ignite!: A Bridge to Sustainability
Today, I am writing to ask you for help.
As you know, anything worthwhile takes a community. Moving Leadership Eastside toward sustainability is no different. We have two upcoming opportunities to support Leadership Eastside. If you want the details, read on, if you want the bottom line, feel free to skip to the bottom! TLDR: We have a plan and we need your help to get there.
It’s an exciting time at Leadership Eastside. We are busy celebrating our 20th Anniversary; measuring our 20 years of impact; updating our Mission, Vision, and Value statements; crafting messaging and purpose through rebranding; and taking stock of who we are based on our past as we look to shape our future. Our classes are robust and engaged, and our cohorts are teaching us as much as we teach them.
Even with all the excitement and improvements, this is a challenging time.
We continue to struggle with the day-to-day operations and financial support needed to move the organization to sustainability. It won’t be a surprise to most of you to know that merely keeping our doors open through the leadership transition followed by the pandemic was next to miraculous. Where PPP funding kept the lights on, the drop in tuition from dramatically smaller cohorts in those years took a hit on the overall financial solvency of Leadership Eastside. Jennifer and I stepped into our roles to help rebuild the organization from the ground up, and there is still work to do.
We are so proud of the collective work our Leadership Eastside community has done in just a few years, and we see incredible potential for the future. AND, we know we are overextending our staff and volunteers. To be honest, cash flow is so tight that conversations around “will we be able to get paid this week?” are unfortunately common.
Many of you have been incredibly generous to Leadership Eastside over the years, during times of challenge and to build our scholarship fund. Leadership Eastside has an immediate need for funds to provide a bridge to sustainability as we continue to shape and execute the strategies that shift our financial narrative. I’m asking you to consider helping us again. Leadership Eastside has never been more important -- our mission to build leadership capacity to address complex issues is essential now. Your gifts will directly support the foundation of who Leadership Eastside is, and our capacity to continue to serve and grow our service in the future to you, our community members.
To me, it’s not enough to just say “we need help,” we need an actionable plan.
We have a plan, it’s in motion, and we need your help to get there!
Beyond CORE Experience… New Revenue Sources
Our curriculum team is in the process of designing a whole suite of new offerings, for both alumni and new students, that build on our CORE Experience program. We are creating deep dives into subject-matter areas that will help you continue to build your leadership capacity, hone skills, and gain some new tools. We are also creating ways to engage the Leadership Eastside network in the work that is happening around us and support each other. More to come as we continue to build the programs and tools to further support the community in our critical work.
Reconnect, Celebrate... and Raise Money
Our FIRST major fundraising event will celebrate our 20th Anniversary and all we’ve accomplished. Hard to believe that in 20 years, Leadership Eastside has never held a fundraiser.
SAVE THE DATE: Our 20th Anniversary Celebration Gala, presented by Amazon, will take place on Saturday, November 15, at the Hyatt Regency, Bellevue. Next month, you will receive an invitation to the Gala and tickets will go on sale. Purchase early, the first 100 tickets are discounted.
Your Support Matters
Your volunteer and financial support makes a HUGE difference to Leadership Eastside delivering programs, offering scholarships and engaging our community. We would greatly appreciate your financial support at this key moment. You can donate at anytime and any size on the “Donate” tab on our website. Or, many of you are familiar with and enjoy GiveBIG, which is coming up on May 5th & 6th. Our board has generously offered a $5,000 match for GiveBIG to support Leadership Eastside. While the official GiveBIG dates aren’t for a couple of weeks, pre-giving is available now, so don’t feel like you need to wait! Our goal is to raise $10,000 through GiveBIG and direct donations – the match will apply to both giving options.
Together with GiveBIG and the Gala, we anticipate having the fiscal resilience we need to launch the new programs and opportunities which will position Leadership Eastside to build on success and sustainability well into the future.
Any gift, small or large is a step towards meeting our goal.
Thank you for your passion for our community and Leadership Eastside,
From the desk of Jeni Craswell
