Edit: thanks to everyone who contributed, shared, and encouraged - our "Getting Back in the Black" fundraising need was met! Expenses we racked up while we didn't have a fiscal sponsor are now covered, which means we can keep operating. Thank you!

Wow, what a spring and summer it's been! When OCF first announced their dissolution in early March, you all raised over $7500 to maintain our regular meal service while we navigated next steps. Getting those next steps nailed down didn't happen as quickly as we'd hoped, but we're grateful to say that we were still able to keep serving meals twice a week (over 13,000 meals from the beginning of March to mid-September!), and elated to announce that we've got everything all squared away with our new fiscal sponsor, PWGD! PWGD is a tiny-but-mighty local effort by a couple of folks who came together to make sure that Minnesota's mutual aid/direct aid groups who were sponsored by OCF would be able to continue operating, and we are beyond thrilled to be working with them. (As a reminder: fiscal sponsorship means that they hold onto donations for us so that the financial aspects of their 501(c)(3) status apply to us too, not that they're funding us directly - that's still a collective effort!)

So...what does this mean moving forward? The primary thing for you to know is that if you had an existing monthly pledge, it's going to resume! [Important edit: it turns out this will NOT happen automatically! Check your email for a link to reactivate, change, or cancel your monthly donation]. If circumstances have changed in the last six months and you can no longer commit to the same level of support, we absolutely understand and invite you to change or cancel your recurring donation (and if you have funds automatically deducted and need them returned, get in touch - that's easy to do on our end!). If, on the other hand, you're able to resume support at a higher level, or chip in a little extra as a one-off, we'd be grateful - we've still got a stack of receipts from the last couple of months that our last fundraiser didn't stretch quite far enough for. And finally, if you're okay with continuing to offer the same level of support that you were before, then no action is needed - your regular donations will resume. [Edit: again, this is NOT correct - you will need to click a link in an email to resume donations. If you can still give every month, please take a look!]

Thank you for being part of this collective project of care, for acting on the belief that everyone should have access to meals that nourish in body and spirit. Whether you contribute financially, or by volunteering in person, by supporting on social media, or any other way, it's all inching us toward that vision. 

Gratefully,
Eileen
Community Kitchen volunteer