#SaveDaraLuz Update – November News!

November 11, 2023 | Fundraising Updates

November 11, 2023

Dear Community,

We want to let you in on a little secret: we are on our way to closing the gap! So far we have raised a total of $180K since June, 2023. This means that we are more than halfway to our goal of $300K by December 2023!

Last week Dar a Luz hosted a very special event at a community member’s home. We want to acknowledge those who generously contributed to this evening in different ways. Thank you to our gracious host who offered her home, displaced her family, and allowed us to move all of her furniture for the event! Thank you to all of our donors including Buffett’s Candies, Marigold Cafe, Kendall Jackson, Farm Shark, NM Ferments, Planty Sweet and Silver Leaf Farms for providing the snacks and gifts. Thank you to Tuerta for catering the evening, to Nick and Paul for the beautiful music, and SeedPod for the design of our fundraising materials. You can check out their services and products via the logo links below.

We have an exciting announcement! On November 9th the Anderson Charitable Foundation chose Dar a Luz as the recipient of a $15K challenge grant. This means that we have to raise $15,000 from our community and contributors, find foundation(s), and/or corporation(s) that will match this grant in order to receive it. But as always, we wanted to really CHALLENGE ourselves and our community. So instead of finding ONE match, our goal is to find FIVE! We are currently looking for 5 additional foundations, corporations, or organizations that will match the Anderson Charitable Foundation’s generous contribution at 15K each, which will all together lead to a $90K increase in the amount we have raised this year.

How are we going to raise the other $120K in order to reach our goal of $300K by December 2023? We have a few ideas:

Achieving the 5:1 Matching Challenge described above!
Establishing corporate sponsorships with local companies, such as utilities, stores, and banks.
Re-negotiating our contracts with major insurance companies for equitable reimbursements for our services. This process is going well. These new rates will help close the gap between the cost of services provided and the payments we get from insurance companies, preventing a similar deficit in the future. A major step towards sustainability!

What do you have to look forward to in 2024? We will be taking our fundraising to the next level by hiring a Development Director who will lead us into the 2024 Capital Campaign. We are still trying to come up with a clever name for the Campaign (so let us know if you have any ideas)! Once we have closed our $300K deficit that was projected for 2023, the 2024 Capital Campaign will be geared towards raising enough money to buy our property and build a new building that will house our expanded services.

Are you wondering if there are other ways that you can support Dar a Luz? There are! We have created a survey for our community about their many skills and connections that could benefit Dar a Luz. Please fill it out here!

Do you have services or goods to offer?

Do you have experience being on a fundraising Board, and would you consider joining our Board?

Do you have experience creating and tapping an ongoing donor database?

Do you have a business that can donate advertising or a company that wants to help us build by donating or selling us materials at cost for the new building?

Do you know any foundations, corporations, or organizations that might want to participate in a Matching Challenge?

Do you know any local companies that want to sponsor Dar a Luz events, support groups, etc?