Non-Profit News

As I spent my first afternoon “generating community awareness” for the “Have a Heart for the Homeless” concert, I happened to meet a woman named Maria.

Around the age of 60, Maria is a beautiful, soft-spoken woman who lives on the streets of Lakeland. She asked me for change, and almost out of habit, I responded:

“Sorry, I don’t carry cash.”

Then, the weight of the poster I carried showed my own hypocrisy. How could I carry a poster titled “Have a Heart for the Homeless” if, in a hurry to help them from afar, I refused to spend a moment with an individual?

I stopped and turned to face Maria fully.

“I don’t carry cash, but if you’re hungry, I’d love to buy you lunch.”

So I did.  

As I begin my time with Talbot House, I am already experiencing Anthony Fusaro’s #1 rule: “Never pay for advertising.”

Talbot House is planning for one of its large fund raisers, a concert titled “Have a Heart for the Homeless.” Fusaro hopes that a local paper will do a feature on this upcoming event (March 8). He also plans on having local radio stations show their support.

My first job in helping implement the event will be generating some community awareness. AKA, I will be hanging up posters. Also, I will be soliciting support from community leaders who would like to advertise in the event’s brochure.

As I do my part to generate awareness, I want to note the response the name “Talbot House” evokes from the city of Lakeland. That might give me more clues as to their public image and their public impact. 

Today I am taking another step to discover success in the non-profit sector:

 The Talbot House, a homeless shelter and rehabilitation home, is located in downtown Lakeland. I will be shadowing Anthony Fusaro in the Development Office, helping him put on a concert titled “Heart for the Homeless”. I am very interested in how Tony brings in enough funds to run the Talbot House.

There must be an extreme amount of cash intake for such a large organization.

 That brings me to the question: HOW do they do it?

 Hopefully, my time with Tony will give me some insight on this question.