Naming of ñ Office in Memory of Jim Strange Celebrated at Reception
Painting of the new ñ office. Building will be named in memory of Jim Strange.
One of the highlights of the ñ Board Meeting was a celebratory, drop-in reception held at ñ’s new home—209 Commerce Street in Alexandria, Virginia. Even though ñ had not officially purchased the building—we close on April 24th—there was much to celebrate.
First and foremost, ñ trustees and guests celebrated the announcement that the new building building will be named in memory of longtime ñ member, trustee, secretary, and friend, James F. Strange. While the name of the building was unanimously approved by the ñ Executive Committee at its meeting on February 3, 2019, and while the ñ Board was informed of this vote in Susan Ackerman’s President’s Report, we made the first public announcement at the reception on April 5th. A more complete announcement will follow in a subsequent issue of News@ñ, and a naming ceremony will take place next spring (2020).
We also celebrated the naming of the building by giving Jim’s beloved wife and current ñ trustee, Carolyn Midkiff Strange, a painting of ñ’s new home. Following a brief announcement and presentation of the painting by ñ Executive Director Andy Vaughn, Carolyn thanked everyone in attendance and share how pleased Jim would have been. She said that a permanent ñ office had been a dream for Jim, and she was confident that he would have thrilled at our success in raising the funds and finding such a wonderful location in Alexandria.
Last, but certainly not least, all of the attendees at the reception enjoyed fabulous food and beverages. The ñ staff and family pitched in to prepare a feast—including tenderloin, fresh-baked rolls, and selected foods and beverages from Virginia.
We hope that all ñ members will check future issues of News@ñ for updates on ñ’s New Home and our move. The previous owners just moved out of the building three days ago (April 13th). New internet will be installed today (April 16th), and new phones will arrive on Thursday (April 18th). We close on the purchase next Wednesday (April 24th).
For the time being, the ñ staff is functioning well with folding tables and temporary furniture and filing cabinets. Our files, copier/printer, some furniture, and archived books and journals will arrive from Boston on May 4th. All of the staff look forward to welcoming all of our members to our new home and to sharing further updates as we get settled and furnish the building.
Attendees at the reception celebrating ñ’s new home
Finally, we want to remind all ñ members that we cannot celebrate too much until we meet our fundraising goals and “earn” an extraordinary challenge gift of $450,000. As announced a couple weeks ago, ñ has received a new challenge gift of $450,000 that will ensure that ñ meets and even exceeds our $1.5 million goal to purchase. We only need to meet two challenges to “earn” this additional $450,000:
- First, we need to demonstrate that we are all behind the purchase of ñ’s new home and ñ’s other initiatives by securing “450 for $450,000”: that’s 450 donors donating $10 or more to ñ in this fiscal year (July ’18-June ’19). As of April 15th, we are at 240 donors, so we need gifts from 210 more individuals, companies, or organizations.
- Second, we need to match the challenge of $450,000 by raising $225,000 in new gifts and pledges (made after February 1st), or $1 for every $2 of the donor’s gift. And we are well on our way, as we have received pledges of $156,000 in the past month—so we only need $69,000 more.
How You Can Help. We are almost there! If you have not already made a gift, please consider joining the “450 for $450,000” campaign by donating to ñ before June 30, 2019 (all gifts, including programs other than the building qualify). If you have already pledged or made a gift to support our new home, please think about increasing your gift or pledge to the building so that we can raise the last $69,000 needed to qualify for this $450,000 challenge.
To recognize your support, we offer naming opportunities at the following levels:
- Naming of conference room or floor = $300,000
- Naming of an individual office (sizes vary) = $100,000 – $250,000
- Name recognition on smaller office spaces = $25,000 – $99,999
- Name on plaque recognizing major donors = $10,000 or more
- Name on a plaque recognizing all donors at “brick” level or higher = $250 or more