Big Orange Heart needs a minimum of £10,000 (about $12,500 or Euro 11,000) every month to operate at its simplest level. This enables us to continue supporting the mental well-being and health of those of us that work remotely, at our present level.
Last week we shared just where that £10k goes and it shows that the hourly rate for the support provided is just £16 ($20 or Euro18)! Now that is pretty darned amazing. The thing is – we don’t have £10k coming in each month. So…
How to raise £10,000 every month
While the partnership volunteers continue to work on securing sponsorship, which is hard work for all concerned just now, I want to see how we can inspire the remote working community to fund this essential service; this is not a good time at every level even with the desire to support us and positive feedback and encouragement.
My (almost insulting – sorry) question is, therefore, how many individuals or small companies do we need to give £10 each month to achieve this? 1000, which actually doesn’t feel too much of a stretch, when we boil it down… Can we reach 250 of us each week for a month, or have some people give more (but then some could only give less), reach 250 in the UK, 250 in the US, 250 across the rest of Europe, 250 elsewhere in the world? I don’t know, but the Pollyanna in me believes we can do this, somehow.
But these are lean times, not only tough for a charity to be asking you for your support, but also for you to commit to a gift on an ongoing basis; we know, we hear you. But if we and you want this service to continue this is what we need to achieve. Is that possible? Can we do this? It may be that those of us on the team are too close to see some obvious ways to ask for this, to make it happen. It may be that you have an answer, or a possible solution and we would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.
Fundraising activities?
Following on from May’s focus on mental health awareness it may be that through June we can focus on a month of fundraising activity. And there are many ideas – so many – however this would obviously take /an even bigger commitment from the team and our volunteers. I’m up for giving as much of my time as I can and there will be others who feel the same. And that may get us through another month, but what then? We need to sustain a significant level of giving, every month we need that £10,000 simply to continue with what we’re doing, having already pared-down options and plans since coronavirus impacted our world, resulting in lower donations.
How can we encourage and support you to be able to afford that £10/$10/E10 every month? Can you added that to each month’s quotes, perhaps? Create a “something” that you can sell for $5 or so, over and over. Check current subscriptions and if you find one you no longer use, nor are likely to in the foreseeable, cancel that and route that fund elsewhere.
For me, as well as donating my time to Big Orange Heart, I’ve also set up a recurring £10 each month by direct debit; it took moments and I know I can cover that, having reviewed my subscriptions and dropped a couple that I’ve not used for an embarrassing length of time. I have also committed my Blogmistress service to support BOH by giving 10% of profits there – not much but I can do that and if enough of us do the same, it will make a difference. And I’m launching a club this week that can gift a quarter of its profits every month.
Because Big Orange Heart is important.
It has saved lives and improves lives every day with the services provided. It’s made a huge difference to me, personally, not just by being a part of the team, but also my own mental health. I am part of a “Life Group” that meets weekly and has become family to me – my business is better for this (the club mentioned earlier – the group is instrumental in me being able to launch), as is my personal well-being. Sometimes just adding to the “how are you” Slack channel with my number for that day can be a focus to improving how I feel, and seeing others can cheer me. Being a companion is also utterly fulfilling – knowing I’m making a positive difference for someone simply by listening and being there when needed. Just some of the ways Big Orange Heart gives me joy and has the intended effect on my mental health.
And that’s just me. There are many others who are touched in other ways – with the open chats on Fridays, reaching out for support when needed, being heard, listened to, a hand reaching out to them, to you.
And now it’s us that need you, if you can. We want to at least be able to continue with the work we do – so much of it in private, obviously, but you can get a pretty good idea of the ethos and the caring, and yes, the love. Are there enough of us that can keep Big Orange Heart operating? With our individual £10, $10, E10 every month? The optimist in me thinks so…
If you work remotely, Big Orange Heart is here for you.
You may be new to this way of working or been at it for years and know all too well the ups and downs of working from whatever space you can find in your home. Sometimes it’s wonderful, but not always, not for many of us. Sometimes it is lonely or less easy to be focused, or the balance with personal life can wobble, or… so many things that it can be easier to handle if we can remove ourselves to an office for our work life. We cannot even escape to the coffee shops or co-working spaces just now. We have to handle remote working in the best ways we can. And Big Orange Heart is here to help you do that.
Big Orange Heart