In mid-December, as tourists were arriving for rest and relaxation during the holiday season, and many Anguillians were preparing for a busy work period, a new Anguilla-focused nonprofit organization was quietly being born.
The ‘Anguilla Initiative’ was officially launched through social media on December 11th, though the organization has been several months in the making. Initiated by two families from Virginia who have visited Anguilla each year since 2014, and calling Meads Bay their on-island home, the Anguilla Initiative sprang out of the devastation sown by Hurricane Irma in 2017.
“Many of us back in the States sent emails and scoured social media looking for ways to provide support and get money where it was needed”, said Andy Hunn, Founder of the Anguilla Initiative. “If there was any good that came from this historic storm, it was the opportunity to see the thousands of repeat visitors online doing all they could from afar to take action and drive financial assistance.”
Hunn began thinking about whether there might be a better way to harness that goodwill into an ongoing channel of philanthropy for Anguilla. At first the focus was the creation of an evergreen (i.e. always on) Hurricane Relief Fund. “I’ve never seen anything like the strong community of affluent visitors who come year after year to this incredibly special place they consider their ‘second home’ – for 10, even 20 years in a row. We wondered whether we could tap into this community to build up a relief fund long before a weather event, to be deployed when it is needed most – right after the storm”, Hunn said.
But it also quickly became clear that there were many near term needs on the island, and Anguillian nonprofits focused on those needs who could use financial backing today.
“Our vision is to build an ‘army’ of Anguilla supporters, and to make a small positive impact in support of the people and place that have given all of us visitors so much.”
With this dual purpose in mind, the Anguilla Initiative, or “TAI”, was born. It is a 501(c)(3) US-based nonprofit organization which is an all-important designation signifying that the US Internal Revenue Service has approved all donations to TAI as fully tax deductible for Americans.
The TAI mission is to improve the quality of life of Anguillians by fundraising for projects focused on: social and other assistance to the elderly; the health and welfare of Anguillians; educational needs; and protecting Anguilla’s pristine natural environment and cultural heritage. While the scope is broad, this strategy is deliberate, allowing flexibility for the organization to support a diversity of projects over time.
“While our dreams are lofty, we are starting from humble beginnings as we get TAI off the ground”, Hunn said, adding: “We hope to help Anguillians, one small project at a time and, as we grow, to take on bigger challenges.”
TAI will select 2-3 charities each year to work with, and identify a specific project with each to fund in the coming year. In addition, the evergreen Hurricane Relief Fund is in place that sparked TAI’s creation, allowing donors to invest for the long term as well.
The 3 projects chosen for 2020 are:
• Arijah Children’s Foundation – Funding a preschool support teacher so that preschool-aged children with special needs can attend a traditional preschool class with other students.
• JC Recreational Centre – Fund a large tent to replace the exterior roof lost by JCRC during Irma, providing covered space for its youth programs, elderly activities, and community events.
• Anguilla National Trust – Fund the reconstruction of a viewing platform destroyed by Irma at East End Pond – Anguilla’s only nationally protected wetlands area, and a popular destination for education programs, bird watchers and photographers.
Hunn said that since inception just over one month ago, TAI has already raised $10,000 towards its $50,000 goal.
“We have a long way to go to reach our target. It goes without saying that we can’t do this alone”, said Hunn. “We built our organization to make it super easy to support these great Anguillian causes. Now we need to kick the fundraising into overdrive.”
If you would like to learn more about the Anguilla Initiative, or make a donation, you can visit its website at www.anguillainitiative.org or find TAI on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnguillaInitiative
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anguilla_initiative
– Press Release
