San Diego School Aid Nonprofit Seeks Outsized $150K At Fundraiser

SAN DIEGO, CA — A year-old foundation established to improve classroom education in San Diego has set an unusually high $150,000 goal for its first fundraiser after COVID-19 disrupted nonprofits last year, the founder said Friday.

The Positive Movement Foundation aims to raise that amount through tickets, raffles, auctions and donations at its Aug. 28 Cocktails for a Cause event, founder and president Omit Sabet said. The money would go toward three San Diego classrooms for two years, he said.

Like-minded nonprofits usually try for $20,000 to $50,000 at fundraisers, Sabet told Patch.

“The goal is to make an immediate impact and hit the ground running,” he said.

Nonprofits in the state lost funding and had to cut hours last year as the pandemic curbed economic activity, the California Association of Nonprofits found in a survey.

Money raised will pay for in-kind donations of school supplies and consumer technology, the foundation said in a statement. Sponsored classrooms qualify too for scholarships, individual mentoring and mindfulness training.

Classrooms that would be funded by the money raised will be in San Diego and probably represent different demographics, Sabet said. Students will be in fourth through seventh grades, and the foundation usually targets at-risk children.

Funds from the event would also go toward the 4-year-old Girls Empowerment Conference, a one-day annual event for 500 students in ninth through 12th grades. The foundation coordinates those conferences.

The cocktail event will take place from 6-10 p.m. Aug. 28 at the Batta Fulkerson Law Group offices, 1899 McKee St., in San Diego. Tickets are being sold through the foundation’s website.