Women Making an Impact

I found a fabulous site for women who want to change the world.  Vivanista is a social network set up to empower Philanthropic Women.

If you're looking for fundraising ideas for your favourite charity, school or community group than all the information you need is here.  There is a fantastic library of fundraising resources - and a great community of women all willing to share their fundraising experience with you.

If living an altruistic lifestyle is important to you, then Vivanista is a great place to go for inspiration, to help you take effective action and to make a real impact on the world!  Make sure you look me up when you get there :)

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Christmas Clear-Out

Merry Christmas!!

If the season of giving has left you with extra clutter, a jumble sale is a great way to restore some order the the chaos!

JumbleAID is an online jumble sale that lets you give your unwanted stuff to raise money for your favourite charity.  Of course it also lets you pick up great secondhand goods in return for a donation to a worthy charity organisation.

How does JumbleAID work?

GIVING STUFF

• If you have an unwanted item that you wish to use to raise funds for your favourite charity you just list it on the site and you put the amount you would like the item to raise.
• You can list it as ‘Get it now’ or for a set period of time, after which, you select the winner who pays the money via the site – then it’s just a matter of collecting or delivering the item.

GETTING STUFF

• If you fancy an item on the site you simply place your sealed bid.
• If successful you make your payment and then organise collection or delivery.

ABOUT PAYMENTS

All payments are made into a Charities Trust Account. Charities Trust process all donations and distribute the funds to the nominated charities.

Not a penny of any donation goes to JumbleAID. 

So get to it - sort out your Christmas clutter today and raise money for your favourite charity!

Become an Opera Patron – and defile an opera set at the same time.

(March 19, 2009 --- Chicago, IL) How does a young theater company produce a punk opera during an economic recession? Graffiti! By visiting www.chicagovanguard.org, anyone can become an opera patron – and defile an opera set at the same time.

“This important 20^th century work about punks and skinheads warrants an equally anti-establishment approach to fundraising and design,” says Artistic Director Eric Reda. “I can think of no better way to do justice to the spirit of GREEK than to invite the public to become collaborators in the creation of the piece while at the same time inviting them to become micro-patrons.”

For as little as $1, COV invites anyone and everyone to tag the GREEK Graffiti Wall. Each dollar purchases a 4x4 pixel on the virtual wall, each pixel can be filled with any upload-able image, and every image on the wall will be incorporated the final backdrop and video display of the production.

Plus, every dollar contributed to Chicago Opera Vanguard’s production of GREEK constitutes a chance to win an exclusive VIP opening night package, including hotel, dinner and admission to the production.

More information on the GREEK Graffiti Wall, please visit www.chicagovanguard.org.

GREEK

Chicago Opera Vanguard - the city’s new home for cutting edge musical theater – continues its inaugural Season Ø with the Chicago premier of GREEK by Chicago Symphony Orchestra Mead Composer in Residence Mark-Anthony Turnage.

GREEK sets the ancient Oedipus myth in the economically depressed Britain of the 1980’s, where becoming a violent punk is a working class kid’s means of survival. Thatcher’s London is afflicted by a plague of racism, violence and mass unemployment. The city is overrun with violent policemen, old drunks and football hooligans. Based on Steven Berkoff’s play by the same title, GREEK was an immediate success at its 1988 Munich Biennale premiere.

MARK-ANTHONY TURNAGE:

Mark-Anthony Turnage is among the most relevant and innovative creators of concert music today. His orchestral and operatic music is often forthright and confrontational, unafraid to mirror the realities of modern life, yet its energy is exhilarating. With his flair for vivid titles, and his complete absorption of jazz elements into a contemporary classical style, Turnage produces work with a strong appeal to an enquiring, often young audience. Born in Britain in 1960, Turnage studied with Oliver Knussen and John Lambert, and later with Gunther Schuller.

With the encouragement of Hans Werner Henze, he wrote GREEK, his first opera, for the Munich Biennale festival. GREEK received a triumphant premiere in 1988. The many ensuing productions worldwide established Turnage’s international reputation.

Turnage is currently Mead Composer in Residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Much of Turnage’s music is recorded on Decca, Chandos and Black Box. Recently, Turnage was tapped to compose the music for an opera detailing the life of Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith.

GREEK performs 8PM Tuesday May 26 [preview], Thursday May 28, Saturday May 30, Wednesday June 3, Friday June 5 and Saturday June 6, at the AV-Aerie, 2000 W. Fulton St. Admission is by reservation only. Suggested General Admission is a donation of $35 Wednesday & Thursday; $40 Friday & Saturday; $20 preview. Suggested Student Admission is a donation of $10 Thursday & Sunday; $15 Friday & Saturday; $5 preview. Tickets are available online at www.chicagovanguard.org.

The ensemble features baritone Justin Neal Adair as “Eddy”, soprano Ashlee Hardgrave, mezzo-soprano Caitlin McKechney and baritone Brad Jungwirth. Chicago Opera Vanguard Artistic Director Eric Reda directs the production with music direction by Chris Ramaekers [Northwestern].

The extensive design team includes set by John Sundling [DePaul, Yale], sound by Florian Staab [Liz Luhrman Dance], lighting by Richard Ebeling, murals designed by Rob Funderburk, and costumes by Philip Dawkins.

About Chicago Opera Vanguard:

Employing the daring aesthetic of an off-Loop theater, Chicago Opera Vanguard is dedicated to creating the Mid-West’s foremost home for engaging theater with music by commissioning new works, giving a second voice to daring music-theater pieces, and by completely re-imagining operatic favorites. More information on current and future Chicago Opera Vanguard productions can be found at www.chicagovanguard.org.

Make YOUR Cause the Biggest on the Planet

YourCause.com is a social networking site where people who are passionate about a cause can harness the power of the internet to spread the word and raise money for the non-profit organisations that are making the world a better place.

So far, it's only available to non-profits registered in the USA . . . oh to have a truly global site. There are so many non-profits outside the USA that could benefit from this kind of worldwide exposure!!

YourCause.com provides all the tools you need to create a webpage to champion your favourite cause - and its free. Every cause has a chance to win with their Daily Donation programme - some of the revenue from the site is donated back to the community . . . it could be your cause that benefits!!

YourCause.com is also free for non-profits to use. As long as you are registered in the USA of course!

So join the YourCause.com community and start making a difference today!

January Fundraising for SALVEASERRA

Thanks to all who donated to help SALVEASERRA continue their work in the Atlantic Forest.

In total we raised $10 - which wasn't as much as I was aiming for, but will be a great help to them all the same.

One of the great spin offs from the campaign was that over the month of January donations to SALVEASERRA through their GlobalGiving project increased significantly. In the last week of January their Trees and Education Project was one of the top five most popular projects at GlobalGiving and they received over $500 of donations.

The winner of the WE ADD UP 'Plant Trees' Tee was Kimberly C. If you would like to purchase one for yourself click on this link and 10% of your purchase price will be donated to SALVEASERRA.

You can help raise funds for SALVEASERRA at no cost to you by downloading the How to Make a Difference toolbar. Its powered by Conduit and works on both Firefox and Internet Explorer. Every download raises money for SALVEASERRA!

Micro Giving on Twitter

Are you using Twitter yet? Twitter is no longer just the domain of over sharers and social media gurus, its also a great place for non-profits to raise awareness - and MONEY for their cause.

In November Tweetsgiving raised $10,000 to fund a classroom in Tanzania in only 48 hours on Twitter.

This month Well Wishes is using Twitter to raise $25,000 in $2 donations for Charity:Water. The Salvation Army is twittering its Red Kettle Appeal. And Tweetmas Future are twittering to raise funds to help end poverty.

Imagine what YOU could do for your favourite non-profit!

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Operation NICE Comments for Charity Update

Melissa at Operation NICE raised a fantastic $115 for Children for Children with her Comments for Charity! She had 115 people leave comments - and a wonderful anonymous donor who matched the $115 that Melissa raised - so in total she was able to give a fantastic $230. WOW!

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How to spread the word for your cause

Image by carf via FlickrThe internet is swimming with opportunities to raise money for the causes that move you. Its easy these days to get set up with a donation page at the likes of fundable.com, to set up a social network, blog or forum . . . but how do you get the word out that you exist? It doesn't matter how flash your web presence is, if you want to raise money you need people. And for most small non-profit organisations or individuals working within a tight (or non-existent) advertising budget it can seem a daunting task. But rest assured - it can be done!!

Here's a few ideas to help with your friendraising:

1. Sign up to Twitter
   Twitter is a fantastic way to keep on top of what is happening in your area of interest - whether that be saving animals, ending poverty or stopping global warming. There is no end of interesting people to follow and its a great way to build a digital network of friends to spread the word for your cause.
   
   Visit Twitip for everything you need to know about using Twitter for maximum effect!
   
   
2. Be an active participant in online forums
   Joining online forums and groups is another effective way to friendraise for your cause. Remember that its not enough to just join - you need to join in. Contribute to the conversation, share ideas, talk about the issues that move you. Don't be shy!!
   
   Care2 is a great starting place for networking with other passionate activists and givers for a whole range of causes.
   
   
   
3. Link to other sites/blogs/fundraising pages
   Want to get your name out there? Comment on other people's blogs and websites in your area of interest, include links to other people's sites and articles, be a contributing member of the WWW.
   
   It may sound mercenary and feel a little shallow at first, but its all about building community and you can't do that without participating in the conversations that are out there!

What do you do to spread the word for your cause?

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Fundraising with We Add Up

WE ADD UP is a fantastic organisation using organic cottom t-shirts to help stop global warming. Every shirt has a simple action you can take to help reverse climate change, and is printed with your own unique number in the sequential global count of everyone who is taking steps to help stop climate change. You choose which action you are committed to doing and get counted in.

"No one can do everything. Everyone can do something. And, WE ADD UP."

WE ADD UP also offers its great products to schools and non-profit organisations as a fundraiser. Your group earns 15% commission on sales that are directed to weaddup.com. You sign up online, receive your unique web link that tracks all the visitors you direct to our site, and are given banner ads to chose from to upload to your website. Easy!!

Take a look at WE ADD UP and start raising money for your non-profit AND saving the planet!!

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What it Takes to be a Great Fundraiser

Image by Roby72 via Flickr

(Excerpted from Kathy LeMay's program, "7 Steps to Awakening the Bold, Big Dollar, Social Change Fundraiser Within!")

A few weeks ago I read an article by a fundraising consultant about how to stay motivated during difficult fundraising times. Included in this article was this sentence (which I am slightly paraphraising): "Fundraising can be demoralizing which means it's important to find ways to stay motivated and excited."

Fundraising can be demoralizing.

When I began fundraising I would have agreed with this fundraiser. There were times when I felt I was asked to pander to a donor, swallow my voice for the sake of "getting the gift", or say what needed to be said to keep a donor happy. I think I did this for about 10 minutes before I decided to be as authentic in my fundraising work as I was in programmatic work. I made a decision to trust the donor and trust that we both wanted to make a difference.

Fifteen years and more than $100 million raised from individuals later I know now what I think each of us knows intrinsically: leading with truth and authenticity builds real, lasting partnerships. This approach honors the donor, the fundraiser and the work and produces results.

Read the full article to find out how to begin fundraising from a place of truth, authenticity, hope and personal power.

FundraisingIP.com has compiled a list of the 15 most popular online fundraising applications. Well worth a look if you are planning an online campaign.

"Which one is the right one for you? First, make a list of what kind of services you need: online payments and tracking, online auctions, volunteer management, marketing, e-mail campaigns, website design and hosting? Anything else?

Then - remember that each of these services is in business to make money from the groups that sign up with them - compare services and fees of three to five of the fundraising services listed. Fees to consider are one-time setup fees, any monthly fees and per transaction fees. Some fees might be higher or lower depending on how much you collect in donation dollars.

Each of the websites below provides a variety of services, some which might be useful for your group, some won’t. Be sure you don’t pay for services you don’t need and that the customer support offered is sufficient for you. Of course, make sure the website itself appeals to you and is easy to use!"

Check out the list at FundraisingIP.com

NPO Referral Programme

FirstGiving is a great platform for Non-Profit organisations (as long as they are registered in the USA) to raise funds online.

It offers tools to help your organisation reach more people, and turn your donors into fundraisers. Firstgiving deals with the money side of things for you and makes administration easy. And its FREE for your organisation to use - or you can pay for a Branded Premium Account.

Take a look at FirstGiving here

And have a look at the FirstGiving Blog entry "Share the wealth of fundraising ideas"

"Nonprofit organizations who refer other nonprofit organizations to us can earn three months of free Firstgiving service for each referral who joins for six months or raises at least $5,000. So share the wealth and tell your peers about Firstgiving."

The Backyard Philanthropist

Ha"Having a business that specifically supports not for profits and encourages philanthropy it made me think about what philanthropy really is. I went to www.answer.com who defined the word:

• · The effort or inclination to increase the well being of humankind, as by charitable aid or donations.
• · Love of humankind in general.
• · Something, such as an activity or institution, intended to promote human welfare

Wikipedia writes ‘philanthropy may encompass any altruistic activity intended to promote good or improve human quality of life.’

If that is the case, then all of us are philanthropists and it isn’t a label saved for the Gates, the Buffett’s and the Sage’s of the world.

We are ALL Backyard Philanthropists; volunteering our time, supporting the organizations that are close to our heart and living a purposeful life." . . . read more at the PincGiving Blog


PincGiving opens a gateway to online donor and charitable giving. We connect supporters with causes and have online fundraising tools that help you raise money to donate to any of the 1,202,807 charities we have listed in North America, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Put your philanthropy to work at Pinc.

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My 2008/09 Giving Project

Over the last few months I have been working on raising awareness - and ultimately funds - for SALVEASERRA, an organisation in Brazil that is working to reduce poverty, encourage sustainable land use and restore part of the Atlantic Forest (possibly the most engdangered tropical forest area in the world).


I am primarily using the internet to achieve my goal for this project - which is to raise the full amount required for their GlobalGiving 'Trees and Education' project - $60,000. Given that I am a fundraising novice, this is a fairly ambitious target.

I have been using Razoo without a great deal of success. It seems like a site with great potential, but is very quiet and there doesn't seem to be a lot happening there or many active members.

I have also been trying Zazengo. Its a great platform, and it also has the fantastic widget you see in my sidebar. But once again, there isn't a great deal of action/discussion/networking going on.

The other platform I have been using is Care2. I have been a member of Care2 for years and I love the site! I have recently joined several discussion groups related to both fundraising and rainforest protection. I post something at least once a week to try and stimulate discussion. I also have the RSS feed of my How to Make a Difference blog directed there.

So far, these platforms haven't generated a lot of response. But they have meant that SALVEASERRA has a much greater presence in the search engines - which can't be all bad.

I have also created a great toolbar for How to Make a Difference that links to the site and will - when enough people download it - generate a monthly donation for SALVEASERRA. You can download it here.

My other fundraising campaign at the moment is selling fantastic organic cotton t-shirts from WE ADD UP. I have signed up to their affiliate programme and have used a free Google Adwords credit to advertise. It has been moderately successful so far - but I have yet to achieve the $50 payout amount.

I was hoping to have been able to make my first contribution to SALVEASERRA (via GlobalGiving) at the end of August. But it hasn't worked out that way. However, I feel that I have made a positive start. Traffic to How to Make a Difference is increasing slowly but steadily which will help the cause even more.

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