Need ideas/donations for my awesome charity

wrong, when asking for anything from someone without giving that someone equal things in return you have to explain exactly where it is going and how it is spent.
you are defending him from just asking for answers and dont even know yourself what it is all about.

all he needs to do is be very transparent with all the answers and facts if he wants free money for his cause. then people can decide to research it and then make an informed decision.

and my hat is off to middle of no where. he goes way up in my book.
 
to add, it is a noble thing he is doing. but the charity part is doing it for free, that is charity. not getting people to pay you to do it.

if that is what is is about. if not, it isn't clear from what he posted or the link to the new feature.

i hope the en devour is successful. sounds that some need the service. or at least want it.
 
benjaminwah said:
Hi everyone, I formed a charity that provides free cover up tattoos for survivors of human trafficking/domestic violence and former gang members. I was recently covered on ABC News

abc7chicago.com

Lakeview tattoo artist helps domestic violence survivors rewrite their stories

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and a Lakeview tattoo artist is helping survivors rewrite their stories.
abc7chicago.com abc7chicago.com

I'd love to do a tournament to raise some funds for the charity and hold a raffle. I've attempted to contact some big suppliers and see if they would consider donating, but no responses. Does anyone have any direct contact info for someone at a pool supply company that I can reach out to? We are a 501c3 so all donations are 100% tax deductible.

Thanks! Ben
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OP, doesn’t seem like you are engaged but I’m sure many are willing to help and at this time of year good to remember there were blessed donkeys at the manger as well. Good luck!
 
now i see how your mind works and can understand, thank you.
im out of this thread now its run its course for me.
 
jeephawk said:
Do you have a venue/format/dates/local sponsors? If you want businesses you aren't already "networked" with contributing money you need to be making appointments and pitching your cause/event in person and helping them understand what they get out of it and hopefully setting up something other than a one off contribution. I'm guessing here and elsewhere are resources to draw upon for a successful charitable pool tournament but what is the notion driving the thought that is the best event to raise funds? Lots of knocking on doors, ideas for events needed, getting invites to present at local clubs and so forth, pounding the pavement if you need to raise a lot of money on a consistent basis.
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Thanks for the input, that organization is no longer around.
 
middleofnowhere said:
If you boil it down, it sounds like he will provide the service but wants to be paid. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays my wife goes to the food bank, loads up her truck and distributions food to a number of families.

She doesn't ask to be paid. At the food bank they are all volunteers. Most of the food comes from Publix, Costco, Walmart and a few others. No one is getting paid. They do it because they want to.

Many years ago I got involved in a homeless feeding program. After a while I came to discover the money we were donating, I was giving $400.00 a month, was mostly being pocketed by the Priest who was running it. Food he said was being bought was actually donated.
Here's the thing, was he feeding people, yes. But he was also inriching himself.

One on one charity is a good way to help people. You can't help everyone but can make a small difference in the lives of a few. As far as the tattoo thing. It seems like the cost of a 2 inch cover up tattoo is not really that expensive.

Where is the money going that would be donated? It seems to the tattoo artist for his services. That's not charity, it's a revenue stream.
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I do take a portion for my services but it is minimal, less than half of what the tattoos would normally cost. Costs of running a business in Chicago are very high at this time. Many long running businesses are shutting their doors around me. All of our overheads, from supplies to utilities are way up. I have a few clients that run charities, most take a salary from their donations. I do not.
 
maha said:
so do you do tattoos and or go over them and get paid for it. or you do it for free for the charity.

why would this charity need money? wouldn't any decent tattoo parlor help out these people for free? it isnt like they would have a big line of them out the door. be great for their business and a write off as well.

and why arent you trying to get these people a job and then they can just pay for it themselves. isnt that a better result.

and of course any charity should or has to publish where 100% of the money goes and is spent. and that should be included with when asking for the donation.
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All 501c3's have to provide their records upon demand. When you see these charities like BLM, the Red Cross etc getting blasted for where the money goes, that's why.
Most places are not just doing free tattoos. These are 100% free for the client. If I was in a situation where I could just do them for free I would. I am not. It's the best option for these people at the moment, if you can figure out how to provide a better situation please do.

"why arent you trying to get these people a job and then they can just pay for it themselves. isnt that a better result."
Man, if you only knew. the stories I hear are incredibly sad. these are people coming out of the worst years of their lives. Family bridges are burned. They usually have children. They are trying to get an education so they can get an actual job that isn't minimum wage. They have their kids in day care while they go to school., then the kids are either alone at home at night while they work or being driven around in the car with them while they door dash.
 
I may have a place lined up, I have a family and a business to run and it's the holidays so this thread wasn't a priority this weekend.

I understand the scrutiny and welcome it. If someone is going to donate to ANY charity they should be curious about where their money or donations go.

I just donated some hand written lyrics to a Rock and Roll museum in Joliet. I went there, met the guy who runs the operation and got a great tour. If at any point I was suspicious or didn't like what I was seeing I would have left.
 
look i really think you are trying to do good things. and hats off to you for that.

however from my prospective removing a tattoo for someone is basically doing little for them, maybe not if on their face.
they may be all messed up but helping people that refuse to help themselves is futile for the most part.

and asking for someone to pay you or someone for a job you do for a person seems wrong.

better chances for you is to say half will go toward your charity or just the cost of materials will stay with you. then that seems fair.
meaning you donate your time only.
 
Not criticizing the OP with this comment.

I do wonder if active gang members are getting their tats covered up so they are not used to identity them as gang members? It would seem like a logical thing to do. Especially if they consider ending up in Cecot the jail in El Salvador…
 
maha said:
look i really think you are trying to do good things. and hats off to you for that.

however from my prospective removing a tattoo for someone is basically doing little for them, maybe not if on their face.
they may be all messed up but helping people that refuse to help themselves is futile for the most part.

and asking for someone to pay you or someone for a job you do for a person seems wrong.

better chances for you is to say half will go toward your charity or just the cost of materials will stay with you. then that seems fair.
meaning you donate your time only.
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"however from my prospective removing a tattoo for someone is basically doing little for them, maybe not if on their face.
they may be all messed up but helping people that refuse to help themselves is futile for the most part."

You have no idea then about what it means to them. Neither you nor me will ever end up in the situations that these people do. How they end up there can result from a bunch of different scenarios, but ultimately they end up there. And it's a super dark horrible chapter of their lives. These tattoos are from that period of their lives.

I went to a resource fair for these people. Being there I was able to see the amount of help they need to get their lives in order. It's very challenging. Most have prison records, lack of documentation, medical bills etc. Everyone there was providing services to help them with these issues. None do what I do, so I am very glad to be able to do it. It is a huge relief to not see their abuser's name on a daily basis on their neck/forearm/chest.

You assert that they are not trying to help themselves, boy are you wrong. It would be easy to keep going down the path they were, and many do. These are people trying to turn their lives around. As a father I couldn't imagine if my daughter ended up in a scenario like they have. If they are putting forward the effort to turn things around and better themselves I am absolutely honored to be included in that process.

And again you want to scrutinize the minutiae of how I am running things. And again I will say please do it yourself and do it better. The Red Cross took in millions of donation money when Haiti was destroyed by a storm. They literally built 6 houses. I am extremely transparent about where the money donated goes. I want my kids to be proud of what I am doing. I would rather die then be involved with scamming anyone.
 
Quesports said:
Not criticizing the OP with this comment.

I do wonder if active gang members are getting their tats covered up so they are not used to identity them as gang members? It would seem like a logical thing to do. Especially if they consider ending up in Cecot the jail in El Salvador…
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I'm sure there are a small percentage who may be covering them for some other reason, but most of who I deal with are out of jail, grown up and have a family. They want to leave that behind.
 
middleofnowhere said:
What's the dollar value of covering say a 1 inch by 2 inch tattoo of a name?
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Depends on what we are covering it with. If it's minimal, like not much bigger, I wouldn't even take any money out of my budget. Most are bigger and on tricky spots like on their neck, so much more work.
 
benjaminwah said:
Hi everyone, I formed a charity that provides free cover up tattoos for survivors of human trafficking/domestic violence and former gang members. I was recently covered on ABC News

abc7chicago.com

Lakeview tattoo artist helps domestic violence survivors rewrite their stories

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and a Lakeview tattoo artist is helping survivors rewrite their stories.
abc7chicago.com abc7chicago.com

I'd love to do a tournament to raise some funds for the charity and hold a raffle. I've attempted to contact some big suppliers and see if they would consider donating, but no responses. Does anyone have any direct contact info for someone at a pool supply company that I can reach out to? We are a 501c3 so all donations are 100% tax deductible.

Thanks! Ben
Click to expand...
Fraud.
 
benjaminwah said:
Depends on what we are covering it with. If it's minimal, like not much bigger, I wouldn't even take any money out of my budget. Most are bigger and on tricky spots like on their neck, so much more work.
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I'll just tell you what I think. If you don't want to do it, don't do it. If you can't afford to do it, don't do it. And if you do want to do it, do it and don't expect to be padded on the back. Many people everyday do very nice things without looking for praise or compensation.
 
middleofnowhere said:
I'll just tell you what I think. If you don't want to do it, don't do it. If you can't afford to do it, don't do it. And if you do want to do it, do it and don't expect to be padded on the back. Many people everyday do very nice things without looking for praise or compensation.
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I love doing it, these people I help are literally in tears seeing the tattoo on their body that they hate totally gone. It's great.
I don't give a shit about being padded on the back or praised. I started this thread because a friend in the pool world suggested it.
 
Brookeland Bill said:
Fraud.
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In what sense? Everything is super transparent. No one is forced or tricked into anything.
I think it's safe to say there are thousands and thousands of charities that work on the same model. We do so because we have overheads, plain and simple. Why is it fraud?
 
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benjaminwah said:
I love doing it, these people I help are literally in tears seeing the tattoo on their body that they hate totally gone. It's great.
I don't give a shit about being padded on the back or praised. I started this thread because a friend in the pool world suggested it.
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Then that feeling you get by being able to do that for somebody is your payment.
 
MitchAlsup said:
Why would anyone get a tattoo ???
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It ain't for everyone, right?

I have a buddy who is quite well off, having started and sold multiple businesses. He has a giant 9-ball rack tattooed on the back of his left calf ... He often says, wtf.

I honestly cannot think of anything I want drawn on my body 100% of the time

And to the op: the world is better because of you. Nice and thanks too.
 
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