FESCO's AtticFESCO's AtticIf your attic is getting crowded, perhaps you would consider donating furniture and other items for the shelter or for families who are trying to move into their own homes. Also, there are always projects for volunteers.
Want to donate money to FESCO's programs?
The following items or services are needed for the FESCO Shelter, its Resettlement and Children's Programs, and for FESCO's administrative office. If you would like to donate any of these items, please call:
The FESCO Office
21455 Birch St.
Hayward, CA
(510) 886-5473
Because FESCO operates 24 hours/day, year-round, there are many opportunities for generosity! We can always use the following items:
* available from teachers’ supply stores (Learning Center, etc.)
We appreciate your donations of supplies, clothing, furniture and household items, as well as food. PLEASE look at your collection of really good stuff and ask if these are items a homeless family needs or has room for. Exercise equipment and skis, for example, are not high on the needs list. Neither are large appliances, broken things that just need a little fixing, or worn and soiled clothing.
If someone didn’t buy it at the flea market or garage sale, there’s probably a good reason. It costs FESCO precious dollars to carry things to the dump that are not usable as-is. We do not take old computers or computer parts.
If you have a couple of hours a month, a week, or want to help on a one-time basis, you can help homeless families by volunteering for FESCO – the Family Shelter. Application is necessary for all new volunteers. Please call Pamela at the office (510/886-5473) or contact her via e-mail at pamelam@fescofamilyshelter.org to request more information or an application. Group projects can often be arranged.
Will work with board member and/or long-term volunteer to review boxes of files in storage to determine what needs to be kept, shredded or recycled.
Skills Needed: Must be detail-oriented and willing to lift, haul, sift and label boxes of files. No specific deadline.
Research what FESCO would need to do to keep operating in the event of an earthquake, fire or other catastrophe. Includes exploring how to obtain and store emergency supplies, continuity planning, protecting those with disabilities, looking into evacuation plans, determining the best way to maintain communication among staff and shelter residents, securing all FESCO facilities and looking into cyber security.
Skills Needed: Must have internet access, be computer-savvy with good internet research skills, and posses a strong attention to detail. This project can be performed remotely and on your own schedule. Approximate deadline: June 6, 2008.
Charities such as FESCO are rated on organizational efficiency, capacity and performance based on data found in the charity’s annual IRS filing (form 990).
We need a volunteer to look at our recent 990’s and identify categories in which our performance is linked to our rating. The work product we would like is a narrative, illustrated with numerical analysis and identifying the areas that impact our rating.
Skills Needed: Must have internet access and familiarity with internet research techniques. Affinity for and skill with numerical analysis, and the ability to work with ratios. Must summarize the results of your research in a narrative form. This project can be performed remotely and on your own schedule.
undraising opportunities arise from time to time that net less than $10,000; these fundraisers can be beneficial to the organization, yet it is generally not cost-efficient to dedicate staff time to them. If, however, a volunteer is willing to do the legwork on the organization’s behalf, this can produce both revenue and visibility for FESCO.
For example, the California Conservatory Theater of San Leandro has offered us their house for about one show per year in the past. We are responsible for selling all the tickets (about 70) for one show and we get to keep the ticket proceeds for that night. This raises a few thousand dollars and provides us with a little publicity. It becomes a valuable opportunity for the organization if there is no staff time involved because a volunteer contacts the theater, chooses a show and date, publicizes the event, sells the tickets, and puts out some educational materials on FESCO the night of the show.
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of other smaller-revenue fundraising activities that a volunteer can identify and take on, from an electronics recycling day to a house party to a car wash. Do some research, find one that would be fun for you, and take it on!
Skills Needed: Enthusiasm, outgoing personality, affinity for sales, organizational skills. Flexible schedule according to project chosen.
These are five separate research projects. A volunteer can take on one, two, three, four, or all five. After an initial discussion with Executive Director (which can be in person, on the phone, or via e-mail), the volunteer can perform the research on their own schedule, most of it online and perhaps via a few work-hour phone calls.
After learning about FESCO’s postal usage, research various postage meter products (e.g., Pitney Bowes, Neopost), compare their features and costs, and make a purchase recommendation.
Identify reputable companies that provide HR outsourcing services, gather information on their offerings (we have starter list for comparison), and recommend 2 or 3 that would be worth meeting with to get quotes.
Locate and/or develop a comparison grid of donor database software programs appropriate for FESCO’s size and needs.
Starting at http://www.techsoup.org, develop a comparison grid and narrative recommendations of credit card processing services for non-profits to handle donations.
Research companies that handle car donations for non-profits. Try to find one that takes fewer fees for itself than current company (so that FESCO receives more profits from these donations).
Ability to understand the products and services FESCO is interested in, to compare various aspects of those products and services and to make intelligent recommendations based on research. All projects may be completed remotely and one your own schedule.
At the Shelter – work is ongoing and constant:
Resettlement – direct assistance to families moving from the Shelter into housing:
At the Office – volunteers help us keep administrative costs down:
Direct-service and fundraising events include the Shelter Shuffle Walk-a-Thon, Back-to-School Backpack distribution, Holiday Adopt-a-Family and our annual Dinner/Auction. Volunteers are needed to help with:
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