Drink for Pink

Putting the 'Hop' in 'Hope'

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May 23 2018

2017 Review and Transparency Report

Drink for Pink was founded on a simple idea: that raising money for breast cancer research could be done on a local level with every penny accounted for. As we ended our third year of operation, we have been overwhelmed with how that idea has resonated in Colorado.

2017 was an incredible experience for all of us. We more than reached our goal of doubling our 2016 donations, raising over $17,000. Along the way we worked with some amazing people at some fantastic breweries, and ventured outside the world of beer for the first time by working with Colorado Cider Company. Everything we have done in the last three years is because of you. Without your donations and enthusiasm, Drink for Pink would never have gotten off the ground.

As we move forward to 2018, we are setting lofty goals. We are looking to hit the magic $25,000 total that would allow us to fully fund a seed grant on our own. With your help, we believe we can make it there.

As we have done in 2015 and 2016, this report is divided into the following sections:

  • What went well
  • What could’ve gone better
  • What we’re focusing on for 2018
  • The numbers

What went well…

We doubled our donations from last year. Every year we hope to double the year before, and in 2017 we achieved it, climbing from $8,000 to just over $17,000. Seeing this sort of growth is amazing, and really helps us appreciate how generous you all are!

We continued to try new events. While everyone loves visiting a brewery, it’s important to give people options. In 2017 we continued our partnership with Brewery Bootcamp, holding a morning workout at Dry Dock for the second year. We also tried some new themes, including an October costume contest, a weekend event at Avery, and Christmas stocking decorating at Ratio.

We added new breweries to the team, and ventured outside beer. We were thrilled to add some Colorado beer heavyweights to our brewery family in Avery and Wynkoop. Additionally, we partnered with our first cidery in Colorado Cider Company. We can’t thank all of our partners enough for their support!

What could’ve gone better…

We need to be more consistent in our social media presence. We have a wonderful group of followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, who form the backbone of what we do. We need to put more emphasis on providing the best content to them, highlighting our programs and events, and showing support for our partner businesses.

Capitalizing on our growth. While we are thrilled with the partners we have gained, we are always looking to provide our donors access to more options. There are no shortage of breweries and cideries in Colorado, and we hope to maintain our momentum by bringing new friends into our group.

What we’re focusing on…

Maximizing our impact. Drink for Pink is a 100% volunteer organization, which is our biggest strength. It is, however, difficult to staff a large number of events without a paid staff. To help us cope with the workload involved in a growing organization, we are looking to form more long-term partnerships that allow for through-the-month fundraising as opposed to one-off events.

Bringing in outside funding. As mentioned above, being a volunteer organization is very important to us. We take pride in knowing that none of the money you donate goes to us. Unfortunately, even without staff salaries, running a non-profit isn’t free. We need supplies for events, there are government fees for us to operate, and the Drink for Pink merchandise we sell costs us to produce. Securing grants is a priority in 2018 so that we can use that money to cover the required overhead, allowing us to pass as much of your donations on to researchers as possible.

The numbers…

In:

Events – $17,029.82
T-shirts – $2,608.60
Refunds – $39.16
TOTAL – $19,677.58

Out:

Marketing – $1,840.04
Fees – $21
Business expenses – $446.67
TOTAL – $2,307.71

The Events income line includes t-shirts purchased with cash, as well as basic donations received and money given by the event hosts. The bulk of the Marketing expense was for the shirts, with event posters and flyers comprising most of the rest. Business expenses is mostly operational costs such as website and meeting expenses.

Total donation to breast cancer research: $17,469.47

In 2016, we donated $8,000, so 2017 was a huge step up for us! We will present the check to Cancer League of Colorado at a spring meeting. The funds will then be awarded through their grant application program.

Wrap-up

Every year at Drink for Pink is a learning experience. While we are thrilled by the growth you have helped us achieve, we are humbled by how far we have to go. We cannot thank all of our donors, partners, and supporters enough for everything they have done in the last three years, and we cannot wait to continue to grow. 2018 will be another amazing year, and we are glad you have joined us on the way!

Written by drinkforpinkco · Categorized: Our Story

Sep 22 2017

How Your 2016 Donations Benefited Breast Cancer Research

As we celebrate our 2016 fundraising efforts, our 2017 events are just getting underway. If you haven’t yet, check out our second annual Brewery Bootcamp for Breast Cancer event happening next Saturday (9/30) at Dry Dock South Dock!

Our three key values at Drink for Pink are transparency, local (meaning keep the money in Colorado), and research (focusing on cancer research exclusively). A big part of both the research and transparency angles is providing a detailed breakdown of where our donations go at the end of each year. In 2015, our funds went to Dr. Diana Cittelly PhD from Anschutz Medical Campus. We were beyond thrilled to support Dr. Cittelly, and we were even able to tour her lab at Anschutz to learn more about her research.

Today, we’re excited to share where our funds went from 2016, and the research you all helped to fund with your donations.

[Read more…]

Written by Jeremey DuVall · Categorized: From the Lab, Our Story

Jan 20 2017

2016 Review and Transparency Report

Drink for Pink operates on three key values: research, local, and transparency. Our mission is to support critical breast cancer research local to the Colorado area in a transparent way.

Part of that transparency is letting you know exactly how much we raised in a given year and where it’s going. We did our first transparency report in 2015, and we’re excited to do it again this year!

I’ll start by just saying that 2016 was truly an amazing year. Although we fell short of our goal of hitting $10,000, we nearly doubled our donation from last year, partnered with some new breweries, and had 10 total events throughout the year! We can’t thank you enough for your support.

Looking forward, we’re setting some ambitious targets for this year. We think we can double our donation from this year and get close to that $25,000 mark we’re looking for to fully fund our own seed grant.

[Read more…]

Written by Jeremey DuVall · Categorized: Our Story

Mar 30 2016

What’s Next for Drink for Pink?

2015 was a wild ride. Drink for Pink ran on self-propelled steam, the wonders of discovery fueling each milestone and before you knew it, it was October. We had a great 1st year thanks to the partnerships we made at both the Research and Brewery level. It was their belief that gave us the confidence to turn our volunteer work into an actual organization. The question now is what does our sophomore effort look like? How do we approach 2016 and continue to the bring value to the communities we have focused on?

[Read more…]

Written by Alex Mozota · Categorized: Our Story · Tagged: Update

Mar 24 2016

Lessons Learned From Running Eight Events in One Month

2015 was an absolutely insane year. Not only did we get Drink for Pink up and off the ground, but we hit the ground running with eight total events over the course of a month. It was exhilarating, exciting, and, yes, exhausting.

As we gear up and start planning events for 2016, we’re reflecting back on everything we learned throughout the busy month of October in 2015. Some pieces (planning farther in advance) seem rather common sense. Others (personalized “Thank you” emails) aren’t so obvious.

Since we’re learning on the go, we thought we would share some of the bigger takeaways about nonprofit event planning specifically.

[Read more…]

Written by Jeremey DuVall · Categorized: Our Story · Tagged: How We Work, Lessons Learned, Reflection

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Drink for Pink is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit.