A letter from Executive Director Marty Ellin.
Atlanta’s own Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. This February, I’ve considered those words a lot, and I agree. But I also believe that the arc of justice does not bend by itself. Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation gives us the chance to put our talents to the task of moving the arc, and our community, toward equal access to justice.
I have been the proud Executive Director of AVLF for 17 years. Today, I write to you because we are responding to a watershed moment with excitement – and with a change.
AVLF had a year like no other in 2017. Our development team brought in more grant funding in 2017 than we had ever before received in a single year. Our newest pro bono programs are well on their way to becoming, like our more established programs before them, nationally respected and replicable models. Last year, we added ten extraordinary new members to our program staff. (In comparison, two years ago, our staff totaled ten.)
In this time of expansion and promise for our organization, we need a fundraising initiative that centers on the immense value of our programs and our staff, that invites new donors to consider AVLF’s work, and that invites current supporters to continue to contribute to the difference they want to make in our community.
The success opened our eyes to possibilities for the delivery of services to our clients that we had not previously considered. We had choices: we could celebrate the year’s success and glide comfortably through 2018, or we could decide to push the boundaries established last year and set new standards for creative excellence in the delivery of free, high-quality legal services by volunteer attorneys in Atlanta. Of course, we chose to reach for opportunities our clients cannot access anywhere else.
To make that possible, we need to raise additional money to sustain, and grow, the striking successes of our volunteers and staff in the field. To do that, rather than relying just on the AVLF Winetasting and other events to raise the funds we need to support our pro bono programs, we have redesigned our fundraising efforts.
In this time of expansion and promise for our organization, we need a fundraising initiative that centers on the immense value of our programs and our staff, that invites new donors to consider AVLF’s work, and that invites current supporters to continue to contribute to the difference they want to make in our community.
I am proud to announce that, for the first time in its nearly 40-year history, Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation will have an annual giving campaign.
AVLF’s staff and Board of Directors have worked hard to design the 2018 AVLF Annual Campaign – a comprehensive, year-round fundraising plan – not only to sustain our successes to the greatest extent possible but also to enhance your experience as a supporter of our work. We plan to focus on the reasons why you trust AVLF, year after year, to improve the lives of Atlantans in need.
Co-chaired by steadfast AVLF supporters John Chandler and Beth Tanis, the 2018 Annual Campaign will create more opportunities for us to reach new friends of the organization, to encourage giving at every level, and to thank you for your support. All donations to our Annual Campaign are unrestricted – enabling AVLF to employ the funds wherever they are needed most – and are fully tax-deductible.
We’ve planned several new forms of recognition for Annual Campaign donors, including a dedicated Annual Campaign webpage, which will thank every 2018 Annual Campaign donor for their support, as well as feature testimonials from and stories about donors like you who are passionate about our work and our future.
Meeting – or exceeding – our 2018 Annual Campaign goal of $850,000 will enable AVLF to deepen our work in the communities where we are already changing lives.
Think of the 2018 Annual Campaign as an extension and enhancement of the Winetasting fundraising effort of years past. From this year forward, Winetasting will be a thank-you event for supporters who give $350 or more to the annual campaign. You no longer have to wait until the fall to become a Winetasting sponsor! Make an unrestricted gift to AVLF at $350 or above at any time between now and this October and mark your calendar to join us at the Biltmore Ballrooms on November 1, 2018. We will thank you for your gift to the Annual Campaign the same way we’ve always thanked you for your gift to Winetasting, your name in the event announcement, on avlfwinetasting.org, on signage at the event, and in the post-event Daily Report spread, as well as with tickets to the event.
Meeting – or exceeding – our 2018 Annual Campaign goal of $850,000 will enable AVLF to deepen our work in the communities where we are already changing lives. It will allow us to expand our Safe & Stable Families Project’s capacity for outreach, education, training, and importantly, for holistic services for survivors of domestic violence. It will empower us to keep improving living conditions, reducing displacement, and positively impact both educational and health outcomes through our Standing with Our Neighbors program. It will invest in our Saturday Lawyer Program, Atlanta’s longest-running legal clinic, to provide client advocacy that is even more proactive, effective, and essential than before. It will even set us up to further integrate the services provided by our housing and domestic violence programs, which we hope will have an unprecedented impact on Atlanta’s families.
Your support will make that impact not a possibility, but a reality.
We look forward to working with all of Atlanta’s communities in our continual effort to keep the vulnerable among us safe and stable. This year especially, we ask you to stand with survivors, stand with your neighbors, and stand with AVLF.
With gratitude,
Make a contribution to the annual campaign today.