Last weekend I attended Mark Victor Hansen’s  MEGASpeaking Empire event in Los Angeles as part of Brendon Burchard’s Center Ring.  Brendon was a featured speaker at the event and did his usual fabulous job!

While I was there, I was very interested to learn of Mark Victor Hansen’s Foundation.  Its mission is “to end global poverty by promoting entrepreneurial literacy on this planet.”  The MVH Foundation currently sponsors four programs.  Check them out by clicking the links. 

The Soul Solution Program - Pathways out of Poverty

The Young Entrepreneurial Challenge - Developing Visionaries

Free Enterprise Scholarship Program - Empowering Young Adults

The Bookmarks Program - Building Bridges to Education

During the MegaSpeaking event, Mark’s event volunteers distibuted envelopes to all attendees so we could make donations to the MVH Foundation as part of our thanks for the value we were receiving from the event.  Volunteers collected the envelopes and then drew one name to receive one of Mark’s products as a thank you.  What a great way to promote the MVH Foundation, increase its visibility, and get needed resources.

The donation envelopes were also available at the MVH Foundation’s display table outside the ballroom.  I liked that the envelope gave the option of contributing as an individual or business either as a one-time gift or a monthly contribution.  They had a nice graphic featuring three levels in the Monthly Donor Program of $25, $50, and $100 though one could select a different amount above.  Nicely done!

At the MegaSpeaking event, the MVH Foundation also had a silent auction of products and services donated by the various speakers and exhibitors with the proceeds to be given to the Foundation.  I bid on the new WOW Factor Program, the Take-Home Experience for Speakers, Authors, Entrepreneurs and Others That Make Presentations created and donated by Lynn Rose, who also is also an amazing singer.  Lynn is fabulous, check out her music - I bought her latest CD and am loving it!  Lynn has a great heart and is giving back in some unique ways - I’ll do another post just on her soon!  Unfortunately, I did not have the winning bid but the Director of the MVH Foundation called and personally left me a message to let me know and thank me for my support.  Now THAT’S GREAT customer service.  You can be sure I am now even more intersted in supporting their work!  The personal touch goes a LONG way…too many other nonprofits and foundations still need to learn that lesson!

Doing research online after I got home, I really liked how clear the MVH Foundation’s webpage was on how to get involved with their efforts to alleviate poverty. This makes it very easy for a business or individual to know the range of options available to participate - everything from a attending their big upcoming fundraiser called the Soul Motion Ball to donating a silent auction item.  Specifically, the page provided information on how to,

“Attend the Soul Motion Ball—Rockin’ The Universe

January 31, 2009 6:30-11:30, with the Global Humanity Pre-Event VIP Reception from 5:30-6:30pm
The Irvine Marriott Hotel
18000 Von Karman Avenue
Irvine, California 92612″

as well as how to make a contribution, donate online or by mail or phone, workplace giving, gifts to honor someone special, gifts of stock, leave a legacy, and/or contribute an auction item.

All in all, it’s a great model!  While I was on the MVH Foundation website’s Visionaries Page, I noticed that Rick Frishman with Morgan James Publishing that I wrote a blog post about a couple days ago is on the Board of Directors which is great!  So be sure to go check it all out!  On the MVH Foundation’s home page, you can sign up to receive Mark’s free 114 page eBook, the Miracle of Tithing.  I signed up, did the downloaded and now look forward to reading it!

Mark’s next event is MEGABook Marketing.  If the event MEGABook is anything like the MEGA Speaking event, it is sure to be inspiring.

Over the weekend I was at the San Mateo Marriott attending Brendon Burchard’s Experts Academy 3 day seminar.  His website states, “The program is a private 3-day intensive called Experts Academy and it’s sole focus is on how to make you THE expert in your industry so you can get big-time clients, contracts, paydays, and press coverage for your business.”  It was a FANTASTIC and inspiring weekend - I learned so much!!  It was just the infusion of information and sense of possibility that I really needed right now to grow my business.  I feel like I have “come alive” again and now am ready to move forward again in new and more effective ways.  Brendon is very inspiring as a trainer – great content and presence.  Check it out!!  I strongly recommend anything Brendon does!

During the weekend, Brendon showed us how to use Flip Video camcorders to make videos to post on our websites.  I had not seen them before and I was fascinated how easy it was to use.  I decided I needed one to carry around so I could record mini videos about business giving as I run across great examples.  Today I was replacing my watch at Brighton and wished I had one so I could have recorded the great things told to me by the Brighton store staff at the Cherry Creek Mall about the company’s philanthropy.

So when I got home, I went online to do some research and figure out how to order a Flip Video.  I found that the new smaller version called the Mino can be customized with a cover design.  As I read further, I learned that right now of the many designs available to choose from, 9 are part of a promotion called ”Flip for Good” - For every 15 camcorders sold with a Flip for Good design, they donate a camcorder to charity.  For more information, go to: www.flipvideospotlight.com/flipforgood.  Of course, once I saw that, I selected Geometric Twirl as my design so I could participate in the program!

A recommendation…when purchasing products for use in your business (or personally), pay attention,  When you see products and services that give back - check them out.  Consider your purchase needs and if possible, buy from that company and support their efforts!

And soon - you will see video interviews with companies that give back right here!!  Stay Tuned!

Over the weekend I was in San Francisco attending Brendon Burchard’s Nonprofit & Corporate Partnership Seminar.  It was intense - over 27 hours of training in 3 days - but VERY good.  I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to partner with businesses and/or nonprofits - especially the big ones!

I first heard of Brendon at Christine Comaford-Lynch’s Rules for Renegades Summit in Irvine, CA last spring.  Brendon was one of her speakers and the main reason I chose to attend her Summit.  I was intrigued to hear Brendon speak as I had never heard of him before and wanted to learn more about his approach to partnerships because of my own work in this area.  Well…he was certainly high energy, a great speaker…and he had great content.  He talks about partnerships at the graduate level and uses business/marketing speak while doing it.  I knew I could learn a lot from him so signed up for the 3 day intensive.  It did not disappoint!

Brendon is his own best example of leveraging partnerships to grow his business exponentially over the past three years.  He wrote a great book, Life’s Golden Ticket, which I have read and really enjoyed.  And the level of strategy he developed to launch and grow book sales is impressive.  He established partnerships with three major nonprofits - Junior Achievement, Kiwwanis, and the YMCA - serving over 30 million people.  To oversimplify it, he offered them a percentage of his book sales in return for leveraging their distribution networks.  And that’s just where it starts - he speaks for them and about them, has helped develop leadership curriculum, has helped them develop partnerships with each other, and the list goes on and on.  His partners love him and he is one of their strongest promoters.  It has been win-win-win-win…..

If you want to do high level partnerships, this seminar is a must!