Can you provide private sector stimulus funds?

Last week we celebrated our annual year end dinner with more than 200 parents, volunteers and students. It was the type of event that puts tears in your eyes and cements the commitment I have to keeping this program going.

However, while the government is making all kinds of money available through Federal Stimulus Grants, these dollars won't do much to help keep small programs like Cabrini Connections in business. They are funding 'add on' activities, rather than operating dollars that pay the rent and keep current people employed. While there will be a quick turn around, most of those spending time writing grants, won't get funded, and won't know results until September or later.

If you have a rent bill, or payroll, due this week, and don't have money to pay, a government grant won't help.

However, our volunteers, leaders, parents and alumni can help. If you can send a donation, even $5, please do. If you can introduce us to a corporate sponsor, or individual donor, who can make larger gifts, please take this role.

Last week's dinner celebrated work done every year since the fall of 1992 when Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection was created. Every year we have had to find volunteers and donors to help do this work.

If we are to continue into the future, more people will need to share in the responsibility of finding the money than just Dan and the Board. The word community was used often in last week's dinner. We are a community.

We need help from everyone in the community to find the dollars that keep Cabrini Connections and the Tutor/Mentor Connection available to Chicago kids.

Got an idea? Email me at tutormentor2@earthlinknet or call 312-492-9614

Thanks to Cassina

This blog was originally created by Cassina Sanders, who joined Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection in a fund raising, marketing, public awareness capacity in March 2008. All of the articles written through January 5, 2009 were written by Cassina.

Effective January 9, 2009, Cassina has left this organization to pursue other opportunities, and we wish her well in her efforts. Fund raising responsibilities will be continue to be led by Dan Bassill, President, CEO, and other members of the organization's staff, board of directors, and volunteer leaders. Chris Warren, will help with spring events, such as the July 16 Golf Benefit, and the annual year-end dinner, to be held in June.

You can meet members of our staff by reading their blogs. The Cabrini Blog, is primarily written by El Da'Sheon Nix, administrative coordinator of Cabrini Connections. The other links on that page point to blogs written by others on staff and by volunteers. The Tutor/Mentor Blog is written by Dan, and the Mapping for Justice blog is written by Mike Trakan.

All of these blogs show why people should be involved in tutor/mentor programs like Cabrini Connections, where and how they can be involved, and why they should provide donations to support the work we do at Cabrini Connections and the Tutor/Mentor Connection.

Articles posted here will be contributed by a variety of writers, all with a common goal of expanding the resources needed to help us help inner city kids connect with volunteers, learning, jobs and careers.

I hope you'll be a frequent reader. I encourage you to give Cassina a big "thank you" for her role over the past 9 months. I hope you'll help us find these resources.

Dan Bassill
President
Cabrini Connections
Tutor/Mentor Connection

Sell Back to Give Back

One of the examples I gave to our volunteers when we started our FUNdraising for Quarters Competition back in September was to possibly sell items on eBay and give a portion of their proceeds to the cause. Because I've never sold anything on eBay (I'm working on it!) I couldn't go into much detail. In the meantime while I work up my eBay nerve, I've found two stores I now swear by; Once Upon a Child and Elliott Consignment. Both are consignment shops where you can sell back clothes, shoes, children's toys and items for a small fraction of what you paid for it. Now, I don't sell back everything to these stores. I actually have a three-part sorting system: To sell, to donate, too used to donate.

In my work at Cabrini Connections I do a lot, countless hours in fact, of research on everything from development opportunities, grants, event ideas, webinar training and basic article searches that might help me do my job more effectively. I have recently found this one (to follow below) on How to Generate Cash After the Holiday Season by Jennifer Openshaw. Please take heed, now that the holidays are done, that people and organizations who are needier than you are everywhere. Cabrini Connections fits that bill in two-fold. We are an organization that tailors to needy, at-risk youth, mentoring them to be better students and model citizens. Raid your closet today. Yesterdays Ferragamo Pumps could be box lunches for more than 75 at-risk students next month. I am donating another $15 (half of what I got from selling back my son's summer clothes) to the cause. Imagine if 100 more of you gave $15, too?

Enjoy the read. Source link at bottom.

Just a few months back, before it became so ridiculously cold, I bought a gorgeous purple coat in a consignment shop. It was a designer coat, in perfect shape, and I swear it should’ve cost about $1,000. But for $150 I bought what had been someone else's coat, and put some additional dollars in her pocket.

Selling used stuff isn't new, but it's the hot thing right now — especially since everyone is worried about their 401(k)s or how to balance out what you spent on holiday gifts without going into debt.

Think about it: Companies are selling assets right and left as a way to get cash and get rid of debt, right? That's something you can do, too. In fact, the typical person has 50 unused items worth $3,000 right in their homes, according to eBay. And more people are buying and selling used: Craigslist, the online classified site, reports a 50 percent growth over the last year and now boasts 40 million unique visitors a month.

Just look around you: your kitchen, bedrooms, garage, the basement. You can easily get rid of the stuff you don't need or haven't used in a while. Think of the tennis racquet that's been collecting cobwebs in the garage, or the clothes you've only worn once (or not at all). Remember, your trash maybe someone else’s treasure. You can get some real dollars for this stuff, lighten up your load, and simplify your life in the process.

Here are a few initial pointers to make sure you're successful:

Take an hour. First, set aside some time to go through the house to look for stuff to sell. Get others involved. Ask what can be sold. If you’re staring something in the face and it hasn’t been used for 3 months, sell it.

Know the value. If you're unsure about what to charge for an item — especially if it might be rare — do a bit of research either at eBay or other online sites, or get an independent appraisal. Lots of legitimate jewelry stores (forget pawn shops) sell used pieces and can give you a fair price.

Where to Sell Your Stuff

Let me give you a quick rundown of some of your different options:

Consignment stores. These stores are easy because you have a salesperson whose sole job is to help sell your stuff. Also, some consignment stores specialize for a more targeted audience, whether for cars, clothes, or jewelry. The downside is that you generally have to split revenues, by as much as 50/50.
Online classifieds. Sites like Craigslist and Kijiji are great because they're free, easy to use and post products, and they get a much larger reach while still being "local." As a result, you don't have to deal with shipping. However, they can be tedious if you have lots of small items to post. Also, your market is still limited — although it's certainly broader than your neighborhood.
Online auctions – As you undoubtedly know, eBay is the player here. The entire world sees your product, and more competition is usually a good thing. Also, if you have a niche item, you can attract connoisseurs. The downsides: You'll pay small fees to post and promote your items, you'll have to set up ads along with a payment method (PayPal or credit cards), and you have to ship your items. This can be time consuming, especially for small items. Alternatively, you can drop your stuff off at an eBay reseller and be done with it— but you'll be giving up about 35% of your revenue.

And keep your ear to the ground: If a lot of your friends are talking about selling their schwag, maybe you're in on the next big stock swing. Publicly traded companies that would benefit from a boon in second-hand sales include Winmart (WINA), which owns second-hand shops across the country, and of course ebay (EBAY). If you take your secondhand earnings and invest in one of these companies, maybe next time you'll be looking to sell your Rolls-Royce, not your old tennis racquet.

http://www.blogher.com/how-generate-cash-after-holiday-season
Jennifer Openshaw is co-founder and president of WeSeed, a new approach to demystifying the stock market for real everyday people. Openshaw is and author of "The Millionaire Zone."

Time for Change...

In the wake of what is sure to be the most historical presidential election of our time, we need to hear what Senator Obama is saying with his campaign slogans geared around change and deviating away from the normal way of thinking. Just because something hasn't been done before, doesn't mean it's the incorrect solution to the problem.

We're entering our fourth week at Cabrini Connections and seeing a lot of the building and interaction that goes on on tutoring nights really put what we do here in perspective for me. I've been her a little over six months but before I worked late only on Monday nights (Art Club night) so I didn't get to see a lot of the bonding, or interact with a large group of our children. It's enough to make you emotional to see the next generation fellowship with a new face who cares about his/her upliftment and growth. If I didn't work here, I would want to get involved on a mentor level or get involved in general to make sure the warm fuzzy feelings continue to blossom.

This is why we feel it pertinent for people to come out and see what we do. We don't ask people to write a blind check because it's "for the kids." I was driving home from the market last week and there was a boy approximately 14-15 years old in the middle of the road, pacing back and forth with a sign that stated, "Please Save Our Kids" and a cup for drivers' loose change. At first, I wanted to toss money into the cup. But then I thought about it... what kids? What organization are you representing? What is your mission? What do you do? It's not enough to tell people, "our kids NEED your help." Millions of children everywhere need help in one form or the other. We want to SHOW you why you should give to us.

The CEO and I write heartfelt letters and proposals about everything this program stands for, encompasses and does and back that with the crux of everything: the facts, our numbers, and our success. We invite you to come to our headquarters on a tutoring night and see the impact we are having with students and professionals across Chicago. Seeing is believing. And believing is what dreams are built on. Come check us out.



Here are some things going on for the next couple weeks that you can come witness for yourself.

Halloween Essay Contest
Our student's are participating in a Halloween essay contest. The essay has to be one page on the history of Halloween and their best Halloween experience ever. The contest ends on Oct 16th. The best six writers will be chosen to perform their essay with their peers, volunteers, and staff, on October 28th and 29th. We will also be having a Halloween party on both those days. The six winners will get to enjoy a frightening trip to a haunted house on Friday, October 31. Won't you be our guest on the 29th and 30th for a ghoulishly good time!?

Go Clubs!
We have an enrichment activity for our kids every night of the week. Tutoring nights, held on Wednesday and Thursday nights are the best nights to come to get the FULL experience of what we do here, but if you can't make it on one of those, we also have Monday night Art Club and Tuesday night Tech Club for you to see what insightful and innovative things we do here daily. Our next Pulitzer winners come out on Wednesday night before tutoring for Writing Club.

Martini MADNESS!
Cabrini Connections’ 3rd Annual Martini Madness is scheduled for October 17th, just barely a week away! So far we have more than 100 people with affirmative RSVPs and we are so excited about that. You too can be in attendance to come out and meet our many volunteers, our staff and board of directors, along with many other networks, businesses, and organizations who are excited to support our program by way of this event. It is a 21+ event and we often throw these sorts of soirees for, not only the fundraising aspect but to also involve our volunteers on an adult level to remind them that we can play as hard as we work. Come out and support Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection through your attendance donation or an event sponsorship and help us tell our story by going to the water cooler on Monday and saying what a great time you had and sharing with your coworkers, boss, family what we do in our communities. For quicker entry and access pay in advance and RSVP for this event.


FUNdraising for Quarters
Come out and witness healthy competition amongst our volunteers. We are proud to announce that Mr. Allen (AJ) Tyson (Tutor/Mentor for student Sean Mayfield) is leading all volunteers. AJ submitted $100 to Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection last week thereby being the first volunteer to put forth effort in our friendly in-house competition where a volunteer will win a prize each quarter for being the leading FUNdraiser. AJ we appreciate your enthusiasm for this contest and passion for what we do here. You've been around a long time, dedicated to us and we thank you for your commitment. Hopefully your donation entry will put some fire under the bellies of our other volunteers so this can be our best fundraising year to date!

If you would like to come in for a site visit, please call me at 312-492-9614. We'd be delighted to have you... and we're sure you'll see things differently about the opportunities for our youth after visiting our facility. Change the way you see our future, become a supporter of tutor/mentor programs.