Recent Gifts Bring Expansion Campaign to $3.7 Million — and Closer to Summer Groundbreaking!

With a recent anonymous and incredibly generous gift of $600,000, the Open Hand Expansion Campaign is now within $500,00 of our overall campaign goal of $4.2 million!

“We are very excited to be at this juncture, and to be able to give all of our supporters the opportunity to help us close out the campaign.” said Jackie Yeaney, Open Hand Board President. “Because we’re so close to the finish line, every donation is important at this point, regardless of the size of the gift.”

The Countdown is On!

It is important that Open Hand raise the remaining $500,000 by June of 2011 in order to satisfy one of the stipulations of a $1 million gift commitment received from a very generous Atlanta foundation. The stipulation is such that if we reach our $4.2 million goal, then we’ll receive the $1 million gift. If we don’t reach that goal, the gift will be withdrawn. So clearly, there’s a lot on the line.

To help us get there and in anticipation of a 2011 ground-breaking, the Open Hand Expansion Campaign Committee will soon announce a three-month “fundraising challenge” that will culminate with a celebration in May at the site of our expansion.

The campaign will allow for fundraising teams to form and receive recognition for their efforts in helping us raise the necessary funds to close out the campaign. Corporations, schools, families, faith and social groups will be encouraged to participate, enjoy a little friendly competition, and actually have a hand in helping us start construction on our new, expanded facility.

Groups can achieve various levels of recognition, and will be acknowledged in both the local media and Open Hand publications. Groups that raise the most contributions for the campaign will play a role in the May celebration and will be prominently featured within the new space. They will also be given a plaque to signify their team’s role in helping us make our vision a reality.

Each fundraising team will be armed with the ideas and resources they need to help inspire giving towards this historic project, including:

Unique ways to help your team sell (or purchase) personally-inscribed bricks that will be installed in highly visible areas throughout Open Hand’s newly expanded campus
Tips on how to use Facebook, Twitter and other social media to help your team make a larger contribution
Open Hand literature about the campus expansion project; logos and web links
Donation envelopes to assist in the collection of donations

Stay tuned for more details, which will be forthcoming!

For more information on the Open Hand Expansion Campaign, please contact Matt Pieper, Senior Director of Resource Development, directly at (404)375-1089 or by email.