Q1 Reflections: Fundraising, Growth, and Heading Back to Togo
- Jestine Lackner
- May 6
- 3 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
As I sit here at the Toronto airport—just 24 hours away from landing in Lomé, Togo—I’ve finally had a moment to reflect on all that has happened in the first quarter of this year. It’s hard to believe how much ground we’ve covered since I returned from Togo in late December. There hasn’t been much downtime, but every late night and long day has been more than worth it.
We kicked off 2025 by releasing our first-ever Annual Report and diving straight into our next chapter of fundraising. Our biggest focus? Planning and executing our first-ever silent auction fundraiser. For three months, we poured ourselves into outreach, logistics, and creative brainstorming. We secured five sponsorships, collected over 55 incredible silent auction items (plus tons of raffle items), and had the entire venue, drinks, and food donated—ensuring that every single penny raised went directly to our mission.
When the night wrapped, we had raised $9,041 of our $10,000 goal—a huge win for a grassroots team with big dreams and limited resources.
In February, I had the privilege of presenting to several classrooms at Frenchtown High School, where I graduated, and also shared our story with residents at The Springs Living center. Both experiences reminded me just how far Sustainable Classrooms has come and how many people care about the work we’re doing.
Later that month, I traveled to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho to attend the Idaho Nonprofit Center Regional Conference—two full days of connection, inspiration, and learning from nonprofit leaders across the state. I walked away feeling recharged and equipped with even more tools for growth.
Then, in mid-March, we launched our first fundraising event series—and let’s just say we didn’t hold back. For five weeks straight, we hosted a different event every week:
A pint night at Imagine Nation Brewing Co. in Missoula
A St. Patrick’s Day pint night at GILD in downtown Missoula
A bingo night at Jeremiah Johnson Brewing in Coeur d’Alene
Our silent auction in Missoula
And finally, a pint night at Hunga Dunga Brewing in Moscow, Idaho
Our final fundraising event of this stretch was Idaho Gives week, which just wrapped up last week. Thanks to all of your support across these campaigns, we’ve officially raised over $11,000 in the past four months. That’s $11,000 going straight toward classroom infrastructure, school supplies, and community partnerships in Togo.
Despite the chaos of event planning, I also found time to continue spreading the mission. I tabled at the North Idaho Green Summit (the morning after our silent auction!), and was honored to be invited as a judge for the Idaho Pitch Competition—the same one where I proudly won four awards last year. I also tabled at the Idaho Vandal Spring Football Game and, most notably, was the keynote speaker for Invent Idaho—an incredible opportunity to speak to over 200 brilliant students, parents, and teachers from across the state who had made it to the state finals of what’s commonly known as the “invention convention.”
And now, here I am—writing this at Gate E75, somewhere between the past few wild months and the next chapter of our journey. In just 24 hours, I’ll land back in Lomé, Togo. There’s so much more to share about what’s ahead, but for now I’ll say: thank you. Thank you for cheering us on, for showing up, and for believing in the future we’re building—brick by brick.
More updates to come soon.
Sincerely,
Jestine
Founder, Sustainable Classrooms
Comentários