Long Standing Non Profit Announces Fund Raising Campaign For Lompoc Residents
Solutions For People, a local non-profit since 1989, announces a sweeping fundraising campaign designed to help fight poverty in Lompoc and surrounding towns.
Lompoc, CA – July 15, 2015 /MarketersMedia/ —
A long established and well respected non-profit organization has announced an aggressive and over-reaching capital fundraising campaign to help combat the ill effects of poverty in Lompoc California. Although the ultimate goal is to create a new downtown community center, the immediate drive is to maintain funding for existing programs that face cuts due to budget shortfalls.
“We have been making progress, we have been keeping kids in school and getting them into college, and we cannot afford to lose this momentum now,” said B. Williams, founder and president of Solutions For People, a local community non-profit for over 25 years. “The success that these kids have gets transferred back to their families, and in turn, helps the community grow as well.”
Lompoc is one of the poorest cities in one of the richest counties in the state. According to recent figures released by the U.S. Census bureau, the median household income is $16,000 a year less than the state average. This disparity means that 23.7%, nearly a quarter of the population, lives at or below the poverty line. And because they are located in such a wealthy county, property values also make it a struggle to get ahead.
According to information on the database for City-Data.com, an online business that tracks economy, income and other statistics nationwide, one neighborhood just north of downtown Lompoc has a median yearly income of just over twenty two thousand dollars. This puts almost half of that area’s population – 47% – at or below the national poverty level. But in that same area, the average property value is ten times the annual income.
“These financial challenges keep people struggling,” Williams said as he announced the first phase of his fundraising campaign. “Too many turn to the easy money of drugs, and that only helps to further erode the community.”
Solutions For People has been running a number of after school programs designed to help children stay in school, as well as partnering with other non-profits that provide year round activities. The ultimate goal is to create a downtown center – the Cultural Youth Center and Family Support Center – where all of their programs can be in one centralized location, but the urgent need is to be able to finance the current programs to ensure their continuing success.
Williams has decided to reach out directly to people who have a desire to help. He has partnered with the popular crowd source funding website GoFundMe. By appealing directly to individuals and organizations, it guarantees that the money will go directly for the projects that Solutions For People are currently offering and not get lost in bureaucracy.
“I created Solutions For People to give back to the community that helped me,” Williams said in a statement, “and I know there are many other people who would like to give back as well.”
For more information on how you can donate to Solutions For People, please visit their website as shown below.
**Jack Terry is a freelance writer who specializes in non-traditional fundraising solutions for community activists and non-profits.
For more information about us, please visit http://www.gofundme.com/solutionsforpeople
Contact Info:
Name: Jack Terry
Organization: Solutions For People
Release ID: 86864
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