fund-raising « WordPress.com Tag Feed

Blessings this week

Deborah — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:50:01 +0000

When I said in my previous post that “when the heart is in there, things will fall into place somehow”, I didn’t realise that it would so soon.

A big blessing came into our mailbox on Wednesday. A listener on 93.8 Live heard about Project Happy Feet and decided to log on to our website to find out more. She wrote in a cheque that made us all tear. It was touching, heartwarming and encouraging to know that there are people out there that are supporting our cause – an endorsement that we are going in the right direction in our growth of Project Happy Feet.

I massed mailed to my friends last weekend to tell them more about our upcoming trip to Hanoi and appealed for funds. It was at first discouraging that none replied. But then a blessing came in a form of a friend I’ve not met for years. She had herself gone on backpacking trips in the Indo-china area, and having seen the level of poverty, transferred over a sum of money that pleasantly surprised me. “It’s the least I can do,” she replied as I thanked her. “We need to do some transfer of wealth sometimes.”

Another blessing came by yesterday when our dear friends at Emergenetics Asia came by yesterday and dropped off a $400 cheque. We know it comes with much love and we’re thoroughly appreciative of their support.

I spoke with the PHF team in two groups this week and was encouraged that the donations are slowing beginning to trickle in. Each of us have set personal goals for ourselves, and hoping that together we will reach our target of $30K.

It has been tougher than last year raising funds. But we’ve learnt to realise that when things don’t come as easy, we appreciate what we have even more, we become more resilient, and we become more creative in trying to reach our goal.

Our journey to PHF Hanoi is not just about giving to the less fortunate. It’s about them giving us lessons in life we would have otherwise not have learnt.

SPF TV - Happy Thanksgiving!

dougvanslembrouck — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:23:21 +0000

Rob Ray and Doug Van Slembrouck talk a bit about the results from our food drive at Black Finn, benefiting Gleaner’s Food Bank in Pontiac, MI.

SPF TV - What is the SPF?

dougvanslembrouck — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:51:00 +0000

At SPF, our approach to giving is different than what you might expect from a non-profit organization. But we see that as our strong point. We take “good deeds” to the next level. We fuse charity events and the social scene. We reinforce the benefits of ‘doing good’ by giving do-gooders an easy, fun way to contribute.

eCommera Funding Exceeds £6 million as ePlanet Invests £1.3 million

Fusion DigiNet — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:11:08 +0000

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website

FUND RAISING
Database Reference: F231109-250
Business: eCommera
Web: http://www.ecommera.com
Location: UK, London
Region: Europe
Business description: Internet services business that offers ecommerce advisory, support and software services to retailers
Category: ecommerce
Contact 1: Michael Ross, co-founder
Contact 2: Andrew McGregor, co founder and CEO

Investor 1: ePlanet
Round: c Round
Amount raised: £1,300,000
Participants: 1

Details: eCommera, the UK-based provider of e-commerce services to the retail industry, has secured £1.3 million in investment from private equity group ePlanet. This latest round of funding takes the total raised by eCommera in 2009 to over £6 million. The funding will go towards driving the geographic expansion of eCommera with an initial focus on Europe. This latest injection of funding comes just two months after eCommera secured funding of £5 million from an investment group led by growth capital investor, Frog Capital in conjunction with West Coast Capital and GP Bullhound.

Link: eCommera Announcement

Website security firm CloudFlare has raised $2.05M

Fusion DigiNet — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:30:43 +0000

Link: Venturebeat
Link address

Micro-donations - ToiletFinder UK for iPhone

dietvorst — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:25:01 +0000

WaterAid is offering a free iPhone application “ToiletFinder UK“, which it hopes will encourage users to make a small donation via their web site.

The application locates the nearest public toilet(s) and displays them in map or list format.

It is also a User Generated Content (UGC) application, as the toilet database is created entirely by users, who can add new or flag missing toilets.

The application can be downloaded from the Apple Store using iTunes, or directly on your iPhone (search for “ToiletFinder”).

ToiletFinder UK was created for World Toilet Day by French agency BeTomorrow and is currently only available on the iPhone.

Earlier, the US NGO Africare, developed an iPhone application as part of its “Pass It On! fund raising campaign.

Christmas festivities

focihs — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:10:58 +0000

Friends have been busy making arrangements for the Christmas period starting with a Mufti Day to bring in some much needed donations for the main event of the Christmas Bazaar. As well we have a Bluewater coach trip with a childrens’ movie at the school.

Online Remote Tech Services Business SupportSpace has raised $10 million in funding

Fusion DigiNet — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:37:49 +0000

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website

FUND RAISING
Database Reference: F231109-248
Business: SupportSpace
Web: http://www.supportspace.com/
US Headquarters: USA, San Francisco, CA
Israeli R&D center offices: Israel, Netanya
Business description: Online Remote Tech Services for computers and connected devices to consumers and small and medium-sized businesses.
Category: Services
Contact 1: Yair Grindlinger – CEO and Co-Founder
Contact 2: Doron Elgressy – President and Co-Founder

Investor 1: Emergence Capital Partners
Investor 2: BRM Group
Investor 3: Gemini Israel
Round: B Round
Amount raised: $10,000,000
Participants: 3

Details: SupportSpace has raised $10 million in funding to enhance its infrastructure, expand its team, and acquire new partners.

Link: TechCrunch

VENTURE-STYLE INCUBATOR FUND FOR SOCIALLY-CONSCIOUS ENTREPRENEURS

Conscious Ventures — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:30:24 +0000

A new Philadelphia-based “venture-style incubator program” is being formed for socially-conscious entrepreneurs. The program is called GoodCompany Ventures.

The press release elaborates further:

GoodCompany Ventures, a team of social finance investors and start-up experts, today announced the launch of a business incubator targeting entrepreneurs with innovative solutions to unmet social needs. The program will provide facilities, mentoring and access to a network of capital sources to qualified entrepreneurs whose business models offer investors an attractive mix of financial return and social impact. The program will culminate in a venture fair where companies will pitch their ideas to investors.

Applicants will be recruited nationally via venture capital, social finance, and academic networks. A pool of eight to twelve candidates will be selected to participate in the 2009 incubator program that begins in June.

It’s exciting to see a new accelerator program focused on promoting socially-conscious ventures and even moreso that this program will be based in Philadelphia.

Source: PSU Start Ups Written by Robert Shedd

Developing Proposals for Nonprofits

HNP — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:33:53 +0000

The most critical piece of obtaining a grant is the proposal. The proposal process is pretty standard, whether you are seeking private foundation funds or government grants. Many agencies will require a preliminary proposal, which is a brief synopsis of your organization and mission and the purpose of your request (such as equipment, specific projects, or positions within the organization). The preliminary proposal is your sales pitch for your organization and your needs. In 2-3 pages, you will have the opportunity to demonstrate your worthy cause, your professionalism, and what sets you apart from similar entities.

When you get past the preliminary proposal, the grantor will provide you with more specific information about the required information for the full proposal. Now you are ready to develop your grant proposal. Read over all the information from the funding agency. Outline all the elements you will use to answer the requirements of the grant.

Once you’ve finished brainstorming, you can write your summary. The summary is the cover page of the proposal and gives the broad picture for the entire proposal. The summary should be less than one page and should start with what you are requesting, followed by some information about your organization and a description of the project.

The next step is the narrative. This is where you get to talk about your project in detail. In lieu of asking for a narrative, some grantors will issue a series of questions for you to answer. Either way, this is where you align the best aspects of your project with the stipulations of the grant.

After the basic narrative, you want to flesh out the proposal with an assessment of the purpose, goals, and objectives for the project. What are your needs and why should you receive the grant money? Be specific. You want to fill in the details of who will be responsible for each objective, how the goals will be met and how you are going to measure the accomplishment of your goals. How are you qualified to accomplish this project or mission? Why should the agency entrust its funds to you? List any credentials you may have that might assist your credibility.

The granting agency is also going to want an evaluation plan in place. This entails a close look at your objectives and how you plan on assessing whether or not they are being met. In order to do this, your objectives need to be specific, criterion-based, and measurable. Explain how you will measure and evaluate your project. Be sure to include any required evaluation methods in your proposal; some granting agencies define how they want you to evaluate the use of their funds.

Once you’ve written out the narrative aspects, you need to include the budget. The budget should be specific to the dollar. List a detailed account of expected expenditures including salaries. Also, include any additional sources of funds: private contributions, expected fundraising efforts, other grants or endowments, or lines or credits. If the project generates revenue, include that in the budget section of your proposal as well. Be as transparent as possible regarding the project funds.

At the end of the proposal are your supplemental documents. Include records that demonstrate the effectiveness and success of your organization, or anything that might highlight the project’s accomplishments thus far. You also might include a copy of your overall organizational budget to demonstrate what your financial picture is and how this project is currently funded. Along with this, you can include an organizational chart that shows the importance of each project and endeavor of your organization. If there are any documents required by the grantor, be sure those are included.

Lastly, proofread your proposal – it should go through a few different pairs of eyes. Double check your budget numbers when you are proofreading, and make sure that the summary matches the proposal, and that the proposal lines up with the preliminary proposal if you submitted one. It helps to create a checklist of the grant requirements to conduct a final review of your proposal before you send it.

Western business angels invest in Russian online shopping site WikiMart

Fusion DigiNet — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:27:12 +0000

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website

FUND RAISING
Database Reference: F231109-247
Business: WikiMart
Web: http://wikimart.ru/
Location: Russia
Region: Europe
Business description: Russian shopping site
Category: Online shopping
Contact 1: Kamil Kurmakayev, co-founder
Contact 2: Faldin Kurmakayev, co-founder

Investors: Michael van Swaaij (Skype and eBay Europe); Mark Zaleski and Robert Dighero (QXL ricardo); Suvir Sujan (founder of Baazee), Fabrice Grinda (founder of Aucland, Zingy.com, OLX.com), Alec Oxenford (founder of OLX, DineroMail.com, DeRemate.com); Jose Marin (founder of deRemate.com) and Kerim Baran (founder of Yonja.com)

Amount raised: Undisclosed

Details: Quintura reports that a group of Western business angels has invested in Russian online shopping mall WikiMart. The investment was made in May-June 2009.

Link: Quintura/Yakov

Evernote has raised $10 million in a “B” round!

Fusion DigiNet — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:12:50 +0000

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website

FUND RAISING
Database Reference: F231109-246
Business: Evernote
Web: http://www.evernote.com/
Location: Mountain View, CA
Region: North America
Business description: Notes ap for computer, phone, and the web. Handwriting recognition and digital ink software and technologies.
Category: Software aps
Contact 1: Phil Libin, CEO

Investor 1: Morgenthaler Ventures
Investor 2: Troika Dialog
Investor 3: DOCOMO Capital
Round: B Round
Amount raised: $10,000,000
Participants: 3

Details: Evernote has raised $10 million in a “B” round! The lead investor is Silicon Valley venture capital firm Morgenthaler Ventures. Troika Dialog and DOCOMO Capital, “A” round investors, participated as well. The service, which is available in English and Russian, works online and on mobile devices BlackBerry, iPhone, Windows Mobile and Palm Pre as well as on Windows and Mac computers.

Link: Evernote CEO’s blog (dated 25-11-09)

Machinima.com has raised $1.7 million

Fusion DigiNet — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:06:48 +0000

Link: Regulatory Filing

Seattle angels back DevHub

Fusion DigiNet — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:54:18 +0000

Dollars: $1500000

Details: A group of angel investors as well as an undisclosed private equity firm are pumping $1.5 million into EVO Media Group, the operator of the DevHub.com Web site hosting platform.

Link: TechFlash

Tweet for cash? It's the charitable way

sociauxanswers — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:57:59 +0000

Giving to charity makes me feel warm and fluffy. I even don’t mind getting regular updates from charities I support, as it’s comforting to hear some good is going on in the world.

So why would I mind the occasional tweet trying to drum up support?

In the past few months, charities seem to have jumped on the social media bandwagon and have been tweeting to ask for financial support. The most widely reported has to be Tweetsgiving, the American, Thanksgiving themed charity, which raises funds to build schools and buy supplies for children in Tanzania.

So far, so good. But the backlash has been incredible. Whilst there are loyal supporters, there are a significant number who feel charities are exploiting their followers to drum up cash.

In their essence, charities are set up to raise funds for a noteable cause. It’s nothing new and their choice to interact with their supporters in this way should be encouraged.

Come on people, let’s welcome our new fund raising friends in the spirit that Twitter is intended – it’s all about collaboration after all.

Nival Network is in the process of closing a $5 million round from an undisclosed investor.

Fusion DigiNet — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:10:33 +0000

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website

FUND RAISING
Database Reference: F231109-243
Business: Nival Network
Web: http://www.nival.com/
Location: Russia
Region: Europe
Business description: Online game developer
Category Games
Contact: Sergey Orlovskiy, founder & CEO

Investor: Undisclosed
Dollars: $5,000,000

Details: Nival Network is in the process of closing a $5 million round from an undisclosed investor. Should be closed by the end of the year.Nival Network develops, publishes and operates free-to-play online games in Russia and former Soviet countries. The company’s game portfolio includes such MMORPG titles as Dragonica; Shaiya: Light and Darkness; Cabal Online, multiplayer racer Level-R, browser-based strategy offering Khan Wars 2.0 and music game RockFree.

Link: Vedomosti

Charitable giving on the rise?

Andrew Miller — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:07:04 +0000

Not necessarily, but many people are more than willing to donate their time. A recent survey of moms in the US shows that when it comes to charity, 42% more respondents said they will be volunteering time to charities this year. Donations of clothing and food should also be up this year by 15% and 11% respectively over last year’s numbers. But the proportion who said they will be giving money to charity this year fell 9% from last year’s level.

So what does this all mean? Less money being given, but more people being active in fund-raising. Will that ultimately lead to more money being raised? Maybe. It certainly raises an interesting point because people are more willing to give their time but not their money. What is more valuable, time or money? I draw two conclusions from these findings:

1. People are hesitant to donate money until the economy is more stable, but still want to contribute something;

2. Those that are at home raising families or working part-time still have time to give back to causes they believe in.

These are both positive signs because sometimes the biggest contributions are not financial ones.

Life360 Locks Down $750k in Latest Funding Round

Fusion DigiNet — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:51:34 +0000

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website

FUND RAISING
Database Reference: F231109-242
Business: Life360
Web: http://www.life360.com
Location: USA, San Francisco, CA
Region: North America
Business description: Online service for managing family safety and security
Category Social Network

Investor 1: Seraph Group
Investor 2: LaunchCapital
Investor 3: Founders Fund (via FF Angel)
Investor 4: Band of Angels
Investor 4: Mark Goines

Round: Series B
Dollars: $750,000
Participants: 5

Details: Life360 has raised $750,000 in their most recent round of funding. Investors include Founders Fund, early Mint.com investor Mark Goines, LaunchCapital and the Seraph Group. Life360 previously received support from some of the top names in technology. In 2008, they won the Google Android developer challenge and $300k in funding from Google. In spring 2009, Life360 was declared an fbFund finalist, earning an investment from Facebook and an invitation to participate in the fbFund REV

Link: Press Release

Market Day Info

parentassoc — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:26:47 +0000

Market Day orders are due 12/1; pick up day is 12/7. The Market Day folks are a bit concerned with our low number of orders, so if you like Market Day and want it to continue, please order something.

Kroger Rewards Program

parentassoc — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:22:32 +0000

With Thanksgiving approaching, now is a great time to sign up for the Kroger rewards program, which donates a portion of your purchase price to Arts Academy. Directions for signing up are at the bottom of this email. I forwarded this information to my family and friends – now two of my mother’s friends are donating to AAW every time they shop!!

TO USE THE KROGER COMMUNITY REWARDS PROGRAM:

Simply register online at krogercommunityrewards.com
Be sure to have your Kroger Plus card handy and register your card with your organization after you sign up. (If you do not have a Kroger Plus card, they are available at the customer service desk at any Kroger.)
Click on Sign In/Register
Most participants are new online customers, so they must click on SIGN UP TODAY in the ‘New Customer?’ box.
Sign up for a Kroger Rewards Account by entering zip code, clicking on favorite store, entering your email address and creating a password, agreeing to the terms and conditions
You will then get a message to check your email inbox and click on the link within the body of the email.
Click on My Account and use your email address and password to proceed to the next step.
Click on Edit Kroger Community Rewards information and input your Kroger Plus card number.
Update or confirm your information.
Enter NPO number 83425 or the name of organization (Fine and Performing Arts Parents Association), select organization from list and click on confirm.
To verify you are enrolled correctly, you will see your organization’s name on the right side of your information page.
REMEMBER, purchases will not count for your group until after your member(s) register their card(s).
Do you use your phone number at the register? Call 877-576-7587 to get your Kroger Plus card number.
Members must swipe their registered Kroger Plus card or use the phone number that is related to their registered Kroger Plus card when shopping for each purchase to count.
You will see our name (Fine and Performing Arts Parents Association) at the bottom of your receipt.
You must renew every year for your purchases to be counted.

Milo.com Announces $4 Million of Series A Funding

Fusion DigiNet — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:12:10 +0000

Led by True Ventures (Co-Founder Jon Callaghan)

In addition to True Ventures, the A Round included the following prominent angel investors.

•Magid Abraham, comScore
•Harris Barton, former 49er
•Jeff Clavier, SoftTech VC
•Ron Conway, SV Angel
•Chris Dixon, Hunch, SiteAdvisor
•Russ Fradin, Adify
•Kevin Hartz, Eventbrite, Xoom, ConnectGroup
•Jawed Karim, YouTube
•Len Lodish, The Wharton School
•Aaron Patzer, Mint.com/Intuit
•Keith Rabois, Slide, PayPal, Yelp, LinkedIn, YouTube
•Aydin Senkut, Felicis Ventures
•Maurice Werdegar, Western Technology Investments

Round: Round A
Dollars: £4,000,000
Participants: >14

Details: Milo.com has raised $4 million in Series A financing. True Ventures led the round, joined by a Who’s Who of Silicon Valley, including key leadership from Mint.com, PayPal, Yelp, and YouTube. By searching the inventory systems of local stores in real time to find the products shoppers want, Milo.com combines the advantages of an Amazon-like experience with the ability to touch, feel and get products now at a local retailer.

Links: Press Release

Bizo, the B2B ad targeting platform has raised $6 million

Fusion DigiNet — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:46:19 +0000

Links: paidContent

Help Support These Girls!

kemablog — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:40:43 +0000

Girls Incorporated of Holyoke NEEDS your help.

Last year I made a fund raising film for them. They are fantastic girls and this is a fantastic organization.

They need YOUR help. They have an opportunity to receive $25,000, which they desperately need. All they need to do is be voted to be one of the Chase Community Giving award winners. In order for this to happen, they need votes.

If you have a Facebook account, all you need to do is become a fan of this App (below) and then VOTE for Girls Inc. of Holyoke.

http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/658209?src=wallpost&ref=mf

It requires nothing more than a few moments of your time.

The girls and the organization NEED this money.

THANK YOU!

Millennial Media Raises $16M in Growth Equity Financing

Fusion DigiNet — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:14:51 +0000

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website

FUND RAISING
Business: Millennial Media
Database Reference: F231109-239
Web: http://www.millennialmedia.com
Location: USA, Baltimore, MD
Region: North America
Business description: Mobile ad network
Contact: Paul Palmieri, President and CEO

Investor 1: New Enterprise Associates (NEA)
Investor 2: Bessemer Venture Partners
Investor 3: Columbia Capital
Investor 4: Charles River Ventures
Round: Round C
Aprox. amount: $16,000,000
Participants: 4

Details: Millennial Media has closed a $16M Series C round of growth funding, led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) with existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Columbia Capital, and Charles River Ventures participating. The new growth financing will be used to continue to strengthen Millennial Media’s position as the leading mobile ad network in the U.S., as well as finance accelerated international expansion, advanced targeting products, and wider-penetration of its mobile media planning platform for agencies.

Links: Press release

breast cancer study

fuzzypictures — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:49:38 +0000

we, mary and i are working with a breast cancer patient trying to document her journey. mary has started a blog on facebook http://laboroflovepix.blogspot.com/which is receiving some fantastic responses. her writing says so much more than i could possibly say, maybe because she’s a woman or maybe because both her parents were victims of cancer.

what ever the case her writing touchs one’s soul.

and for something a bit more fun one can help in the fight of breast cancer just by clicking on pink glove dance created by Emily (MacInnes) Somers, who created, directed and choreographed this in Portland last week for her Medline glove division as a fundraiser for breast cancer awareness. This was all her idea to help promote their new pink gloves. I don’t know how she got so many employees, doctors and patients to participate, but it started to really catch on and they all had a lot of fun doing it.

When the video gets 1 million hits, Medline will be making a huge contribution to the hospital, as well as offering free mammograms for the community. Please check it out. It’s an easy and great way to donate to a wonderful cause, and who hasn’t been touched by breast cancer?