News
- This quarter, TFT received two important grants. A $1,500 grant was received from the Reliant Foundation of Worcester MA. A $2500 grant was received from the Greater Worcester Community Foundation. Donations from individuals raised another $2,000, for a total of $6,000 for the quarter.
- For the whole year of 2018, TFT raised $25,482, which was 83.% of its annual goal of $31,700!
- Demand for the TFT Job Fare program continues to be below expectations. As a result, TFT enters 2019 with a year-end surplus, despite falling short of its 2018 fundraising goal.
- TFT has added the Refugee & Immigrant Assistance Center of Worcester (RIAC) as its latest Partner Charity. The RIAC is involved in a multitude of free support services for refugees and immigrants (mostly refugees) who have recently moved to the greater Worcester area. RIAC also has offices in Boston and Lynn.
Continued Growth of TFT Operations
Fundraising
As anticipated, fundraising during 2018 depended more on the receipt of grants from foundations and trusts, with eight grants ranging from $1,000 to $5,482. The percentage of money raised from grants, as a percentage of the total raised, went from 22% in 2017 to 72% in 2018.
Second Program Launched
TFT launched its second program, the Job Fare Kit, in April. This program provides a 31-day WRTA bus pass in a kit (packaged in a large brown envelope), which also contains a voucher for a free haircut and several other cards and pages with information that is useful to a person of low income or no income who is starting a new job. So far, the people receiving these kits have been unemployed an average of 18 months. As you would expect, being able to take the bus to work and earn a couple of pay checks before being on their own for transportation is greatly appreciated. Demand for the kits has been lower than originally estimated, but is getting stronger.