Dear friend,

If I could write the perfect fundraising letter, would you make a donation?

The perfect fundraising letter. What would that look like?

The perfect fundraising letter would touch your heart.

I remember one day I was walking around one of our sustainable communities. It was dark, and I wanted to see what it looked like at night, families moving around inside in warm light and safety. Then I heard someone call my name. She told me to wait right there.

A moment later she emerged from the building, ran to me, then threw her arms around me and hugged me. She said she knew who I was, and she wanted to thank me. Then she asked if I might like to see her new place. I did.

Even though she had just moved inside after a long period of chronic homelessness, her place was beautiful. She had a designer’s eye. “Everything here I found at garage sales,” she said.

“But that’s not what I wanted to show you.”

She took a photograph of a young boy off the shelf and showed it to me. “This is my son. He’s eight. Because I was homeless, they took him away from me. And now, because of you, I’m getting my son back.” Then we hugged again for a long time.

She made me realize why I do what I do, in fact why I have dedicated my life to the work we do at PLACE. I am the child of a single parent. My older brother, my mom and I were homeless. We were together, though.

In those days, I mostly remember the arts in my life, PBS, music, books. I was a misfit; a homeless, mixed-race boy from a broken home. The arts showed me a world that was possible, something inspiring just outside the window. The arts saved my life.

I knew that I wanted to make sure that others got the opportunities I did. I went to work for public television, producing the kind of programs that inspired me as a young person.

PLACE gave me a chance to bring it all together, to build entire urban villages where people could live, work and create, to put a roof over people’s head, to fill their lives with art and imagination. That mission is built into our name - Projects Linking Art, Community and Environment.

My work with this charity allows me to give back in the way others gave to me. It’s my way of expressing my gratitude.

PLACE communities provide a comprehensive approach to helping people and the planet to thrive. Within one place, we bring together healthy homes, food, jobs, transportation, energy, education and access to the art and culture that inspire people on to their best selves. We must address these challenges simultaneously in order to make lasting change. Shelter is not enough. Food is not enough.

If there is a part of a perfect fundraising letter that engages your mind, then this is it; comprehensive solutions that allow people and the planet to thrive. With a single bold action—building a community—we can solve multiple problems at once. We must.

Hearts and minds, the perfect fundraising letter should reach both. The letter that moves everyone to chip in.

Your donation will help us to launch our flagship project in 2017. Without donations like yours, more single mothers like mine will struggle, and their children may never get the chance to flourish like I did.

Thank you for your generous support.

Sincerely,

Chris Velasco
Founder of PLACE

To donate electronically, click here: Donate

Learn more about the future PLACE community in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.