This morning I attended a breakfast hosted by The Children’s Room of Arlington, MA (check out their Firstgiving page).  The Children’s Room provides support for grieving children, teens and families.  Historically, they have funded their operations from a variety of sources, including individual donations and traditional fundraising events such as walkathons and auctions.

In this difficult economy, they are continuing to press forward; Executive Director Barbara Clarke has a bold vision that includes increasing the number of fulltime employees and the availability of their services.  She realizes that this vision requires more funding.  Instead of doing the “same old, same old” programs, The Children’s Room decided to try this morning’s fundraising breakfast (a good call as evening events are pretty challenging for me schedule-wise).  Corporate sponsors (special thanks to Millipore, Asera Care Hospice and the Boston Red Sox) covered the cost of the room and food–yes, there is still sponsorship money out there – you need to go get it!

Once in the room, I nibbled on breakfast while they shared their story.  It is simple and compelling: lives are turned upside down when a parent or sibling dies, and The Children’s Room is there to help with counseling.  After a couple of testimonials from parents and kids, they played a super compelling video.  There wasn’t a dry eye among the 200 attendees.  Finally, they shared their reasons for looking for more money and made their ask.  Suddenly my check, which was at the top end of my charitable giving scale, felt really small.  Chances are I’ll get a letter and make another year end donation.

So what did I learn from all of this?

• There is still money out there for corporate sponsorships.
• Person-to-person asks are still a very effective way to find new donors.
• A positive outlook is helpful to thrive in a down economy.

To Barbara, Kim, Mike and everyone at the Children’s Room thank you for asking and keep up the great work.  I am now a supporter for life.