See Differently with the Royal Society for the Blind’s Post

Can you teach philanthropy to kids? This summer, I tested the idea with my young girls by holding a lemonade stand to raise money for the local animal shelter. The problem? We live in the woods, so challenges abound. Here’s how we tackled the problem, big and small, that raised money against the odds for the Cherryland Humane Society. 🟢 Start Early Children can be generous at a young age, even as toddlers. I have oh so many studies to prove that. 🤔 Involve Them in Decisionmaking Let them choose causes to support. Once our girls knew that helping animals (real ones, not stuffies) was involved, it turbocharged their efforts to do the lemonade stand immediately. Which leads me to…. 🎨 Make it Fun These girls love their art (all day, every day, anyway), so crafting their OWN lemonade stand was a clutch move. ✅ Plan For Success, Anticipate Failure We live deep in the woods, and foot traffic is rare. So, while the above points made the girls clamor to make their stand ASAP, we set expectations that even a few hikers donating a buck or two would be successful. More importantly, we PLANNED > We hosted the Lemonade Stand on a sunny Sunday when hikers abound. Texts were sent (by me, not them -- What are you, crazy?) to neighbors and daytrippers who hike our trails. 🗻 Lead By Example Granted, I work in philanthropy, yet that is not enough. I cannot inspire anyone by saying, “Hey, look at me write this donor letter” while sitting at my laptop, nor can I expect people to support the causes I prefer. But I can try new things in new ways. I’ve never hosted a lemonade stand or visited a humane shelter. So, by igniting the idea and offering advice along the way, perhaps in the end, THEY were leading ME. Which is the ultimate end goal of philanthropy, right? Some start, some lead, some follow, yet all gain something of value. #Philanthropy #FamilyValues #MakeAStand

We treat thousands of pets across our 49 Pet Hospitals every year. But this wouldn’t be possible without our amazing volunteers who kindly donate their time to our charity 🥰 We’re extremely grateful for our volunteers, and we wouldn’t be able to keep people and pets together without their support 🐾 There are countless reasons why you should try volunteering in one of our charity shops! Here are our top five: 1. Gain practical work experience 2. Meet new people 3. Grow in confidence 4. Promote sustainability 5. Make a difference and save pets in need When you lend us a paw, you're not just volunteering; you're making a real difference to the lives of poorly pets and their families ❤️🩹 If you want to help make tails wag and hearts purr, find out more about volunteering with us: http://pdsa.me/9Knr [Visual description: Female volunteer, Martina, standing behind the till in our Kilburn charity shop and smiling at the camera.] #VolunteersWeek #TheBigHelpOut #Volunteer #Volunteers #Volunteering #VolunteerOpportunities

Happy International Rescue Cat Day this #SelfCareCaturday! 🐱💖 Today is all about your love and compassion towards furry friends in need. Cats offer affection and companionship, teaching the beauty of caring. 🐾 As a public speaker, you understand the power of voice. Use yours today to advocate for those who can't speak for themselves. Supporting local cat rescue organizations can make a huge difference. A quick Google search for "cat rescue organizations near me" will guide you. 🏡💬 How will you spend this special day? Consider donating, volunteering, or spreading the word about cat rescue. Every action helps. If you know a great cat rescue group, share their link in the comments. 🌟 Caring for a pet, especially a rescue cat, is a wonderful act of self-care and compassion. It's a reminder that your kindness can truly make a difference. Whether cuddling a furry friend or supporting from afar, today celebrates the joy cats bring into your life. 🎉🐈 How are you showing kindness today? Make International Rescue Cat Day a purr-fectly compassionate day! 🎈 #InternationalRescueCatDay #RescueCats #Compassion #CatLovers #PublicSpeaking #SelfCare #Caturday #AdoptDontShop #SupportLocalShelters #Volunteer #Donate #Caturday #SpeakingTips #CommunicationSkills #SpeakerLife #ProfessionalDevelopment #PersonalGrowth #SuccessTips #PublicSpeakingCoach #PamTerry

Training an assistance dog partnership is so much more than just training! It’s about understanding the needs of both parties, so that they complement each other. We all have needs, wants and desires to be fulfilled and so do our dogs and only when all these criteria’s are truly met, does the real magic happen and a lasting partnership is created. Just like these two buddies Harvey and his assistance dog Neo. They love each other, why…. because together both their worlds are better 💜💜💜 #irishassistancedogs #makingadifference #irishcharity #helpushelpthem Support our mission @ https://gofund.me/7e411b9f

Philanthropy should be PHUN! It's a heart thing, not a brain thing. This morning, my wife and I are spending a few hours cleaning, planting, shoveling and whatever other 'ing' is needed at our local park as part of NY State "I Love My Park Day". We do it every year. Not unrelated, we love the outdoors and spend a lot of time in the parks hiking, biking, enjoying. If we get done in time, we'll head over to the beach for our weekly hour of picking up garbage as part of a wonderful nonprofit some dudes started many years ago. Not unrelated, the beach is our happy place, and taking a long walk there while doing good feels amazing. Then Sunday, we'll participate in a bowl-a-thon to raise money for the animal shelter where I volunteer. Not unrelated, we are big dog lovers (and lovers of big dogs) and an afternoon of bowling, eating, laughing, socializing sounds perfect. This happens to be about volunteering. But it could've been about donating. And partnering. And supporting. All of which should: ⚪️Make you smile & feel good ⚪️Hit you deep down ⚪️Be a thing you look forward to ⚪️Not feel like work ⚪️Not be unpleasant or dreaded So when fundraising and development staff are out there trying to connect with prospects, find ways to paint a vivid picture of a fun, fulfilling journey. #fundraising #philanthropy

📊 Check out our fun pic graph to see how much has been donated for each pup so far for our Advanced Training Dogs campaign. We’re making paws-itive strides, but we need your help to reach our goal of $2,500/dog! 🚀 Can we get any of our furry friends to the finish line? Let’s rally together and make it happen! 🎯 Leaderboard Update: Some of you may notice that Holly is no longer on the leaderboard. Our training team did an initial assessment of the Advanced Training dogs and, unfortunately, Holly won’t be continuing in the program. While she’s an amazing dog, we always prioritize the safety and happiness of our clients and dogs. 🐕 For those who donated to Holly, rest assured, your contributions are still making a huge impact! Each dog’s journey from puppy to partner requires extensive care and resources, and every penny goes towards supporting their development and well-being. 🌟🙏 Let’s keep the momentum going and help these incredible dogs reach their goals! 🏅 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gnXyeJe7 (or scan QR code on picture), and don't forget to pick the team you're supporting. [Visual Description: Graph with Advanced Training dogs based on how much has been donated. Rio, an Advanced Training, is in the lead, followed by Piper, Hank, Inca, and Java] #SupportOurPups #GuideDogs #GuideDogsofTexas #TrainingChampions #DogLove #CampaignUpdate #DonateNow #Texas #nonprofit

Wondering how a @virtualassistant can help grow your business? Virtual Assistants are partners in helping your business grow ... at least, the right one will be. Sure, we keep you on track, but you need someone who knows the ups and downs of running a small business or nonprofit. I have experience with both. I've helped run my husband's IT business for 20 years, I manage my local Meals on Wheels, and I've volunteered at several local nonprofits and animal rescues. I understand the rollercoaster! Let me help you navigate your business. #admin #assitant #wfh #businesspartner

I'm pleased to announce recently completed Phase I and II work on a full-integrated Google Workspace Platform, for a non-profit organization dedicated to animal welfare. Whiskers in Need is a business use case demonstrating the ability to empower small businesses, build low-and-no-cost sustainable Cloud solutions, and enable custom integrations for improved support and awareness. With constant creative collaboration, we created for these cats: 1.  Re-designed website in production for www.whiskersinneed.org 2.  Custom intake forms for visitors seeking information about adopt, foster, and volunteer engagements 3.  Individual and group Gmail accounts tied to the Organization to triage communications 4.  Google Analytics setup for monitoring site performance Integrated pathways to giving and providing charitable support 5.  Phase III planning for use of GoogleAds and YouTube to boost visibility #digitalart #webcontent #platformmigration #nonprofit #animalwelfare #projectmanagement

WARNING: Statistically insignificant sample size to draw conclusions, but I'm gonna go ahead and do that anyway😏 I get pumped when one of the dogs at the shelter I volunteer at gets adopted. That's the whole purpose of why we do what we do. (there's been a whole bunch of forever homes found lately😊) Interestingly, and perhaps not surprisingly, the people doing the adopting are: 🐶 Dog owners looking to add to the family 🐶 People who've adopted rescues before 🐶 Folks that have gotten other dogs from our shelter 🐶 Shelter volunteers So why is that? My dumb guess is that there is: 🐕 Emotional attachment 🐕 Comfort level with the process 🐕 Belief in the outcome 🐕 Trust in our organization 🐕 A desire to be part of the solution 🐕 Joy in sharing a purpose with others Now if only there was some hidden message in here about how both nonprofit and for-profit organizations should be defining their prospects and building enduring partnerships 🤔 #nonprofits #businessdevelopment

Every nonprofit has a story. Social media is the stage. 🎭     Instead of presenting cold stats, use social platforms to:    - Share behind-the-scenes moments 🛠️    - Celebrate milestones 🎉   - Highlight impact stories 💡  Take inspiration from organizations like Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, which documents the journey of rescued baby elephants. Their posts? Engaging and impactful. Their calls to action? Often successful. 🐘  Your nonprofit can do the same. Start with what you have.    📖 Full article: https://lnkd.in/dd_i8-Jw #Wanjugunderi #NonprofitMarketing #SocialMediaForGood #DigitalStrategy #Fundraising