Woo hoo! Pledge is Met!!

Early on December 31st I arrived in São Paulo airport, on my way back to Rio from almost 3 months Stateside, to find a welcome Internet connection where I could check on the status of our Pledge. To my excitement, the Pledge had not only been matched, but it went over! By the end of the day, the Pledge closed with 231 signers, 32 over target!

Woo hoo!

The results of this Pledge drive were multiple:

1. We were able, on very short notice, to focus our energies on getting signers for the Pledge, whose joint contributions would total half of CatComm's 2006 budget, and as such allow us to expand and grow our work solidly in 2006 as we develop a sustainable funding base.
2. Our networks of supporters and those aware of our work grew dramatically. Not only did the Pledge attract well over 150 new supporters, but the number of visitors to CatComm's site grew solidly from a total of 11,000 in September, to 13,000 in October, and 15,000 in November and December. Twelve new volunteers signed up on our site during the Pledge period. Pledge signers include individuals from four continents.
3. During the Pledge drive period, the Omidyar Network's online community gave a $10,000 grant to Catalytic Communities, which was used, along with an anonymous contribution, to yield the match necessary to make the Pledge effective.
4. The Pledge attracted the interest of Social Edge (the Skoll Foundation's social entrepreneurship website) and various blog postings during its 6-week duration. Check out the rest of this Campaign Countdown blog to read each posting.
5. And the results are still coming in!

As a result of our successful use of PledgeBank, I have signed another pledge on their site: www.pledgebank.com/myresolution, pledging 5 hours of my time each month, specifically to helping develop PledgeBank in Brazil. I encourage others to join, too. I want to see this wonderful tool grow!

So, here is the message I sent out to all signers:

Hello friends!

Happy New Year and thank you for making our pledge successful! Rest assured, your commitment to the Pledge to CatComm Sustainability (www.pledgebank.com/catcomm) will make an enormous difference to the work we do in Rio de Janeiro and around the world in 2006.

Over the next few days you will be receiving two final messages from me: one detailing the various ways you can donate your $10 monthly or $120 for 2006 to Catalytic Communities; the other announcing the winner of our drawing for a trip for two to Rio!

Once again, thank you for your commitment to networking and bringing visibility to community solutions worldwide. We did it!

Warmly,
Theresa Williamson
Executive Director
Catalytic Communities
http://www.catcomm.org/