Article and photo by Urban Alliance staff.
When her birthday was approaching, Urban Alliance’s Angela Colantonio knew just how she wanted to celebrate. Because it fell on Giving Tuesday, an annual international day of giving that falls at the start of the holiday season, she thought it was the perfect opportunity to leverage her special day for a big impact.
Each year, Giving Tuesday harnesses the potential of social media and the generosity of people around the world to bring about real world change in their community, region, and around the globe. It provides a platform to encourage the donation of time, resources and talents to address humanitarian causes. And, it brings together the collective power of like-minded people, families and organizations.
“I’m so thankful that I honestly have everything that I need and many of the things I want in life, so it’s very exciting to encourage others to direct any birthday gifts that they may have given me to a fundraiser that supports an organization and mission I care very much about,” explained Colantonio. “It was also an awesome opportunity to create a connection between my network of family and friends and the Urban Alliance network, which was a really special way to celebrate both my birthday and Giving Tuesday.”
By pledging her birthday to Urban Alliance’s #UAGivingTuesday campaign, Angela has shown her friends and family her sincere appreciation for and validation of UA’s work efforts to meet needs in our community.
“One of the best things a donor can do to make a positive impact beyond their gift is to invite others to come alongside them in their investment to leverage their gifts collectively. Angela’s efforts have been encouraging and I look forward to helping others add special community gifts to their birthdays in the future,” shared Jaleith Gary, Urban Alliance’s Director of Philanthropy.
According to Colantonio, a birthday fundraiser is the ultimate win-win situation. “Everyone gets to give,” she explained. “Your friends and family are able to give you a birthday gift by contributing to your fundraiser, and then you’re able to give those monetary gifts to an organization that you’d like to support. When giving to Urban Alliance, the blessing of giving goes even further because 100% of donated funds are invested in churches and ministry organizations committed to participating in UA initiatives and serving the community.”
All the funds raised by Urban Alliance are used to make strategic grant investments in the programs run by churches and ministry organizations that are engaged in UA initiatives and are helping people in our local community. These investments are leveraged with research on community and organizational needs, training, consultation, volunteer mobilization and technical assistance.
“We want all of the programs we support to be successful in helping people in deep, transformational ways; and so we come alongside them to ensure a successful execution of what they set out to do,” shared Gary. “This year’s #UAGivingTuesday campaign donations will go to the area of most need for our 2018 grantmaking and capacity-building resource allocation platform.”
Thanks to Colantonio’s efforts, and the response from her family and friends, she was able to raise $324, which will likely be matched by Facebook.
“For our overall #UAGivingTuesday campaign, we raised $447 and gained 8 new donors, which we’re excited about because it’s always been about building relationships and sharing in a common vision to see people become healthy and whole,” shared Gary.
You can make a difference by investing in Urban Alliance initiatives, which strengthen and multiply the impact of churches and ministry organizations addressing the practical, emotional, relational and spiritual needs of people in our local communities. 100% of your gift will go towards helping people experience hope, get the help they seek and achieve positive transformation in their lives. Click here or email Jaleith Gary at jaleith.gary@urbanalliance.com to take action today.
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