Tag Archives: non-profit

Twive and Receive

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Fundraising often gets a bad rap. And you know, even though it’s what I do for a living, I’ll admit that copious mailings, endless telethons, and phone calls that inevitably come during dinner can be quite annoying. But fundraising is a necessary part of the life of any healthy ministry or nonprofit. And with the advent of so many new technologies, it’s exciting to see how the fundraising landscape is changing.

Social media (like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.) is obviously a huge part of “the ask,” because of the ways it allows you to build relationships. But for many nonprofits, the thought of doing all these things on the Internet is utterly overwhelming, and many donors are scared of making online donations. Enter: Twive and Receive.

Twive and Receive is a really avant garde competition that is forcing nonprofits to dive headfirst into the social media world. It’s a 24-hour online giving challenge among over 200 organizations nationwide. Each city has one representative, and I’m supporting Atlanta’s contender, Buckhead Christian Ministry. The top 3 fundraising organizations nationwide receive a share of a $30,000 grant and the unofficial title of Most Generous City. The goal is to rally your “tweeps,” your Facebook fans, any bloggers you know, the local news media, etc. to spread the word about your cause and drive traffic to your donation page. (Of course, that’s the goal of fundraising in general, but this is a highly focused campaign because it’s limited to those 24-hours.)

After weeks of getting ready and planning strategy, Twive is finally here! You can view the full list of participants here to find the city nearest you! I am, of course, biased, and I’m hoping to see the donation widget below fill up by the hour.

Online fundraising for Atlanta, GA - Buckhead Christian Ministry

If you’d like to join me, every donation goes toward helping BCM provide financial assistance to families so they can keep their lights on, stay in their homes, put food on the table, and dress for success. We’ve adopted the hashtag “ATLCaresMost,” and it’s seeing people care for “the least of these” and serve unselfishly that reminds me how much people really do care.

I’ll end my telethon (blogathon?) here, but I’m curious: How do you decide what charities to support? Do you feel comfortable making online donations?

Donate Free Toiletries!

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When I began following different coupon and frugal living blogs a couple of years ago, I often saw them posting links to sign up for “freebies.” I excitedly signed up for a couple only to be disappointed when the item came and it was tiny–travel sized or even smaller. For the way I use toiletries, that wasn’t really helpful toward saving me money. If the package was more than a single use, I was never sure how to store it, and several of my freebies ended up getting thrown away. Once I figured this out, I stopped signing up for them at all.

Fast forward to last August when I started working for a non-profit that gives out clothing, food, and–you got it!–toiletries to homeless and needy families, and I finally saw some value in signing up for freebies. I began signing up for every one I saw, knowing that regardless of the size it could go to a good cause and be put to use by someone who really did need it. I’m keeping a bag in the closet where I can just toss them as they come in. The bag is just about full now, so I’m going to take it to work with me and drop it off in the food pantry!

Here’s what I’ve collected:

 The washcloths are extras from Operation Christmas child. The full-sized toothpaste was a freebie coupon-sale matchup at Kroger, and the razors were a BOGO deal that were practically free with a coupon. A. saved hotel soap and shampoo from his last couple of trips, so those are in here too. Everything else was a mail order freebie! This isn’t the most stuff in the world, but every little bit will count, and it’s amazing to think I’ve gotten all of this together just by filling out some forms online. I’m going to keep at it and fill the bag again and again, because I feel like it’s such a simple way to bring a small blessing to someone’s day.

Shop Til You Drop!

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This Friday post is both Fun AND Frugal! On Wednesday, Buckhead Thriftique (a ministry of Buckhead Christian Ministry, where I work) held an after-hours event called Shop ‘Til You Drop. The store stayed open later than usual and had a few good items in a silent auction as well. I volunteered to help, because I miss the time I spent volunteering there over the summer! But of course, I also did some shopping.

I picked up these little Christmas goodies for our apartment:

We have some Christmas stuff, but definitely not a lot, and if we ever move anywhere bigger I think I will want more. Right now it’s all in one box, and I’ve told myself I am allowed to buy things as long as they fit in that box and only until it is full. So these little guys are perfect! Thriftique has a lot of cute Christmas stuff right now, so if you’re looking for some inexpensive decorations it’s the place to go!

I bought this necklace for a mere $1.25 (Gotta love the employee discount, though it would normally only be $2.50):

I love earrings but don’t wear much other jewelry. This is understated and will go with just about anything, so I thought it would be a good addition to my meager collection.

I found a shirt, as usual, which rang in at $2.50.

 It’s t-shirt material (my favorite!), but I liked the detailing, and it’s a color that tends to look really good on me. Robyn, the store manager, said it looked like “me,” which is probably because I have another shirt very similar. Haha. But at thrift stores I never expend too much mental energy talking myself out of things, because you can’t beat the prices. At thrift prices, if it makes me happy, it’s worth buying.

The find of the night was this pea coat, which I almost didn’t find. I was randomly flipping through the rack of coats as we were winding down. It’s a size smaller than I normally wear, but it looked big enough and I tried it on on a whim. It fits perfectly! It’s a Talbots coat, and the closest equivalent I could find right now on their website was almost $300. I’ve been trying to find a pea coat I liked that fit me well since probably high school, but I’m too picky, especially when I’m about to be dropping a big chunk of change on something. So this was a fabulous find, and I wore it to work yesterday! It was $4.50 for me, but all the coats are only $9.00 normally.

(I look really strange in this picture.)

I picked up a few other things, as well, but they’re Christmas gifts, so I won’t show them here. One is another necklace “for me” to go in my stocking….oh, being an adult! But I figured it would be fun to find it again, and the delayed gratification of not wearing it yet would make it exciting all over again on Christmas morning.

On that note, I think I’m pretty much finished with all my Christmas shopping, barring the things that I’m waiting to arrive in the mail! How’s your Christmas shopping going? Have you shopped for gifts in any unconventional places this year?

Fair Trade Friday

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Do you know about fair trade? According to Wikipedia, that bastion of all knowledge, “Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability.” Basically what that means is that different organizations provide outlets for (most often) women to create goods and sell them to a desiring public in order to reap the proceeds (usually 100%). This allows them to provide for their families and have a purpose in life. Though the items are not necessarily inexpensive, it’s worthwhile to buy them because you know they are directly supporting a great cause.

Many things are available in fair trade versions–not just handicrafts, but things like coffee and chocolate, too. It’s another designation like “organic” to look for on a label if you are conscious of such things. I definitely don’t buy everything fair trade, but I love browsing different shops when I have the chance. The items are usually so cool! And tonight, my church is hosting a fair trade sale event featuring several different organizations! I’m working the checkout, but I’m hoping to get in some shopping as well.

I definitely have my eye on some handmade paper beads like this:

 from The Apparent Project, supporting women and children in Haiti

I helped set up Wednesday night, so I scoped out the scene and have a few things picked out that I’d like to buy, including one more ornament for our little Christmas tree! If you’re in the Atlanta area you should come check it out at City Church-Eastside. And if not, here are links to several of the organizations whose items we are selling. You can do your fair trade Christmas shopping online!

Since I work for a non-profit ministry, I am very aware of the problems in my own city and passionate about supporting them. But when provided an opportunity like this to spread my support a little more globally, I am more than happy to take the bait.

Do you shop fair trade items? What’s your favorite cause to support?

What (Not) to Wear?

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The organization where I work is having a fundraiser the first weekend of November. It’s a silent auction fundraiser with somewhat of a Christmas theme. I’l be working it, but we’re still supposed to dress the part, i.e. cocktail attire. I’ll be honest, I have NO idea what to wear. I feel like I have a couple of dresses that would suffice if it were a summer evening event, but my thought is it will probably be a bit chilly and I’d like to have sleeves, or at least the option of putting on a sweater. I’ve gotten the sense that the staff wears a wide variety of things, from one person who said she’s wearing a gown to another who said she always wears pants. I think one across-the-board attire item is flats, since we’ll be running around all night, but other than that it’s all up in the air. I’m game to buy myself a new, reasonably priced dress, but I don’t even know where to start! I’d rather err on the side of boring so as to blend in than wear something too unique and stick out like a sore thumb…but I’m also afraid of being too casual. I have a strapless black dress that might work okay, but I’m bad at matching it with a long-sleeved layer. Basically, this is the time when being in my college dorm would be a tremendous boon….but instead I’m turning to y’all in the internet! So…

Help! What would you wear? Where would you shop for clothes for an occasion like this? Pictures and links welcome in the comments!