Feel the Love: Why Our Donors Donate
People donate to all kinds of charitable causes for all kinds of reasons.
Pause.
From everyone in the nonprofit community, thank you for your kindness and your generosity.
We don’t go around asking “why” a whole lot–we probably should. Luckily, we have some donors who recently shared their motivation with us.
One donor sent their entire government stimulus payment to us, explaining that “I do not need the money, so I am giving it to you so you can help people in need.” We are at the front end of what is going to be a long and fitful recovery for a lot of our customers. I can guarantee we will put that money to good use.
“I do not need [government stimulus] money, so I am giving it to you…”
Another donor celebrated a milestone birthday: “I just turned 90 years old. To celebrate, I am donating $90 to NNEMAP Food Pantry” How cool is that? Turning 90 is terrific–celebrating with that giving spirit is even more awe-inspiring. I can’t stop smiling!
Finally, that kid in the photo couldn’t wait to spend the money he got for Christmas. After buying a few new books and toys, there was about $15 in his pocket. “Daddy, I got the things I wanted and have money left,” he told me. “I want to donate $5 to NNEMAP Food Pantry.” Even our youngest donors know there is no such thing as a small donation.
We hope you join these donors and support NNEMAP Food Pantry or another charity of your choice. Tell us what motivates you!
DONATE NOW!
Word Up–Books are Great Donations!
Restricted access to libraries and public school shutdowns have made reading material hard to come by. I almost–ALMOST–resorted to dusting off some Dickens in a moment of desperation.
For a lot of people, including NNEMAP Food Pantry customers, books are just hard to get ahold of right now. A few organizations do their best to keep our bookshelf stocked, but it has been difficult to keep up with pandemic-related demand. From our youngest readers to our oldest bookworms, these items are more popular at the pantry than ever before.
Can you help? Why, yes, you can! If your young readers have outgrown their kiddie books or you have boxes gathering dust in the basement, please consider donating them to NNEMAP Food Pantry. We will guarantee a good home for every author from Dr. Seuss to, yep, Charles Dickens.
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For maximum impact, organize a gently-used book drive at work, at church, or in your neighborhood. Click on the “Customizable Flyer” link to download a…customizable flyer for YOUR book drive!
What a Year–2020 in Review
Say what you will about 2020, but you have to admit it was not uneventful. For a year of pandemic-induced lockdowns and travel restrictions, it was not without its excitement.
NNEMAP Food Pantry experienced a year of accelerated growth and explosive expansion in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. In case you missed it, we….
*Expanded our service territory to include the whole City of Columbus and Franklin County,
*Allowed shoppers to come once a week instead of twice a month,
*Added Thursday afternoon/evening hours so we are now open 6 days a week,
*Introduced a popular grocery delivery service for customers who can’t get out.
As expected given the economic fallout of the pandemic, we were busier than ever distributing food to our friends in the community. By the end of the year we…
*Served 5,137 unique households (up from 3,736 in 2019)
*Served 17,480 unique individuals (11,904 in 2019)
*Fulfilled 18,546 requests for groceries (17,338 in 2019)
*Distributed the equivalent of 605,250 meals (526,731 in 2019).
Thank you to our supporters, including our incredible church network; United Way of Central Ohio; The City of Columbus Department of Development; The Columbus Foundation; and hundreds of individual donors who gave what they could for those who had nothing to spare.
Thank you for helping us navigate a most unusual year. 2021 is off and running already. We are looking forward to running this race with you again!
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We are always welcoming new partners to our community. Click a link below to learn how you can get involved today!
DONATE VOLUNTEER
Food Pantry Plus
What can you get at NNEMAP Food Pantry? Well, food of course. But you can also get a whole lot more. As a neighborhood hub of food-related activity, we are in position to help in more ways than just one. So we work hard to connect customers to other useful resources when they are here.
For customers who need help with….
-Housing issues or homelessness
-Healthcare or health insurance
-Unemployment or low-wage jobs
-Childcare
-Legal issues
-Food stamps/SNAP benefits
-Rent assistance or utility payments
….we can refer you to a partner who can help. Right now a lot of people do not know where to turn. You can turn to NNEMAP Food Pantry for free groceries–and we can point you in the right direction for all your other needs. Just let us know how we can help!
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How can YOU help? Any of these three easy ways:
VOLUNTEER: Click the link at left to learn how!
DONATE: There are many ways to give–and every dollar makes a difference!
ADVOCATE: Follow us on Facebook. Share our story with friends–together we can make change happen!
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!
NNEMAP + CJO Combine to Jazz Up Your Holidays
For the past 10 years, November has been a big fundraising month for NNEMAP Food Pantry. Our annual “Harmony for Hunger” concert brings together hundreds of volunteers, donors, church partners and patrons for a night of great music. The concert raises between $10-$15,000 for NNEMAP.
This year’s event was cancelled–but you can still get the gift of music this Thanksgiving season. NNEMAP Food Pantry and Jazz Arts Group are teaming up to make it happen. We’re just asking for a little help.
OFFER EXTENDED! Donate Now Through December 4!!!
DONATE $50 and we will send you a copy of “Come Together”–a compilation of classics from all eras performed by the incomparable Columbus Jazz Orchestra. As an extra bonus, the first 10 donors will get a copy signed by CJO Conductor Byron Stripling!
DONATE $250 and you get to participate in a special virtual conversation with Byron (first 10 donors at this level only). Got a question about the band? One of the songs on the CD? Curious about the recording session? Ask Byron in this intimate forum!
Don’t Delay–Jazz Up Your Day!!!
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