Hamomi: What Does $100,000 Mean?

10 minutes ago a donation came in that put us over $100,000 raised at the Fourth Annual Hamomi Dinner and Auction. The most amazing part: that's just this one event. An Ultimate Frisbee benefit will be in SF in March, interns are launching a Boston hub, Change for Change events are beginning on Mercer Island, and so much more.

We hope you can feel the momentum too.

But it's not a time to revel. It's a time to ask:

What does this mean?

This amount combined with other campaigns means that we have already met our entire budget for the 2013 fiscal year.

As more money comes in and more people expand our donor base, we will expand our programs as able:

Program by Program

Feeding Program: This year we expanded to add fruit every day with lunch. We diversified our lunch program, but need to diversify breakfast. Hopefully now we will.
Staff Salaries: This year we gave raises and expanded our staff, but hopefully we will provide bonuses this Christmas, which we unfortunately never could. Especially considering that all 12 of the 2012 graduates passed their exams - this staff deserves compensation.

Secondary School Scholarships: We provide every eligible graduate with a scholarship. 12 more graduates coming up and we need to gear up to provide them with scholarships next year.
University Scholarships: We have our first seniors in high school - we need to figure out what a University Scholarship program looks like, and fast.

School Operations: We Are Moving. This is the goal of 2013. It will be the central focus of the annual workshops in April-May. We need to find affordable rent in an area that our students can reach on foot and outside paying students will be willing to attend.

Building a profitable school will require significant initial investments: new desk, proper books, security, etc. We won't be profitable in our first year, so this hurdle will be a major investment. We do not have 100% of this funding yet, but the amount we just raised bodes well for the prospect of meeting this goal.
Medical Program: With the donations in loving memory of Janet, a staff member who passed away after giving birth prematurely, we will continue all health outreach, education and services, in addition to a new approach dealing with prenatal care and family planning.
Social Entrepreneurship: Three volunteers currently plan to travel to Hamomi to work on this specifically. We will expand our briquette project and will introduce solar light bulbs in April with a donation from Lift Up Africa, our sponsor.
Foreign Volunteers: We always need more volunteers to make all of the above a reality!

A lot will change this next year and I look forward to making each and every one of you part of that. Don't ever hesitate to reach out to me with questions, comments, concerns or ideas. The beauty of our grassroots network is that we all have a stake!

Excitedly,

Susie Marks

Executive Director

Hamomi-USA

Susie@Hamomi.org