!Si Se Pudo! WE DID IT

Thanks to 278 donors in 13 states, thanks to thirteen foundations and the 22 grants they made, we reached our capital campaign goal:  $750,000.

Last month, 26 Institute supporters responded to our call and contributed $7,500—the final 1%.  Thirteen were new donors.

Overall, the campaign lasted about 27 months, from its official launch on October 7, 2009 when we had a few grants and pledges totaling about $165,000.

Here’s an overview of the capital campaign by the numbers:

• Grants totaled $503,250 (just over the $500,000 target we had set);
• Donations totaled $246,989 (just short of the $250,000 target);
• 148 new donors contributed $67,590;
• There were 123 out-of-state donors, thanks in large measure to the ten gatherings we organized between July 2010 and September 2011 in places like Seattle, Oakland, New York City and Cambridge, Mass.;
• Donation amounts ranged from $5 to $25,000. The median donation was $100 (59 donors at that level).

In 2009, we estimated the number of donors that we expected might contribute at different levels.  As it turned out, we had twice the number of contributors under $250 than expected and we had twice the number between $1,001 and $4,000 than expected.  However we had only half the number between $250 and $1,000 than originially projected.

We deeply appreciate the generous support and welcome new supporters to our movement.  We also recognize that the capital campaign has made our movement stronger by building the capacity of some of our leaders who were new to fundraising.  They came away with valuable experience and skills.

One of those lessons is that fundraising work is organizing work which, practically by definition, is never “done.”  Abel Valladares, who coordinated the capital campaign donor fundraising and is now a full-time Institute staffer, will lead our campaign “sum-up” and evaluation.  Then, we’ll look ahead…to building a strong donor base for the Institute for 2013 and beyond.

Still, the “contributing” continues, mostly in the form of materials, services, labor necessary to complete construction of the Institute’s permanent home next to PCUN headquarters.

In Hollywood, that means we’re all done.  In construction, not quite so.

For the CAPACES Leadership Institute, it’s “Hydro-Tex” wrap—the weather barrier stapled over the “Dens-glass” sheathing —another step closer to completing the building exterior

In mid-January, we’re, poised for a spurt of very visibly progress, not unlike the one that took the building from bare concrete slab to roofed structure in about 60 days last summer and early fall.

The impending leap forward will move construction through the stages of electrical and data wiring “rough-in”, wall insulation, siding, and window and exterior door install, all, we expect, by March 1^st.  Then we’ll be ready for HVAC install and for hanging drywall and interior doors.

Along the way, our “army” of volunteers grows and is fast approaching the 1,000 mark which we envisioned in the “10,000 fingerprints” campaign.  On January 13^th, Portland Youth Builders sent a squad for the second time in a year.  The following day, two dozen volunteers—mostly Woodburn High School students—conducted site clean up and participated in a dialogue with the PCUNcitos Club, activities specially dedicated to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

To sign up for future work days, contact Javier Lara at javierl@pcun.org

The CAPACES Leadership Institute begins 2012 with the strength of a full staff.

Four leaders—two full-time and two half-time, drawn from CAPACES network organizations—are gearing up the Institute’s operations.  Together with the Institute’s nine board members, they’re expanding the Institute’s programs, visualizing the Institute’s path years into the future, and preparing for the Grand Opening on July 13^th and 14^th.

In March, we “e-introduced” one of the Institute’s staff:   Laura Isiordia.  She was then the “Start-up Coordinator” and, in August, the board named her Executive Director.  Laura came to the U.S. from Nayarit on Mexico’s Pacific coast.  She dedicated a dozen years to community organizing and leadership development at Farmworker Housing Development Corporation (FHDC), a CAPACES organization.

“I’ve loved my work at FHDC and I’m thrilled to be taking it to a whole new level guiding development of the Institute’s inaugural programs and activities,” Laura tells us. 

The other full-time staff person is Abel Valladares, a native of Querétero in Central Mexico.  He coordinates programs and donor fundraising.  Abel co-led the capital campaign donor fundraising in 2010 and 2011.  He’s served as the CAPACES network’s part-time coordinator since 2008.  He was already active in the movement before he graduated from Salem’s North High School in 2006.

Says Abel:  “There is a lot of hard work ahead of us but there’s a lot of passion and desire to improve this community and this is just the first step.”

Maricela Andrade works half-time as the Institute’s bookkeeper and administrative coordinator.  She’s a native of Michoan in Western Mexico; she lives with her parents at FHDC’s Nuevo Amanecer farmworker housing project in Woodburn.  She graduated from Woodburn High School in 2006 and from Chemeketa Community College in 2011.  Starting in 2006, she worked part time at Nuevo Amanecer’s Cipriano Ferrel Education Center in the after-school program.

“The Center was my ‘institute’, in a way,” Maricela recalled.  “My experience there introduced me to the movement and to serving my community.  The CLI will take that experience much farther and deeper for me and for other young leaders who are finding our own voices and roles in leadership.”

Ranfis Villatoro comes to his half-time role, coordinating communications and assisting grantwriting and program development, following two years as CAUSA’s community organizer in Eugene.   He was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Beaverton where he graduated from high school in 2005.  He received a B.S in Political Science from the University of Oregon in 2009.

“I’m excited about being part of a new team that will move the Institute to new stage and I’m excited to apply what I’ve learned in my three years in the movement to a new challenge.”  Ranfis explained.

We’re proud to have leaders in our movement step forward, as these four now have, to be our vanguard in the Institute’s journey deep into the “how” and “why” of movement-building.

For the past four months, the number “99” has had a whole new symbolism.  Even as our movement embraces it and even as we build Woodburn—rather than occupy it, “99%” has another meaning for us.  We’ve fixed our sights on reaching the 99% mark in our campaign to raise $750,000 to build and operate the CAPACES Leadership Institute,

Last Friday(December 9th), we received notification that McKenzie River Gathering approved its third grant to support establishing the Institute.  That’s the 23^rd grant committed from a total of 13 foundations.

The MRG grant boosted our total to $731,357.  That was 97.4% of our goal.  We needed to raise another $11,143 to get to “99%.”

We decided to ask a few loyal supporters if they would pledge the final 1%—that’s $7,500.  Two of them, in an act of inspiring generosity, committed $11,143, instantly advancing the campaign to the 99% level.

Now, we put out the call to one and all:  here’s a “1%” you can proudly join—the contributors who donated the final 1%

Please remember that contributions are tax-deductible if made payable to “Willamette Valley Law Project” and can be sent to 300 Young St., Woodburn, OR 97071.  To make an online tax-deductible donation, go to www.capacesleadership.org (the Institute’s new website!) and click on the green “Donate” button.

We hope you can make a contribution by December 31^st and ensure that 2011 will be a “si se pudo”—“yes we did”—year