You’ve played the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon… now you can be one degree away from the infamous actor or any number of other celebs. The new website SixDegrees.org launched today, as an initiative of Network for Good and Kevin Bacon himself. I heard about this via Katya who is associated with the project.

www.SixDegrees.org is social networking with a social conscience. Through this web site, you can learn about and support the charities of celebrities and your friends, as well as fundraise for the causes close to your heart.

You can get your own badge with your photo, and links to one or more charities that you support. Then post your badge on your website or blog, or just send a link out by email.

You can even rub elbows with the rich and famous with a Celebrity Badge. I’ve posted Colin Firth’s badge here, you may remember him from Bridget Jones Diary. He features OxFam which is one of the causes that I also support.

Of course anyone can create a badge and link to the charity of their choice. If you work for a charity though, consider creating an “official” badge. The reason that you’ll want to ask your supporters to all post or email the same badge is to qualify for the matching grant program:

The six badges that have the most number of donations between January 18th and March 31st will get a matching grant from Kevin Bacon of up to $10,000. (Multiple donations from a single individual to the same Six Degrees Charity Badge will only be counted once.)

You can recruit a local or national celebrity to endorse your badge, or use a photo of one of your board members or constituents (i.e. Girl Scouts use a photo of one of your troup members).

Find out more at SixDegrees.org

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Don’t toss your used printer cartridges in the trash can! Recycle them instead and your group can earn a little cash back.

It doesn’t take that much extra time. Instead of throwing them in the trash, just toss the cartridge in the recycle box provided by Funding Factory.

Since computers and printers are so prevalent in today’s schools this will be a natural fit. Large school districts go through quite a few cartridges per month. Organizations who can enlist the support of businesses to display and promote the recycle boxes can also benefit.

Promoting the program is key. Make sure all of your office personnel are aware of the collection boxes, where the proceeds go and that the program is actively managed. Posting flyers every now and then will help remind people about the program.

This is the type of fundraiser that can go on year-round. The funds raise are incremental, but over time will really add up. Plus you will be doing your part to help our environment by keeping used cartridges out of the landfills.

It doesn’t cost anything to get started, just request a free information packet from Funding Factory and your group can get it’s first set of collection boxes.

Since 1997 FundingFactory has been offering a free fundraising through recycling program for educational and nonprofit organizations. Many of the most popular brands of inkjet cartridges, laser cartridges and cell phones are accepted through the program. FundingFactory pays the highest average prices for these items and offers extra incentives throughout the year.

Sign Up Today For The Funding Factory Recycling Program

Related Articles:

Inkjet Recovery and Recycling: A Good Fit for Your Organization?

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“Everyone needs to feel that he or she makes a difference to the organization. It is what gives meaning to their involvement.” - Heidi Richards

Retreats are great opportunities to review and assess current programs, align volunteers and move forward in the organization. They are one of the best ways to plan for the future of the organization, create greater buy-in of programs as well as create a stronger team. Retreats can give a powerful boost to the spirit and effectiveness of any group.

Well-designed and delivered retreats can lead to better understanding, clearer alignment and much stronger motivation for all stakeholders. A good retreat does not have to cost a fortune to host or attend.

Places that offer peaceful surroundings can create harmony and encourage quiet reflection. Why not hold your retreat during the off-season in your community? Hotels, resorts, bed-and-breakfasts and the like can be much less expensive during that time. A stakeholder’s home might be a viable alternative, if it is conducive to fulfilling the agenda. A casual atmosphere can help create the quiet reflection participants need to share ideas, develop plans and be “honest” in the process.

Organizing a retreat is a big responsibility. Use these ideas to make your event a well-planned and memorable success.

1. Set the tone with an inspiring theme. Telegraph the tone and purpose of your event with a theme that helps establish what you wish the outcome of the event to be. The purpose of a theme is to create excitement and anticipation. Here are examples of themes I have had the opportunity to co-create. “Lighting the Way Through Leadership:, “Meet, Mingle and Mastermind” , Leadership is…Growing other People”, “Play Hard, Think BIG”, Weekend Among the Stars”, to name a few.

2. Select your site with care. The best way to reduce distractions and promote a “big picture” perspective is to host your retreat away from the day-to-day surroundings of the organization. Make sure that the location helps to promote the “theme” for the retreat. An ocean-view location might not be the best place if your theme is “Getting Down to Business.”

3. Create interest to get the most participation. Use memos, bulletin boards, posters and internal meetings to arouse peoples’ curiosity. You could distribute a list of objectives and issues for the retreat, or even conduct a survey prior to the meeting, announcing actual results during the program. The survey is a wonderful tool to gather information from stakeholders, especially those who might not be able to attend. It will assist you in finding out what their issues are within the organization. This will also help plan the agenda.

4. Involve others in the planning process. Put together a planning team for the planning retreat. They can also be a part of the actual process during the retreat. I’m not sure who said it, but “many hands make work light.” This is also a great way to develop future leaders for the organization. By breaking down the tasks, you can concentrate on what outcomes you would like to see achieved.

5. Design the sequence of events with great care. Timing really is everything. And the key to the success of your retreat is planning the activities to get the most out of and give the most to the participants. Do you want a high-intensity working event, a laid back more relaxing atmosphere or somewhere in between? If you combine work with play, carefully consider, which should go first. Consider including some fun activities in the planning process, with the major recreation as a bonding in between the process and a celebration at the end.

6. Send out a pre-retreat agenda. Let stakeholders know what your vision and objectives are for the retreat. This will give them the opportunity to fully prepare for the event. It could also get their creative juices flowing.

7. Balance Energy, Enterprise and Entertainment. Stimulate interest and get involvement by using a full range of activities. Planning can be challenging and fun. Engage both sides of the brain, mental and physical stimulation to get the best results. Sitting in a room talking for 7 to 8 hours (or even 2 or more) without some form of physical activity can actually hinder the creative process.

8. Allow enough time to process, discuss and apply. Allow enough time between each activity for discussion, learning and application back to the organization. It’s better to have a full day with two activities and enough time for discussion, than a day “packed” with three or four exercises and little time for reflection.

9. Focus on new actions with “More”, “Less”, “Start” and “Stop.”

To help in the planning process, during the program, have participants develop clear answers to the following questions:

“What do you want to do more of?”
“What do you want to do less of?”
“What do you want to start doing?”
“What do you want to stop doing?”

10. At the end of the process, you can ask participants to make another list of personal commitments using the following outline:

“I am committed to do more ______________________
“I am committed to do less _______________________
“I am committed to start doing ____________________
“I am committed to stop doing _______________________

11. If you’re the one “in charge,” don’t dominate discussions. If you do, not only will it inhibit open dialog, it will keep important issues from being fully addressed. Participants may go home with a feeling that they just wasted their time.

12. Lead participants to find areas of agreement. Finding issues people can agree on increases the chances they will also solve their own areas of disagreement.

13. Use an outside facilitator. Someone not intimately involved in the day-to-day of the organization, might actually help participants discover issues they did not know were issues. An experienced facilitator can also serve as an impartial party to keep the group on track, make sure all voices are heard and everyone has the opportunity to contribute to the process.

About the Author: Heidi Richards - is a professional speaker, Entrepreneur and the author of “The PMS Principles, Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business,” “From Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur”and 7 other books. She is also the Founder & CEO of The WECAI Network™ www.WECAI.org – an Internet network of organizations that “Helps Women Do Business on and off the WEB.” Basic Listing is FREE.

Copyright Heidi Richards - reprinted with permission

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Our sister website TopSchoolFundraisers.com is conducting a survey. Do you lead or plan fundraisers for schools, sports teams or other youth groups? What is important to you in planning a great school fundraiser? Let us know in this 5 minute survey.

As a special thank you for participating, you will receive:

• Free Fundraising Information for a variety of fundraisers including candy, magazines, gift items, cookie dough and more
• Free coupons good for savings on entertainment, office supplies, books and more.

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Reportedly, there are over $10 Billion US in coins currently gathering dust as spare change in piggy banks and old cookie tins in homes all across America. One great way for your fundraising group to get your hands on this money is through coin collection jars and banks located around the town where your group members work and live.

Start your campaign by locating mason jars, wooden bird houses, coin tubes, acrylic boxes, honor boxes or whatever collection container you plan to use. Your group can purchase acrylic donation boxes through e-bay or online through various vendors.

Next ask your volunteers to suggest locations in town where they may have a connection to the management. Business owners are more likely to allow a fundraiser if they know the person asking is a regular customer.

Kick off your campaign with your entire fundraising team to raise awareness and support of your fundraiser. Release an announcement to the press detailing the monetary goal, what the money will be used for, and showing a few locations where your coin jars will be located. Donors like to give to causes they feel comfortable with, they like to know how the money will be used, and like to see how easy it is to give at their favorite shopping locations. Create a slogan for your campaign to brand it with your group’s logo and make your collection containers easily identifiable. A few examples are “Change the World” or “Change their luck with just a buck” which play with the word ‘change’ nicely.

The best places to position your collection jars are at any location that deals with cash and has an employee nearby to keep a watchful eye over the coins. Starbucks, donut shops, fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s or Chik Fil A, lunch time restaurants such as steakhouses or buffets, grocery store check out lines, convenience stores, banks, card shops, hair salons, and other places that deal with coins on a regular basis are ideal. If your fundraising group has a connection at any business location, even one that doesn’t deal with coins regularly, feel free to place a jar there to show support on a wide basis around town.

Here are a few tips to get your coin collection campaign off to a great start.

1- Set a goal! Decide on a dollar amount of certain number of coins that you want to reach. This will help push your participants to reaching a goal, instead of just dropping in one or two coins. Make the goal meaningful to your group, such as the number of clients served by your group, the number of miles around your county, the weight of animals saved, or another factoid that makes the goal purposeful and meaningful. Set a goal for the length of time you will collect the coins. If this is designed as an ongoing campaign, be sure to give regular updates to the public on your group’s success towards reaching your final goal.

2- Make it easy for businesses to support you. Ask for permission from the manager to leave a jar or coin collection bank near the cash register. Leave a business card with them, and attach your phone number and the name of only two or three people who are authorized to pick up money. Plan to collect money at least once a week, and ask the store to call if the jar looks too full and tempting.

3- Use the right coin holder for the location. A large Big Belly bank or a Vortx swirling coin collector would work better in a larger tabletop area than on a small cash register counter. Honor boxes with candy next to the coin collection box would work great in restaurants or banks. If your group works with animals, place a bank shaped like a dog or cat at each location. If your group is raising money for kids, include photos and brochures of your services. This coin collection campaign can also be used as a public awareness campaign.

4- Take security seriously. Keep the jar in plain sight, and close to the cash register where an employee can see it. Using double stick tape or velcro will help keep the container in place and out of the hands of pranksters. Security coils for acrylic donation boxes are also easily installed. Don’t allow the jars to overfill. Pick up regularly, only using the designated volunteers at each location. Leave a few coins and one or two dollar bills (or a $5 bill) inside the bank to “seed” the pot and show how people are donating larger sums.

5- Monitor the routes and chart your success. Keep track of which volunteer collects at which locations and on what days. Chart the success of various banks at the locations to see which ones are doing better, and determine which ones might need to be moved.

Wrap up your campaign with one last announcement to your fundraising team and the media detailing your great success. Thank the town for their participation in your campaign, and note how the money raised will create a great change in your community. With their spare change, your community members are able to help your fundraising group change the world.

About the Author: Danielle Hamilton is the editor of HumaneFundraising.com and moderator of a Yahoo group dedicated to helping animal rescue groups raise money for animals.

Related Resources:

Plasticfab.com Boxes

Staples® Coin Box

The Vortx^® Spiral Wishing Well

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“Imagine that you’ve awakened after being asleep for ten years, what would you want your organization to look like?”

Planning is essential (critical) to the success of any endeavor, whether it be a for-profit or a not-for-profit organization. That’s why so many organizations participate in planning retreats.

For retreats to be successful there are key factors that must be included in the process. The following overview can be a guide in getting the most out of the time you spend in the design of your retreat.

1. Include key stakeholders. Representatives from all aspects of the organization should be included in the process, from staff to board to volunteers.

In order to create a team atmosphere and buy-in, key people need to be involved. Those people that will help implement the plans once set, as well as those who would influence buy-in from other stakeholders in the organization.

2. On the first day, participants should reconnect with the “mission” and vision of the organization. Discussions could include who the organization serves, what the organization does well, what could be improved upon, what are the hopes for the future.

3. On the second day - phase two - participants break into small groups and recognize the organization’s potential for positive influence and impact. Day two is a dream and deliver day. What will the organization look like in ten years? What will the world look like? What is the best we can hope for? How will we make the best happen? After the small groups dream, they will deliver their findings to the entire group.

4. After the dream and deliver phase, participants will focus on creating the “plan” to incorporate the dreams into a strategy, process and system to realize those outcomes established by the participants. The Result: action-oriented statements about how the organization will perform.

5. Stakeholders claim responsibility for each area of the plan. When stakeholders take ownership, things happen. Once this phase is complete, R & R is in order – reward and recognition. Thanking stakeholders in advance can help to cement their commitment to the tasks at hand.

About the Author: Heidi Richards - is a professional speaker, Entrepreneur and the author of “The PMS Principles, Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business,” “From Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur”and 7 other books. She is also the Founder & CEO of The WECAI Network™ www.WECAI.org – an Internet network of organizations that “Helps Women Do Business on and off the WEB.” Basic Listing is FREE.

Copyright Heidi Richards - reprinted with permission

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