Capital campaign progress
Dear Members and Friends,
We hope that you have had a great summer. Our dojo on 18th Street has been humming with energy and activity. For some aikidoka the special class Osawa Shihan taught at the dojo in July was a highlight – for others the best part of the summer may have been a trip to the USAF summer camp in New Jersey. We have enjoyed each other’s company and good training – really it couldn’t happen anywhere else.
Photo credit: Javier Dominguez
Today, I am writing to bring you up to date on the discussion about our building project and the capital campaign designed to support it. We began this conversation in June at our all dojo meeting, providing the pathway to complete the campaign and the project. So far, we have made lots of progress with the help of dedicated volunteers and generous donors. We have already spoken with some 40 friends and members of New York Aikikai and have been heartened by the encouragement and commitment from them. Now we want to prepare you for the next steps – we would like the entire community to be involved in this important effort and acknowledge that it is only with the entire community’s involvement that we can get over the finish line.
To review, we have an initial goal of raising $490,000 from our community to help fund the essential work on our building on 18th Street. This covers basic work needed such as renovating bathrooms, adding windows to the deshi quarters, fixing the stairs, and roofing. Then if we are able to reach that goal, we have additional goals totaling $222,000. This will replace the boiler with an HVAC system, provide new mats, and open up the space between the mats and the check-in area. We will tell you how close we are to reaching our goal–and invite you to pledge–at our festive kick-off party on October 28. Please mark your calendars and more details will be coming shortly.
On this website you will find a great deal of information about the projects, the budget as well as some beautiful imagery. We hope that you can spend some time to look through the information and let us know if you have any questions or concerns – we are here to address them.
We will continue raising funds until we reach our goal and believe that with 100% participation of the community, we will achieve that by year end. Each one of you is a vital member of the New York Aikikai family. We know that our dojo and the art of aikido have been important to you. After the kick off event, members of the New York Aikikai Capital Campaign Committee will be reaching out to ask for your contribution – please give this serious consideration.
We thank you in advance for joining us in helping to continue to keep New York Aikikai the place where it couldn’t happen anywhere else.
Joan Ellis
Capital Campaign Co-Chair