Yesterday, I took a half hour to talk to some Evans School students at UW who were studying Real Change as a successful model of a socially entrepreneurial organization. They asked: What challenges do we face, and who starts and runs an organization like Real Change?
The challenge, I said, is that our success is a double-edged sword. The fact is that last month's paper sales of 77,400 copies, which broke all previous records by 5,000 papers, reflects rising levels of desperation. Along with rapidly growing vendor numbers and our aggressive organizing stance come daunting capacity challenges. Maintaining day-to-day operations is a struggle for survival in rough terrain.
As to the "What kind of freak does this anyway?" question, the answer is this: Someone who is motivated by justice and compassion, is unusually comfortable with risk and can take things a day at a time while doing his best to keep all the pieces glued together.
Real Change is running hard to meet rising need while we challenge the structural realities of poverty and homelessness. We depend upon supporters like you to make what we do possible while we do what we need to do. This summer fund drive, we've set a goal of $160,000 in two months. Two weeks into our two-month drive, we're averaging about $13K a week. Pretty damn good, but we need to keep pushing. Please do your part to help us get there.
A huge Real Change Thank You to all those who stepped up to the challenge last week: Alison Thomas, Ann Marchand, Anne Johnston, Anonymous, Arnold Ness, Bertie and Jim Weddell, Brenda Ray, Brittany Millay, Carolyn Plant, Cecilia Walsh, Dr. Margaret Garbe, Dysa Kafoury, Emily Bader, Eric Malone, Garry and Marjorie Prince, Gregory Katz, Howard Pellett, Jane Sheridan, John Merriam, John Paul Gritton, Judy Heinrich, Julia Paulsen and Kevin O'Connor, Julie Stohlman, Karina O'Malley and Christopher Thrasher, Katherine Kauffman, Katherine Weybright, Kathryn Currier, Lauren Manes, Lydia Balk, Lyn Eisenhour, Mamie Rockafellar, Margaret Gaines, Mary Brown, Maxine and David Nicholson, Melinda Andrews, Melisa Collinsworth, Meta Chessin, Michiko Uto, Nancy Bardeen, Patricia Boesen, Paul and Mary Pruitt, Paul Garrigue, Peter Chamberlain, Phyllis and George Haas, Randal Samstag, Raymond Pompon, Rhonda Syphax, Richard McClurg, Richard Osborn, Robert Deluna, Rosemary Calderon, Ruth Little, Sara Early, Sharon Baker, Sheila Siden (via Washington Women's Foundation), Thomas Dannenfelser, Tyler Ross, Warren Elmer, William Jarcho. Thank you. We feel the love.
Please support the summer drive by visiting realchangenews.org to make a secure online donation, or mail your gift to Real Change, 2129 Second Ave., Seattle WA, 98121. Thank you again for supporting our work at this crucial time.