posted on 02/24/2011 by Cate
Whether being declared the next Silicon Valley or heralded as the birthplace of dozens of new tech startups, Chicago has been dubbed the place to be for young entrepreneurs.
This atmosphere, abuzz with creativity and the kind of adrenaline rush that can only come from an idea that might turn out to be the next ‘big’ thing was what sparked an idea for two local organizers.
The brainchild of Stella Fayman and Tim Jahn, Entrepreneurs Unpluggd hosted their first event earlier this month with close to 200 attendees. The audience was treated to an evening of discussions and anecdotes from successful entrepreneurs in an intimate “unpluggd” format. Getting beyond the “conference keynote full of theory and fluff” this event allows for discussion and interaction on a manageable scale and cuts right to the topics attendees want to tackle.
A big GiveForward high-five to Stella and Tim for their work to bring together a growing community of tech startup pioneers.
posted on 02/22/2011 by Cate
*Update! Congratulations to our three fabulous Oscar winners who each had an extra $100 added to their fundraiser!
In the category of medical fundraisers, Emily Stueve Medical Fund blew us away with their amazing fundraising abilities. Erin is showing true sisterly love by raising money for Emily’s expenses while she battles liver cancer.
The leader of the pet medical fundraisers wow-ed the audiences with the heartwarming story of a girl and her puppy. Amber was raising money for Titan, a 15 week old Chiweenie, in Pennies for a Puppy.
Give A Bike: 50 State Tour brought it all home for us by raising the most money in the final category. And this was done by a couple who is currently biking across all 50 states. Talk about multi-tasking!
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Forget the Academy Awards, walk the GiveForward Red Carpet!
In honor of the Oscars this coming Sunday GiveForward is holding its own competition. Please vote for your favorite fundraiser from the categories below. The fundraiser with the most donations between Tuesday 2/22/2011 at midnight and Sunday (Oscar night) at midnight wins.
1 donation = 1 vote
Winners get an extra $100 and will be announced on Monday 2/28/2011
Categories
Medical Fundraisers
Pet Fundraisers
Other
posted on 02/04/2011 by Erica Trzeciak
F
ebruary 4th is a day meant to bring hope and raise awareness of cancer and the millions of people who are fighting it. In honor of World Cancer Day, we’d like to encourage our community to take action and support those friends and family members who are currently battling cancer. Here’s a few ways to do this:
- If you are actively fundraising for a loved one who has been diagnosed with cancer, send an email to all your friends and family telling them about World Cancer Day. Tell them that making a donation to your GiveForward fundraiser is the best way to participate in World Cancer Day because they personally know the person who will benefit from their contribution.
- If you are already a Giveasaurus Superstar and have made a donation to a fundraiser supporting a cancer patient on GiveForward, give yourself a big pat on the back! Now you can spread that good karma by helping promote that fundraiser to everyone you know and encouraging them to celebrate World Cancer Day the same way you did- by making a donation!
- If you haven’t helped a random stranger shovel their driveway or completed your random act of kindness lately, give to any of the wonderful projects on GiveForward that are supporting one of the millions who is battling cancer. Find a fundraiser that speaks to you.
No matter how you participate in World Cancer Day, make sure that you take a moment to celebrate those who have won the fight with cancer, to inspire those who are still fighting, and to honor the beautiful souls of those who have bravely lost the fight.
posted on 12/22/2010 by Erica Trzeciak
*Update! Congratulations to Ramon Castillo who won $500 for have nearly 250 donors in 10 days! His story is truly an inspiration. On December 20th, he returned to the jewelry store owned by his family to find his wife being robbed at gunpoint. His bravery nearly cost him his life, landing Ramon in critical condition. His friends and family have now raised over $18,000 to help with all of the costs associated with his recovery. You can help this Houston Hero by donating here.
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Finally. A way for the holidays to bring out everyone’s competitive side. And you won’t even have to fight angry crowds of holiday shoppers to participate in this amazing contest!
For the last 10 days of 2010, (December 22nd through December 31st) fundraisers on GiveForward can compete to win an extra $500 for their cause!
The fundraiser that has the highest number of donations received between December 22nd and December 31st will win $500 towards their fundraising efforts! Easiest contest requirements ever, huh? It doesn’t matter if your fundraiser is just starting out or in its last few weeks; anyone can participate and anyone can win!
We’ll keep you updated on the standings to see who’s in the lead. By the time 2011 is here, we’ll be making a $500 donation to the winner’s fundraising page- what a way to ring in the New Year!
Questions? Comments? Just want to spread some holiday cheer in our general direction? Contact us anytime at info@giveforward.com
Happy Fundraising,
The very merry GiveForward Team
Hint: This works as a great icebreaker at holiday parties when you are stuck talking to your long lost cousin-in-law [once removed] and you’ve hit that awkward silence way too early.
posted on 11/24/2010 by Daniel Shar
From everyone here at GiveForward, Happy Thanksgiving to you all! In addition to the many personal blessings we have to be thankful for, the whole gang here is collectively grateful for a number of things.
We’ve had a really great year in general, and we recently had our biggest month to date, so we just want to express our deepest gratitude to you, the users. Though our transition to the new site has been challenging at times, everyone’s patience and understanding has really made it feel like a manageable shift.
You all are amazing and we truly appreciate you letting us be a part of your lives. Have a wonderful holiday!
posted on 10/14/2010 by Desiree Vargas
Erica at our NCONN Booth
Last week Erica and I made our way down to Branson, MO for the 2nd annual nurse navigating conference hosted by the National Coalition of Oncology Nurse Navigators (NCONN). The conference’s title, “Changing the Face of Cancer Care” may sound familiar to any GiveForward veterans who remember our old tag line “Changing the Face of Philanthropy.” Needless to say, we had to go.
And we are so glad we did! Not only did we enjoy the sites (Elvis impersonators, rather lifelike King Kong, and of course the Dixie Stampede), but we also got to rub elbows with the real people making a difference in the lives of cancer patients all over the country.
Sharon Francz (@NurseNavigator) led the conference that was focused on bringing together nurse navigators from around the country to discuss the challenges these new pioneers face in cancer centers around the country.
For those unfamiliar with the term Nurse Navigator, these are nurses assigned to recently diagnosed patients, often cancer patients, and they are literally the gatekeepers for all information pertaining to treatment, recovery, and the cost of care. They are an invaluable resource as patients try to understand and navigate the confusing and often lonely battle they face against illness.
Desiree, Erica, & the World's Largest Rocker
GiveForward had the amazing opportunity to learn from this compassionate group about how we can continue to serve our users and reach out to patients at hospitals around the country.
We also made great connections with NavigatingCancer.com (@NavCancer), a website dedicated to helping patients through their journey with cancer; I’m too young for this Cancer Foundation (@stupidcancer); and our friends at MyLifeline.org.
But perhaps the most memorable part of our adventure…the World’s Largest Rocking Chair we passed on the old Route 66.
posted on 10/06/2010 by Daniel Shar
The GiveForward team had arguably too much fun at midVentures Launch, a massive conference for startup companies held in Chicago on September 28. We had our own table on the event floor and we got to see plenty of great panels, speeches, and presentations (including an appearance from our co-founder, Desiree Vargas, on a panel about our experience in the Excelerate Labs technology incubator program), but we probably had the most fun just walking around and talking to all the different entrepreneurs about their companies.
read more…
posted on 09/07/2010 by Daniel Shar
As many of you already know, GiveForward had the honor of participating in this summer’s Excelerate Labs technology incubator program. On August 31, all the companies in the program gathered at the House of Blues in Chicago to pitch their business plans to more than 200 potential investors. To use a cliché, make a confusing sports pun, and give you an honest recap all at once, our pitch was a home run. read more…
posted on 08/18/2010 by Daniel Shar
Those who have the pleasure of knowing Jonny Imerman are aware that he has almost exclusively worn an Imerman Angels shirt for the last three years. This all changed earlier this week, however, when Jonny donned our Giveasaurus shirt.
How did this once-in-a-century event come about? Well, it was the result of a recent burrito-eating contest between the GiveForward interns and the Imerman Angels interns.
The agreement heading into the contest was that a GiveForward victory would put Jonny in a Giveasaurus t-shirt for a day, while an Imerman Angels victory would leave our co-founder Ethan Austin in an Imerman Angels-branded banana suit for a week.
Even though the GiveForward squad ultimately came up short and lost the bet, Jonny and his Director of Operations, Aaron Hadley, were good sports and decided to wear the Givesaurus shirts anyway. We couldn’t believe our eyes when they sent us the picture. Enjoy this moment because you may never see Jonny in this shirt again… unless, of course, we win round two of the contest next year!
posted on 07/30/2010 by Daniel Shar
Alright so the bad news is that GiveForward fell to Imerman Angels in yesterday’s intern-on-intern burrito-eating contest by 12 ounces. 12 measly ounces. The good news is that everyone survived, AND we raised money to help people with cancer!
Both organizations went all out for this competition, and we want to thank everyone who made it possible (including the many Chipotle employees who posed for pictures with us). This event was a ton of fun, and as soon as we finish digesting, we will begin to plot and scheme for our next shindig. In the meantime, check out our Facebook page for some awesome, mildly disturbing snapshots from the action!
