The mixed feelings of fundraising

Having been part of the non-profit Pregnancy and Postpartum Support MN (ppsupportmn.org- check it out), for the past eight years, and co-running it for the past two, I have had plenty of experience with fundraising. I am here to tell you that fundraising really sucks. You get more nos than yesses, and making phone calls is just not fun for me to begin with. 

Except when it doesn't. 

Last night, we had a winter fundraiser at a restaurant. A gathering to mingle, drink, eat and hopefully raise a little money. I spent much time securing donations, and creating gift baskets to raffle off. I am not terribly creative. I was already exhausted before it began. I was stressed all day worrying about the baskets freezing in the back of the van, but not having enough hours in the day to come up with a different solution other than to leave them in the back of the van ALL DAY. In Minnesota. Where it is cold. 

And yet... 

I pulled into the restaurant parking lot, excited at the prospect of spending a fun evening with a group of women that I adore, who have come to be family. The Steering Committee of PPSM. I get a text from the other co-director telling me she's on her way. I see the beautiful room we are going to be spending the next few hours in, complete with a fireplace, and a white board where we can write inspirational messages. We bring in the baskets and arrange them, and exclaim over the wonderful donations that we received. 

People start to arrive, and we have a wonderful night. Meeting new people, seeing familiar faces. And hearing stories... 
The mom who needed to be admitted inpatient postpartum, because she really thought it would be better to die than to deal with a new baby. 
The woman who I networked with two years ago, when she was making a decision about going to grad school. Guess what?  She has now completed grad school, and is lining up her internship in maternal mental health. 
The man who is a dad of six children, that tells us how wonderful it is that we are helping moms, but also recognizing that dads are important too. 
The people who want to know how they can get involved, and help give back and help further our mission. 

I left exhausted but exhilarated. Emotional. Excited. Glad to be done, but looking forward to the next event. Ugh. 

And then I went home and looked at how much we raised.... after expenses, $1000. I felt like Oskar Schindler. The exhange towards the end of the movie where he is lamenting, "I could have got more out. I could have got more. I don't know. If I'd just... I could have got more." I felt like I should have been able to accomplish more, raise more money, get more people. What did I do wrong? 
And then I had to step back and realize that to many people, $1000 is a LOT of money. And the people we had there... it wasn't the number that mattered, but the hearts in the room. 

So, dear reader... I have decided to follow my own advice, to treat myself today with "loving kindness" and instead take a different quote from the movie: "It's Hebrew, it's from the Talmud. It says, "Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.""
The purpose of my writing this is NOT to get attention, and have people pat me on the back. It is to give yourself credit for the difference that you can make by small changes. Don't focus on the dollar amount, or the amount of time, but rather the impact. You can make a difference. 

If you would like to know more about PPSM, or make a tax-deductible donation, visit our website, http://www.ppsupportmn.org/. Thank you!