Support Mercy Corps and test my software (updated 10/24)
A handful of times a year I abuse my privileges as site administrator and make a post about my favorite charity-- which also happens to be my employer. I hope community members do not mind too much. -F
A project I've been working on for months and dreaming of for even longer is launching on MercyCorps.org [1] today (well, soft launching... a wider public launch will happen next week). Today we are introducing a feature we're calling "personalized fundraising pages [2]" that will let anyone with a website or blog or event set up their own customized page on Mercycorps.org.
Here is my fundraising page [3].
Our hope is that this tool will empower donors and communities like The Fresh Loaf to quickly and easily raise money for causes they believe in.
If you have ten minutes please check it out and consider making a small gift to Mercy Corps [3]. I've set a goal of $1000 on my page, thinking that if one hundred members of The Fresh Loaf community each gave ten dollars it would be a powerful demonstration of the strength of our community.
If you are unfamiliar with Mercy Corps, please take a look around the Mercy Corps website [4] to learn more about us. As I've mentioned previously, I was a Mercy Corps supporter and fan for many years before I found a job there. Working there has only deepened my belief that they are committed to improving the lives of people in some of the world's toughest places-- including many that don't typically make the news headlines like CAR [5], Tajikistan [6], and Niger [7]-- and to being efficient stewards of their donors' money. Your show of support would mean a great deal to me.
-Floyd
Update 10/23/2009: In less than 48 hours we've raised over 600 dollars. Most impressive to me is that this isn't because of one or two large individual donations bumping up the total. Rather it has been sheer number of community members who have stepped forward and made a contribution.
As I mentioned in my comments below, as soon as I posted this I thought perhaps I was being presumptuous setting a $1,000 goal. But seeing that we've gotten nearly 2/3rds of the way there in less than 48 hours, I think we can do it... if not today, then by the end of this weekend. So if you haven't made a donati0n through this page [3] and can afford to, please do! Even a 10 dollar donation is enough to provide a pile of a blankets to a family whose home was destroyed in the recent earthquake near Padang, Indonesia [8], or $15 provides an emergency supplies kit to a displaced family in Pakistan [9]. Little gifts make a difference too.
Update 10/24/2009: Only $65 to go! Who will step forward and push us over the top?!?
Update 10/24/2009 8 PM Pacific Time: We made it! Thank you, everyone.