Everybody wins with community fundraising
One of the benefits of living with children are the cartoons. Not all of them I understand or get the appeal of, but there are some gems. One of my favourites is "Monsters vs. Aliens". A line that always makes me chuckle from one episode is Link saying "We are the win-win twins." Surprising things can make me think.
I grew up hearing from assorted people and some media that there is no such thing as a win-win situation. In every interaction someone loses and someone wins. It is impossible to have an equal exchange so always be on the winning side. I think that this concept has been a large part of the unequal and imbalanced economic situation in the world.
In the last few decades different organizations have formed to try to overcome the economic situation on the global scale. These have had various success and have made the Western consumer more aware of the impacts of their decisions.
I think a win-win situation is very possible. Just like in a healthy ecosystem, where there is no such thing as waste material and everything cycles through the never-ending system, a local economy can be set up to have the same cyclical design. One business’ unwanted or unneeded material is often something that can be used by another or passed along to non-profit agencies for their use. Through a healthy community network, win-win situations can be found on a regular basis. One of the keys to making this work is to change our mindsets. Instead of thinking of each of us as an endpoint in the economic system we can think of ourselves as a link in the broad cycle of the system. Money is the "energy" that flows through our economic system and just like an ecosystem it doesn't have to stop at any one person or business.
I'm committed to helping local communities by offering wholesale prices to groups looking for fundraising opportunities. I have been able to work with some great organizations in our community that work tirelessly, and very often run by volunteers, to make our city better. If your organizations needs some help with fundraising, check out the Patrick's Beans fundraising program.
