Save the Children offers gifts that do good, so check out Save the Children’s new Holiday Catalog.  92% of Save the Children’s resources are spent directly on programs which is an amazingly high percentage — but that is only part of why they are a known and respected nonprofit working both in the U.S. and internationally.

Some years ago, I worked as an evaluation consultant with Save the Children as part of a team from the Aguirre Group, to support their efforts to create an evaluation system and tools for use with their domestic programs to help them identify their real impact with the children and youth they were engaged with.  I worked directly with the Appalachian Region which was an eye opener for me – life for families in parts of rural Kentucky I got to visit was really tough due to the level of poverty!!  The programs Save the Children offered filled such important gaps in services for those children – and we were helping them collect the data to really show that.  I also worked with Save the Children staff in both Haiti and Jordan and so appreciated the work they did with children and their mothers.

“Happiness Is” Film Says Giving Is The Way To Contentment

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

In 2006, documentary filmmaker Andrew Shapter wanted to know what “the pursuit of Happiness” really means in America today. How are people pursuing happiness in their own lives? Is happiness really something, as humans, we can actively pursue? So he and a small crew piled into an RV, and over the course of the next three years, drove across America to find out.

“I asked people, ‘what is it that makes you happy, what is your pursuit of happiness and how do you achieve it?’ I looked for people that are really satisfied with what they are doing in their lives,” Shapter said.  The more I went around and had these soul-searching conversations, I realized the people who were happiest were those who tried to make their community better. Those were the happiest people around…Shapter’s new movie “Happiness Is” documents his journey and the people he found along the way who believe they have found a way to pursue happiness. Shapter also interviews celebrities and leaders — the Dalai Lama and Willie Nelson both make brief appearances in the movie.  But most of the documentary is dedicated to happenstance; recorded moments where the filmmaker and his crew stumble upon scenes where people are celebrating the act of giving back.”

I love this – even “the screening tour is a unconventional: Shapter plans screenings across the country at venues provided by nonprofits in need. Then, he donates all the ticket proceeds to benefit the charity that hosts the screening. Production and tour costs are paid for through the purchase of DVDs and downloads, available at the screenings and on the film’s online store. At the very first screening, “Happiness Is” raised $10,000 for CapCityKids in Austin, Texas.”

Check it out – I really want to see this movie!  Here is the list of currently scheduled screenings.  Or you can download it for $9.95 or order a DVD for $16.95.

Hope you had a great Halloween!  This morning as I removed my Denver Post newspaper from the plastic bag it was delivered in, I noticed that instead of the usual orange bag, today it was white.  As I smoothed out the bag, I saw the Season to Share logo as seen to the left and the website address so I looked closer.

Season to Share is the giving program of the Denver Post and the McCormick Education Fund.   The bad said in bold letters across the top, “Giving more together.  Every dollar donated is matched with 50 cents.  Look for the special Season to Share section in today’s paper or visit www.SeasontoShare.com.”

On the front page of the Denver Post main section, in the prime space above the crease, there was a small block “teaser” article “A Way That You Can Help.”  “Season to Share, The Denver Post’s annual campaign to help children and those who are hungry, homeless or in need of medical care, kicks off today.  Learn more about the program and how to donate in our 12-page special section.”

The Season to Share special section had articles about various nonprofit beneficiaries and the work they do in the community, as well as a list of each of the 74 organizations they supported through Season to Share.  In 2008, the “Denver Post Season to Share distributed a record $3,341,500 to 74 local nonprofit organizations.”  The list included the amount each organization received as well as 1-2 sentences about the primary focus of the nonprofit.  I really liked that they did not just list the names of the organization.  Offering the brief summaries of each organization allows readers to learn about organizations they might not be familiar with – perhaps helping generate additional community support in the future for each organization.  At the bottom of the list it said, “ Learn about Season to Share, find stories about and links to agencies applying for funding, and donate denverpost.com/seasontoshare.”

I appreciate the way the newspaper kicked off this campaign.  By giving it a very high profile in their Sunday edition of the newspaper, the Denver Post accomplished several things simultaneously.  First, they offered their customers a way to join forces with them to jointly make a larger difference and “made the ask” for their support.  Second, while asking for customer support, they are also educating the community at large about their efforts and support of nonprofits, thus strengthening their reputation and cementing reader loyalty. Third, because of how they constructed their special section, they also leveraged their unique business expertise to support the nonprofits they funded last year that could prove to be of even greater long-term value than just the actual dollar amounts awarded — they helped increase the visibility and awareness of the mission/programming of each the 74 nonprofits they selected to fund in the community among their readership – hopefully synergizing a snowball effect of future support of each of the organizations from individuals and other businesses.

Nicely done!