Little Helping Hands is 100% self-funded and like other nonprofit agencies, we rely on a diverse revenue stream made up of individual and corporate contributions, grants, fundraising events, and earned income programs. While our work involves supporting other agencies by providing volunteers and in-kind donations, we do not receive funding from them to support our work.

We estimate that it costs us $325 per activity on average. This includes activity materials and supplies, in-kind donations in the form of food, plants, supplies, etc. to support our activities as well as the human resources needed to plan and execute the activity. On average, it takes 5 hours to find, secure, and organize an LHH volunteer activity – and that’s before the activity even takes place!

At our current capacity, we conservatively estimate that we can provide family volunteer opportunities for just 20% of those who want to volunteer with us – kudos to Austin families who want to get involved in our community! However, no matter how you look at it, it is funding that will enable us to move toward maturity in the lifecycle of a nonprofit and continuous work on our end to meet our budget goals.

So when you wonder where your contributions go, it is to help us continue to operate and grow so we can better meet the demand for family volunteering opportunities here in Austin and to eventually expand into other communities. Your support gives all our young children a chance to learn about their community and understand the importance of helping others – a valuable lifelong lesson. We believe it’s a worthwhile investment.