Why do we keep asking for money?
Why fundraising suffered in 2020
In previous election years, such as 2018, LWV Broward members worked on Election Day to earn funds for our League. That did not occur in 2020, not only due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but due to a change in the SOE office. This is the primary reason why we ran an almost $3,100 deficit for the last fiscal year and projected a $2,200 deficit for the current fiscal year.
Fortunately, we have enough savings to cover these deficits, but we can’t continue to dip into savings long-term. We think the League will be able to earn money again working on future Election Days with the SOE, but I don’t like to count on money until it is in the bank account!
Then, the unexpected happened
We planned our April 2021-March 2022 budget back in early February, prior to Rep. Alcee Hastings death on April 6, which means we did not include funds for the Congressional District 20 special election. Because of Florida’s “resign to run” law, there will ultimately be a cascade of elections for state legislative, county and probably city races before we even arrive at the main 2022 election. Therefore, the deficit projected for the current fiscal year is probably going to be greater than $2,200.
With the new election law (SB 90), educating the county voters on the voting process will become paramount! We can think of the District 20 Special Election as a trial run for the 2022 mid-term elections.
Solutions
That was a long-winded introduction to bring me to our on-going methods for raising funds for the League.
- We added two new levels of membership:Sojourner Truth, which includes a $90 donation, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, which includes a $140 donation. Thank you to Ann Goldwyn and Colleen Smith for being our first Sojourner Truth members, and thank you to Bethann Nativ for being our first Elizabeth Cady Stanton member.
- On May 27th, LWV Broward launched a Birthday FUNdraiser! This is our 68th year of being active in the community, and we should be very proud of what we have achieved over those years! Thus far, we have raised $6,247 towards our $6,800 goal.
We have a 501(c)3 charity
In December 2019, we formed the LWV Broward Education Fund, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. This fund is now fully recognized by Facebook and Amazon.
- Use AmazonSmile and benefit the League when you shop! It is just like shopping on Amazon (same prices), but you start at AmazonSmile (https://smile.amazon.com). Select League of Women Voters of Broward County Education Fund, Inc. as your 501(c)3 charity of choice. The AmazonSmile foundation donates 0.5% of your purchase price to our Education Fund every time you shop!
- For Facebook, it means you can personally raise funds for the Education Fund using your Facebook account. Read Bonnie Gross’ article later in this newsletter on how to do this – easy to do and very rewarding!
We value time
If you have an idea on fund raising, please bring it to the Board’s attention! Also know that we value the time a member contributes to the League. As we have learned this past year, time on this earth is precious and volunteer time is greatly appreciated.