By Jeff Friedman
Editor’s Note: This week, in his own words, Livingston Philanthropies founder and director Jeff Friedman announces the first fundraising initiative for the organization, which recently earned 501(c)(3) non-profit status.
• • •
I have been privileged to summarize Livingston’s extreme generosity each week here in the West Essex Tribune. The Tribune has partnered with Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI) from the beginning. This fall, we begin our eighth year of service “providing for the poor, homeless and disenfranchised.” And, we are as local as local can be.
Now that LPI is an official 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, finally, I’m thrilled to announce our first-ever fundraising initiative. It’s season eight and we still do not have a vehicle! Delivery of over 10,000 warm coats, thousands of pounds of family clothing and a myriad of other badly needed items, including toiletries and cosmetics, has relied strictly on SUVs and trucks owned by LPI’s volunteers, who are amazing, but small in number. I’ve had 150 coats jammed into my mid-size sedan more times than I’d like to remember, too. Not good.
Livingston Philanthropies, Inc., your local philanthropic organization, has set the goal of raising $30,000 to purchase a vehicle. It will be a large SUV, mini-van or something else to be determined. Perhaps it will be new, or a vehicle just off lease. Our first-ever fundraising initiative shall run through the end of the year.
During my long tenure at PBS in New Jersey, I learned that the success of any campaign is built upon individual donations from those who truly care. That’s why we also hope to receive funding to purchase warm coats and other basic items for the homeless and families living below the poverty line.
I’m thrilled to report that LPI received a seed funding grant of $5,000 from a family charitable support fund to kick off the initiative. “Livingston Philanthropies is an inspiration for all of us who seek to make the world a better place by taking an idea and making it happen for people in need,” said our family funder, who prefers to remain in the background.
We’re already on our way – and, we’re just getting started!
Perhaps there is a forward thinking and financially able Tribune subscriber, who has been reading about our philanthropic efforts for years and may want to consider a matching donation or grant? Perhaps there are several? Well, it’s always nice to dream while asking for needed financial ...
