Grand Traverse Lighthouse Fundraiser

Via the The Ticker - Traverse City Business Magazine - 5 November  2014

Ice Challenge and ALS

Although, the last time I looked yesterday, ALS has raised nearly $88.5 million in this ice enterprise and this crowd fundraising has involved millions of people. I wonder ....

Here is the ALS site and release ... click here

SwingShift Dancers, Charities Announced

August 8, 2014: TC Ticker

The 7th season of SwingShift and the Stars Dance-Off for Charity kicked off last night with the announcement of the six celebrities and the participating charities at the City Opera House in downtown Traverse City. They are: Beth Footh dancing with Hans Benghauser for BrickWays Jeff Haas and Meghan Daigh for Building Bridges with Music Brenda Sampson-Welch and Danny Brizard for Conflict Resolution Services Jose Lopez and Liz Reincke for Justice for our Neighbors Dr. Heather Rassel and Cliff Shanoski for Mariposa Pathway Troy Broad and Pam McCormick for Leelanau Christian Neighbors Dancers will take the floor for their first competition on September 19. See the season's full schedule here. Over the last six years, the event has raised more than $1.2 million for local nonprofit organizations. Permalink

Caring For Kelsey Fundraiser Friday

TC Ticker: August 7, 2014

Bill Marsh on South Airport in Traverse City is raising funds this Friday (Aug. 8) to support Kelsey Clous, a 21-year-old from Kingsley who is fighting a rare blood clotting disorder. The fundraiser includes hundreds of fresh baked items, a silent auction, lunch, Moomers ice cream, oil changes and car washes. Cash donations also accepted online. All funds go toward helping the family with non-medical bills. Permalink

Fundraising Questions I'm Most Often Asked

From Harvey McKinnon, posted on Guidestar

June 2014

When you've been in this field long enough, and maybe have a few books to your credit, you're often invited to speak at conferences. It's a great way to stay in touch with the many wonderful people in this profession. I get to reconnect with the wise elders and meet the passionate newcomers.

Invariably at the end of my presentations I'm asked a number of wide-ranging questions. Many are highly specific, but others pertain to most every organization. Here are some of the questions I'm most commonly asked.

More click here

Run for Shelter - Record Eagle Story

June 23, 2014

Run for Shelter supports Goodwill Inn

BY KATE HANSEN chansen@record-eagle.com Traverse City Record-Eagle

TRAVERSE CITY — Community members will put their best foot forward for the homeless at the annual Run for Shelter race to benefit the Goodwill Inn.

“The Goodwill Inn is one of our neediest programs,” Events Manager for the Goodwill Industries Lilly Nowicki said.

Funds raised from the race set for Saturday will support more than 700 area homeless people by providing shelter, three meals per-day and one-on-one counseling with case managers to help with job placement, training, and finding permanent housing.

Donations from local sponsors will help cover event costs, including timing systems, T-shirts for participants and rental space, and ensure that the $30 registration fee for runners directly benefits a neighbor in need.
“We try to have sponsors on board to pay for the event so the registration fee is a direct donation to our programs,” Nowicki said.

In past years the Goodwill Industries partnered with other local agencies to host the race. Now, in their sixth year, they are organizing the event on their own and regular participants may notice some changes.
“We’ve made some adjustments to make the race more family friendly,” Nowicki said.

She attributed the changes to the increase in the number of runners for this year’s race. Currently there are 125 participants registered and the Goodwill Industries hope to have at least 200 runners by race time.
The race will start at Willow Hill Elementary, 1250 Hill Street in Traverse City on Saturday at 9 a.m. Runners and walkers are encouraged to bring children, pets, and friends.

Those interested in supporting the Goodwill Industries through this event can visit www.goodwillnmi.org/runforshelter for more information.

Father Fred Foundation/Art Van Furniture Challenge

Help us win $75,000 from the Art Van Charity Challenge. Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

We're Out to Get $75,000 for Our Cause Dear Friend, We're very excited to let you know that The Father Fred Foundation has been selected to be part of the Art Van Million Dollar Charity Challenge. Art Van Furniture is challenging several charities to raise as much money as possible, and is giving the organization that raises the most a $75,000 donation to add to their cause. Father Fred is raising money specifically for our housing assistance program. Keeping a roof over one's head is one of life's basic human needs and whenever we can, we try to help families stay in their homes or help them obtain affordable housing -- keeping them from falling through the cracks. We need your help. There are 54 other charities vying for these prizes (though we're the only one in northern Michigan)... We think we can win and to do so, we definitely need your help. Here's how: DONATE NOW either in addition to or in lieu of what you typically donate each year.   CONDUCT YOUR OWN FUNDRAISER via CrowdRise and get your company, family, circle of friends, etc. involved in helping you raise money on behalf of Father Fred. Simply click on the "Fundraise for this campaign" link.   HELP SPREAD THE WORD to your many circles. Help us go really viral with our need (housing assistance) and the Art Van Challenge. Free money is at stake. Lots of it. Email is the best route but social media works too. We'll be sending emails throughout the Challenge asking for your help (there's a new challenge each week that could land us additional money from Art Van), so please pardon the repetitiveness. But every donation makes a difference, no matter how small. Thanks so much for your support. Rosemary Hagan Executive Director The Father Fred Foundation

From the TC Ticker ...

Conquer The Village Returns May 9, 2014

The 2nd annual Conquer the Village Mountain Bike Race to raise money for the Preserve Hickory Hills nonprofit organization will be held Sat., May 24, at the Grand Traverse Commons. The multi-lap, short loop race starts on the trails outside Left Foot Charley at 9 a.m. Race categories range from beginner to expert and also include a kid's event. Last year the race raised about $3,500 for the nonprofit and the group is targeting 400 racers this year. Learn more here. Permalink

Father Fred Fundraiser

From the Grand Traverse Insider | 5 May 2014  ...

Father Fred Spring Garage Sale fundraiser

TRAVERSE CITY – The Father Fred Foundation will be hosting its annual Spring Garage Sale fundraiser on Saturday, May 10 at the Father Fred Foundation from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thousands of items will be for sale at bargain prices, including furniture, antiques and collectibles, toys, household goods, clothing, jewelry, sporting goods and more.

Click here - Father Fred Fundraiser - more information.

Special Delivery

From the Grand Traverse Insider, 4 May 2014
Grand Traverse Insider > News

Postal workers collect food donations for local pantries

REGION – Post offices in Benzie County and throughout the area will participate in a national food drive this month to help re-stock several area food pantries.

On May 10, the 22nd Annual National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive will be held, sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers, in cooperation with the U.S. Postal Service, National Rural Carriers Association, the AFL-CIO, United Way of America and local anti-hunger agencies nationwide, such as Michigan’s Northwest Food Coalition.

In Benzie, area letter carriers will pick up donations of non-perishable food items left out at mailboxes across the county. Donations picked up will benefit the Benzie County Food Partners, Lake Ann Food Pantry, Fresh Wind Christian Community Food Pantry and Unveiling Truth food pantries.

Read more - Click here 

Munson Cancer Center Underway

Munson Cancer Center Underway May 2, 2014

Munson officials and employees lifted the ceremonial shovels yesterday to mark the groundbreaking for the new Cowell Family Cancer Center located on the Munson Medical Center campus in Traverse City. Officials announced that $17.3 million in donations has been secured, led by a $5 million dollar gift from TC resident Casey Cowell. Cowell is a Detroit native. He co-founded U.S. Robotics in 1976 and served as CEO before the company merged with 3Com in 1997. Construction of the $45 million, 86,000 square-foot facility is expected to take nearly two years to complete. Source: TC Ticker, 2 May 2014, Permalink

Movie Night Fundraiser

TC Ticker

BrickWays Hosts Movie Night Fundraiser April 29, 2014

A "Brick Flix" event – to include live music, a silent auction, drink specials, food from Roaming Harvest and a presentation of What's Eating Gilbert Grape – will be held on Tues., May 13, at InsideOut Gallery in TC. The evening is a benefit for the Brickways Foundation, which enhances the lives of adults with developmental disabilities by providing supportive housing options. Emcee for the evening will be Tim Brick, owner of Brick Wheels and son of BrickWays founder Mary Jean Brick. The event kicks off at 5 p.m., the movie starts at 7 p.m. There will also be an Afterglow at InsideOut's Outre Lounge. Tickets for the movie are available for a suggested donation of $10 at Oryana, Brick Wheels, BrickWays and InsideOut Gallery.

Challenge Helps Hungry

Grand Traverse Insider > News

Food Partners to benefit from Feinstein Challenge

Published: Monday, April 28, 2014More Sharing Services

BENZIE – For the 17th straight year, Rhode Island philanthropist Alan Shawn Feinstein is offering $1 million to nonprofit, anti-hunger agencies throughout the country and Benzie Food Partners (BFP) hope to again benefit from this special nationwide challenge.

The Feinstein Foundation will again divide $1 million among all those “Challenge” participating agencies that report their total donations received during March and April. The “Challenge” also will again recognize food product donations by crediting participating agencies $1 per item or pound donated during this time period.

Feinstein is founder of the Center For a Hunger Free America at the University of Rhode Island and the Feinstein International Famine Center at Tuffs University. Past Challenges have significantly raised awareness about hunger, and his on-going concern for the millions of hungry people in “the greatest country in the world” continues to make people aware of the need for change.

Challenge donors become a part of one of the most successful ongoing efforts ever to fight hunger.

This is the 17th year of participation for Benzie Food Partners and they are hopeful the 2014 challenge, March 1 through April 30, and their project to fight hunger in Benzie County will be as successful as in previous years.

“Our community has been very supportive of our efforts,” said Challenge Coordinator Linda Davis, and secretary/treasurer Jeffie Lynch-Jones.

“As we enter our 17th year of service in Benzie County with our user-friendly pantry, we are grateful for that support and shared concern,” they added.

The Food Partners pantry is located at 10907 Main St., at the southeast corner of Henry and Main streets in Honor. It is open from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on the first and third Thursdays of each month. The pantry is also available in emergency situations.

Donations to the pantry are used in Benzie County and may be sent to Benzie Food Partners, PO Box 598, Honor, MI 49640. In 2013, BFP distributed 90,099 pounds of food and personal care/daily living needs items to a cumulative total of 2,088 families or 5,898 Benzie County residents, including 1,519 children and 1,281 seniors.

For more information about the food pantry or other suggestions on ways to help, please call 231-325-2936 or 231-882-5234. For information on the Challenge, call 231-325-2133.

Dockside launches Grass River fundraiser

April 27, 2014, Traverse City Record Eagle

Dockside launches Grass River fundraiser

BY GLENN PUIT gpuit@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — Business owner Gordon Schafer knows how important Antrim County’s natural environment is to tourism and commerce.

Schafer owns the Dockside-Torch Lake restaurant in Bellaire and said that’s why he will — for the 15th year running — lead fundraising efforts for the county’s Grass River Natural Area during a special event at the restaurant May 6.

Click here for source.