After that, we started to share the fundraising profile link with our supporters, board members, friends and family.
During the month of May, we shared the link and information about the Clubhouse on social media. We also sent a few emails to our current donor list. Some of the staff and members also shared the information with their friends and family. All our efforts helped us get a head start and we won a $500 prize for the greatest number of unique donors in the month of May by Clubhouse International.
On the actual day Clubhouse Giving Day, we set up a table outside our building with Clubhouse brochures and muffins from our neighbor local business, Charmed. We were able to get some offline donations from and also share about what we do. This was especially great since we just moved to our new property.
It was a day when all the members and staff were actively involved and updated about the fundraising process. We shared the link on social media, updated Instagram stories and kept communicating about our progress throughout the day. Because of that, we exceeded our goal by 55% and raised a total of $7,738 with 74 unique donors. We won another prize for having the greatest number of donors on June 1st as well. We were able to achieve that through great teamwork and a winning attitude.
This was the first time all the staff and members were actively involved in a fundraising campaign. We learned about the value of each individual’s effort in spreading the word and raising money. Next year, we hope to recruit more individual donors and set a higher goal.
Thank you so much to everyone who worked on this campaign and especially to Clubhouse International who provided us with the opportunity to learn and showcase our effort and skills.
