Made a Good Good Thing Out of Bad Bad News
By now you may have heard the fantastic news! Jeannessa’s friends is officially recognized by the IRS as charitable 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization (#41-3234544)! I’ve been trying to write this post for the last few weeks, but with this leveled up status, we have leveled up work!
The IRS designation has allowed us to establish administrative framework using free or significantly discounted tools, like Canva and Quickbooks, to make our work easier. We have adopted Givebutter as our fundraising platform, now integrated into our website, just in time to support sponsorship levels for our inaugural event coming in September (more on that below). A number of supporters have asked me about recurring donations. Givebutter enables a number of options to support us financially on an ongoing basis. Check it out here!
Using these tech tools is not without growing pains. As an example, we have applied for Google Workspace for Nonprofits, which gives us among other perks “…@jeannessasfriends.org” email addresses. In spite of Google’s website saying it takes 3-5 business days, it has been over two weeks with our status stuck in “Activation request received” limbo. I’ve wasted a fair amount of time trying to look into the issue, to no avail. According to the help forums, we are not unique, so I suppose that is comforting. Hopefully, we will see it approved in the next week or so. In the meantime, please keep using jeannessasfriends@gmail.com to contact us.
Little by little, our website is evolving and becoming more robust to support our work. You will now find a page with our mission statement, vision, values, and goals, and another introducing you to our board members. (We could use one more- please let us know if you are interested!) Eventually, we will include resource pages to help connect the community with organizations, services, and information to help pets and their humans.
We are also starting to work on creating the framework to accomplish our goals of funding veterinary scholarships, providing emergency vet care for low-income families, and granting financial support to pet relief organizations so they are able to continue the amazing work they do caring for so many animals in need of safe, loving homes.
Our most immediate attention is planning our inaugural event on September 16. We will gather for a candlelight vigil at Paul Moore Park in San Jose at 6:00pm and continue with a joyful after-party at 7:30pm at Britannia Arms Almaden with live music by The Strays — featuring members of One Man Gone, Aardvark and The China Cats, and So Uncivilized. In true Jeannessa fashion, this will not be a sad occasion, but one of celebrating her passion for animals and her drive to do good in the world. We hope to see you there!
We are looking for sponsors to support this milestone event! It’s a great time to align your business (or you as an individual) with a great cause. Or if you know of a business who may be interested, we deeply appreciate your help in reaching out to them. You can find details, along with a printable sponsorship request letter and a sheet comparing the various levels here. Heads up, the deadline to have logos included on printable materials is July 20.
As I’m sure you can tell, there is a lot of work to be done! We have simple jobs like hanging posters around town (a great job for teens in need of volunteer hours for school- our status as a non-profit enables us to grant hours) to more complex roles like event planning committees and a board position. I am constantly updating our website with volunteer opportunities- please reach out if you can help.
All in all, we are off to a very strong start! I am feeling so excited and optimistic for the good Jeannessa’s Friends will bring to our community!