A Smoochy Way to Help a Kid…Art Heals!

This post is a departure from typical Grant Savvy conversation. I hope readers will allow the exception. Maybe this is a new topic for Grant Savvy?! Back to more grant stuff next week...

*Muah* 

It’s Friday. Life is worth celebrating. I want to do something awesome with my day. Will you help? Yes...great! Meet the Smooch! Project.

Have you ever had an experience when a photo, a painting, a color or a sound helped you manage your pain or just made you feel better? Has a song ever lifted your spirits? Have you been swept away in a painting to the point that you lost all sense of where you were standing? Pretty wonderful—right? This is the stuff that helps kids feel better. Art heals.

All week I’ve been tweeting about the Smooch! Project from Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are partnering with Children’s Hospitals and Clinics Minnesota to bring art to kids in the hospital. It’s a beautiful project and part of the hospital’s larger Arts & Healing and Urban Renewal Project. I believe with all of my heart in the value of art, music and the human touch in helping people heal. I have no doubt it works for the patient or that it creates a connection between illness and the greater world that makes healing possible. I’ve seen it. 

Here's the scoop! I’ve cleaned out my car, my purse(s), couch cushions, and junk drawers to make a donation and I want to know if you will help. I will match donations of up to a total of  $100 for the Smooch! Project if they are made today, Friday, July 15th. Your donation of $10 becomes $20, just like that! Magic! Gather the coworkers, dig through your pockets, pass on the Starbucks (gasp!)...every penny counts today! Smooch! is trying to reach the big goal of $1,000 by July 31st. **If $100 worth of matching donations don't reach Smooch! by 8pm EST, I will still donate $50**

If you can’t donate, but want to help…please spread the word!

You may not have kids who directly benefit from Children’s Hospitals and Clinics Minnesota, but this project is more than just reaching Minnesota families and sick kids. It’s also about inspiring other hospitals, families and organizations to think about the way art heals. Less pain. More smiles. It's pretty universal.

Today would be a red-letter, banner-flying kind of day if we can get one step closer to having this photography in the hospital....so that even just one kid can get lost in its beauty and simplicity enough to feel better and maybe, just maybe, start giving away more smooches of their own! 

If you donate to Smooch!, leave a comment on this blog post or send Grant Savvy an email and I will work with Bonnie to make sure the donation is made by the end of the day!

The Smooch! Project is sponsored by Springboard for the Arts, a nonprofit arts service organization. Contributions to Springboard (via GiveMN.org) on behalf of the  Smooch! Project are tax-deductible. 

You can donate to Smooch! and Children's through Razoo and GiveMN.org!

~Cheers!

*In respect to full-disclosure, I was not paid to write this post for the Smooch! Project. I was not paid to endorse them and did not receive any form of compensation for my mention of their site, organization or fundraising efforts. I just love them. That is all. Thank you.*

Using Celebrity in Fundraising: Celebrity-Charity Crushes Are More Than Puppy Love

As part of Grant Savvy blog, I like to share my Celebrity-Charity crushes with readers. Not because I believe that celebrities have so much more to offer than the rest of us and deserve space on my blog, but because my “crushes” get what it means to bring awareness to a philanthropic cause.

I am in love with my crushes because they are involved with important causes that they are proud to commit time and money to support. I have no doubt that their lives are more exciting than mine and I'm sure they'll never know me, but I am enamored with what I know about their charity efforts. If a crush and I were ever trapped in an elevator, I’d be bending their ear about philanthropy, not their latest film role or album release. Nerd alert. Let Josh, Leo, Brad and Matt them be warned.

Celebrities don’t have much to do with grant writing, but endorsements have a whole lot to do with fundraising. While my celebrity-charity crushes are the ones you see in grocery store magazines and late night entertainment shows, I promise there are celebrities in your community who can drum up support too!

Local celebrities such as community leaders, board members, volunteers and even politicians can help get a cause and/or program recognized. Why do nonprofits hold ribbon-cutting ceremonies with local leaders with they begin work on a new building project? Why do you have an honorary chairman for your capital campaign? Even more importantly, how do you choose your board members?

You want to have partnerships with people who can garner publicity and lend their voice to your good work. Great leaders know that this their responsibility and like to have their name attached to causes with free press. If you have a good fit (think LAI), it should be a win-win.

As grant writers, we seek letters of support and endorsement to build our proposals. Why do we choose our endorsers? We choose them because they have some level of celebrity in their pocket. Whether it is with the community or beyond, their endorsement matters because people admire them. When a prominent community leader endorses your organization, people will pay attention.

It's no surprise that people with connections get things done ten times faster than people who don’t. Smart and admirable famous people know they can use their popularity to bring attention to unmet needs across the world. Why wouldn’t they use their fan base to raise money and improve social good all while polishing their image?! Fame is a powerful thing.

I wholeheartedly acknowledge that some celebrities attach themselves to causes for reverse benefits. Isn't it painfully obvious when a Hollywood star uses a good cause only to elevate their image? Unfortunately, this happens in every community. Take a look at volunteers, board members and community leaders you may know. Can you think of anyone who likes to tell people they are part of an organization, but they don't really do much to help out? It’s not celebrity-centric to be a moocher. Choose your endorsements wisely.

While I enjoy sharing my favorite celebrity-charity crushes and get a big smile every time they do something I think is wonderful, it’s not just for my own self-indulgence. I'm crushin' because I admire celebrities who make a difference for causes we both care about—they got my attention. Yes, I absolutely adore Josh Groban, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Brad Pitt, but not just because they look pretty and sound nice. *swoon*

Be creative and think of ways to elevate your organization with the support of well-known community members. Donors want to know you have likeminded supporters and want to be part of causes that matter to people they trust...you never know what doors might open up with a few "famous" friends.

Celebrities cannot change the world, but celebrities can bring the world to change.

~Cheers!

Haiti Relief Efforts

The devastation in Haiti has touched people around the world and once again, brought together all types of groups and organizations to help their fellow man. As someone who has first-hand experience bringing disaster relief to those in need and raising money to provide ongoing support, the intense fundraising efforts and overwhelming need for relief are incredibly personal.

As Savvy readers, you too, are involved in efforts, whether directly or indirectly, to help people in need—every day. I hope you will find your own way to support the relief efforts in Haiti during the coming days, weeks, and months. I will continue to add ‘Haiti Relief’ links for reputable organizations, to my blog for reference today and in the future.

Please visit the American Red Cross and the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) to learn more about their international relief efforts and Yele Haiti to learn how you can help organizations that are bringing lifesaving aid to the country. Both organizations are doing a phenomenal job of building collaborative partnerships and getting immediate help to the Haitian people.

How to Make a Donation via Text Message:

SMS text "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross IRF

SMS text "YELE" to 501501 to donate $5 to Yele Haiti's Earthquake Relief Fund

Blessings and love…

Photos: Courtesy of The Associated Press