Which Gate Are You Walking Through?

Wide Gate Versus Narrow Gate

Wide Gate Versus Narrow Gate

 

Scripture speaks of the narrow and the wide gates.  In Matthew 7:13. We are warned to  

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to

destruction, and many enter through it.”

I know each of us can think of plenty of people entering the wide and far easier gate to get through!

But, I believe, as Christian business women we need to be the best representatives of Christ that we can be. That is one of the reasons I started Lydia’s Daughters©. 

Certainly, we are there to support one another and our business endeavors, but I believe that we have an even more important role as Christians on the frontlines of business. 

We are called to be influencers for Jesus.  As Christians, all eyes are on us anyway; so we might as well strive to walk our Christian walks in the best way possible.

Together, at Lydia’s Daughters© gatherings, we can learn from each other and be supported by each other at the same time. 

It’s just what women do!

Therefore, I am pleased to announce that I am opening 2 Lydia’s Daughters© mentoring groups in Orange County, California.

We will have one in North County in the Orange area and one in South County in Laguna Niguel. Because I have no plans to leave my career, these meetings must be in the evening.

I urge you to contact me ASAP as each group is limited to 10 women from different industries.  We only have a few open spots in both groups.

Please respond today to the “Free Consultation” button for more details. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Jeanne

Jeanne Gormick
Starting Place: What Are You Spending Today?
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Dream of quitting your job to stay home with the kids? The first step is understanding your expenses. The second? Seeing if your family can cover them comfortably on just one salary. Remember, the more accurate the information you enter, the more confident you can be about the results. * Not sure what to put in each slot? Click on the ? for tips. If something doesn't apply to you, go ahead and leave the field blank.

Your Income

Step 1: Enter Your Monthly Income

Your after-tax monthly income:

Your partner's after-tax monthly income:

Total: This is your after-tax (net) annual earnings now

Step 2: Enter Your Potential Stay-at-Home Monthly Income

Your after-tax work-at-home monthly income:

Your Expenses

Step 1: Enter Your Monthly Home and Living Expenses

Mortgage

Rent

Car Payments

Utilities

Groceries

Insurance premiums

Other household bills combined

Debt payments

Contribution to retirement funds account (e.g. IRAs) outside of those automatically deducted from your paycheck

Contribution to college funds

Dinners out, take-out, movies, other entertainment

Emergency fund for unexpected expenses (car or home repairs, etc.)

Total: This is your total yearly outlay for basic living expenses

Step 2: Enter Your Monthly Childcare Expenses

Childcare expenses incurred by working

Total: This is your total yearly childcare cost

Step 3: Enter Your Monthly Work Expenses

Commuting expenses

Lunch/snacks/coffee/after-work drinks out

Work clothes

Dry cleaning

Total: This is your total yearly work cost

Step 4: Enter Any Other Annual Expenses

Yearly vacations

Holiday and birthday gifts

Beauty and family upkeep

Clothes (non-work related)

Child-related expenses

Medical expenses not covered by insurance

Gym/club membership dues

Everything else you spend money on

Total: This is your total yearly extras cost

The History of FUNdraising
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Have you seen the bumper sticker - "Fundraisers are asking for it?"  Well, they are...and they have been for a long time!

 From the NY Public Library's annual dinner that raised $2.8 million last year to the thousands of dollars raised by service club rubber ducky races or all-you-can-eat contests, fundraising efforts produce much needed funds to continue important programs and causes. 

 Here are just a few of the possibilities:  Food Events, Fashion Shows, Dance/Balls, Goods and Services Auctions (our specialty), Product Sales, Event Sales, A Night at the Theatre, Carnivals, Trike, Bike or Jog-a-thons, Newspaper Drives, Recycling, Celebrity Events, Contests, and Golf or other Sports Tournaments...

 Busy volunteers in organizations around the world are always asking for it!

 From major campaigns like the United Way, the American Cancer Society, Muscular Dystrophy and others...

 Fund Development professionals around the world are asking for it, too!

 Have you ever wondered how fundraising got started in our country?

 Probably the most basic grassroots event efforts took the form of a bake sale or a quilting bee at a local church.  And certainly, it must have been the Catholic Church that took fund development to its height centuries ago with planned giving programs.

 I'd like to share some interesting fundraising history facts.

 The American Society for the Control of Cancer (now the American Cancer Society) was founded in 1913.  Originally begun by the medical community, over the years they began to turn to lay leadership and using volunteers.

 Corporate giving in the 20's and 30's typically went to community chest and causes of the Great Depression.  Corporate giving shot up dramatically after WWII from $266 million in 1945 to $20.77 billion in 2017.

 In 1938 the March of Dimes was considered the most successful mass campaign to date.  It was started in the early 30's by President Franklyn Roosevelt.  His "Birthday Balls" raised more than $1 million.  When they began to involve the Hollywood community, things changed dramatically.  Comedian, Eddie Cantor, is credited with renaming the campaign "The March of Dimes".  In an offhanded remark he suggested people just send their dimes directly to the White House.  Hence, "The March of Dimes".  The response was so overwhelming that White House staffers were opening daily loads of dimes instead of performing their regular duties.  $268,000 in dimes was received in that first campaign.  The program moved quickly to the streets...out of the White House.  Movie stars made pitches in theatres and cans were distributed everywhere.  A creative idea took place in the 1950 drive, where people left porch lights on for 1 hour to make it easy for volunteers to make collections.

 World War II perfected fundraising techniques in many other ways, too.  The YMCA, YWCA, the National Catholic Community, the Salvation Army and the Jewish Welfare Board joined forces to form the National United Welfare Committee to finance activities in communities hard hit by the war.  These efforts led to another organization known as the United Service Organization for National Defense, Inc. or USO.

 The Red Cross brought experience, imagination and polished performance to the art of raising money in 1945.

 The need for fundraising drives became apparent, so united funding programs sprouted up everywhere.  Los Angeles was the first community to adopt the name United Way in 1963.

 This eventually paved the way for payroll deductions of charitable contributions.

 The first united fund for colleges started in the Black community in 1944, to support Black colleges.  This program is now known as the United Negro College Fund.

 In 1954 a matching gift program was begun by the General Electric Foundation.  Today there are more than 1,000 companies with established programs that match employee gifts, mostly to colleges and universities.

 Advances in technology are rapidly creating additional changes to fundraising.

 The 1980's exploded the concept of planned giving, though as I mentioned before, the Catholic Church had been doing it for centuries.  The first formal, broad based marketing of a planned giving program took place at Pomona College in the 80's.

 Telemarketing also began in earnest after WWII.  But it wasn't until 1977 when William Freyd of IDC in Bloomfield, New Jersey developed a more personal combination of direct mail and telemarketing follow-up that led to extremely effective telemarketing for the raising of money.

 Telethons started with one for Muscular Dystrophy in the early 1950's.

The War Bond drives of WWII eventually took to the airwaves with celebrities making appeals for contributions.  Little did they know back then that today's fundraising technology would eventually include the cyberspace airwaves of the Internet!  Today most service clubs, churches, schools and other grassroots organizations have a web presence. 

 Moving to events-oriented fundraising...

 San Francisco's first Black Tie Dinner Dance for charity was held in 1954, benefiting the California Pacific Medical Center.  Since then, they've taken their efforts to new heights. They have now developed partnerships with other medically-oriented causes, like the Betty Ford Center to support the needs of the local community.

 Creativity has always been the key to good fundraising whether it be a corporate entity lending its support to a worthy cause or simply a bake for the local PTA.

 As we enter a new decade, there is continued need for effective fundraising. Your programs and causes are important! For this reason, I am sharing my years of expertise to support your grassroots FUNdraising efforts. By applying the techniques larger organizations have used over the years, your volunteers can also grow to do their best too. They can become increasingly effective in achieving the financial goals and program objectives you have.

 If you’d like to know how to put the FUN back into your FUNdraising and make more money than you’ve ever dreamed possible.

Ask for Free Consultation Today!

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