Campaign, Page 3

 Day #3 of

Literacy: Every Child, Every Adult

Day #3. Today I want to talk with you about how, together, we can make “Literacy, Every Child, Every Adult” a reality for the people of Kouve, Togo, West Africa.

     Okay.
     I know what you are thinking.
     Go ahead and say it.

“Just like every other fundraiser out there, this is where you ask me to empty my pockets of all my cash, stand on the street corner, and shout, ‘Give to Bonding With Children’. But hey, you might give me a Santa suit, a bell, and a kettle.”

“Come on, Dan, fundraisers are always about … money.”

I hear you.
I’ve been in the same place myself
and it’s very frustrating.

But, what if I told you there’s another option. That this campaign could actually be about so much more than charity, more than a plea for money.

“Well if a fundraising campaign is NOT about money, then what is it?”

This campaign is about building a community. That’s right, about building a support community around the work of Bonding With Children in Kouve.

Here’s what I mean:

Charity is a transaction. There are people who need my money to help solve their problems. I have a need to be generous, and I can resonate with the mission of the charity, so I give my money to the nonprofit so they can help the ones in need. And on top of that I get to declare my gift as a tax deduction on my income taxes.

It all works out for everyone. And that IS the end of the transaction.

Community, on the other hand, is transformation. Community is about doing life together. There will be times when I have a need and someone else in the community steps up to meet that need. Then there are other times when someone in the community has a need and I set up and help meet their need.

It all works out for everyone. But that is NOT the end.

No matter whether I am the giver or the receiver, we have both changed. Neither one of us are the same person we were before. Our relationship has grown deeper and richer. Instead of simply making a financial donation, we find ourselves doing life together. We are freely exchanging our time, our talents, and our treasure for belonging.

And the awesome thing about community is this, there’s a place waiting just for you that only you can fill.

“That actually sounds like something I would like to be a part of. But how does growing a community help raise the funds needed for the children and adults of Kouve to get the education they need?”

“Wait.

Don’t answer that.

Let me take a stab at it. That’s the next topic?”

You Got It!

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