I’m super excited to announce today the launch of the “AwesomeGov” Fund.
As I went full-time on GovLoop, I wanted to ensure that giving back and doing good was 100% integrated into our core mission, values, and operations.
I’m a big believer in social entrepreneurship – companies like Tom’s shoes that donate one pair of shoes for every pair of shoes purchased.
I want GovLoop to walk in that model and with the “AwesomeGov” Charity fund we will. To start, we are committing a minimum of 5% of all revenue in 2010 to the “AwesomeGov” Charity fund.
The purpose of the fund is to promote, highlight, and support “government awesomeness.” We will give the money away to a variety of causes whether it is in scholarships, training, charities, and more.
That will include building upon initiatives like the GovLoop Kiva group where over 65 GovLoopers have already come together to donate over $10,000 to charity. It may also include supporting established charities fighting poverty, non-profits promoting public service, and non-profit startups like Neighbors for Neighbors, Open Forum Foundation, and more.
And the cool part is it’s not up to me – it’s up to the community. We want your ideas on what we should do – where the money should go, cool causes to support, fresh ideas on doing more.
To kick the AwesomeGov fund off, we are launching a campaign from Nov. 15 to Dec. 15th where we will donate $1 for every new government member who joins GovLoop. And you get to decide where the money goes – submit a charity and vote for your favorite charity. It’s an old-school winner takes all – 100%.
So what can you do:
1 – Take 10 seconds right now. Hit that invite tab here and import your contacts and invite your friends. The more people that join…the more we give away
2 – Have a charity? Add your charity to the list and launch your campaign – spread the word to everyone you know who works around government to join GovLoop and vote for your charity. Email us at [email protected] and we can give you some tips as well…
3 – It’s the time of giving. Make sure to give to CFC , join the CFC dialogue, and participate in the other fine drives going on right now.
Let’s have fun and do some good….
-Steve
Wow! Love the idea! Wondering if in addition to charities we can find a way to help small businesses keep a float or assist community generated projects get off the ground. As we all know there are some great ideas out there. But some times these ideas need a helping hand in order to take off. By supporting these projects/ideas/companies we ensure innovation continues to flow into our community.
Another great use would be to fund a community education event free of charge to help teach people about what we are doing, why and most importantly how they can contribute to this movement.
I’m looking forward to seeing other’s ideas! We are an Awesome Community & this is a great opportunity for us to show it by supporting each other & giving even more back to the larger Government community.
Hi Steve,
Great idea and definitely a tremendous way to give back.
I am going to read this information more closely soon and will try to participate in any way I can. Lovisa had some great suggestions as well. This is a very exciting development.
Regards,
David Flanagan
Steve:
Very innovative and generous. Coming from government, I am a big fan of in-kind support. As AwesomeGov transitions through its start up, can we identify –from both the corporate and NFP communities– ways to harness and leverage that type of support to increase the value of the financial distributions from AG?
Giving back and doing good is human nature. Unfortunately, today’s tough economic times have given many pause about donating money to charity. How cool is it that every member on GovLoop can make a huge impact and give back without spending a dime? All we have to do is invite are friends to join? Cool. What a simple way to make a dramatic difference. Thanks!
Great Job Steve! Another awesome initiative!
Coming from a nonprofit background I am always excited to see new nonprofit initiatives take off and the match program has always been a very successful one. I echo Lovisa’s comment about reaching into the community and finding local projects to bring them into the GovLoop awesomest – maybe something along the lines of what the City of Santa Cruz did in their leveraging government as a platform project presented at the Gov 2.0 Showcase.
I have some ideas of how to share with with our ClearedJobs.Net community – we will continue to promote GovLoop at our social media workshops at government and military bases and I am sure I can do a few things in our newsletter and at our Cleared Job Fairs.
Way to go!
Awesome ideas…Keep ’em coming. I’m jotting them down and all things we can do. I really like Lovisa’s and Kathleen’s ideas…Tagging along with Dan’s about kicking it up to next level.
Great to see GovLoop giving back!
Steve, this is AWESOME.
Very nice concept and plan. 🙂
With the suggested list of charities, how about donations to fiscally-starving communities?
Hi Everyone – the best part about AwesomeGov is that it’s driven by YOU! How can we get the word out to more people? It’s really a win-win-win: more people in and around government at all levels and around the world collaborating in one space, more charities getting recognition and raising awareness about their great work, and more opportunities to promote giving back at this time of year. What if we could give away $5K (or more!) and highlight 50+ charities/non-profits? Let’s do it!
Kudos, Steve. Great idea! Will do what I can to talk it up.
Wonderful idea! I stole these suggestions from DiversityInc.
From volunteering time to donating dollars, your contributions toward veterans go a long way. For instance, take traumatic brain injuries (TBI), the “signature” injury of the Iraq war, with about 9,100 troops diagnosed, according to the Pentagon. Since government-allocated funding for TBI-related disabilities was slashed several years ago, wounded soldiers need assistance. Here’s a sampling of where you can go to help veterans who are disabled and deployed, with links to each organization.
AdoptaPlatoon Dedicated to serving deployed U.S. service members, AdoptaPlatoon allows you to send cards, letters and care packages to lift the morale of individual soldiers or troops who are serving far from home. An adoption requires that you pledge to send a card or letter to one service member weekly and a minimum of one care package per month.
Operation First Response A mother from Virginia started Operation First Response in 2004 after a friend’s son lost his leg in combat. Since then, the nonprofit organization has raised more than $2 million through financial donations for wounded military personnel and their families to provide personal and financial assistance.
Wounded Warrior Project This national nonprofit in Jacksonville, Fla., distributes backpacks to the severely wounded who arrive at military trauma centers, offers support and provides career services, ranging from educational assistance to job training. For example, a $1-million donation from Terry and Michael Ward, chairman and CEO of CSX, helped this group build a new education center.
Yellow Ribbon Club This organization supports military forces serving in Iraq and Afghanistan by shipping care packages, promoting welcoming-home events for local veterans and providing financial assistance to U.S. military hospitals and care facilities.
USO For 67 years, this congressionally chartered organization has helped American men and women in uniform. Through financial donations, USO delivers services at more than 130 locations around the world, including free Internet and e-mail access, libraries and reading rooms, housing assistance, family-crisis counseling, support groups, game rooms and nursery facilities.
Help Hospitalized Veterans Through financial donations and volunteer efforts, HHV distributes free therapeutic arts-and-crafts kits to patients receiving care at VA medical centers, state nursing homes for veterans and military hospitals. Since launching in 1971, this nonprofit has delivered nearly 25 million kits and other products and services valued at $420 million.
Soldiers’ Angels This California-based nonprofit, made up of nearly 200,000 volunteers, provides everything from blankets to backpacks to birthday cakes to comfort to the men and women of the U.S. Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.
Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes This organization partners with corporations and volunteers to help severely wounded and disabled veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom rebuild their lives by providing financial aid, a career network and renovated housing.
Great idea. Glad to join the community!
Wow, great idea, Steve!