By Dan Fair.
LifeSpark is a non-profit organization that provides Reiki and Healing Touch wellness therapies that transform the experience of dealing with cancer for patients along Colorado’s Front Range. These services come at no charge to the Participant (patient) and are provided at no cost through the generous donation of time and effort of our many highly trained Providers.
So, one might ask, given the absence of costs in the service transaction, why does LifeSpark need to raise funds? The answer is that there are many unseen costs that are present in making the LifeSpark model efficient and effective for both Participants and Providers; and sustaining that model for future benefit to Participants and Providers.
These costs include:
- Staffing to run the organization and provide the structure to ensure quality matching of over 200 Participants to nearly 100 Providers, to coordinate 20 different locations, to maintain the website and database, and to perform the accounting necessary to comply with various regulations and Board requirements.
- Expenses to sustain and grow the organization; i.e. fundraising efforts, marketing, and event coordination.
- Investment to ensure the long-term viability of the organization; i.e. adding to cash reserves and seeking an endowment and a research study, so that LifeSpark services can be provided to future generations.
- Costs to reach and grow the connections needed to maintain LifeSpark’s credibility with the various traditional medical providers in the community.
At LifeSpark we strive to contain costs and continually look for efficiencies in spending our valued financial resources. The Executive Director and staff are paid well under comparable local market rates, the Board members are not compensated in any way for the broad range of services they provide to the organization, and the organization capitalizes on the many talented volunteers that come into our employ.
When you give a dollar to LifeSpark, 82 cents of that dollar is spent in the direct benefit of our Participants. We are serious in our efforts to maximize your donation to benefit our Participants. That, in the end, is why we exist.
