I got an email this morning from Jonathan Manske, a speaker I heard first at an IBI/CEO Space Meeting some years back, that caught my attention.  ”Tomorrow, March 12th, I will be getting my head shaved at 6:30 am for St Baldricks.  If you want to watch, I should be on channel 2 news at 6:40ish am.  Or you can come to Salon on the Boulevard at 1485 S. Colorado Blvd.  Don’t want to get up that early but still want to be a part of this – you can donate at www.stbaldricks.org/participants/jonathanmanske.  If you would prefer to use a check, make it payable to St Baldricks and put my shavee ID number 381886 in the memo line and then mail that to me, 5609 Cheetah Chase, Littleton, CO 80124.  I’ll also post the video on my facebook page.

St. Baldrick’s raises money for children’s cancer research.  Last year 33,373 people across the country got their heads shaved for this event and they raised $16,634,962.  I personally raised almost $1000.”

Jonathan Manske “assists individuals and organizations to escape from prison – the prison in their own heads.  He helps them to get out of their own way so that they can succeed.

Jonathan is an author, speaker, trainer and consultant.  The cornerstone of all that he does is:   What is going on inside your head really does matter! Your thoughts, your attitudes and especially your non-conscious programming create your results.  When you change what is going on inside your head, your real world results change as well.”

Jonathan is a great example of how a small business/entrepreneur can give back authentically and build business at the same time.  Some of the things he did well in my opinion include sending out this email to folks like me on his list – I certainly took note, went to his website for the first time, and will be more likely to refer others to him or use him myself because I like his values.

In addition to his charitable work, he also has a Pay it Forward Program in which he offers free teleseminars for clients and potential clients to offer value and build business.  ”I love the “Pay It Forward” concept and I have a solution for a problem that impacts every single person ~ head trash that is in their way of success.  Furthermore, my mission is to make people’s lives and businesses better.   When I put these all together, I came up with The Pay It Forward Program!”

What can you do to build visibility for you and your company through your business philanthropy?  How can you let your customers know about what you are doing?  Get your thinking cap on or give me a call and set up a consultation call – I can definitely help you with doing something like this!

Designing Strategic Partnerships with Businesses
This is Your Personal VIP Invitation
Thursday, March 11, 2010
3:00 – 4:00 pm Eastern

If you are like most nonprofit leaders, you probably are very concerned these days about the impact of a tough economy on your ability to get needed resources for your organization or program. You see the need mushrooming in your community every day…and you see the companies around you starting to tighten their philanthropic belt. So what to do?

No matter how good your program or organization may be, if you can’t clearly make the case for why a business should support YOUR nonprofit organization over all the others also seeking their support, you are bound to fail. You need to know the right formula for approaching businesses to create win-win partnerships to secure the resources you so desperately need.

In this call, Susan Hyatt reveals how to move past the old school “beg for donations” and checkbook philanthropy mentality to present your organization, NOT as needy, but as a valuable partner – offering to share your assets (such as networks, publications, special events, etc.) with companies that choose to partner and share their resources with you. If you want to strengthen your “ask” and improve your success rate, you definitely need to attend this FREE teleseminar to:

• Learn about 4 current trends in the business world that affect giving practices;
• Discover the 4 critical needs of businesses that you can help address through a partnership;
• Learn the 10 biggest mistakes nonprofits make when seeking business support – so you don’t make them!
• And much more!

Get ready for an hour of information and insights that will change the tone and success of your business partnerships forever.

More Information about Susan Hyatt:

Susan Hyatt is the author of The Nonprofit Toolkit: Designing Strategic Partnerships with Businesses. She is a nationally-known consultant, trainer, and speaker and the founder of Business Nonprofit CONNECTIONS, Inc., which is dedicated to helping nonprofits and businesses partner more effectively for real impact on pressing social issues. Working with nonprofit organizations domestically and internationally for more than 20 years, Susan continually pushes the envelope to find NEW ways to address issues of nonprofit sustainability through strategic business partnerships.

Susan has conducted training in 49 states for over 10,000 nonprofit leaders and their board members on such topics as strategic business partnerships, performance measurement and evaluation, and using data effectively to gain stakeholder support. Susan has conducted interviews with more than 50 business leaders as part of the research for her forthcoming book, Strategic Business Philanthropy: How Smart Companies Do Good AND Do Well.” She has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, The Akron Times Beacon, and the Denver Business Journal. Her insights and articles regularly appear in her email newsletter, CONNECTIONS, which reaches business and nonprofit leaders worldwide.

REGISTER HERE FOR THIS FREE TELESEMINAR!

You will receive all the call information sent to the email you submitted. Please check your spam box if you do not receive the email within a few minutes.

Check out this video with Bon Jovi – I loved it!!  I heard Bon Jovi speak a couple years ago at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service and he did a great job talking about giving back and honoring those people who do so.  I have worked as a trainer and consultant through JBS International’s Aguirre Division with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and the National Service programs it funds – AmeriCorps, VISTA, Senior Corps, and Learn and Serve America – for 15 years.  Much of my work has involved training programs how to evaluate their services to identify clearly the impact they are making so they are able to tweak their program models as well as demonstrate to their communities the value they offer.  I have been so inspired by the dedication, commitment, and true impact these National Service programs are making and the ways they have helped strengthen nonprofit capacity and service delivery.  I am a BIG fan!

National Service programs go through extensive vetting…so when you support one of them, you know your resources are going to be well used.  They are a great investment in making a difference.  To find out what National Service programs are in your area, go to the CNCS website or Serve.gov.

Argonaut Liquor in Denver publishes Sheila’s eGrapevine with information about current specials and upcoming wine tastings.  A friend of mine forwarded me a copy today and of course I immediately noticed they had a section of the eGrapevine called “Giving” which tells customers about their own giving as well as that of wineries they carry in the store.  Caught my attention!  The March 1st edition included the following:

“Purchase Louis Martini wines during the month of February and the distributor and Argonaut will donate $12 per case to the Women’s Bean Project.” (NOTE: Women’s Bean Project is one of my favorite Denver nonprofits so this definitely caught my attention as a consumer!)

“MacMurray Ranch is donating a portion of their sales to the people of Haiti.”  (NOTE: This also caught my eye as I lived and worked on maternal/child nutrition issues in Haiti in the 1980’s…)

“2007 Chévere!: In the southeast corner of the Colchagua Valley lies one of the few actual hillside plantings in all of Chile; the 2007 Chévere! Begins here on its steep and rocky slopes. While Chévere! Is full with the soft and delicious texture we associate with Chilean cabernet, its higher levels of color, tannin, and fruit concentration underscore its hillside origin. This is a delicious wine to serve with pastas, meats, pizza, robust cheeses, and with any other hearty foods.
Was $9.49 with e-mail $6.99

Chevere is a special bottling with a portion of the proceeds going to the Lambi Fund of Haiti.  The Lambi Fund’s mission is to assist the popular, democratic movement in Haiti. Its goal is to help strengthen civil society as a necessary foundation of democracy and development. The fund channels financial and other resources to community-based organizations that promote the social and economic empowerment of the Haitian people.”

When I went to the Argonaut website, I was pleasantly surprised to see they have a section, called ArGOOD Center.  That page says, “Find out how Argonaut is involved in the community, what charities we support, request a donation and look for great deals in the coupon section.

Also, when you visit our store, please stop by the ArGood Center and see how we are doing our part in the community and how you can help when you purchase certain brands who then donate a percentage of the profits to our selected charities.”

On their charity page, they give a little history, offer a downloadable request form and list some of the nonprofits they have supported – I like this!!  It states:

“As you pass by the new building, you will notice the name on the street-facing is Robinson Building, a tribute to the quietly philanthropic family, and Hank Robinson, the big-hearted community advocate and Argonaut founder. Mr. Robinson has always been respectful of the fact that their business has thrived because of the community and has seen to it that being a good neighbor and giving back to the city is an integral part of the Argonaut brand.

If you have a charity or a non-profit event, please download the Donation Request Form and fax back to us. We will be glad to review your request.”

Do you have a section on your website that talks about your business giving?  Do you streamline the request process by posting the needed form for nonprofits to fill out to get into your selection process so that it takes less of your time and gives you a place to refer people?  This is a great idea with minimal cost and saves a ton of time!  I strongly suggest you think about this for your own company.

BusinessWeek published a Special Report: Philanthropy 2010 last month.  I liked the article by Chris Farrell, titled “Philanthropy: Companies Seek Greater Returns in Tough Times.”  Check the full article out here.

“Amid soft economic times, companies’ gifts are increasingly freighted with self-interest—whether it’s image-polishing or engendering worker loyalty. The Great Recession exacted a harsh toll on the U.S. economy, from record home foreclosures to double-digit unemployment. Among the downturn’s many casualties was corporate philanthropy. The demand for help surged as the economy spiraled lower, but corporate giving decreased by 4.5%, or –8% in inflation-adjusted dollars, according to the Giving USA Foundation. (The latest data available are from 2008.)…

Companies are becoming even more focused on strategic giving…Another trend worth noting: An era of scarce resources is encouraging companies to embrace alternatives to cash to support their charitable activities. Corporate product and service donations, as well as employee volunteer efforts, are increasingly popular. So is forming partnerships with nonprofits and governments to pursue social goals. “They all have to collaborate more closely—government, nonprofits, and companies—to allocate resources more successfully.”

Hope Equity, one of the organizations I featured in my Gifts That Make a Difference Report,  sent an email today showcasing ways they will be involved in Haiti moving forward so thought I would share.

“The toll in human life and critical infrastructure caused by the catastrophic earthquake that struck Haiti grows as relief efforts continue. What is certain at this point is that once the rescue and relief efforts have been completed, there will be many years of rebuilding essential infrastructure and developing agricultural and commercial enterprises to sustain the Haitian people.

Hope Equity provides long-term support to Heifer International, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending hunger and poverty. Heifer reports that its staff in Haiti is accounted for and safe. The Heifer office was not damaged and the staff is still working, despite losing friends and family in the disaster.

Heifer estimates that it will be three to five years before a there is stable enough environment for its recovery and rehabilitation efforts to get in full swing. There has already been a huge influx of people moving to more rural areas in Haiti and this trend is expected to continue, which means Heifer’s work there will be even more vital and critical as the country rebuilds.

That’s why endowments providing long-term support for projects in Haiti are more important than ever. When you give to an endowment those funds are invested and each year a percentage of the endowment is made available to the area you have specified. The following are links to the Haiti endowments as well as our Disaster Recovery Endowment, which is utilized to support the efforts of Heifer’s country programs after a major crisis.”

Haiti Country Endowment
Haiti: Carolyn W. Reynolds Endowment
Haiti: Carolyn M. & Clarence R. Wenger Endowment
Disaster Recovery Endowment

Check them out!

I am going tonight to a fundraiser in Denver, HOPE for Haiti, at Jazz at Jacks as a way to be more involved immediately myself.

Kiva is one of my favorite nonprofits as it makes microloans to developing country entrepreneurs and I fully support the notion of encouraging “Trade not Aid” whenever possible.  I checked their blog today to see what if anything they were saying about Haiti.  The following is an update from the Kiva Blog, dated 1/13/2010.

“As you may have seen in the news, a terrible earthquake struck Haiti yesterday afternoon. The earthquake, 7.0 in magnitude, struck about 10 miles outside Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. The devastation has been enormous, with many buildings destroyed and thousands of people presumed dead. This is the worst earthquake to hit Haiti in 200 years.

Kiva currently supports borrowers in Haiti through our field partner, Esperanza International. Esperanza is based in the Dominican Republic, but has an office and provides loans in Haiti. About 1/3 of the loans Esperanza posts to Kiva are for borrowers in Haiti. In addition, a large percentage of the loans posted from the Dominican Republic are of Haitian migrants who still have family in Haiti. Esperanza has told us that as of now, Esperanza staff are safe though they have several employees with family in Port-au-Prince who have not been able to contact their families and are very concerned. Esperanza’s clients are located in the North, while the earthquake struck the capital in the south. Most of their clients live close to their offices in the north. However, many of them have businesses that require them to travel to and from Port-au-Prince to buy merchandise to sell in the main markets. Their businesses may have been affected and it is possible that some of them may have been in Port-au-Prince at the time and been injured.

It is impossible for Esperanza to give us any exact figures at this time as information is only slowly trickling out of Haiti. As Kiva learns more about the effect of the earthquake on Esperanza and their Kiva borrowers we will update lenders.”

Right now in the immediate aftermath of this disaster , support for basic services including water, food, health care, and shelter is essential.  After the initial response and clean-up phases which will likely take quite some time considering the current conditions in the country, support for rebuilding will be critical.  We must stay mindful that Haiti will need assistance for years to come – even after the focus of the international community has faded away and onto whatever disaster is next.  Kiva will play a really important role in helping entrepreneurs get back on their feet and begin to again find ways to support themselves and their families through commerce.  Please keep your eyes open and when loan requests have been processed for Haitians and there is enough structure to begin making loans again, remember your support of even a few dollars can make a HUGE difference in someone’s life.

I was in Steamboat Springs, CO over the weekend with my recreation club.  A group of us went snowmobiling on Rabbit Ears Pass which was great fun until I hit a bump and managed to break my back…literally.

Yesterday I went to Whole Foods to see about buying some calcium to take – figured it was wise given I have a broken bone.  I bought Garden of Life’s Vitamin Code Grow Bone System – a raw whole food calcium formula with D3, bone building factors, and BioActive Ingredients.

Got home, opened the box and on the lid noticed “For every Vitamin Code bottle sold, a donation will be made to Vitamin Angels and their Operation 20/20 to eliminate Vitamin A deficiency in the world by 2020.”  So of course, I now like the product and the company even better!!  I was disappointed however when I could not find any reference to Vitamin Angels on the Garden of Life website – I would recommend they do add a section to show their customers about their support of this worthy effort. Not mentioning it is a lost opportunity to have their customers appreciate them even more.

The Vitamin Angels website says, “Our mission is to mobilize and deploy private sector resources to advance availability, access and use of micronutrients, especially vitamin A, by newborns, infants and children in need. Vitamin Angels reduces child mortality worldwide by connecting essential nutrients, especially vitamin A, with infants and children under five. Essential nutrients enable young immune systems to fight infectious diseases, helping children attain good health and the opportunity to lead meaningful and productive lives.”

The Vitamin Angels website does have a section which lists its business partners. “Show your support by shopping with our partners. With every purchase you make, we are one step closer to achieving our mission of giving children around the world the foundation to lead a meaningful and productive life.”  Garden of Life is listed with a link back to the Garden of Life’s website which is great.  Good job Vitamin Angels!

I just donated through the American Red Cross by texting 90999 to give $10.

From: http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2010/01/haiti-earthquake-0113.php

Help Haiti Recover

On Tuesday, a major earthquake struck Haiti, causing major devastation. The Red Cross is estimating that 3 million people have been affected — that’s one third of the country. There are many ways you can help:

The Red Cross — Make a donation online, or donate $10 by texting “HAITI” to 90999. The donation will be added to your cell phone bill.

International Medical Corps — The IMC is deploying an Emergency Response team of First Responders and other resources to provide medical care.

Direct Relief International — Direct Relief has committed up to $1 million and is working with their partners in the country to provide medical care and basic needs to Haitians.

CARE — CARE is sending relief workers to Haiti to distribute food, hygiene kits and water, as well as providing emergency health services.

AmeriCares — AmeriCares has pledged $5 million worth of aid to the people of Haiti and has set up a general fund to assist.

World Food Programme — The World Food Programme is mobilizing all available resources to provide food for the thousands of people affected by the earthquake.

UNICEF USA — UNICEF USA is ready to deliver disaster relief to children and families affected by the earthquake.

The American Jewish World Service — The American Jewish World Service has set up the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund to respond to the crisis by working with a network of affiliated organizations.

Catholic Relief Services — Catholic Relief Services has an office in Haiti that is luckily still standing. They are accepting donations of any amount.

OxFam — OxFam has 200 people on the ground, and began their efforts by trying to get clean water to victims of the earthquake.

Yele Haiti — Sponsored by Haitian-born Wyclef Jean, Yele Haiti is accepting donations on their website. You can also donate $5 by texting “YELE” to 501501. The donation will be added to your cell phone bill.