Submitted by David Kauffman Vice Chair BNI Foundation, Managing Director BNI Delaware Valley Regions
We had a GREAT convention and I would like to thank all those who supported the foundation at this historic event!
A number of our supporters flew in early to help us with the first “Givers Gain In Action” event where we went to a local library and helped with a beautification project. We had over 25 National Directors, members of the Global support team, and several local members volunteer their time for this event. All of us who attended brought books in our home language to add to their library.
Here is a link to the video of the event. It was an incredible experience.
We then went to the Daniel School and visited with the children and staff to see how the grant given to them a few years ago has made a difference. We learned that they have grown from 1 school to over 30!
We took the time to speak to the children and asked what they needed. Their response was quite surprising to us… They asked for English tutors, PE teachers, microscopes and chairs. Why chairs? They do not have enough tables and chairs to eat their lunch, so many of them sit and eat on the floor. We were able to give them a Givers Gain Grant to buy 6 microscopes and several large benches to sit on. This is how your dollars are helping local children!
- During our main stage presentation at Convention, we were proud to present the following awards: The Ivan Misner Excellence in Giving Award which went to our long-time supporter Meena Srinivasan
- The BNI Foundation Award of Excellence which was presented to Elisabeth Misner for her many years of service to the foundation.
From the main stage, in conjunction with our overflowing round tables, we were able to raise global awareness about the BNI Foundation and Business Voices (the boots on the ground). Members and directors learned how the BNI Foundation belongs to them and how they could get involved and truly make a difference in a child’s life.
Dr. Ivan Misner spoke about the creation of The Misner Endowment and our goal of growing it to at least one million US dollars. We had several members, directors and countries step up and donate to help us reach our goal. We would like to thank all those who have donated to this project. We were able to collect over ½ of the pledged donations at our booth.
We would also like to thank Jean-Michel Steber and Team France for creating and donating the Tree of Hope which was used to collect donations and then raffled off at the gala on Saturday night. Along with other prizes donated by Ester Wong and Kevin Barber, we collected over 600 envelopes with donations and pledges.
We are working hard to grow the foundation and hope to be up and running in at least 6 more new countries before the next Global Convention in Miami. The Business Voices teams around the world keep growing, even in countries that do not yet have foundations or may never have a formal foundation.
We need to get your stories. If you are a part of a team, please send us your stories here. If you would like more information on the BNI Foundation or Business Voices Teams, please contact us at info@bnifoundation.org
