2017 – Another Successful Year of Fundraising!

Community Health Educator Caroline teaching about water treatment with a ceramic filter during World Water Day 2017.

Maji Safi Group has a lot to do with roots. In 2013, our nonprofit took root in Shirati, Tanzania, to address the root causes of preventable waterborne diseases. Accordingly, our grassroots fundraising in the US started taking root in 2013 as well. Since then, Maji Safi Group has put down deep roots in rural Tanzania, helping tens of thousands of residents understand the importance of personal and household hygiene, public health and the economic advantage of focusing on relatively inexpensive disease prevention instead of costly treatment. Good health is the root of a productive life, and Maji Safi Group still depends on grassroots fundraising for our financial health. Along the Front Range in Colorado and all around the world, we have worked had on developing a group of passionate supporters, so our fundraising efforts could develop roots like perennial flowers, blooming year after year, and we are starting to yield a sizeable annual crop. Throughout the year, our fundraising events support the work we do – work that is rooted in a deep belief that participatory development and empowering communities to address their own health issues will lead to healthier lives!

The Friends of Maji Safi Group

Maji Safi Group has developed an amazing base of about 400 loyal and very generous donors from all around the United States and six continents. Thanks to their continued support, we can trust that our funding will be reliable, and we are starting to see more donors believe in PEP – The Power of Extended Philanthropy. When donors commit to a monthly donation, they enable nonprofits to do strategic planning at a very efficient and constructive level.

 

The Maji Safi Golf-a-thon

On a little bit chilly September morning, 19 women from the 18-hole league at Lake Valley Golf Club and Maji Safi Group’s president, Bruce Pelz, set out to play the third annual Maji Safi Golf-a-thon. When dusk put an end to play, they had played 613 holes and, thanks to our 107 generous donors, raised $57,000. The Maji Safi Golf-a-thon has become a day of amazing camaraderie and intense physical effort to make a difference in the lives of others. It is the backbone of our annual fundraising efforts.

Maji Safi Group at eTown Hall
On Dec. 3, eTown Hall buzzed with happy Maji Safi Group supporters as we ran our second annual fundraising party. The free afternoon show featured juggling, dancing, singing and a wonderful magic show. The evening show featured great food, open bar, live music, and fundraising games. This year, we added a holiday market stocked with authentic Tanzanian art and crafts items, gift certificates and items donated by Boulder restaurants, merchants and artists, and beautiful quilted creations from the Front Range Contemporary Quilters. Throughout the night, the holiday market was teeming with eager buyers looking for holiday gifts for family and friends. After doubling our income from the first year, we have already booked eTown Hall for Dec. 2, 2018 for our third annual fundraising party!

Colorado Gives Day
For the second year in a row, Maji Safi Group received dozens of donations on Colorado Gives Day, enabling us to get part of the one million dollar incentive fund. This year, MSG raised over $30,000 on Colorado Gives Day! The donations we receive this late in the calendar year enable us to enter the new year on very sound financial footing.

 

 

Maji Safi Read-a-thons – Children Helping Children
The Maji Safi Read-a-thon at Whittier International Elementary School in 2013 was our very first fundraising effort and the start of our work with students along the Front Range in Colorado – our ‘young global citizens’. The Maji Safi Read-a-thons are a win-win situation where children improve their reading skills and learn about global issues, social responsibility, and helping others through personal effort, while raising about $8,000 for Maji Safi Group’s After School Program in Tanzania. In 2018, we will run three read-a-thons in Boulder Valley District schools: our sixth annual at Whittier International, our second at Ryan Elementary and our first at Heatherwood Elementary.

Casey Middle School
Maji Safi Group has been working with students in the Leadership Class at Casey Middle School for four years, and it has now become a tradition. After an informative presentation about MSG’s mission and work, the students can choose to do ‘Global Improvement Projects’ (GIPs) with us. The projects typically help spread awareness of WASH issues and MSG’s work – some also raise funds for our work. Each spring, Maji Safi Group is part of Casey’s annual ‘Africa Night’.

 

Maji Safi Women’s Days Out
Maji Safi Women’s Days Out have become a fun way of raising money. Boulder restaurants donate a lunch that is followed by a professionally taught art class. In 2017, we hosted two such days, one at The Kitchen/The Generous View Studio and one at Restaurant 4580/Shelley Goddard’s Private pottery studio. Supporting women in Tanzania while having fun together through creative art projects in Boulder is another win-win situation that is becoming a popular part of Maji Safi Group’s fundraising.

If We Dine Once, They Can Dine Twice
For several years now, a group of Boulder friends have gathered in the spring for a small fundraising dinner. The idea behind ‘If we dine one, they can dine twice’ is to raise money for the Dining for Female Hygiene events in Tanzania where participants in our Female Hygiene Program bring together their mothers, grandmothers, aunts, etc. for dinners that feature food, Menstrual Hygiene Management education and the sharing of stories about the female experience.

 

The Generous View Studio
The Generous View Studio is a privately owned art studio in Boulder with a gorgeous view of the Flatirons. Through art, the studio creates community and encourages generosity as all income from classes and rentals benefit Maji Safi Group.

 

Par-3 Fundraiser at Lake Valley Golf Club
On Sept. 10, we ran our first Par-3 fundraiser in cooperation with the Lake Valley Junior Golfers and raised just under $1000. Together, we invited the golfers to pay $10 to try to win fun prizes by hitting the green in one shot, getting inside 15 feet of the pin, and closest to the pin. We hope to repeat this fun event at Lake Valley in 2018 and find additional golf clubs that will host us.

 

Grants
As a nonprofit passes its infancy and proves programmatic success and sustainability over time, its access to grants increases. In 2017, Maji Safi Group received several grants from US as well as European grantors. We are thrilled to have reached this point in our growth and hope to obtain additional grants in 2018. Grants and donations from family foundations are also valuable in terms of proving our status as a publicly funded nonprofit.

Hopes and Dreams for 2018
In 2018, we hope to add a Maji Safi Walk as a new annual event, and we hope to move into the realm of working more with corporate donors, larger grant makers, major individual donors and crowdfunding. Please support us generously in 2018 to celebrate our fifth year of operations and help us continue to grow! One of the biggest impacts you can make is sharing your interest in Maji Safi Group with friends, colleagues and family members as well as participating in our many entertaining fundraising events. Every time you or a connection sends a donation our way, you can be assured it will improve the health of underserved populations. Maji Safi Group will always stay close to our roots, but in our fifth year and beyond, we will keep growing towards the sky.

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Please contact Erna Maj at [email protected] if you would like to participate in one of our fundraising events, learn more about MSG’s partnership with the Generous View Studio, run a crowdfunding campaign for us, host a dinner party, etc.

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