My favorite type of holiday greeting

December 24, 2009 - Grassroots, Marketing and promotions, Organizations - no comments
I received an email last week from Ben Gucciardi, Founding Director of
Soccer Without Borders. It combined holiday greetings with a summary of the accomplishments of the organization over the past year. I loved it. I appreciated the acknowledgment of support, knowing what happened throughout the year with the organization and its various programs.

Such an email is a cost-effective and time-efficient way to engage supporters. I don’t mind getting cards these days from organizations, my alma maters, etc. but in tight economic times, I would rather they save their money, send something via email and allocate their resources to their efforts.

Ben’s email

Dear Friends,

I hope this finds you all doing very well!

I am writing to wish you all a happy and peaceful holiday season. 2009 was a wonderful year for Soccer Without Borders, and none of our work would be possible without your interest, support and contributions. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and so we put together this picture review from our programs in 2009. We hope you will continue to help make our work possible by remembering Soccer Without Borders in your year-end giving. To make a donation, please click here.

While the pictures say it best,  some of the organizational highlights for SWB in 2009 include:

• Featured on ESPN, the New York Times, MSG, the Baltimore Sun, as well as publications and websites in four countries.
• Launched a new website with improved interactivity and expanded content
• Completed construction of a youth center and SWB office in Ndejje, Uganda
• Opened a Futbol Sin Fronteras office space in Granada, Nicaragua
• Awarded a grant from the Dickey Center at Dartmouth College to fund a staff position for 2010-2011

And some of the program highlights of 2009 include:

? Leadership and employment opportunities provided to 15 local staff members in 4 countries
? 775 youth served on an ongoing basis (2x/week or more)
? Distributed more then 5,000 lbs. of equipment to more then 1,000 SWB participants
? More than 3,000 other youth participated in SWB events, single classes, and workshops
? 83 volunteers donated 73 months internationally and 5300 hours domestically at SWB project sites

A full report of our progress in 2009 will be available in early 2010, including other highlights and individual project updates. Thank you so much for your time and support, and have a great holiday season!

Sincerely,

Ben Gucciardi

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