Headway isn’t a traditional fundraising operation. We don’t do events, telethons, create kits or recipe books, or attack our contact list with envelopes of personalized address labels and desk calendars. Nothing against those who do: I have about three 2025 wall calendars in the house and shed right now. (Four? Hmmm.) But we’re kinda small, and a little too focused on delivery, for that scale of activity. So I’d like to let you know three things about how we interact with the Giving Tuesday phenomenon.
First, our relationship with donations. In 2024, our income was split about 50-50 between services revenue and donations. The whole amount totals under $60,000, so you can see that a) no one’s heading to Cancun for our holiday party; and b) every donation has a big impact.
Second, where the money goes. It goes 100% into paying our teaching staff, sponsoring class participants, and covering our expenses. We end the year with a few grand in the bank–not even five figures. That’s by design. We’re all remote, so we don’t have office space or equipment. Our revenue funds our operations, and it also sponsors free tuition for one or two deserving students in every class we teach. That includes their books, everything. We have a waitlist.
Third, where your gift can help take us. For 2025, we’re not daunted by the change in our country’s political climate. To the contrary: we’re seeing strong interest nationwide in our expanding roster of classes, and in our presentations to public and private organizations. People still want to connect, to understand co-workers, and to foster a respectful and harmonious work environment. That’s what we do. It’s still valuable. As interest continues to mount, I’d love to hire another instructor or two next year.
So here’s my low-key, eco-friendly Giving Tuesday pitch. We feel it’s always going to be important to work with businesses and nonprofits of all sizes to help people listen, understand, and relate better. Whether it’s called DEI Training, Cultural Competence, Workplace Belonging or something else, we’re going to keep it up, and we’d like to keep expanding. Your help makes it possible. Thank you.
“Power is for everyone to share and wield together.”- GivingTuesday.org
Mike Poulson, Executive Director
