Nice article in the Washington Post about an annual potluck dinner which raises money for charity.
Called Womenade (tagline: "If you have lemons, make lemonade. If you have women, make Womenade."), the idea is pretty simple: show up to the party with some food and $35. The food gets eaten and the money goes into a bank account. One of the women, who happens to be a doctor with Unity Healthcare for the Homeless, then writes checks that help her patients get their lives together. The checks are made out to creditors like landlords or the phone company, to make sure that the money goes directly to the cause for which it is intended.
I like this idea for two reasons. First, there is no "organization" and no overhead. The money goes directly to fill the need. (Granted, this is only possible when someone is already in place with direct access to those in need, like the doctor in this story.) Second, I like the idea of a simple benefit fundraiser (again, with no overhead). Of course, anyone can give to charity at any time--there is no reason to wait for a special event to be the reason to give. Rather, benefits generate money on top of the regular donations. Creating something from nothing, and helping even more. That's where it's at.
Posted by sarah at February 17, 2004 03:12 PM in Ideas