OCTOBER 8th is just a few days away. Click the banner at the end of this post to buy your tickets.
IT’S THE NEIGHBOR PROJECT’s 2021 FUNDRAISING GALA!
2020’s gala was a great success, but it was totally virtual (see highlights Here). This year, as we hope we’re beginning to return to normal, TNP holds a hybrid gala: mostly outdoor, some indoor, some virtual—and all of it as safe as possible. It will be a casual night full of food, fun, inspiration & motivation, and live music, just across the street from the TNP offices in The Venue’s building and lovely outdoor plaza.
I’ve written a lot on this site about this nation’s incredible (and growing) wealth gap, and of its racial wealth gap—which is even worse. Most of that gap has to do with who’s gotten to own homes over generations and in areas where they’ll appreciate in value fairly. Two-thirds of the average family’s wealth comes from their homes, and while the median wealth of white families is over $170,000, the median wealth of black households is only around $17,000: ten TIMES less. As The Neighbor Project works to stabilize families financially, hopefully putting most of them on the path to home ownership, it’s working to shrink that wealth gap, which means more than just money. As 
executive director Rick Guzman said in a speech at last year’s gala—which is the best place to catch a sense of TNP’s growth and vision for the future—if we empower otherwise financially vulnerable people, they can become leaders for our communities. The whole community stabilizes, debts turn into investments, and their children’s educational achievements sky rocket. They graduate from high school at rates 25% higher than non-homeowning families. They’re more than 115% more likely to graduate from college!
You’ll get food, have fun, bid on auction items if you wish, be entertained. But behind it all there’s the fight against inequity, and all that growth, stability, community investment, investment in people and families that your attendance will help bring. We hope to see you there.
♦ Visit The Neighbor Project’s website to find out more, donate, volunteer, read inspiriting stories, and watch an introductory video I was privileged to narrate. The Neighbor Project helps people get out of debt, save, and get on a path to home ownership. It’s taking back a city’s greatest asset: the people who already live there. Click the banner below to purchase your tickets for this year’s fundraiser.
