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PMD is a Finalist for the 2023 Small Nonprofit Excellence Award!

People Making a Difference (PMD) has been selected as a finalist in the Nonprofit Excellence Awards that the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network (MNN) hosts to honor the dedication, passion, and impact of the state’s nonprofit sector.

MNN’s Small Nonprofit Excellence Award recognizes a nonprofit organization with an annual budget of $250,000 or less that “despite its small size has managed to fulfill its mission and make major contributions to the populations that it serves.” This year’s finalists are:

Connor’s Kindness Project

Mosaic: Interfaith Youth Action

People Making a Difference (PMD)

STEAM Ahead

The WellStorm, Inc.

The other Nonprofit Excellence Awards categories are Advocacy, Education, Leadership. Resilience, and Young Professional.

Winners will be announced at a State House ceremony on June 6, 2023. PMD volunteers can attend this celebration ceremony and networking luncheon by registering as an “MNN Nonprofit Member” for $55pp at https://www.tfaforms.com/5056294

“It’s very exciting for People Making a Difference (PMD) to be selected as a finalist for the 2023 Small Nonprofit Excellence Award during PMD’s 30th year mobilizing and organizing individual volunteers who work together to make a difference to community-based charities in their Greater Boston communities. PMD aims for people and businesses to become socially aware and engaged in their communities such that they approach volunteerism by learning about problems and needs, becoming familiar with charities that are working to address them, volunteering reliably, and providing needed resources to make a difference. We are honored to be included among this year’s impressive finalists.” -Lori Tsuruda, PMD Founder & Executive Director

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Happy #GlobalVolunteerMonth!

April is Global Volunteer Month, and despite today’s date, volunteers are no joke.

We are excited to celebrate the impact of people around the globe who volunteer and engage in their communities that change the world, informally and formally.

Thanks to People Making a Difference (PMD) volunteers for making a meaningful difference in Greater Boston and beyond!

Thank You text with heart and Cartoon crocodile. Cute cartoon character for Thank you day card. Good smiling crocodile. Hand drawn lettering. Flat vector illustration on white background.
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Massachusetts Charitable Deduction is Back!

Massachusetts is finally reinstating the charitable deduction for 2023!
It was supposed to be reinstated in 2020, but the pandemic delayed it again.

As of January 1, anyone filing personal income taxes in MA can take this deduction on their state tax return without having itemized. A $100 charitable donation would lessen someone’s tax bill by $5, but your individual circumstances may vary.

As I hope that everyone already knows: Every gift, no matter what size, makes a difference to People Making a Difference (PMD). Likewise, every tax deduction, no matter what size, makes a difference to donors who file personal income taxes in MA.

Ways to donate to PMD can be accessed at https://www.pmd.org/donate/

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PMD Turns 30!

Since November 7, 1992, more than 10,200 awesome people have volunteered for 1,390+ one-day PMD community service projects, helping 153 charities and their clients in Greater Boston and beyond. PMD’s database records that these 10,200+ people have volunteered nearly 20,000 times, and this means that most have enjoyed a homemade cookie or meal-That’s A LOT of yummy cookies!

The very first PMD volunteer project only had nine volunteers, one consumer, and one charity partner (11 people total), but everyone cleaned an mental health clubhouse for Riverside Community Care for a marathon day (9 hours!). Since then, we’ve learned to schedule shorter, less ambitious/exhausting volunteer projects 😉 offering shifts when possible.

Although the covid-19 pandemic eliminated PMD’s in-person volunteer projects for five months when gatherings were not allowed in 2020, and we pivoted to some remote projects when we could, we’ve been organizing mostly outdoor and virtual volunteer opportunities since 2020, gradually aiming for pre-pandemic levels. Interestingly, the only volunteers who have not yet returned in force are corporate/employee volunteers, probably since they don’t work together in the office as a daily practice anymore and since omicron infections, illnesses, and other surges mean that more people stay home when they are sick to minimize exposure and cross-infection.

PMD’s new website quietly launched last month after a massive volunteer efforts by webmaster Phil Cartagena and UX/UI Designer Sarah Kuo, along with board member Ian McEmber and me updating its content for individual volunteer as well as (new!) potential corporate and charity partners. There are even a couple short, introductory videos by Girl Scout volunteer Melanie Clark. Hopefully visitors will find more useful information beyond the link for joining PMD’s private email list and then never returning to the website, which was the case for the first 25+years…. 😉 We still need help with SEO, so please contact me if this is your expertise and you can help out-Ty!

Hip Hip HOORAY 30 YEARS TODAY

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