DonorCommunity CSO Eric Block on their partnership with Planned Growth

Clients inevitably need both software and services. As partners, we can address both requirements.

The partnership between Donor Community, a developer of a cloud computing platform specifically targeted at nonprofit organizations, and Planned Growth, a fundraising and sales consultancy for nonprofits was announced a few days ago in late November. According to the alliance, Donor Community was named Planned Growth’s exclusive provider of fundraising and CRM platform, while Planned Growth, in turn, became Donor Community’s exclusive content development partner. Both companies hope that  their newly forged parnership may bring both services to whole new levels.

Donor Community CSO Eric Block: Together, we provide the software and services client need for a dynamic and interesting Website

Donor Community CSO Eric Block: Together, we provide the software and services client need for a dynamic and interesting Website

We first learned about Planned Growth when The Boys and Girls Club of Broward retained them to perform an in-depth technical evaluation of the DonorCommunity platform,Eric Block, the Chief Strategy Officer of DonorCommunity Inc. tells Fundraisr.org when asked about the background and history of the cooperation between the companies. „The Club had already decided that we offered the most comprehensive and cost-effective solution. But, they wanted to be sure our cloud computing technology had the stability and scalability they would need long-term. After a lengthy evaluation. Planned Growth endorsed our cloud computing technology and recommended that the Club become a DonorCommunity subscriber.”

According to Block, the first steps were made by Planned Growth shorty after this evaluation, back in October, 2011. „Planned Growth was so impressed with our software that they approached us soon afterwards about forming an alliance. We were happy to agree, since they provide the kinds of surround services our clients often request. We’re also glad to have Planned Growth offer DonorCommunity as their exclusive fundraising and CRM solution,” he told us referring to the mutual nature of the agreement.

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Lady Gaga, Google Inc. to receive Trevor Project’s Hero Award

Trend-defining performer and stage artist Lady Gaga will be given the Trevor Project’s Hero Award later this December, acknowleding her work and efforts with the LGBT community, The Trevor Project organization said in a statement.

Lady Gaga was granted The Hero Award of The Trevor Project for her work with the LGBTQ community

The Trevor Project grants The Hero Award to Lady Gaga

According to Trevor, Lady Gaga is an inspiration to youth, and she increases visibility and understanding of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning community. The singer just recently announced she founded the Born This Way Foundation to bravely empower young people to be proud of who they are, and accept temselves as well as one another, including one anothers humanity as well as gender preferences.

The Trevor Project is America’s leading nationwide organization to provide help (crisis intervention and suicide prevention services) to the LGBTQ community. Along with Lady Gaga, the Trevor Project’s Hero Award will also be granted to Google Inc. The search giant is known to champion LGBTQ workplace equality by advocating for equal policies and benefits for their LGBTQ employees, expanding the presence of their LGBTQ employee resource group globally and supporting the community and LGBTQ youth organizations.

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Newly launched Xperedon to revolutionize the act of giving

In the current economic climate, more and more people start looking into ways to ensure that despite all the difficulties, donations and funds keep flowing in for charities and nonprofit organizations. One of these people is British-born businessman Julian Worth, who might have just found a way to revolutionize the usual process of charity donations. His brainchild, the recently launched Xperedon (a Swiss-designed platform applications that was built from a $5m investment and some three years of development) combines the act of giving with the functionalities and the benefits of social media, a concept that hallmarks practically all successful new media ventures of the recent years.

In the core of the Xperedon platform are an ever-growing database of charities (5,629 charity organizations are listed at the time of writing this article) and the innovative idea called „charity profile” or „charity portfolio”, a handpicked selection of registered users, that consists of up to 20 charities of their choice, that they intend to support. Users manage these portfolios freely, adding and removing charities, sharing their profiles to show off, or opting for private donations, that are not visible to others. They can select regular donations, with monthly plans starting as low as $10, or they can obviously choose occasional donations with any amount. „Think of it as your personal charity DNA,” says Julian Worth, who hopes that it’s just a matter of time, when these charity profiles will become as popular and important to their users, as their Facebook accounts or Twitter feeds. „Xperedon is all about lifestyle giving, making it relevant and fun, while putting control firmly in the hands of the donor,” he adds.

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Thanksgiving volunteer opportunities

With Thanksgiving (Nov 24, 2011) being just around the corner, we thought it would be adequate to list a few web resources where you can find volunteer opportunities in your neighbourhood.

While there are some gazillion lists on the Internet, some more up-to-date than others, to provide you with information on Thanksgiving volunteer opportunities, this list (or rather, list-of-lists) is pretty much a work in progress – so if you think that another site should be listed here, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with an URL at fundraisr.org(at)gmail.com!

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Fundraisr.Org is looking for the Best Charity Christmas Gift of 2011

Are you a member of a nonprofit organization, who thinks that this year’s Christmas gift is a great way to tackle the restrictions of your limited funds, and still give your partners the gratitude they deserve? Are you a donor who just received a gift from the charity of your choice, that made you feel particularly great about your contribution to the nonprofit this year?

Either way, please don’t hesitate to share the details with us, and nominate the organization in the quest for the Best Nonprofit Christmas gift of 2011 run by the Fundraisr.Org charity and nonprofit blog. All nonprofit organizations are eligible to be nominated to the Best Nonprofit Christmas Gift competition!

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Conductor Foundation to help New York Charities to improve web presence and SEO

Industry leader of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), New York based Conductor announced the launch of their nonprofit branch, named the Conductor Foundation, a charitable initiative to support local New York City nonprofits to enhance their online visibility through natural search results.

Conductor Foundation

Conductor Foundation

The core activity of Conductor Foundation is intended to be the organizing of training workshops aimed at (and customized for) nonprofit organizations, as well as the launch and running of the Conductor Searchlight Grant, a pro bono service including SEO consultation and the free use of the company’s highly popular SEO Platform, Conductor Searchlight. All of these efforts are targeted at the better use of SEO techniques by the charities and nonprofits involved.

“Social responsibility and community support is in our DNA,” Conductor CEO Seth Besmertnik stated, adding „we are thrilled to share our expertise with those in the non-profit world so that they too can achieve the outstanding natural search results commercial organizations have experienced with Searchlight.” Continue reading

Mary J. Blige, O.A.R. perform at Virgin Unite’s 5th annual Rock the Kasbah fundraiser

Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Unite (the philanthropic branch of the Virgin empire) Rocked the Kasbah for the fifth time in Los Angeles on Wednesday night. Rock the Kasbah is named after a location in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, where the Virgin Group owns property, and where the Eve Branson Foundation focusses its effort. The annual fundraiser of the charity organization took place in the heart of Hollywood, bringing A-listers both on stage and among the audience.

The charity dinner was attended by Branson’s 90 year old mother Eve, will.i.am, Genena Davis, Paris Hilton, Natalie Imbruglia, the Pussycat Dolls and a few members of the Saudi Royal Family, while the performers at the event included Grammy-winning R&B singer Mary J. Blige and indie rock group O.A.R. Mary J Blige’s 4-song set was definitely the highlight and the main performance of the evening, especially as her set included her well-known cover of U2’s „One”, that brought the audience to its feet at the end of the dinner. Australian actress and singer Natalie Imbruglia, who is known to be a long-time supporter of Richard Branson’s charity actions, also took the stage, to dance next to Mary J Blige. While other performers, O.A.R. and Pussycat Dolls also appeared on stage, the main focus of the evening was set at raising money for the children of Morocco, where, not surprisingly, the Branson empire owns property. Continue reading

Gulf Air granted a CSR award in honour of year-long efforts

The national airline of Middle East kingdom Bahrain, Gulf Air was granted a CSR award for becoming the best airline to promote corporate social responsibility within the aviation industry. The award was announced in Dubay on Nov 14, at te fifth annual Aviation Business Awards (ABA) gala, an event attended by some 250 senior aviation professionals and officials from around the world.

Gulf air wins CSR award

Bahrain's national airline Gulf Air was granted a CSR Award at the ABA

“We strongly believe that the airline, as a corporate entity, can play a positive role by operating in a socially responsible manner and thus help build a better future for our children, the society and the world,” Gulf Air CEO Samer Majali said in a statement reflecting to the Award. „The award has come at the right time when globally corporate social responsibility has become a top issue, particularly in the aviation industry as it has direct impact on customers, employees, shareholders, communities and the environment. At Gulf Air we have taken this as an important corporate mission and have done some tangible work across three key aspects of corporate social responsibility – technological, operational and social,” Majali added. Continue reading

Sienna Miller’s personal wardrobe auctioned off for charity

British actress, model and fashion designer Sienna Miller (30) announced she would auction off items from her personal wardrobe to help charity causes. The stunning fashion icon known for her unique, chic style decided to give her fans a chance to buy and wear the clothes she wore on various occasions from London high streets to Hollywood red carpets.

Sienna Miller to auction off her personal wardrobe for charity

Sienna Miller to help International Medical Corps by auctioning off her personal wardrobe for charity

The items now on sale include a variety of dresses, jackets, jeans, boots, handbags, heels and hats. Most of the auctions are closing today (Nov 17) on the market leading auction website eBay – all the incomes of these auctions is offered for the benefit of the charity organization International Medical Corps, a global organization offering medical help and health care training in more than 65 countries worldwide, responding to virtually every emergency in the last two decades, helping tens of millions of people with their efforts. Although there was no minimal bid set at the auctions, a decision that is intended to reflect on the sore economic situation of the moment, most items were to be found in the few-hundreds range a couple of hours before the end of the bidding. Continue reading

Oprah Winfrey receives an honorary Oscar for charity work, says „we’re all here to help each other”

„All of us can make a difference throught the life we lead. We’re all here to help each other, we’re all here to use our lives to one another’s service” a moved, tearful Oprah Winfrey proclaimed in her acceptance speech last Saturday, when the talk show host was granted an honorary Oscar for her charitable work by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The award, officially titled the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award or the Governors Awards are given out ahead of the „real Oscars”, to people who have made the deepest impact on the industry. This year’s awardees were Oprah Winfrey, actor James Earl Jones and makeup artist Dick Smith.

Oprah Winfrey Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award acceptance speech

Oprah Winfrey, who is regularly deemed to be one of the most powerful and wealthiest women by the Time and Fortune Magazine, and who is well known for her charity efforts and philanthropy works, described the moment as „unimaginable” for someone, who grew up in Mississippi, and had such modest roots as herself. To make the moment even more emotional, the honorary Oscar award was given to her by a young woman who was helped through high school by a financial grant she earned from Oprah’s foundation. Continue reading