A Million Ones is a community support campaign in which friends and supporters of the Other Foundation host personal, intimate, pledging dinners in their homes with our support. Read more about it . . .
Overseas financial support for the rights and wellbeing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex [LGBTI] people is often seen as the promotion of a Western agenda and way of life. It often has the unintended consequence of marginalizing African LGBTI people in their communities and sometimes adds to the stigma and discrimination that LGBTI people face. To avoid this, we must do more to locally raise the financial support needed by LGBTI groups and supportive organizations to advance and defend the rights, wellbeing, and social inclusion of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Not only will this help to more firmly root the struggle for freedom by African LGBTI people in Africa, it will also improve social cohesion and build the sustainability of LGBTI community organizations so that lasting progress is achieved.
A Million Ones is the Other Foundation’s initiative to do just this. It is a community support campaign in which friends and supporters of the Other Foundation host personal, intimate and special pledging dinners in their homes, with our support, and get their friends to sign-up to give regular donations to good projects. The Other Foundation provides support to the host of the dinner by making all the dinner arrangements, including a guest chef and set-up on the day. We also pay all the costs of the dinner. All the host has to do is invite their friends and family to the pledging dinner and host it in their home. This gives unique expression to the Other Foundation’s identity as truly being a community foundation.
Guests at each dinner are asked to do two main things: Make a giving pledge and/or host their own A Million Ones dinner for their friends and family.
The campaign aims at raising R1 million a month, from pledges as small as R1 per person per month. The ask is small so that everyone can participate. The great news is that the Other Foundation has already raised support from generous people who have agreed to match the amount raised, up to three times over. This amounts to up to R4 raised for every R1 given at a dinner. And because all our administrative costs have already been paid for, we do not take any part of the donation to cover our operational costs. Whatever you give goes directly to supporting projects, and we commit to keeping you updated about which projects were supported with your money.
Our Dinner Experience
There are three steps to hosting A Million Ones Dinner:
1. Sign-up
Select a date that works best for you, then identify up to 8 guests to attend your dinner. You can then contact Shekeshe Mokgosi on smokgosi@theotherfoundation.org or on +27 82 890 3406, to share the date, your home address, and the contact details of individuals on your guest list. Be sure to prime your guests before the dinner by checking their availability, as well as letting them know that the purpose of the dinner is to pledge money to support good projects;
2. Relax
With the date, venue and guest list set, we will step in and provide all the necessary support to make your A Million Ones dinner happen. We will hire a guest chef, all tableware and formally invite and regularly correspond with your invited guests to remind them about your dinner. We will also work with you, the host, to decide on the menu for your dinner, and to tailor your A Million Ones experience to your taste;
3. Enjoy
On the day, our chef will arrive early at your home to prepare a delicious, 3-course meal, as well as smartly setting-up the dinner table in anticipation of the arrival of your guests. During the dinner, you and your guests will enjoy a wonderful and intimate dinner, and be engaged in organic, light discussions about our work and some of the great projects being implemented for and by LGBTI people. Towards the end of the dinner we will invite any pledges, and we commit to keeping you updated on the projects funded with your support.
The Foundation is grateful for the support it has received from
