For Change You Can Count On,  Please Support Our Spring Fund Drive

Robert Surles’ life has not been easy.  His mother overdosed when he was two.  When he was eleven, his father was killed in a bar fight.  On Robert’s fortieth birthday, he’d been homeless for ten years.  Last August, Robert turned 50.  For the past nine years, he’s had a steady roof over his head, people who care about him, and a job that he loves.  “I feel happy and blessed.  I’ve got money coming in and a good woman.  Real Change pays my rent.”


Anyone who has experienced Sharon Jones’ hard driving and bright personality might be surprised at her past.  A long, downward spiral of drugs and alcohol left her half-dead one night passed out in a Washington, DC parking lot.  Her faith and her strong worth ethic have, along with the opportunity she found at Real Change, combined to turn her life around.  Sharon recently received her college degree as a health care worker.  While her personal prospects are bright, she still sells the paper. “Meeting people out there is beautiful. I love people. Even if I got another job out there I would still sell Real Change.”

With this April’s price change to $2, each paper sold nets Real Change vendors $1.40 instead of just sixty-five cents.  Paper sales after the increase have fallen by less than ten percent, so the income for most vendors has nearly doubled.

Our readers have overwhelmingly supported the price increase because they value our award-winning journalism and want to see our vendors succeed.
 
Real Change works because of the caring generosity readers like you. You open your hearts to our vendors and you open your minds to our quality community-based journalism.

We depend upon your fund drive support for more than half of our modest annual budget.  This spring, we have an ambitious goal of raising $208,000 in just one month.

And here’s how you can help.


Join us for GiveBIG on May 15th and watch every $1 you donate transform into $2.10 for Real Change.

Beginning May 16, a pool of major donors have stretched their giving this year to create an additional fund of $30,000 to match all gifts of $125 to $1,000. But we must reach the goal to collect their full pledge.

We understand that not everyone can give at those levels.  If everyone could give $125, our work would not be necessary.

The beauty is that all of your gifts, with everyone doing what they can, add up to the support that we need.  Your generosity inspires us, and makes our work possible.

Please do your part to help keep a great thing going during these tough times for the poor and homeless.  Please mark your calendar to go online to GiveBIG this May 15th, and help us meet our huge $208,000 goal with your heartfelt support.

Here’s the scoop:
When you make a contribution through the GiveBIG website on May 15, 2013, The Seattle Foundation will match a share of your gift AND the Wyncote Foundation NW will match your gift dollar for dollar! This means that each $1 you donate through your online gift on May 15th means $2.10 to Real Change.

Real Change has set a goal of $60,000 for GiveBIG this year – that’s a 50% increase over our $29,999 we raised last year. Every gift counts! Each online gift made on May 15th at the GiveBIG website will be matched by The Seattle Foundation’s $500,000 “stretch pool” donated by GiveBIG Sponsors.

But wait – there’s more! Gifts made through GiveBIG will also be matched dollar for dollar by the Wyncote Foundation NW. With additional matching funds from Seattle Foundation, hitting this goal will take us two-thirds of the way to meeting our huge $208,000 Spring Fund Drive goal in our first week.

The only catch is that in order to count towards our GiveBIG total, gifts must be made on May 15, 2013, with a credit card or debit card through The Seattle Foundation website.

Please do your part to help keep a great thing going during these tough times for the poor and homeless. Share the message with your friends, family and colleagues to please GiveBIG on May 15!