Hands on Bay Area LIFT

Tonight, I attended the East Bay LIFT (Leadership Institute Fellowship Team) meeting which was created by Hands On Bay Area http://handsonbayarea.org/ The goal of LIFT is to help participants deepen their knowledge of the nonprofit sector and grassroots community organizing. Fellows will support the staff and mission of Hands On Bay Area. LIFT Fellows will gain skills and tools they can use to become more fully engaged and effective community members, creating change in their community. I'm very excited about being in this program because I'm fascinated with the nonprofit sector and I really want to make a difference in our community, going beyond the volunteer work I already perform with Pets Unlimited http://www.petsunlimited.org/, Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation http://www.arf.net/, the San Francisco SPCA http://www.sfspca.org/home.shtml, and the House Rabbit Society http://www.rabbit.org/

The goal of the East Bay LIFT team is to raise at least $1,000 per fellow. Since there are five people on our team, we will need to raise a total of $5,000 by June 2008. We plan to reach our goal through a combination of individual solicitations, grant writing, corporate sponsorships, creating an East Bay regional blog, volunteer outreach programs, and community outreach programs. To learn more about the nonprofit sector, I plan to enroll in a number of different classes offered by the Foundation Center in San Francisco http://foundationcenter.org/, including Introduction to Fundraising Planning, Grantseeking Basics, Proposal Writing Basics, Introduction to Foundation Directory Online, and Introduction to Corporate Giving.

Another exciting program which I will be involved with is working with the Taproot Foundation in San Francisco http://www.taprootfoundation.org/ The Taproot Foundation strengthens nonprofits by engaging business professionals in service. My Public Relations professor at Golden Gate University recommended I look into this organization since I'm very interested in performing volunteer work for nonprofit organizations in the Bay area. I can't wait to get started!