For more than half a century, One Call for All has been a unique Bainbridge island tradition. Every October, red envelopes appear in our mailboxes and islanders know that it is time to donate to their favorite nonprofit organizations.
By combining the fund appeals of all participating groups into one campaign, One Call for All gives us the opportunity to support the organizations we choose without being swamped by more than seventy individual appeals throughout the year. Best of all, 100 percent of our donations go to the organizations we select.
How is this possible? Because One Call for All is a volunteer organization, its overhead is negligible. Operating costs are covered by donations made specifically to the organization through the fundraising drive and by donations from generous individuals and local businesses.
For those new to the island, a little history may be helpful. For this we need to go back to the year 1960, when a few community-minded folks had two very important insights. One was the multiple fundraising pleas from the different organizations serving Bainbridge Island that filled our mailboxes throughout the year.
The other was the realization that individual fund-raising efforts took time, money dedication and hard work on the part of all of the organizations and added to their operating costs, which cut into the funds raised. The original founders of One Call For All decided that there had to be a better way, and they found it.
The result was a single annual fundraising campaign, originally named the Bainbridge Foundation, and now known as One Call for All. Its purpose was to benefit multiple nonprofit organizations in one annual drive. This provided an opportunity for groups large and small to share the spotlight equally and reduced the need for individual fundraising requests.
One of the many nonprofit organizations benefitting from One Call for All is the Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center. Donations received by the senior center from One Call for All are a major source of funding for its operation and services, helping to keep our membership dues low and affordable.
The Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center benefits two-fold when people donate to it through the One Call for All campaign.
Here’s why: Donors can designate organizations to which their money goes (think Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center) or they can choose to donate to the Bainbridge Island Community Fund pool. One Call for All divides and distributes monies in this general pool to eligible participating agencies. The amount each organization receives from the pool is based on the number of donors who listed that organization as one of their intended recipients, irrespective of the amount.
Therefore, no matter the size of your donation designated for the Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center, whether $10 or $100, the senior center receives an additional amount from the Bainbridge Island Community Fund pool. In effect, this expands the amount of your donation.
Please remember to include the Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center when you fill out the donation form inside your red envelope. You can also contribute through One Call for All on their website: www.onecallforall.org.
Whichever method you choose, thank you. Your generosity will help our Senior Center continue to provide the many activities and services that make it the very special place it is.
