Charity Spring Patch Digest: Let Actor Help You Win $250K Match to Your Crowdrise Campaign

Fairfield County Funding Opportunities

CAN YOUR "JOB RAISING" IDEA WIN? A new competition unveiled by the Huffington Post,Skoll Foundation and Edward Norton's Crowdrise seeks to reward nonprofits with ideas for how to put Americans back to work. The “JobRaising” challenge is open to all nonprofits so long as they have a plan for fighting America’s high unemployment, organizers said. Nonprofits that make it through an initial stage of vetting will have a chance to compete for donations from the public. Groups that raise the most cash will also win prize money totaling $250,000 from the Skoll Foundation. (Deadline: 11/15/12 for the first round)

INFOGRAPHIC: Women's wealth and the future of philanthropy.

$5 MILLION TO FIVE CHARITIES SERVING AT-RISK YOUTH: The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation is inviting youth-serving organizations throughout the United States to apply. The winning proposals will have compelling evidence of their programs' impact on economically disadvantaged youth, ages 9 to 24; a track record of reaching the hardest-to-serve youth in communities of need; strong leadership and a potential for growth, including the ability to secure funds to sustain operations on a larger scale after the foundation's investment concludes; and the financial and operational capacity to expand to scale, and to meet federal compliance requirements regarding the use of grant and match funds. (Deadline: 11/20/12)

WIN $50,000 FOR URBAN EXCELLENCE: The Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence is accepting applications to win one Gold Medal of $50,000 and four Silver Medals of $10,000 for urban places that are distinguished by quality design and their social and economic contributions to American cities. Award winners offer creative place-making solutions that transcend the boundaries between architecture, urban design, and planning, and showcase innovative thinking about the nation's cities. The Bruner Foundation does not restrict the kinds of projects that may apply. Award winners are not selected through an established set of criteria. Rather, the criteria emerge from the selection committee discussion of the applications. Projects must be a real place, not just a plan or a program, and be located in the forty-eight contiguous United States. (Deadline: 12/10/12)

WIN $10,000 FOR A TEACHER: Nominate and win $10,000 for your favorite teacher for The 2013 Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Awards, a series of annual grants that recognize inspiring teachers in the United States. Candidates must be full-time classroom teachers in a K-12 school or college or university instructors. The awards are presented each year on Sondheim's birthday — March 22 — to a handful of teachers, kindergarten through college, who are nominated via the Kennedy Center Web site. Last year, ten teachers were recognized for their outstanding influence on students. The recipients each received a $10,000 prize and their stories, as told by the nominating student, were featured on a Web site dedicated to inspirational teachers. (Deadline: 12/16/12)

Fairfield County Charity & Donor News

THREAT TO ROLL BACK THE TAX DEDUCTION FOR CHARITABLE GIVING: The Charitable Giving Coalition, which includes United Way Worldwide and both Christian and Jewish groups, is urging both President Obama and Mitt Romney to back off their proposals to roll back the current tax deduction for charitable giving.

Donor Relations

WHEN YOUR DONORS TO TELL THEIR STORIES: How to help your donor help your cause by sharing their stories.

Corporate Social Responsibility 

DIAGEO: Diageo employees walk and raise money for the American Diabetes Association.

CSR LESSONS FOR CEO's (Forbes)

Media Tips

GETTING THE WORD OUT: Building local media relations for your cause.

Social Media Tips

MOBILE FUNDRAISING: Top four mobile apps for your fundraising efforts.

INFOGRAPHIC: How social media influences giving.

Charity Spring

See what nearly 3,500 people around the world are reading at Charity Spring (live since October 4th). For many additional links to help you build financial support and awareness for your Fairfield County cause see the Charity Spring Patch Digest homepage.

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