NCM Raises over $300K for Local Families in Need.
Featured photo caption: Auctioneer Dean Crownover doing his thing at NCM’s fundraiser held at Atlanta Tech Park.
It’s not often that giving away thousands of dollars elicits laughter and good-natured ribbing by a man in a gold-colored dinner jacket. But that’s exactly how the evening transpired Sept. 29 as the Neighborhood Cooperative Ministries (NCM) hosted its Celebration 2022 at Atlanta Tech Park in Peachtree Corners.
With more 300 friends of the nonprofit in attendance, NCM far exceeded its fundraising goal of $60,000. The event brought in $318,481, according to the final tally.
Left, NCM Board Chair, Elizabeth Gross. Right, Ryan Jones- Development Director.
“Every day, our NCM staff and volunteers meet one-on-one with anywhere from 20 families to, some days, 60 families. In some cases, we’re helping them just figure out where they’re going to have lodging that night or how they’re going to feed their family that week,” said Elizabeth Gross, NCM Board President.
“And in other cases, we’re meeting with them on an ongoing basis trying to move them to a position of financial stability. But we would not be able to do any of this without the support of the community and those who are willing to make a difference in the lives of those in need in our area,” she continued.
Plans to grow with the community
Gross added that over the next 20 years, Gwinnett County is expected to double in size. The county is at about one million people right now; as it reaches the two-million-person mark, the needs will double as well.
The NCM board has been working hard to build a solid foundation that will endure through the growth. To get ready, the nonprofit purchased a building that was three times the size of its old building.
“We raised funds to pay off the mortgage and created a half-million-dollar reserve fund for expansion,” added Gross to thunderous applause.
Besides that, NCM has added staff — a Comptroller and a Director of Community Development.
Left, Celebration 2022. Coordinator Sherri Boucher with The Smith’s. Right, Tandem Bank Table guests including Weare Gratwick, Board Member and Wendy Willis, Board Member.
“As we look to the next year, …our key focuses are going to be: one, offering healthier food options for our clients,” Gross said. “We’ll do that through the addition of significant refrigerated and freezer storage.
She noted that NCM is also going to expand their services, as well as their footprint. “We’re going to do that in two key ways. First, we’re going to triple the size of our clothes closet. This is a project which is already underway. We expect to be in this new, larger space just after Christmas,” she said.
At the same time, Gross announced that NCM will offer a new service. “We’re calling it our ‘Starting Over Ministry.’ This really targets families who have either been evicted or they may have experienced a fire and lost their possessions. Now they’re going back into permanent housing, but they don’t have a lot.”
In addition to clothing and food, NCM will start collecting household items in the first quarter of 2023.
“And then, thirdly, we’re going to continue the process of converting our NCM building into a nonprofit campus,” Gross said. “Over the next five years, we will be transitioning our for-profit tenants …to like-minded nonprofits who also serve our clients with complementary services.”
This move will yield more of a one-stop shopping experience for clients, she said, adding that NCM started the transition this year with the addition of Hope Atlanta to the campus. NCM provides temporary housing in extended stay lodging while Hope Atlanta finds more permanent housing like apartments.
Serving Gwinnett residents in need
“Unfortunately, we serve an area where 45% of the children are growing up below the poverty line and 11,000 kids are facing chronic hunger,” said Ryan Jones, Director of Community Development at NCM.
“We start with compassion and relief,” he continued. “We will be the safety net when a family is in crisis. This is where they come when they have the unexpected things in life — the unexpected illness, the unexpected job loss, the changing family dynamic.”
The data and the stories of personal tragedy and triumph resonated with the audience.
The organization’s theme for the fundraiser, “Operation Save a Family,” came about as an initiative to support the increased number of families putting the pieces back together in their lives after COVID-19 assistance programs ended. Many local families continue to struggle to meet basic needs and the climate is magnified by high rent costs.
Fundraising guru Dean Crownover probably put in a few miles on his Fitbit as he traversed the event space urging patrons to dig deep. But the crowd didn’t really need the push. The fabulous items to bid on — such as Bold Catering and Design’s Chef’s Party for 30 at its exclusive Studio 887 in West Midtown Atlanta, or a seven-day beach vacation in Miramar, Florida in a resort condo that sleeps six, or a private chef coming to your house to prepare a gourmet four-course meal for 10 people — were incentive enough.
“We are grateful for the abundant support from our community — the financial generosity, our hard-working Board of Directors, dedicated staff and incredible volunteers,” noted Jones. “As NCM navigates this journey to help those in crisis right in our own backyard, having such a large pool of committed support makes a huge difference.”
For more information about Neighborhood Cooperative Ministries, including its mission, ways to financially support the organization and volunteer opportunities, go to ourncm.org.
