GiVE 365 Memphis philanthropists hear creative pitches for grants

Source: The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.mini storageAug. 21--The ideas pitched for helping Memphis neighborhoods -- demonstrating what a great bus stop can be like, using a laundromat to get social services to the very poor, rolling fresh food into Memphis food deserts on a converted MATA bus, among others -- were as outside the box as the young philanthropists who heard them.People in their 20s, 30s and 40s aren't yet supposed to have the disposable income to be "philanthropists.'' Yet, 130 of the 320 members of GiVE 365 Memphis sat in the Bioworks Foundation auditorium Tuesday night to hear three-minute pitches from 17 nonprofits seeking a grant.On Wednesday, members of the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis program started voting online for the projects vying to receive a portion of their pooled money, totaling $88,000. That's how much GiVE 365 raised this year through the members' dollar-a-day contributions, in addition to a portion that goes to the GiVE 365 endowment. (The endowment stands at $268,000.)Seventeen of the 59 applicants made the cut to give their short pitch for funds.Among them was Saint Patrick Community Outreach, which seeks $5,000 to expand the number of neighborhoods where it drives its Green Machine Mobile Food Market.The bus selling vegetables and fruit has been to 64 "food dessert" neighborhoods over the past four weeks, and 2,000 people so far have spent $8,000 buying the products, said Ken Reardon, chair of the outreach's Food Security Planning Committee."We're seeking assistance to be able to take The Green Machine to 10 community festivals," he told the GiVE 365 voters. "And go beyond the 16 sites we visit every week."Chefs for the Grizzlies basketball team will participate to demonstrate that "people can eat well, do it simply and also share the joy of eating with their family."Reginald Milton, executive director of the South Memphis Alliance, admitted to the GiVE 365 crowd "a dirty little secret" among social service organization trying to help the poor. "We're not doing a great job," he said. "We're not reaching the very poor."That's why his organization bought a laundromat. "It was a perfect vehicle because that's where the poor go. They spend 30 minutes washing, 30 minutes drying."The alliance hosts Planned Parenthood and Literacy Mid-South, which provide their information and services at the laundromat, as well asself storagethe Southern College of Optometry which provides eye exams.Now the alliance is seeking $5,000 from GiVE 365 to purchase computers for the laundromat.Sarah Newstok of Livable Memphis asked the voters for $10,000 to demonstrate to the city what great public transportation can be like and to encourage more people to ride MATA buses. Her organization wants to create a temporary, pop-up "super bus stop" at one of the busiest stops, Poplar at Cleveland.The demonstration stop could have a credit card kiosk where riders can buy a bus pass, a real time monitor showing when the next bus will arrive, "cool" pedestrian features like a curb bump-out or pedestrian refuge area, food trucks and news stand, bike facilities, and more.There's little cool about stray dogs in the neighborhoods north of Summer, and Mid-South Spay & Neuter Services sought $8,500 to help expand a spay and neuter program there.The nonprofit will work with the Heights Community Development Corp. (comprising Graham Heights, Highland Heights, Michell Heights and Nutbush) to fund 100 spay and neuter surgeries for pets in the area, executive director Stephanie Bennett said. Residents of the area, which has a 32 percent poverty rate, will provide a co-pay.A survey shows that residents fear stray dogs, children are scared to walk to school and some are even scared to be on their front porch, Bennett said. Stray dogs create the perception that a neighborhood is in decline.Other organizations and the amount they seek are: Advance Memphis, $4,100; Neighborhood Christian Centers, $10,000; Mid-South Food Bank, $10,000; Junior League of Memphis, $5,520; Carpenter Art Garden, $10,000; St. Mary's Catholic Church Soup Kitchen, $5,000; Binghampton Development Corp., $8,000; Memphis Child Advocacy Center, $6,150; Service Over Self, $4,500; Levitt Shell, $10,000; Mayor's Institute for Excellence in Government, $12,000; Southern College of Optometry, $10,000; and Ballet Memphis, $7,654.GiVE 365 grows by the year. It ended its first year in 2010 with 100 members and $34,650.This year's voting ends Sept. 6, and grant recipients will be announced Sept. 17.Video of the presentations are available at youtube.com/user/cfgreatermemphis.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tenn.) Visit The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tenn.) at .commercialappeal.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉