WMFHA Gives Back Program Success
2018 marked our twelfth year supporting DAWN. We raised $46,964 in 2018, a huge increase of 29% more than the previous year. Over the years we have proudly donated over $194,500 to DAWN, but that is not our only measure of success. When our partners want to be even more involved with the association, we call that a success. “Knowing that we have you as an anchor and somebody who is growing with us, there aren’t words to express what that means. It’s an honor to be a recipient, it’s an honor to be involved. I hope we can do other things together because you make a huge difference,” says Cheryl Kilodavis.
Also, programs are determined successful when our members feel the impact.
“I think it’s life-changing, knowing that you are contributing huge funds to groups that pass those services along to many people,” says Christina Koski of Thrive Communities.
Since 2015, we have donated over $152,000 to Childhaven. Last year alone we raised $47,204. “We are so appreciative! Folks like WMFHA, you are really what keep organizations like ours afloat,” says Rhonda Smith. “We support each other as a community because we are all doing some overlapping work, but when people see how we are connecting beyond just the work part of what we all do is also important.”
With Move For Hunger, we measure the success of the program in the industry engagement growth and the donation growth over the years. The 3,472 pounds of food our members donated last year equates to 2,893 meals for people suffering from food scarcity. To date, WMFHA members have donated almost 9,000 pounds of food to Northwest Harvest. Due to the success of the program initially, Move For Hunger is now working with twelve different apartment associations nationwide.
“I can’t stress enough how impactful the first partnership with an apartment association was. It has really opened a ton of doors to us,” says Adam Lowy, Move For Hunger’s Founder and Executive Director.
Rebuilding Together measures the success of our work based on priority repairs and building relationships. “I know the home improvement is pretty high for your projects because you are usually taking things on like redoing the entire kitchen, replacing flooring, making sure the roof is waterproof, and restoring heat. That to us is where success starts is when you are taking care of effective repairs in keeping people in their homes long-term and preventing negative health outcomes,” says Caleb Marshall, Executive Director. “Also, success is how you have been able to do the projects without internal sponsorship funding. The amount of in-kind resources that you bring into a project is beyond a measurable value in terms of dollars. And the kinds of partnerships and relationships you provide in introducing us to the broader business community are instrumental in helping us grow.”