My tickets are in hand for next week: Race to Nowhere on Monday, then Waiting for Superman on Friday.  I’m sure it will be a gut-wrenching week…Surely something I’ll want to “yap” about.

To an audience of Arts enthusiasts, Ms. Sharkova expressed a vision for Choral Arts and for the youth group under her direction, Cantabile Youth Singers, which I will call inspirational.  This program is Northern California’s opportunity to give young children to teenagers access to a top-notch choral program and to experience music on an international level.  Here’s a clip of a recent performance:

Youth choirs are becoming the “in” thing, reinforced by recent TV hits like The Choir and Glee.

Cantabile Youth Singers is seeking individual and corporate sponsors to further their vision.  This is a group I can stand behind.  So much so, that I recently brought my kids into the program…

In public education, the contribution of great teachers and administrators is overshadowed by the lackluster educators perpetually enabled by the system.  Many criticize our public school system, but I’ve yet to see a movement to focus on bringing quality back into education.

It’s an overwhelming crisis, bolstered by many years of political posturing, PTA/parent organization gap-filling, parcel tax education funding, union negotiation, and the list goes on.    It’s time to empower educators.  It’s everyone’s responsibility to care about the failing public school system, because every child in our country deserves a chance to find their passion, get a degree and make a positive and rewarding contribution to our society.  And passionate educators deserve to be appreciated for the impact they have on the children they inspire.

I caught wind of Waiting for “Superman”, thanks to a friend who gave me the heads up about the Oprah Show this week (yes, I DVR it everyday in the hopes of sitting on the couch long enough to watch it at least once in a while).  This documentary about the critical state of public education has garnered support from the likes of  D.C. Education Chancellor Rhee to Bill Gates to John Legend.

While I haven’t had the opportunity to see the film yet, I will be there once it opens on October 8th in the SF Bay Area to see if it delivers on its promise (NY and LA viewers can check it out this weekend).   This may be the disruptive chronicle necessary to move communities to action, to stand in favor and in support of refreshing education.

For tickets, go to Fandango or Movietickets.com

My impressions of the film to come…

I’ve noticed my gym trying to gather people for socials and activities that don’t involve breaking a sweat.  What a great excuse to use my gym membership without the pain of the workout!  Today I learned about an organization doing great things, because Turning Wheels For Kids is the beneficiary of an up-coming Art & Wine Festival fundraiser organized by the Almaden Valley Athletic Club.

Turning Wheels For Kids puts bikes, helmets, and locks in the hands of kids who can’t afford them on their own.  It is one of those great charities started by an individual who saw the need to bring this “rite of passage” to children who otherwise would not have had the chance.  This organization seems to balance community giving with the promotion of health for our youth.

The Art & Wine Festival is open to the public.  If you’re in the San Jose area on October 2nd and want to get a workout, sip wine, and shop to benefit a cool cause, check out AVAC’s event information.  I’m told most of proceeds of the event will go right to Turning Wheels For Kids.

Here’s the deal: You buy a special $5 Macy’s shopping pass and get 10%-25% off purchases on October 16th.  The hook?  Macy’s donates 100% of the coupon sales to three nonprofit organizations, Wounded Warrior Project, Feeding America, and Family Violence Prevention Fund.

Gotta love partnerships! Great news for the nonprofit organizations – They won access to millions of potential constituents through Macy’s strong, national brand.  For Macy’s?  The opportunity to do good and boost sales during one of slowest retail months of the year.    Last year, Feeding America alone raised $1.5 million from this Macy’s charitable promotion.  That’s 300,000 shoppers/constituents. Way to go!

Macy’s, if you’re listening, great start! Here are a few suggestions to improve this campaign next year:

• Be the conduit, not only for donations, but for lasting connections to these nonprofit organizations.  A simple hyperlink from your “Shop for a Cause” webpage to the charities would boost ongoing support (financially and through volunteerism) by those of us more motivated to help versus shop.  Wounded Warrior linked to Macy’s, so return the favor.
• Get the word out to your 500,000 followers!  I’m surprised there’s no mention of  ”Shop for a Cause” on your Facebook page, amidst the Trend Reports and Friends & Family Discount Coupons.  Fans of Macy’s (and their friends) will jump at the chance for the extra discount.  Dangle the carrot and give their shopping some purpose.
• Pump up the PR.  In a news release search, I could find only one reference to this promotion, in Feeding America’s Hunger Action Month press release.  Coordinate PR efforts with all your partners, to reap the benefits of telling the same story to different audiences.

I like to see this type of thinking.  Momentum-building through partnership can have a positive impact on business, whether for-profit or not-for-profit.

Whenever I hear of nonprofits doing fundraisers, the first question I ask is “What is your net fundraising revenue?”.  That’s the true judge of the success of a fundraising event.  Return on Investment (ROI) is a business acronym used to calculate how the actual proceeds of an event compare to or out-weigh the costs to put on the event.  Every event chairperson should have a handle on their ROI before the event planning kicks into full gear.

Take for example, the Walkathon, near and dear many school PTA’s hearts (and headaches). Consider that you must spend money to make money to ensure a safe, motivating, and organized event for the participants.   Costs to keep in mind are:

• Before the event: Flyers, registration and pledge forms/envelopes, posters, software and payment processing set up
• The day of the event: Lap cards, T-shirts, snacks, water
• After the event: Individual prizes, group prizes, payment processing fees

Ways to cover your event costs:

1. Sponsorship: Perhaps a parent at your school or in your community organization owns a business they’d like to promote, or the pizza parlor or dry cleaner down the street would like to support the community.  What better way than to offer a group of sponsorships in exchange for monetary or in-kind donations.  In return, the business should receive valuable “PR” (public relations) with your participants and donors.  A great way to feature your sponsors is to print their logos on flyers, posters and t-shirts, and to feature their businesses (with a link to their website) on your fundraising or main website.  You can also send an email with a special offer or words of appreciation to participants and donors. Use the sponsorship funds to off-set the costs of your event.  Your sponsors are gold, so don’t forget to treat them that way.
2. Food & entertainment revenue: Use these proceeds to pick up the bill for the costs of the walkathon itself.  As long as the organization makes enough money on these to pay for the walkathon costs, you can claim all pledges as your event’s net revenue.
3. Expense Budget: Determine a percentage or set amount of your overall pledge goal to pay for the fees and costs of the event.

Otherwise, your organization may choose to define different elements of your walkathon event – food & entertainment, auction, sponsorship, and the walkathon itself – as separate revenue & cost centers.  You should have a budget for each, both for proceeds and expenses.

In any event (no pun intended), it’s important to document carefully the revenue and costs of your nonprofit event for a potential IRS audit.  At the end of the day, your net proceeds should not only justify the costs, but also the volunteer time and personal commitment of participants.

It didn’t make sense to me.  I was perplexed by fundraising in public schools.  All these great volunteers, people who really care, working off of archaic manual systems ineffective at mobilizing their “customer base” (students and families) to action.  It didn’t compute.  California is in a public education crisis, and the State can’t be counted on to give our kids the education they deserve.  Someone has to pay for it, so the privately-funded foundations must fill in the chasm of funding.   They don’t reach high enough, because they don’t see or embrace the tools available to them.

After years of friends pinging my inbox for Team In Training, Komen, and you-name-the-fundraiser, plus a season heading up a Leukemia Lymphoma Society fundraiser for a Fortune 500 company, I embraced the ease of donating to a worthy cause at the click of the mouse and the virtual slide of my credit card.  What was standing in the way of bringing the ease of Web fundraising to the school walk-a-thon?  Coming from the world of Tech, it was intuitive for me.  The challenge was in convincing the Board to allocate funds for a web service and to have faith that the families would step onto this brave new land without paper.  After modeling the possible revenue outcomes and ROI, the Board was persuaded to give it a shot.

If you build it, they will come.  I was ready to embark on my new adventure.   First, I qualified and selected an online event management service and  set up credit card processing.  I designed graphics, developed copy, and integrated event information for a one-stop-walk-a-thon-shop.  The site went live,  attracting hundreds of registrants in time for the big day.   Students sent personal emails to family and friends appealing to their compassion.  Teachers began to take notice, and the class and individual leader boards attracted repeat visitors.  Adding a “share” widget promoted the spread to social networks. Facebook became the #1 referral site, ahead of the school home page (Thank you Google Analytics for this data!).

The proof is in the pudding.  Participants requesting pledges online received 3x the pledges of those doing it the “old way”.    Make it easy, make it personal, and take credit cards. Success!

Give me a holler to discuss turning around your school fundraiser.