From Purple to Indigo to Green

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple 
With a red hat which doesn't go and doesn't suit me.

These opening lines from a poem entitled "Warning" by Jenny Joseph has inspired a slew of OOWs (outrageous older women) to adorn themselves in eye-catching raiment and even to establish the Red Hat Society for spunky women over 50. I recall sitting across from a pair of these gals in the dining car on the Sunset Limited back in 2004 as we rumbled across Texas. From where I sat there didn't seem to be anything limited about their sunset years.

Now I'm wondering what older guys should wear. Maybe indigo. Plumage that's a bit more subdued and midway between the entitled purple of kings and Garth Brooks...

In any event, indigo is on my mind today. Over the past decade there's been a fair amount of attention given to the New Age concept of Indigo Children (which, like the offspring in Lake Wobegon, are all above average) and the Indigo Girls. While I may have raised a couple of the former and have certainly listened plenty to the latter, today I'm making my first foray into crowd funding, with Indiegogo.

• • •

This colorful opening brings me to what I really want to talk about today: Green.

FIC has launched an Indiegogo campaign that will endeavor to raise $45,000 in 45 days, representing half the money needed to construct a new 800 sq ft office for our Missouri headquarters. This will replace a funky '70s-era house trailer that's only green if you count mold.

The new office will be green in the sense that we're committed to energy efficient construction that emphasizes renewable materials. While it will take a substantial amount of long green to build this baby, and FIC is relatively green when it comes to capital campaigns, I am hopeful that we'll succeed, giving us the green light to break ground this spring. Two years from now, when we're able to move into our new digs, I expect nonprofits everywhere to be green with envy.

While we're already making headway with major donors and foundations en route to manifesting the first half of our construction budget, the concept with Indiegogo is that we'll try to raise the second half by aggregating small donations from many people—$10 here, $25 there, and occasionally a splurge of $100 or more.

Over the course of the last 25 years more than 50,000 people have contacted FIC looking for information about community living. If each of those folks gave us as little as $1, we'd surpass our goal. We'd also fill the pot if we received a $10 donation from 4500 supporters—less than 10% of those who have looked to us to keep the candle of cooperation burning in the window.

As we head toward winter solstice and the time of short days and long nights, now is an excellent time to remember the light. Please visit our Indiegogo campaign, watch our video clip, and tell your friends. Every donation—no matter how small—effectively pushes back the dark, and keeps FIC's flame burning brightly!

And now for my concluding hue and cry. The upcoming holiday season is brought to us by the colors red and green. When you see red, I invite you to recall the festiveness and spunk of the Red Hat Society. When you see green, I hope it will evoke the vibrancy and growing reach of FIC in a world hungry for community.

Together we are making a difference.