Open Arms of Minnesota - Capital Campaign Announcement

Open Arms Announces Capital Campaign

May 17, 2007

Dear Friends:

Thank you for your ongoing support of Open Arms. Because you have been such a wonderful friend to Open Arms, we want you to be among the first to hear some very exciting news about our future. We are delighted to inform you that Open Arms is announcing a capital campaign to construct a new building in the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis. This new building will allow us to fulfill our mission in ways never before possible.

As you know, Open Arms has experienced remarkable growth over the past few years. Two years ago, we expanded our program locally to begin serving people with ALS, MS, and women undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Last June, we celebrated the milestone of serving the one-millionth meal in our 20-year history. This year, our staff and over 1,400 dedicated volunteers will prepare and deliver a record-breaking 160,000 meals to individuals living with serious diseases and their dependent children and caregivers. In addition, in 2000, we became the first nutrition agency in North America to begin feeding people with HIV/AIDS in South Africa.

We know there are many more people who are sick and need our help. With a larger facility and kitchen, we can prepare more meals with the same care and personal attention that have always been our hallmarks. We’ll be able to create new menus so we can nourish people living with a broader array of diseases than those we currently serve. With new public spaces, we also can bring more people together in a warm and welcoming environment to share their knowledge and resources as we work to end hunger in our own community and around the world.

Through a very generous donation of land, Open Arms has acquired a site at the corner of 25th Street and Bloomington Avenue in Minneapolis where we can build our new home. We have hired DJR Architecture, Inc. to design the facility, which we anticipate completing by the end of 2008. This gives us a strong foundation for our campaign.

To realize our vision, we will need to raise $7 million to construct a building and expand our programming. The board of directors and staff of Open Arms have been the first to make financial commitments, as well as to secure an initial lead gift. To date, we have raised $2.3 million towards our goal.

This campaign represents our most ambitious fundraising effort to date. We are confident that with your help, as well as the support of our broad range of donors and community partners, we will succeed in building our new home and expanding our services. Together, we will do more than build a new home for Open Arms – we will build a future where no one who is sick in this community also has to go hungry.

We look forward to hearing from you in the near future and we will keep you updated on our progress.

Sincerely,

Kevin Winge, Executive Director

John Frey President, Board of Directors