Crunching money and gnashing my teeth

Oy vey...I've been going over the budget Melissa and I drafted and trying to fill in holes, rethink some of the estimates and organize it. The bottom line:

$100,000

That's the very least it will take to turn the Light of Islam on :)

I originally planned to open in October. That's clearly not feasible.

I'd like to shoot for April 1, 2008. That gives me a year total of fundraising, with two caveats:

1. I probably won't have the 501(c)(3) until around September - seven months of fundraising.
2. I'll need most of it in place by January - five months of fundraising.

So...time to get down to business. This is all going to get funded by individual and corporate donors, mostly by individuals.

I need to figure out if I can open by April. I think the numbers tell me I can't, but I want to open tomorrow, so it's hard to be more realistic. Darn it! Well, I guess I'll work as hard at opening it as I will when it's open. I wish I didn't have a day job - BUT - one more sign that God wants me to do this is that the only job I got despite the many, many applications I put in was the one I do from home. Insha Allah this WILL get done. The Light of Islam Bookstore WILL open. No obstacles, no hindrances, no setbacks, no problems - ONLY SOLUTIONS AND WAYS TO SUCCEED!