WE MET OUR FIRST FUNDRAISING GOAL!

WE DID IT!!!

We reached our first fundraising goal this morning!!!! 

In only 2 ½ weeks, our gofundme met our initial $25,000 friends and family fundraising goal. We were overwhelmed by the amount of support demonstrated by our friends, family, and complete strangers. We had people donate money, time, expertise, labor, media connections and cheers. There is no way we could have done this without your support, and yes, I mean YOU. 

So we met our goal… what next?

This was our initial fundraising goal where we reached out to friends and family, a vital step to demonstrating that WE CAN DO THIS, and that there is a market and a need for our work. You all showed UP for this part, which is allowing us to transition into Phase 2. 

Phase 2 involves the following:

• Expanding our media coverage to the national scale
  • TV news media
  • Radio & Podcasts
  • Distributing our blog articles to major websites
  • Increase in social media connections

 

• Catching the eye of investors
  • We raised enough money to start paying web designers/developers, but $25,000 is honestly the tip of the iceberg. We want to launch a project that is robust and easy to use right at the launch, which, it turns out, takes a LOT of money.

 

• Raising our fundraising goal to $100,000, with an eye on major investors.
  • We actually need more in the ballpark of $1,000,000 to see our project through to completion, but we’re taking this in baby steps. That goal will likely be a part of Phase 3.
  • We’re still welcoming donations of ANY amount, so we still need your help spreading the word to friends, family, and strangers. However, Parker and I need to focus our own fundraising efforts on the larger dollar amounts at this time.

Calls To Action
So many people have been reaching out to us, asking what they can do to help. Here are some things you can choose from, depending on your time and resources:

1. Continue sharing our gofundme on facebook, twitter, instagram, and other social media platforms
   
   • It’s really helpful to set your post to “Public” if you’re comfortable with that. If it’s not    set to public, when others share your post it’s actually only shared with the friends       you have in common together. If you set it to Public, everyone they share it with will     be able to see it.​
   • It’s also really helpful to add a personal comment about what this project means to    you. Your followers are far more likely to interact with and act on your post if            you add a personal note!
   
   
2. Follow us on social media if you aren’t already!
   This is actually super important! The more followers and interactions we have, the       more legit we become. 

Instagram: @InclusiveGuide, @kweenwerk, @crystalegli
Twitter: @InclusiveGuide
Facebook: Just search for Inclusive Journeys, and you’ll find our page  with our logo!

   3. Help us find connections to companies that could be potential donors.
        • Right now, businesses and companies large and small are looking for a way to show
          they are practicing anti-racism, and not just talking about it. They are YEARNING for
          solutions, and we have one! We’re eyeing anyone from REI to VF Corp, Car and Driver
         to Google. If you know someone who could help get our foot in the door, please help
​         us make those connections.

4. Write a personal email to family/friends about what donating to our project means to
    you.
      • Include links to our gofundme and our website
      • Let them know this is a way they can ACT, and support a Black startup that is trying             to change the world.

5. Send us an email of support!
            • For real, this would mean so much to us. We started to get some hate mail (blog                    about that coming soon), so we need all the good vibes we can get. ​           
            • Send your email to [email protected], and put KUDOS! in the subject line.

Thank you so much for all your support!

Now, let’s change the world.

- Crystal & Parker