Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Help me

Okay, I'm going to ask.

What you are about to read is a first. Could be a last!

I need to raise at least $100,000 by October 31, 2006 in order to pay the required acceptance fee to the State of Texas to receive our low-income, housing tax credit award, to keep our architects working on our City Walk @ Akard project and to pay down our food supply account at the North Texas Food Bank.

I have resisted the urge since beginning this blog to use it as a promotional fundraising tool for the work I attempt to accomplish.

Actually, I am not giving up on that standard as I make my unusual request.

Let me lay out my thinking.

Lots of people who visit here on a fairly regular basis express strong opinions that people of faith should really play the leading role in ministry and uplift to the poor in our nation. Others express slightly different views, but no one has said that people of faith should not be involved.

Then, there are lots of people who visit this space whose lives may or may not be shaped by faith. I can't really tell. And, of course, everyone is welcome--we need everyone and every perspective here. Still, folks without faith care a great deal about the plight of the poor and underclass in our country, as well as around the world.

So, let's all get down to business.

I need to raise $100,000.

Here's how you can help me do it.

Stop reading.

Write me a check.

Or, if you prefer, reach into your wallet or purse and pull out a $1 or a $5 or a $10 or a $20 or a $50 or a $100 dollar bill and mail it to me right now.

I guarantee that every penny will go toward the fulfillment of our vision for City Walk @ Akard, our housing development in Downtown Dallas designed especially for low-income and homeless persons, and toward paying for food for low-income families.

I believe in the power of grassroots movements.

I don't think we will be successful over the long haul if we don't have that kind of involvement and "downward" engagement as we move forward into even larger, more costly and demanding efforts.

So, if you really care about the homeless and the poor in Dallas, send me a contribution.

It doesn't matter where you live. We need national help to create a model that others can use, adapt and act off of. You can help us build it.

You may or may not care, but every penny given is tax deductible and you will receive a written record of your gift, if you include your address.

I want to see how serious the readers in this blog community are about the poor.

Make your checks payable to Central Dallas Ministries and mail them or your cash donations to:

Larry James' Urban Daily, Central Dallas Ministries, P. O. Box 710385, Dallas, Texas 75371-0385.

Oh, and one more very important part of my very serious request:

Please forward this post to everyone you know who cares about poverty and real life solutions to its pain and challenge.

I'll keep you posted on the progress.

By the way, you can read more about both projects by scrolling back in the blog archives or by doing a search of my blog for "Resource Center" and/or "City Walk @ Akard."

Thanks for considering my direct request to join our team as a contributing partner. Such requests won't be frequent. However, when I make one, you can know that it is serious and important.

11 comments:

Jonathan G. Reinhardt said...

Is there a Paypal account that can be used?

Larry James said...

Jonathan, thanks for the very good question!

We have found that PayPal doesn't work well for us. It actually costs both donors and CDM, thus taking some of your funds away from our target audience. And there are other issues relative to actually accessing the funds in the account once they are there.

That said, we have other electronic options. You can go to our website at www.CentralDallasMinistries.org and donate using VISA/MC. We can do an automatic bank draft. And of course, checks work really well too!

Thanks for your interest. Sorry, we don't have the PayPal option.

Jeremy Gregg said...

Jonathan, thanks for your interest! If you'd like, you can contact me at JGregg@CentralDallasMinistries.org or 214.823.8710 x 127 and I can try to work out something for you.

There is a link on the side of Larry's blog that will allow you to donate by credit card or by automatic bank draft.

You can even enroll in monthly giving, so that you can afford a larger donation (for example, $5 per month).

However, if there is something else you'd like to do, call or email me. We can work something out!

Many blessings,
Jeremy Gregg

Unknown said...

Larry,

Thanks for involving us! I know you don't want this to be just a fundraising blog, but I hope you'll keep us updated on the progress.

Also, is there a way to designate online donations particularly for this effort? A particular comment or something?

Good luck with the effort!

Larry James said...

Charles, thanks for the encouragement! Obviously, I should have written more in my post about online giving! Revealing my age here!

You will notice that there is a donate to CDM thumbnail so that you can click on the CDM logo and you will be taken to the right page.

There is no place for designation or comment, except for the block that asks how you heard about CDM. Just write in "blog campaign" there and your gift will be designated.

Jeremy Gregg said...

On the second page of the donation page (where you actually give the donation information), you can designate the gift to go to specific programs at CDM. In the comments section on that page, you can also mention the blog campaign.

If you have any questions, email me at JGregg@CentralDallasMinistries.org. Just to be safe, go ahead and let me know when you've made a gift, and I'll be sure to allocate it to this campaign.

Many thanks and much love to all of you!

Jeremy Gregg
Director of Development
Central Dallas Ministries

Anonymous said...

Larry-

I've known you for almost 30 years and don't know of anyone more reticent about asking for money. So if you say the Ministry needs it, especially in this forum, I know that it is special. Check is in the mail.

Paul Smith

Larry James said...

Hey, Paul! Thanks for posting in here!

Your commitment to overcoming poverty in the lives of so many here in Dallas inspires us. It is because of your loyal support across so many years that we have been able to do what we have done and are determined to do. Love you, brother!

Larry James said...

Justin, can't tell you how much this means to me!

The grassroots networking of blogs and people who care will help us change things for the better, and I believe we can do it across the nation if we just don't give up.

Again, thanks!

Jason said...

Larry,
I don't have a large readership, but I'll do what I can to help spread the word, too. God bless your efforts, brother.

Larry James said...

Jason, thanks for your help! Let's keep the netword growing!