The Final Push — How a COVID-19 Nonprofit Hit a Goal of $10K in Donations
From the Desk of John Schirrippa, Founder, Unity Bands
In December 2020, I hosted a virtual launch party for this concept known as Unity Bands. I got accidentally kicked out of the Zoom meeting and in my absence, our digital marketing correspondent, Dave, declared that $10,000 in donations would be a reasonable goal.
And here we are, just over six months later. AND WE DID IT!
The story of this week is not just THAT we did it, but HOW we did it. There is a remarkable story in the final push across the $10K finish line.
You can trace this episode back to a month ago with my sister and international correspondent, T, literally taking cover in a bomb shelter in Israel as rockets rained down on Tel Aviv. When the dust settled, life returned to normal there. She caught wind of a business owner, Juliette, in East Hampton, New York hosting raffles for charitable causes. T took the leap, reached out to her, and explained the Unity Bands story via Facebook Messenger and asked if Juliette would consider hosting a raffle for Unity Bands. Over a week went by, so T figured it was no luck.
But then Juliette responded. She hosted a raffle dedicated to Unity Bands and raised $750. I couldn’t believe when I heard this news. I had no idea any of this was going on. I was not involved with the planning. It just happened. And this is kind of what I envisioned for Unity Bands all along. That people would spring up and support the mission without me asking.
Our strategic advisor, Khalil, prophesized that T would be a critical player for Unity Bands back in January. And it turns out that he is our resident Soothsayer.
What else can I add? Oh yeah. I talked about a new vision for this nonprofit project after $10K with our communications director, Becky, a week ago. “Eradicate COVID-19 from the face of the planet.” “Perfect,” Becky said, “don’t change a thing.” A week later, Juliette sends me a note with the donation, “Let’s eradicate this terrible virus that has taken way too much from us.” You can’t script this stuff.
Juliette lost her husband to COVID-19 earlier this year. It broke my heart when I heard that news. But out of the darkness, comes the light. I was reading a book recently entitled, “Forces for Good,” about what makes high-impact nonprofits great. The authors mention how sometimes if you’re working on a nonprofit mission that people can connect with, an angel investor will appear to help you out, whether it is writing a check or donating time. And that is exactly who Juliette is. An angel investor.
This news is truly unreal. A ridiculous idea about selling wristbands in November and the quest for $10K in donations ending like this. I will be sharing a separate post about the highlights of the overall Unity Bands journey but I had to start with this one. Thank you to ALL who support Unity Bands. Stay tuned.
Hope. Fight. Unity.
John