AIAIA’s Fundraising Efforts

Dear AIAIA friends and family,

We are often asked about AIAIA’s fundraising efforts and our financial plans for the future. I will provide some answers for you here.

We all know that life has been difficult for those of us here and in South Africa for quite a long time. Meeting the mission of AIAIA has become extremely difficult, especially our face-to-face travel to South Africa. We did not return to our family and friends this year and, at this time, it looks like we will not be traveling there in 2022. We miss our SA family greatly. Hugs and smiles are needed by all!

OUR PURPOSE:

We visit SA as family to connect, person to person, arm in arm. Along the way, we share our lives and our resources. It is our honor to co-create human relation- ships, face to face, and together we help one another to lead healthy and fulfilling lives in the spirit of Ubuntu, which is a universal African term meaning “humanity.” Ubuntu is often translated as “I am because we are” and also as “humanity towards others.”

During these difficult times, we have tried to remain true to our purpose by continuing our fundraising efforts to support our ongoing programs. We continue to distribute more than 425 food parcels quarterly, even though there has been a 42% increase in food costs in the last year and food scarcity has been a huge problem. The actual distribution of food also has been made difficult due to COVID restrictions. We continue to support healthcare needs in SA communities. Funding for mental health, hospice care, and support for disabled adults remains a primary goal. Our educational support also continues with funding for pre-school, teen mentoring, and teacher development. Our ability to fulfill these commitments is our annual challenge. Your continued financial support has made this possible.

AIAIA now has two major fundraising events annually to meet the goals mentioned above: AIAIA Weekend in the Fall (Nov. 13–14 this year) and our “Virtual Fundraiser” that many of you watched and supported this past July. The good news is we received $164,848 during our July fundraiser and we thank all of you who donated! We did not meet our goal of $200,000,

however, making this Fall’s campaign all the more important. Hopefully updating you through our newsletters and emails throughout the year shows you the significant impact your support is having.

To ensure the future of AIAIA programs, we have created an Endowment fund and transferred $200,000 in reserves, along with a generous gift from a donor of $100,000, to create a fund of $300,000 with an aspiration of growing to $1 million. The purpose of the Endowment fund is to provide an emergency reserve should funds run short, as well as serve as a source from which we can draw a small portion (around 4% annually) to help offset funding of administration expenses.

We also have begun a Legacy campaign to grow the Endowment fund and ensure our efforts continue far beyond those of us who are here today. To learn more of our Legacy program and be part of our Legacy giving, please go to aiaia.org/legacy-giving for further information.

We also are planning for our first ever, external audit for the 2021 tax year. We hope this will provide additional confidence for all our donors.

With two Board members on site in Cape Town and Malungeni — and ongoing communication between our Board-led committees and our SA partners — we can say with certainty that the difference your support makes has never been greater, nor more needed. Whenever and however you choose to support AIAIA, please know how grateful we are.

On behalf of all of us at AIAIA, we thank you for supporting this wondrous journey, as we enter our third decade of partnership with our SA family, a half-world away.

WITHOUT YOU THERE WOULD BE NO ARM IN ARM IN AFRICA!

Pat Murphy
Co-Founder/Treasurer AIAIA