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4.0
Get Involved |
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4.0 Get Involved
There are a number of ways you can become involved with Family Connections. You can make a monetary contribution, you can become a volunteer or you can make a wish come true by contributing something to the Family Connections wish list. We welcome contributions of any size and nature that support our mission. Your contribution is tax deductible and greatly appreciated.
To make a contribution, you can either contact us directly or complete the donation form. Your help, whether it be financial, an in-kind donation or through volunteering are important ways to support the continued growth and development of Family Connections. One of the keys to our success has been the individuals, corporations, and foundations that have generously supported our commitment to children and community. We are looking at an increased need for funding with our planned expansion and subsequent renovation.
4.1
You Can Help
4.1.1
Volunteering
Volunteers play an important role at Family Connections. An excellent example of this is the Junior League of San Francisco. For the last five years, they have sent us between 15 and 20 young volunteers each year as well as generous donations. They have helped us make fun craft projects, created haunted houses, run our raffles, tutored our children, decorated our living room, and painted our walls. They have been active partners in supporting our growth, cheering our progress, and financially backing our expansion.
We really appreciate our volunteers. Whether you are a tutor in our after school program, a board member, or a Junior League volunteer, we are grateful for your help. There are a number of exciting opportunities for your involvement.
Help a Child Learn
to Read:
Tutor in our afterschool Homework Club program. Your assistance is welcome
on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, or whenever you are available.
Special Events:
Help plan, implement and/or staff one of our multicultural parties. You
can choose Chinese New Year, Cinco de Mayo, Halloween, or our December
Holiday party. Each party has its own unique flavor, but all four parties
offer wholesome family fun and an opportunity to become involved in a
positive community setting.
Board of Directors:
We are interested in finding qualified and committed individuals to serve
on our board of directors. The Board of Directors is responsible for fiscal
management and for implementing the overall vision of the agency. If interested,
please contact us directly at Family Connections for board member requirements
and a job description.
Maintaining the Center:
We can always use help with painting and cleaning, to keep a nice interior
and exterior appearance. Volunteers handy with tools are especially welcomed
and appreciated.
You Choose:
What are your special strengths and talents? What do you enjoy doing the
most? Does it fit with our mission statement? Are you an artist, musician,
or magician, or really great with kids? Contact us directly and we will
find the right niche for you at Family Connections.
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4.1.2 Monetary Donations
Monetary Donations are appreciated at any amount. You can designate which program or fundraising campaign you want your money to go to. If you are interested in making a donation to any of our children's programs, please complete the donation pledge form and specify the program you want your donation to go to. To learn more, please contact us directly.
Corporate
sponsorships:
These are mutually beneficial relationships between a community-based
organization and a corporation. A sponsorship not only enables a business
to give something back to the community, but also provides a positive
corporate image in the community they are serving. A corporate sponsor
could choose to support a program such as Homework Club, an event like
Chinese New Year, or underwrite the cost of our raffle.
Raffles:
Parent fees and government subsidies do not cover the full cost of our
parent support services and childcare programs. Therefore, fundraising
and donations are crucial to the stability of our services. Our main fundraiser
to date has been a yearly raffle. We are always looking for prizes ranging
from the grand prize to modest runner-up prizes.
In the past, our grand prize has been round trip airfare for two, to anywhere in the continental United States. Some of the runner up prizes have been dinners at nice San Francisco restaurants, haircuts at great salons, and weekend hotel stays around the Bay area. If anyone has an appropriate prize to donate, please contact us. We collect prizes year round.
Sponsor
a Child's Success
A truly helpful and rewarding way to become involved is to pick a program
you like and then financially sponsor a child for a month, a quarter,
or a year. These scholarships would go to those that can least afford
our fees but need our services the most.
Homework Club: The cost for one child is $115 per month, $345 per quarter, or $1035 per school year. There are also many volunteer opportunities in this program.
Pre-Kindergarten: The cost for one child is $45 per week, $585 per 13-week semester, or $1500 per school year.
Summer Recreation: The cost for one child is $145 per two-week program and $580 per eight-week program.
Chinese School: The cost for one child is $25 per month (four three-hour Saturday sessions), $75 per quarter, or $300 per calendar year.
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4.1.3 In-Kind Donations
In-kind donations are a wonderful way to give something to Family Connections without exchanging money. For example, we have been fortunate to have acquired this web site as an in-kind service from San Francisco State University. In-kind donations can benefit specific projects and areas of need. Some examples include:
Children's Software
Children's Books
Internet Connections in our computer lab
Holiday gift/food or toy baskets
Handyperson services
Art supplies
Office supplies
Building Supplies for Renovation
Construction Services
Cleaning Services
Children's Puzzles
Office Chairs
To make an in-kind donation, please complete the donation pledge form or contact us directly. In addition, please see our wish list.
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4.1.4 Wish List
Books for Pre-Kindergarten and elementary school children.
Software (PC) for school children: math, language arts, science, and any type of educational games.
Board Games for elementary school children including checkers, chess, word games, games of strategy, and just-for-fun games.
Listening Centers with various grade level reading books.
Microscopes for science projects appropriate for schoolchildren.
Miscellaneous school supplies: calculators, dictionaries, pencils, crayons, markers, and erasers.
Cabinets for storage
Educational "word puzzle" books for all ages
Activity/school practice books for all ages.
Music tapes and or CD's for preschool children.
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4.2
Fundraising
4.2.1
Capital Campaign
Summary
In the summer
of 1999, the Family Connections Board of Directors began discussions regarding
the need to acquire more space in order to expand services. Shortly thereafter,
the building we occupy, which includes our current space and an additional
2500 square feet of possible future expansion, was placed on the market
for $1,300,000. Given that Family Connections had already invested $100,000
in our facility and had established a presence in the neighborhood, the
agency decided this was an excellent opportunity to address our need for
growth and to stabilize services in the community for years to come. In
May 2000, Family Connections purchased the facility, with multiple loans
secured from the Low-Income Housing Fund. We now seek capital donations
to repay these loans.
Rationale
for Purchase and Expansion
Many of the
services and programs offered at Family Connections have long waiting
lists. Our after school program has a waiting list of 90 children and
no slots available. Although parent interest was high, we were unable
to host child development/parenting classes from City College because
we didn't have a free room. Expansion also allows existing programs to
be held in a more appropriate space. For example, the Pre-Kindergarten
program is forced to share space with the computer lab. The number of
computers and equipment in this space limits the range of activities the
children can take part in.
The guiding principles of Family Connections rely on the ability to adapt to the needs and priorities of the community. One principle is to become a "one-stop-shop" for families. We are concerned that not all families are able to receive the support they need. In order to serve families in a more timely and effective manner, we need additional space to accommodate more participants.
In addition, Family Connections needs more room to be able to consistently collaborate and offer program space to our many public and nonprofit agency partners without having to turn away needed providers due to lack of space. Family Connections currently hosts community meetings for the San Francisco Organizing Project, San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, San Bruno Merchants Association, and the San Francisco Public Library and Disability Advocates of Minorities Organization (DAMO) among others.
Family Connections has invested nearly $100,000 in the building over the past six years to comply with state childcare licensing laws. By purchasing the facility, we continue to build on this investment. The property market in San Francisco is of great concern for community-based agencies, which face uncertainty regarding their long-term sustainability. By purchasing the building, we are positioned to sustain our critically needed neighborhood-based facility and services for many years to come.
Capital
Campaign Goals
- Pay off the $135,000 Low Income Housing Fund "bridge loan" by January 1, 2001.
- Pay off the $65,000 borrowed for the initial down payment by January 1, 2001.
- Begin fundraising to retire the $600,000 Low-Income Housing Fund loan.
- Raise $150,000 for expansion renovation costs by March 1, 2001.
- Raise additional monies to fund programmatic expansion by September 1, 2001.
Request
for Funds
Shortly after we purchased the building we implemented an aggressive fundraising
strategy aimed primarily at foundations. We have currently raised $100,000
and are anticipating another $100,000 in the near future. We are looking
to form partnerships with corporations and individuals that are willing
to support our capital campaign. If you are interested in making a donation
to our capital campaign, please complete the donation pledge form. To
learn more about corporate sponsorship opportunities, please contact us
directly.
Expansion
Plans
We purchased our building with intent to expand into the storefront next
door, which has an additional 2,500 square feet. We will reassess our
community's priorities for program expansion and continue to work with
the architectural consultants, Asian Neighborhood Design (AND), on development
plans.
We imagine having the opportunity to add more childcare slots in our afterschool program to address our long waiting lists. We are also hopeful that once we renovate we will be able to remove the computers from the Pre-Kindergarten classroom and set up a family computer lab in a dedicated space. We would like to design a classroom for ESL classes and give our therapist her own office for family therapy. Teens have requested their own space. And the dreams go on and create a list of possibilities too long to mention.
From January through September 2001, we are hopeful that we can secure commitments of funding and obtain the necessary permits for renovations. Permits will be pulled in preparation for renovation to begin March 2002, with an opening date in Fall 2002. We anticipate the majority of funding for renovations on the adjacent storefront to be secured from government grants, corporate sponsorship, and individual donors.
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4.3
Donor List
4.3.1
Contributors to Our Success
Without the generous support from our numerous contributors we would not be in business today. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the following groups who support our daily efforts with families:
The Families of the Portola Neighborhood
The Junior League of San Francisco
The San Francisco Department of Children Youth and Families
The Walter and Evelyn Haas Jr. Fund
Mervyn's of California
Dresdner RCM Global Investors
Silver Giving Foundation
The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund
The Miriam and Peter Haas Fund
Low Income Housing Fund
The San Francisco Mayor's Office of Community Development
City College of San Francisco
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