Why give to the Goodman Community Center?
The Goodman Community Center absolutely depends on you, our friends and neighbors, to help our programs keep going and growing. In fact, 35% of our budget comes from the contributions and gifts from our community. That's a lot of community support!
The Center has a reputation for offering both a high quality and quantity of programs and resources for people of all ages >> from toddlers to seniors.
Imagine how your gift might help. Your gift could:
Help sixth grade girls learn what it takes to run a successful business.
Last year, our Girls, Inc girls attended business training seminars, created a business and marketing plan, and recently launched their all-girl business, Inspirations Out of this World. Inspired by their own growth, the girls decided they wanted to help other girls be strong and self-confident, so they developed a product line featuring quotes they've written like, "Be strong, stay smart, and become bold!" and "Attitude is contagious, have a good one!" They'll be selling their product in schools and at events like the Atwood Summerfest.
Help boost the nutrition of many children. And older adults, too.
Meals are served to children in every program every day because we know many children come from families where putting a warm meal on the table is a challenge financially and logistically. You help kids learn better and stay healthy. And our seniors come for an affordable meal several times a week. Between our food pantry and meals served in our programs, last year we provide more than 120,000 meals.
Help science become oh-so-cool to our Afterschool kids.
We wish you could have seen their eyes as they discovered mice bones, fur and other delightfully disgusting things as they picked through regurgitated materials from a real owl. Sarah, a volunteer, comes in every Thursday with hands-on, real-life experiences that make even the most science resistance kid want more.
Help mentors make magical things happen.
Positive relationships are fundamental to the strength of our programs, and mentorship programs have proven they are no different. Our Afterschool teachers have seen the mentors develop trust and warm connections with the kids so now, the children can hardly wait for Tuesdays when their mentors come help them with their homework.
Help reduce the deficit. The nature deficit, that is.
Many youth in our programs have lived exclusively urban lives and are loving field trips to nature centers and our beautiful state parks. You've made their world bigger and greener.
Help capture local history and support those who remember it.
The East Side History Club, is playing an active role in collecting the stories that make up our collective story here on the east side of Madison. They operate on a shoestring budget, but have brought older adults in our community together to reminisce and document their memories. It's a great way to build community.
Help young men find real strength in non-violence and healthy choices.
Our young men are actively discussing how personally avoiding sexual assault, dating violence, drugs and alcohol is an act of strength, and are always looking for ways to spread the word. They are currently trying to figure out how to use improvisational comedy as an avenue to bring other young men into the conversation. The GCC's Lussier Teen Center, which has housed one of four MENS (Men Encouraging Non-violent Strength) Clubs in Dane County for the last three years keeps growing.
Help give teens a positive place to spend their free time.
The Lussier Teen Center provides a drug and alcohol-free place for teens to hang out after school, get homework help, and attend Center sponsored events and activities like the annual Battle of the Bands, Hip Hop as Movement Week, and our popular silk-screen printing studio called The Mess Hall Press.
Help seniors feel connected to each other and our community.
Our seniors, most of who live alone, find an important social network at the Center. Our staff, volunteers and other participants are like family and they know that we'll check up on them if we don't hear from them for a ride or if they miss lunch. Sally' often walks to the Center, but she told our van driver that she rode in the van that day because her bag was too heavy " she'd won so many nickels at Bingo and she had two loaves of bread from our pantry! There's a lot of conversation in the van and it's clear these women have become friends. That's no small thing.
There are many ways you can give
Our goal is to make it easy for you to make a gift in the way you'd like to. If at any point you'd like to talk about possibilities, contact Mimi Doyle, our Fund Development Manager, or Kristin Groth, our Development and Communications Director.
Please give now
Your gift today will help the Center strengthen the lives of toddlers to seniors throughout our community. You are always welcome to dedicate your gift to a specific area, age group, or program you'd like to support. We encourage it! And if you like, you can split your gift between one or more programs.
Make your gift online or by mail
Making a cash gift to the Goodman Community Center can be as simple as clicking a link. If you prefer you may send your check by mail.
Donate directly online
Donate by mail
Simply mail us this Donation Form
Be a GEM >> Give Every Month
Thanks for considering giving monthly. We SO appreciate this kind of ongoing support. As more people choose this option, these gifts are really adding up and making a significant impact.
If you'd like to spread your giving throughout the year, you can choose a designated amount to be charged to your credit card or given through Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) where your gift is automatically withdrawn from your checking account every month. When you choose the EFT option, you are helping save trees, time and money.
When are payments withdrawn from your account or charged to your credit card? Your first gift will happen on the day you enter all your information, and then future gifts will be withdrawn on that same day of every month going forward >>until you contact the development office at the Center and request us to stop it. It can be for a few months or for many years. You choose!
Give for Others
Showing people how much you care is a special part of life. If you'd like to make a gift in honor of someone, in memory of someone, or to celebrate a person or event, you can make a tribute gift to the Goodman Community Center. No matter the occasion, these gifts remind people that they have been remembered in a thoughtful way.
Give at Work
United Way Giving
If you participate in the Dane County United Way workplace giving program you can make monthly, pre-tax contributions that make a positive impact on the lives of many children and adults in our community " designate your gift, or part of your giving, to the Goodman Community Center. In the fall, when you're asked to fill out your United Way's contribution form, look for Goodman Community Center on the list of agencies you can pick from. Please check the box requesting you'd like to be acknowledged by us so we can thank you for your gift. If you don't, we won't even know it was you that made that gift.
Does your company match gifts?
Many companies generously match charitable gifts made by their employees. Check with your employer to learn if your support can be increased through a matching gifts program.
Make a gift of stocks or other investments
Contact our development staff and we will be glad to make giving stocks or other investments a smooth process for you.
Give a legacy
Remember the Goodman Community Center in your estate plans. It's an easy and loving way to ensure you're providing strength and stability for future generations on the east side of Madison.
You don't have to be wealthy to benefit from a well thought out strategy for distributing your life's assets. You may include the Goodman Community Center in your will or name it as a beneficiary of a retirement account or life-insurance policy. There are many other ways to give, some with benefits to you during your lifetime. And often you discover you can give more than you thought you could.
To determine what works best for you and your family, contact your financial advisor.
If you'd like to talk over your plans with Center development staff, please contact: Mimi Doyle, Fund Development Manager, mimi@goodmancenter.org, 608.241.1574 x223.
Give stuff
We keep a wish list of new or gently used items our staff could use to enhance their programs. We update this every other month, when we update it for the EastsideNews. Please contact the staff person listed before bringing any in-kind donations to the Center " sometimes we get more items than we need and we simply don't have staff to run unneeded stuff to St. Vinny's or Goodwill.
Sponsor an Event
If your company or organization likes to give back to the community, we have a wide variety of types of events and levels of sponsorship. You might sponsor a music stage at the Atwood Summerfest, or underwrite our annual Committed Citizens dinner where we celebrate all the people who make our community strong. Your group could sponsor a hole in the Harmony Bar's 13th Annual Golf Scramble to benefit the Center. And that's just a few ideas to get you thinking. Contact the Center's development department if you're interested in learning about specific possibilities for the upcoming year.
What to expect as a donor
Here at the Goodman Community Center we will work to uphold your rights as a donor, as described in the Donor Bill of Rights.
We will also do our best to communicate what an impact your gift has made. When we fall short, let us know so we can do better in the future. You are an important partner in our work.
Contact the Development Office
The Goodman Community Center is a non-profit, tax-exempt charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. Full financials are available upon request.
Kristin Groth, Development and Communications Director
Phone 608.241.1574 x224
kristin@goodmancenter.org
Mimi Doyle, Fund Development Manager
Phone 608.241.1574 x223
mimi@goodmancenter.org
Debra Heggs, Administrative Assistant for Development
Phone 608.241.1574 x240
debra@goodmancenter.org
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