As a team we chose our mission statement to be “to serve the community by supporting child and youth services”. I believe it fits our groups purpose because we plan to choose an organization that helps provide a home for homeless children. I believe I will encounter not being able to successfully reach out to board members of large organizations but will be able to get through to smaller organizations.

I learned that everyone has a unique set of interests. These interest reflect their personality and the person they are today. Our team chose to each raise $25 each and do any type of fundraiser we choose.

My group decided on an organization to donate to because one of the team members had a connection to someone inside make-a-wish foundation. She learned a lot about the organization through this person and reviewed the quantitative data from the 990 form and we as a group decided that it would be a good fit for our donation to go towards. We were given a set amount of money to allocate our money to an organization. I have had a pleasant experience working as a group, I found it easy to get things accomplished and make decisions. We have not had any disagreements.

I interviewed my mother because I felt like it was important for me to learn about her past and what shaped her in to the person that she is today. One thing she said that surprised me was a problem in the world that she would fix, which was starvation in children. It surprised me because I didn’t know that was something she was passionate about. I learned that my mother has a very broad set of things she’s passionate about and things she would change in the world today.

From the non-profit panel I learned that it is very important to talk with a representative or board member of an organization before donating because you get a true understanding of the organization and of the people running it. Sitting down and taking to someone in person helps to get a feel for the passion behind the organization and the reason it exists rather than a hollow desrciption on a computer screen. I am learning that it takes a lot of effort to fundraise money and now I am starting to appreciate and recognize the hard work that goes in to it.

I am learning that it is not just quantitative data that needs to be evaluated. It is qualitative data that needs to be evaluated because you want to ensure that the people running the fundraiser are truly passionate and actually care about their cause. I see equal value in both because a charity that is run properly should excel both of these categories. I am finding it easy to evaluate organizations but difficult to choose which organization to donate to.