Supporters of the Mariposa Men's Wellness Institute:
I've been writing these blogs for the past 3 years, as an adjunct to the Mariposa Men's Wellness Institute website, in an attempt to raise awareness of the issues faced by males in American society (and which, hopefully, to some degree, pertain to the experience of males globally). The focus has been -- and continues to be -- on the emotional and progressive mental health [wellness] of males and on the issues faced by adult male sexual abuse survivors. The nonprofit mission has also included a focus on both heterosexual and gay men, transgender and bisexual males, and transsexual females. I've focused on those populations because (1) they share issues that I'm well aware of -- having experienced profound physical, emotional, and sexual abuse in my own life -- and have extensive academic training around; (2) this is a population that has very few resources in the larger social work and mental health community; and (3) I want to raise community awareness -- and the awareness of affected males -- about the issues faced by the most vulnerable members of my gender.
When I first started the Mariposa Men's Wellness Institute in 2003, many people told me "that's great, it's so wonderful that someone is facing those issues, especially issues faced by males that are so often ignored by the larger culture". There was lots of cheerleading, which I needed. But when I reached out and asked for 'fellow travelers', I ran up against a wall.
Many people thought that what I was doing was a great idea -- and was a great pathway for me to continue my own healing journey -- but they were involved in other projects and simply didn't have the time or resources to help me on this journey. That's not to say I didn't get a lot of good advice -- indeed, I received a wealth of great advice, and even some cash donations that first year. I motivated some men I knew to join my Board of Directors. And I generated, in support of the mission of MMWI, a strategic plan, a mission statement, a budget -- all the 'tools' necessary to formulate a successful nonprofit (subjects that I had learned about when I successfully earned a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 2002, which supplemented the Masters of Public Administration I had earned in 1978 at the University of New Mexico and the Master of Social Work I had completed in 1999 at Washington University in St. Louis). Plus, in the first couple of years of the nonprofit, I was able to generate some articles in the St. Louis Post Dispatch [see "Public Relations" on the MMWI website] about my men's wellness nonprofit.
But soon, when it appeared that the nonprofit wasn't 'picking up steam' on it's own, under my own solo efforts, the support started to wither away.
Then, in 2004, I had the opportunity to apply for a grant from a Missouri regional health foundation. At first, I didn't hear anything back from them -- I waited 8 months, calling once a month to check the status of my application. When I did hear back, they said they unfortunately were rejecting the application (I had applied for $1.5 million over 3 years, the maximum allowed any grantee). Not to be deterred, I asked for a meeting to followup and find out why it had been rejected.
Upon entering the room, the female grant officer immediately noted that, in fact, the foundation had loved my grant, because my nonprofit was the only Missouri organization focused on men's issues generally, and which had, additionally, a target population of adult male sexual abuse survivors. However (and here was the kicker) they wanted me to have an identified fiscal agent [they noted that while I was a great organizer, I needed someone to handle the funds they could give to the nonprofit] and they wanted me to have some collaborators. Now, they knew -- and stated they knew -- that it would be difficult to find collaborators, given the uniqueness of the organization's mission, but "Could you try?" The grant officer said that if I could generate those two groups, they were willing to consider a grant of $1 million over two years.
Well, I was blown away with joy! So, for the next month, I worked diligently to find a fiscal agent and some collaborators, and was successful in those pursuits. The following month, I met with the grant officer again and presented my documents. That's when it started becoming a bit more murky. She said that the health foundation had just decided to not give out any further grants until June 2005, which was another 8 months away. So, I had to wait. Then, when June 2005 rolled around, I was given further depressing news: the Board of the health foundation had changed and an interest in men's issues was no longer in their foci. Hence, no matter that no one else was focusing on male survivors of sexual abuse; they wanted to focus their funding on women and children, and frankly ignore males. Back to square one.
In the intervening years (since 2005), I've kept MMWI 'alive' under my own personal steam and love of the subject. Every year, I've donated to the nonprofit enough funds out of my own pocket (and frankly my pockets have been quite shallow) to pay the cost of the URL, the registration fee required by the Missouri Secretary of State, the server link, rental on a mailbox, etc., which has run around $150 a year. Plus, any software I needed to supplement my website, and the purchase of computers (which cost over $1300) came out of my pocket. And, of course, I had to learn how to build a website on my own, which I successfully did using Apple software. I've had to be the President of the Board, the Executive Director, the major contributor to the website and the sole financial contributor to the nonprofit. Then, 3 years ago, I started writing this blog, which at this point is the main "information outlet" for the nonprofit (other than the more or less static information on the MMWI website). I have been able to motivate some colleagues to contribute articles to the MMWI website; to my great joy, an author who I greatly respect, Mick Hunter, PhD., added some articles this past spring.
But it has been a 'hit or miss' kind of proposition. And truly, from a financial standpoint, a 'seat-of-the-pants' proposition.
Then: about a month ago, the St. Louis Community Foundation contacted me (along with about 500 other nonprofits in the St. Louis region) and let us know about a way in which our supporters could donate funds to our organizations. They offered to create all the financial mechanisms, deal with tax deductible letters, etc. for any nonprofit that had a 501c(3) status, via a "GivesSTLday" promotion. What a gift!!
So -- if you, my readers (and I post my blog links on LinkedIn and Facebook) have the desire to contribute to the Mariposa Men's Wellness Institute, here's the pathway.
On May 6, 2014 (next week), between 12 a.m. - 11:59 p.m CDT, you can click on the following link:
http://givestlday.org//#npo/mariposa-mens-wellness-institute and make a contribution to the Mariposa Men's Wellness Institute.
Now, you can only use this link on May 6. It will not work before that day, nor after that day. But on May 6, you can go to that link and contribute any amount you feel so motivated to donate, in support of the mission of MMWI. All during the day, at various random points, they will have 'power hours', when various St. Louis foundations will 'match' contributions one-to-one up to a maximum of $500. (For more information about the promotion, see the St. Louis Community Foundation website.) This is, to put it mildly, a wonderful opportunity to 'test the waters' and see who is actually reading the MMWI Blog and further, which of my supporters are motivated [and have the economic means] to support the nonprofit's mission via financial donations.
Again, the critical link is: http://givestlday.org//#npo/mariposa-mens-wellness-institute. When you click on that link, you will be taken to a donation page devoted solely to the Mariposa Men's Wellness Institute. All funds donated to MMWI (minus a fee for credit card transactions, which the St. Louis Community Foundation has negotiated to the most minimal amount possible) will come to the nonprofit. If you list your name and contact information, I will send a 'thank you' letter [and the Community Foundation will send you a tax deductible letter], but donors also have to option to be anonymous. I, as the administrator, have another link I will be using all day on May 6 to see what kinds of donations have been made to MMWI.
Remember, though, while I am publishing this blog today (and will be posting it on my LinkedIn and Facebook accounts tomorrow, May 2), the donation link can ONLY be used -- will only be 'live' -- on May 6, from 12:00 a.m. - 11:59 p.m. Central Daylight Time. Hence, please put this on your calendars, should you want to donate to the Mariposa Men's Wellness Institute.
To give some idea of what I plan to use any donated funds for, here's a some basic proposals:
• $150 in donations will allow me to pay for the URL rental, server rental, email account, and state of Missouri registration fees for 2014.
• $900 would allow me to purchase a good quality prosumer video camera to use in producing video podcasts and streaming video for the website. [I took a video editing class at the St. Louis PBS station - KETC -- two years ago, and have some good skills to edit video for uploading to the website.]
• $1500 in donations will allow me to purchase a new Apple laptop computer (which is where the software that the website is constructed with 'lives').
• $10,000 will allow me to hire a database consultant who can assist in constructing a new MMWI website, using WordPress software, that is more flexible and has more 'bells and whittles', and therefore which can accommodate more tools (drop-down menus, audio podcasts, streaming video, the ability to publish more 'contributed' articles, etc.).
• More than that (hey, I know it's probably dreaming, but dreams, backed by thoughtful planning, are what makes the hopes of communities come true), I might be able to finally put my strategic plan into action, and rent an office space, hire some staff, as well as pay myself a livable salary, and begin doing 'on-site' educational programs for males in the St. Louis region -- the kinds of actions that I had planned to implement when I received the hoped for regional health foundation grant in 2005, which, as noted above, unfortunately never materialized at that time.
Finally, like any nonprofit, I exist due to my own work (as the sole unpaid employee), my periodic efforts at writing blog articles in support of the mission of the organization, the emotional support and enthusiasm of my Board [which currently has 5 wonderful men and 1 highly energized woman backing up my efforts], and the occasional supportive comments of readers of this MMWI Blog [two of whom contribute comments regularly, which 'fuel' my continued joy in writing the blogs].
I continue to do this work because it is dear to my heart and 'what my personal healing journey is all about'. Now, here's a chance for my readers and supporters to help in that effort, quite directly. Again, on May 6, 2014 (next week) -- mark your calendars -- if you're motivated to support the work of the Mariposa Men's Wellness Institute, you can use this link: http://givestlday.org//#npo/mariposa-mens-wellness-institute and send in contributions. Any amount will be most appreciated!! Given that, heretofore, I've been supporting the nonprofit -- and keeping it 'alive' -- solely from my own meager resources, it's been truly a work of love, but a work of tough love economically! Your help would be enormously appreciated.
