Give Forward

February 4 is World Cancer Day—a global day of awareness created by the International Union Against Cancer.

With so many members of the GiveForward community battling cancer, we hear every day from our community that words of encouragement from friends and family can make a HUGE difference in a cancer fighter’s attitude and health.

In honor of World Cancer Day, we’re  encouraging everyone to take five minutes today to call or email someone you know battling cancer just to remind them that they’re not fighting this battle alone.   If you really want to make a SUPER-DUPER, HUGE difference, take two minutes to email your friends or office workers and encourage them to do the same.   If your friend battling cancer gets 10 emails today from friends and family just imagine how much that will cheer her up.

In addition to phone calls and emails here are some other silly ways you can cheer up a friend:

• Mail them random cheesy postcards from not-so-distant locales
• Surprise them with an inappropriately funny video
• email them a joke
• email them this photo
• Take a goofy picture of yourself on your phone and send it to them as a text message.
• Send them an annoyingly cute ecard from Hoops and YoYo
• Secretly hide a $20 in their jeans pocket when they are not looking ( Note: if they are wearing skinny jeans this may take ninja-like skills to pull off…)

For more ideas on how to cheer up a friend battling cancer, check out a great organization called Spirit Jump, whose motto is “fighting cancer one gift at a time”.

Lastly, don’t forget to smile today! Laughter really is the best medicine.

On Saturday, January 23rd, Actor Josh Duhamel (star of the new movie, When in Rome) teamed up with the Red Cross of Santa Monica to organize the Youth Run for Haiti, which took place along the beach in Santa Monica, CA.  The purpose of the event was to raise money for the relief efforts in Haiti.  I had the opportunity to travel to the event in Los Angeles and I have to say, the results were nothing short of amazing!

Actor Josh Duhamel, the man behind the event (and apparent Dodger fan)

Growing up in North Dakota, Josh’s mom was a P.E. teacher, and so the actor has long supported causes that get kids healthy and involved in active lifestyles.  He  also happens to be a long time supporter of the Red Cross.  So when the disaster in Haiti struck, Josh took it upon himself to combine two of his passions and create something special. “I felt like the youth should have a voice.” said Duhamel when asked why he organized the event. “This was a way to empower them.  They’re a powerful group when they all get behind something and this is my to say that they are here to help.”  

YOU CAN LISTEN TO MY FULL LENGTH AUDIO INTERVIEW WITH JOSH AS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE PLAY CITY BLOG HERE

1500-2000 kids showed up to run for Haiti Relief

I’ll be perfectly honest – I wasn’t so sure the event was going to be a huge success.  First of all, Josh and his team only had about a week to plan it and rally support for it. Second of all, the five days leading up to the run produced the worst rain southern California has seen in years, and having grown up in SoCal, I can tell you that Angelenos aren’t exactly known for their toughness when it comes to bad weather.  (Ugg boots, ear warmers and scarves become the norm when temps drop below 60 degrees in LA).
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This week, our friends at let’s dabble came to us with the idea of creating a video to help promote the efforts in Haiti.  We thought a lot about what we wanted this video to accomplish, and we came up with two goals.

First, we want to document what people are doing to help and encourage others to contribute what they can.  Second, we wanted to show the people of Haiti that they are not alone…that people all over the world are praying for them and sending them positive vibes for a quick recovery.

So we created this video “Words for Haiti.”  We hope that the video will encourage you to make your own words of encouragement video response.  Maybe we can get short clips from people all over the world on YouTube, sending positive energy to the people who need our support in Haiti.

To leave your own words of encouragement, visit one of the many fundraisers on our Help Haiti page.

Since the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti two weeks ago, we at GiveForward have been amazed by the generosity of people to help others.

We’ve seen President Clinton, scores of professional athletes and major celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Josh Duhamel all contribute huge sums of money to help the people of Haiti.

But what has been most remarkable to us are not the Bill Clintons and Angelina Jolies of the world but the everyday people who have rallied together to do what they can.  Within the first 24-hours following the earthquake, before many people had even seen the news on CNN, we were amazed to see that several members of the GiveForward community had already begun setting up fundraising pages for relief organizations like Oxfam and CARE.  One such member, Nabiha Niazi,  set a goal of raising $1000 and used Facebook to ask for support.  Within a week, she had already surpassed her goal! Another member, Beth Rapach has been raising money so her friend, a nurse practitioner, can travel to Haiti to provide direct medical aid. Indeed, the efforts of Nabiha and Beth have been extraordinary — but they are not alone.

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Actor Josh Duhamel has joined forces with American Red Cross of Santa Monica to come to the aid of Haiti victims.  Pulling together youth and teens from LA and from around the world, Josh has teamed up with American Red Cross of Santa Monica to host “Youth Run 4 Haiti.” Josh describes this relief effort as a “movement.” This is a movement of youth and teens from everywhere coming together to run for a cause and to demonstrate the power of youth. The emergency response 2 mile run will bring out thousands of youth and teens who have been empowered to come to the aid of Haiti.

According to the actor, “Youth Run 4 Haiti, is not your typical run. It is a run for hope. It is a race against time. Through this run and movement, lives will be saved.”

We think that what Josh is doing is pretty awesome, and the GiveForward team will be traveling to Los Angeles to take part in this event.  If you are in the Los Angeles area, Saturday, January 23rd, please come join the GiveForward team in this run as a symbol of unity with the people of Haiti.

Josh and the Red Cross are asking that each runner wear something red to show your support for the people of Haiti as well as to bring a minimum donation of $10 – either cash or a check made out to Red Cross of Santa Monica and write Haiti on the bottom.

The Details…

START TIME: The actual run will start at 10 a.m. but runners are encouraged to arrive at 9 am!

LOCATION: The starting point- Runners will assemble at Beach Parking Lot #1 where Ocean Park Blvd meets 2600 Bernard Way (Ocean Park Blvd. at the beach)
Santa Monica, CA 90405

MAP

For more information, visit Youth Run 4 Haiti

Patrick Sallee, a fundraising professional from Kansas City with a blog full of killer posts on fundraising and nonprofits, generously offered to write a guest post for us this week! Patrick says “I believe in hard work mixed with a little luck. I think things happen for a reason and timing is everything. My experience tells me a couple of things about fundraising. One, its not that complicated. Two, experience doesn’t always pay. My blog is to share some of those thoughts.”

You can e-mail him at patrick@patricksallee.com. Thanks again, Patrick!

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Last year, Bank of America and the Center on Philanthropy released a study of high net worth donors from across the country.  It is a lengthy and in-depth look at where donors give, why they give, what they expect from the nonprofit organization and what influences their giving.  Personally, there were a few facts that stood out to me that nonprofits should take into account as we work with volunteers that are out raising funds on our behalf.

1. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but donors that volunteer give almost 4 times as much as those that don’t.  Also, those that volunteer give to more organizations, 7, than those that don’t, 5.  For me, this reinforces a couple of thoughts.  First, it is important to continue cultivation of those closest to you, your board, your committee members, your long time friends. Second, it means that as a fundraiser I should continue to learn what agencies my future prospects are currently involved with.  If they are currently on a board they likely are more generous with their support.  Finally, it could simply mean that those high net worth families who serve on boards, etc. are more likely to be seen by other agencies and solicited more often.

2. One of the statistics that came out in this research bothered me as a fundraiser.  When asked about the motivation behind their giving, high net worth households identified the expected reasons: giving back, support the same causes annually, social beliefs, etc.  The fourth one on the list at 67% was that they were “moved at how the gift can make a difference.” This fact I was excited about.  From a volunteer, peer to peer fundraising effort, continue to stress that the story attached to the campaign is the crucial piece.  People are giving to change lives.

The downside though, just under 20% said they feel the donations they are making have a major impact on the nonprofit recipient.  How is this possible?  If we are sharing the possible impact when asking, this says to me we need to improve at sharing the impact we are seeing. Even thought your volunteers are doing the asking, don’t forget it is our jobs to share the impact.

As I mentioned before, most major donors are giving on average to 7 organizations annually.  Nearly 40% stopped giving to at least one organization in 2007 and their reasoning was, “No longer felt personally connected.”

Our major donors aren’t feeling the impact of their giving because we aren’t showing them! and this is why they leave.

3. Online giving continues to rise (up 15% from 10% three years before). Yes, this is a statement I’m sure we are all aware of, but when you factor in other statistics, like donors giving 19% more to a charity when asked by someone they know.  How does that change your online approach?  At Big Brothers Big Sisters in KC, people aren’t finding our website and donating because it looks great and tells a great story.  People are donating to us online because a mutual friend asked them to.  We raise over $300,000 a year through an event that involved peer to peer fundraising, primarily online. This accounts for over 90% of our online gifts.  The absolute best people all of us can use our volunteers that already care about us and have a story of their own experience to tell.

Most reality TV stars have their fifteen minutes of fame and then are never heard from again (unless of course they later appear on the Surreal World).  But Not Ethan Zohn.  In 2002 Ethan took home $1,000,000 for winning Survivor Africa and instead of wasting his money like so many others, he used it to help start a non-profit called Grass Roots Soccer that fights the spread of HIV/AIDS. Today, the organization has helped educate over 300,000 young people in 15 different countries around the world and has some pretty heavy hitters like Bill and Melinda Gates, Nike and the Ford Foundation backing it.

But conquering reality TV and co-founding a global non-profit pale in comparison with Ethan’s most recent challenge – a battle with cancer.  Since last April, Ethan has been publicly battling a rare form of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  Fortunately, Ethan had some great news recently. As reported by People Magazine on December 10, Ethan’s most recent PET scan showed that this Survivor is crushing cancer and for the first time since his diagnosis he has no active cancer cells in his body.

Not only did Ethan beat cancer, but by taking his battle public he has helped others get diagnosed including a 25-year-old GiveForward user who raised $1800 on GiveForward for his Hodgkin’s treatments after reading an article about Ethan in People magazine.

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Ethan about his battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and how young adults are falling through the cracks in the fight against cancer.   You can also read the original unedited interview on PlayCity

Ethan Austin: In your battle with Hodgkin’s Disease you’ve managed to keep a positive attitude throughout.  How does fighting cancer compare with some of the other things you’ve done in your life like winning Survivor or starting a global non-profit?

EZ: It doesn’t even compare at all. This is by far the most difficult thing I have ever faced.  I mean this is the closest I’ve ever come to death.  You might look okay on the outside but inside your body, there is a war of the worlds going on.  It’s a challenge.  But I just got some really good news the other day so I’m feeling okay.

EA: You’ve been very public about your fight.  A lot of people with cancer choose to keep the matter private.  Is there anything you want to say to other young people out there battling Hodgkin’s?

EZ: I’ve been fortunate enough to have this platform to speak and I hope to be a megaphone for this generation.  By being so public my goal has really just been to bring awareness to the issue.  Young people in their 20s and 30s are often forgotten in the fight against cancer.  There’s been huge improvements in survival rates for older adults and with pediatric cancers but survivor rates for young adults haven’t improved in 30 years.  Today, a young adult has the same chance of getting and dying of cancer as they did in the 1970s.  Our demographic has fallen through the cracks on every front including clinical, research, financial and pychosocial.

EA: In your opinion, what needs to be done so our generation stops falling through the cracks so to speak?

EZ: We need more money to go to research for treatment.  For those with cancer or those who will diagnosed with it, new treatments can literally be a matter of life and death. But improving survival rates is not just about more money for research.  It’s also about early detection.

Early detection is one of the biggest keys to surviving cancer, but most young adults are diagnosed with Stage IV when it’s often too late.  One of the problems is that our generation thinks we’re invincible.  Many students and young professionals either don’t have access to doctors or choose not to see them. Part of the problem also lies with the health care providers.  A lot of doctors misdiagnose cancer.  They think the patient is too young to have cancer so they don’t diagnose it until its too late.  We need to train health care providers to  consider cancer as a possibility to ensure earlier diagnosis.

There are other issues that we need to work on as well such as lack of access to clinical trials and the lack of age-appropriate support for young adults with cancer.  At treatment, I see older and younger.  Diapers and dentures.  I feel like I’m the only going through this because I never see anyone like myself.  But on the positive side, I think the voice of the young adult with cancer is now being heard.  We each have a role to play in supporting research and it’s urgent that everyone continues to support this effort.
EA: Last Question.  This one is non-cancer relatated:  I’ve heard you appeared on an episode of Discovery Channel’s Pitchmen with the late, great Billy Mays to pitch the EZCrunch Bowl (a bowl that is supposed to keep cereal from getting soggy). Please indulge us. Does this thing really work, or did you just come up with the idea because you wanted to meet the one and only, supremely awesome Billy Mays?

Ha. Yeah it really works.  I had the idea back in college in 1994. I was just trying to come up with something fun that makes people happy.

[editors note:  Ethan was too modest to plug EZ crunch bowl but I have done an independent investigation and early reports indicate that the bowl is going to be awesome to quite awesome.  You can be the first on your block to own this revolutionary cereal-saving device by pre-ordering yours today at EZcrunchbowl.com]

This past Friday, GreatStartups.com, a blog focused on successful or growing startups, chose to feature us! We’re honored! You can find the post here or read our copy of it below. Thanks again, GreatStartups.com!

GiveForward.org—Fundraising Made Simple

By: Co-Editor, Bobby B

Not all fundraising and charitable organizations are long-term ventures. Moreover, these charities have the infrastructure and capital base to last as going concerns. However, many fund-raising/charitable efforts are short-term efforts to raise money for a specific purpose. For example, raising money for individuals with cancer, raising money for accident victims, or raising money for an injured firefighter.

In these circumstances, keeping overhead down and reach donors quickly and efficiently is paramount.

A Chicago based web startup called GiveForward.org is providing an answer for these situations. Started in August of 2008, GiveForward.org provides free personal fundraising pages to individuals to raise money for friends and family members battling illnesses like cancer.

The Chicago Tribune has called GiveForward.org “The future of medical fundraising in the Internet Age.”

GiveForward.org helps individuals raise $10K, $20K and even $30K + to pay for their friends medical expenses. It gives people an easy way to help their friends and loved ones when they need it most.

By incorporating social media such as Facebook and Twitter to help empower users, GiveForward.org raises money from people all over the country for good causes. It is turning the idea that social media is frivolous on its head.

Co-founder Desiree Vargas, worked as a specialist in collegiate entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City and as an independent consultant for Arabella Philanthropic Investment Advisors. Her passion for philanthropy and the role that young and small-scale donors can have on our communities has been a cause celebre. When not working, she spends her time inventing new recipes that don’t always work, walking her golden retriever, Ellie, and going to Zumba. Desiree likes Hangar One, cheese, and kicking Ethan’s butt in bar trivia.

She remembers being distraught when Hurricane Katrina hit because she wanted to employ the same practices we used every day with the few dollars that she personally had to give. But, there was no easy way to give directly to a family wanting to rebuild. Her and her colleagues talked openly about how much more we would give if we knew money wasn’t being lost in the bureaucracy. She thought to that there should be a site where people can give directly to people and causes they care about. Eventually GiveForward.org was born.

A review of the site sees also kinds of spirited individuals stuck on horrible situations not of there own making. With GiveForward.org caring and giving people can reach these people and give then the financial support they need.

In case you missed our Ugly Sweater Pub Crawl this weekend, here a couple links from NBC Chicago so you can experience some truly horrendous sweaters virtually. If only we could share booze with you through the internet…

Cheers to Ugly Sweaters!—A Slideshow

Three Places to Pimp that Fugly Sweater — by Marcus Riley

It’s time to dig into your closet — or maybe your grandmother’s closet — to uncover the most hideously ugly Christmas sweater you can find, because it’s time to party.

The second annual Ugly Sweater Pub Crawl kicks off Saturday at 1 p.m. at Redmond’s (3358 N. Sheffield).

The ugly party continues south, passing through Sheffield’s, Trader Todd’s, Mad River, and Uncle Fatty’s.

Tickets are $15 in advance or $25 at the door, which gets you a wristband for drink specials at each participating bar.

A $100 cash prize goes to the best/worst dressed, and proceeds from the event go to www.GiveForward.org charities.

Timothy O’Toole’s pubs are also joining the ugly sweater craze.

The Streeterville and Gurnee locations are hosting ugly sweater parties on December 11 at 9 p.m.

Prizes, including a $200 gift card to Water Tower Place, will be given to customers with the ugliest sweaters.

And forget the high fashion the Gold Coast is known for, the tackier the better will be expected at Luxbar’s Ugly Sweater Christmas Party on Dec. 19.

The customer with the ugliest sweater will receive a $250 cocktail card to Luxbar.

Sip on $5 Grey Goose martinis and work up a sweater sweat on the dance floor to the mixes of LuxLounge’s all-female DJ team.

And of course you’ll want to embarrass your kids with the evidence one day, so take advantage of a green screen Christmas photo booth where you can choose from a variety of backgrounds to match your holiday apparel.

Consider it a “tongue in chic” homage to the holidays.

The New York Marathon, AKA the big enchilada of marathons, took place on Nov. 1.  And this year it seemed charity running was all the rage.  Indeed, 6,000 runners representing more than 75 charities (up from 41 last year) ran the ING New York Marathon marathon this year in hopes of raising $21 million for charity.

Over 6000 Runners in the New York City Marathon Ran for a charity in 2009

But for 28-year old changemaker, Sunkul Soni, running for a charity just  wasn’t enough.  Sunkul didn’t just run to raise money for an established non-profit, he created a GiveForward fundraising page to start his own charity called Girls Can 2, which will build schools in India for girls.

I had a chance to interview Sunkul marathon fundraising, education, gender inequity and the bumpy road of starting a nonprofit.  Check out the interview (originally posted on Play City).

So tons of people run marathons to raise money for non-profits, but I’ve never heard of anyone ever running a marathon to start a non-profit.   You’re actually running the NY Marathon to raise money to start a non-profit called Girls Can 2. Tell us a little bit more how this came about?

It really came about through my mother. My mother, Asha Soni, contributes all of her earnings on an annual basis as a teacher to an all girls school in India. She only mentioned this to me last year but as she told me the story I couldn’t help but become more drawn to the cause. With her help and the help of a few friends, I have begun the process of creating a Non-Profit organization called Girls Can 2. The organization will look to raise funds to help provide materials and facilities needed to educate girls across India

The background for this project began with Mr. Prem Singh Sodhi.  He taught for 40 years in an all boys’ school in his village of Kharar (Chandigarh). He was pained to know that girls of that area were not getting any education, as there were no schools for them.

To make this wrong a right, at the age of 60, Mr. Sodhi single-handedly started an elementary school for girls in the basement of a local temple. To finance the project, he contributed his retirement savings, collected money from friends and old students of his along with his well placed sons. One of his sons was the President of my mothers college, which is how she became involved.

At present there are 525 girls that attend the school, of which 265 are extremely poor and live in rural Punjab (North India). The school ranges from grades one to twelve and covers English, Math, Science, Social Studies, Computer education, Punjabi and Hindi. Currently the school lacks a tremendous amount of funding because the government of Punjab, India has frozen its grant to the school.

This is where Girls Can 2 comes in. This is not a stand alone case in India and I think it is important to help educate those regardless of gender, race, or religion. The organization will look to help fund various schools throughout India that are in a similar situation, and there are several.

Do you feel that there is a significant amount of gender inequity in Indian schools?

Maybe not in the mainstream view but when you break things down and get to looking at who’s going to school and who’s not, its typically the girls that are left out.  In may cases children in poverty stricken areas (large amounts in India) are overlooked regardless of gender.

People ask me if the things they saw in “Slumdog Millionaire” were true.  “Is that really what its like there?  Are people that poor?  Are kids really treated like that?”   Yes-  there are no special effects for those scenes.
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