Annual Fund Appeal Letter

Dear Neighbor,

On Tuesdays before dawn, Ms. Alvarez waits on the corner with an empty tote. The nearest full-service grocery is miles away; bus fare and time make fresh greens a luxury she can’t afford. But when our green truck turns onto her block, she smiles—because neighbors like you bring an affordable farmers market to a food desert that has gone too long without choice, nutrition, or dignity.

With your support this year, Southside Fresh Food Collective turned urgency into impact: - Our weekly mobile market delivered 42,300 pounds of affordable produce to 1,150 households. - We enrolled 312 neighbors in SNAP/Double Up Food Bucks so healthy food dollars stretch further. - We trained 27 local teens as paid Food Justice Interns—building leaders and livelihoods. - We partnered with two clinics to pilot food-as-medicine prescriptions, putting doctor-ordered produce in patients’ hands.

Right now, we face a winter surge in demand. January is our busiest month, and to meet it we must confirm routes by December 28. Our goal is $85,000 to add two new mobile market stops, subsidize 500 produce shares for seniors and families, and keep our community fridge network stocked through winter. Every gift is doubled up to $40,000 through December 31 thanks to a generous match from Rivera’s Markets—your impact can go twice as far when it matters most.

Please make your most generous year-end gift today: - $35 delivers a fresh produce bag at a mobile market stop for a neighbor like Ms. Alvarez. - $75 keeps one community fridge filled with fruits and vegetables for two days. - $150 subsidizes a full month of produce shares for a senior or family. - $300 fuels and staffs an additional mobile market stop for a week. - $1,000 underwrites a month of operations at a mobile market stop—bringing affordable produce to blocks with no grocery options.

You can give online at our website, by mailing a check in the enclosed reply envelope (payable to Southside Fresh Food Collective), or by calling our office to donate by phone. Your gift today means full fridges, warmer kitchens, and healthier neighbors tomorrow.

Thank you for believing that everyone deserves fresh, affordable food—and for acting before the coldest months arrive.

With urgency and gratitude,

Marisol Vega Executive Director Southside Fresh Food Collective

P.S. Double your impact: Every dollar is matched up to $40,000 until December 31—and we must lock in January routes by 12/28. Please give today so the truck rolls where it’s needed most.

Dear Friend,

One in five adults in our region struggles to read well enough to fill out a job application, help with homework, or understand a ballot. For Maria, a warehouse worker and mother of two, that meant missing promotions and pretending she “forgot her glasses” at parent-teacher night. This year, she read her first chapter book—and earned a raise—because someone like you believed in her potential.

With your support, Great Lakes Literacy Partners delivered 18,600 hours of one-on-one tutoring to 428 adult learners. Sixty-eight percent advanced at least two reading levels. Ninety-five students earned a GED. We launched workplace ESL at four manufacturers so employees can learn while they earn, and we opened childcare-supported evening classes in two neighborhoods so parents don’t have to choose between learning and caregiving.

The need is growing, and the opportunity is now. Waiting lists are long. Employers are asking for more onsite ESL. Parents are asking for additional evening classes with childcare. To meet this demand, we must raise $250,000 by year-end to train 150 new volunteer tutors, expand evening classes with childcare at two learning centers, and upgrade digital learning tools so learners can practice at home and on the job.

Your gift will be doubled thanks to a 1:1 challenge from the Bright Pages Foundation—matching all gifts up to $125,000 through December 31—and will put learners in seats when winter term begins January 8.

Please make a generous tax-deductible gift today: - $50 provides a month of workbooks and bus passes for one learner. - $120 funds a month of digital learning licenses and a headset for one learner. - $365 sponsors one parent’s winter term evening class with childcare. - $750 recruits, trains, and supports one new volunteer tutor for a year. - $2,500 equips a learning center with updated laptops, hotspots, and software for a full class.

When you give, you open doors to better jobs, stronger families, and a more engaged community. You turn anxiety into dignity and potential into progress—one learner, one page, one promotion at a time.

Give online at GreatLakesLiteracy.org/give, mail a check to Great Lakes Literacy Partners, 123 Lake Avenue, Suite 200, Cleveland, OH 44114, or call 216-555-0142 to make your gift by phone.

Thank you for helping every adult in our community read, work, and thrive.

With gratitude,

Avery McKnight Executive Director Great Lakes Literacy Partners

P.S. Your gift by December 31 will be matched dollar for dollar by the Bright Pages Foundation—doubling your impact—and will help enroll learners before classes begin January 8. Please give today at GreatLakesLiteracy.org/give.

Dear Friend of Greenways,

On a warm Saturday in May, nine-year-old Maya and her mom set out to bike from their apartment to the river. Halfway there, the trail simply ended—no signs, no safe crossing—just four lanes of speeding traffic. They turned back. For families like Maya’s, especially in under-resourced neighborhoods, disconnected trail networks don’t just interrupt a weekend ride; they cut off safe, carbon-free transportation to jobs, schools, parks, and nature.

Because of supporters like you, Greenways USA is stitching those fragments together. This year, we completed 187 miles of trail and closed 23 critical gaps across 11 metro regions. We launched Safe Routes to Parks in 40 neighborhoods, restored 1,200 acres of habitat along greenway corridors, and secured $62 million in public co-investment to accelerate this work. Every new mile means safer routes, cleaner air, and more equitable access to the outdoors.

Now the moment to go further—and faster—has arrived. Communities are ready. Construction drawings are nearly complete. And we have the chance to finish three flagship corridors—the Great River Link, High Desert Loop, and Bay-to-Hills Connector—while building an open-source Trail Equity Map to guide future projects so the neighborhoods with the greatest need benefit first.

To seize this opportunity, we must raise $1.8 million by year-end. Our Board has pledged a $900,000 match through December 31, doubling every dollar you give. And a federal RAISE grant will unlock if we secure $1.2 million in private commitments by January 15. Your timely gift does both: it’s doubled now and counts toward unlocking federal funds.

Here’s what your gift can make possible: - $100 equips a neighborhood walk/bike audit kit for Safe Routes to Parks. - $250 provides translation, childcare, and stipends so residents can shape a community design meeting. - $500 maps one mile of trail conditions and equity indicators in the Trail Equity Map. - $1,000 helps install wayfinding, crosswalk striping, and curb ramps to close a local gap. - $5,000 advances engineering and permits for a complex crossing and restores native habitat along a corridor.

Will you make your most generous year-end gift of $100, $250, $500, $1,000, or $5,000 today to turn trail gaps into gateways for families like Maya’s?

Give online at greenwaysusa.org/donate, mail a check to Greenways USA, Attn: Annual Fund, PO Box 20450, Washington, DC 20009, or call 202-555-0148. Thank you for helping connect people to parks, opportunity, and one another.

With gratitude and resolve,

Leah Ortega President & CEO, Greenways USA

P.S. Give by December 31 to have your gift doubled by our Board’s $900,000 match—and help us meet the January 15 private commitment needed to unlock federal RAISE funds. Your gift closes gaps now.