This morning United Way Toronto announced its 2010 Campaign target of $113 million dollars. I’ve been involved with United Way Toronto for several years now, contributing both my time and money plus ‘allocating’ some of my organizations’ resources to assist the work of United Way member agency work (visit www.timeraiser.ca).
Like many Torontonians who contribute each year, I am continually impressed by United Way Toronto’s effectiveness.
Whether it is the research and policy work such as predatory lending practices that resulted in major legislative protection for Ontarians (See Bill 48) or investing in the highly productive Action for Neighbourhood Change program, few organizations can demonstrate such impact for each dollar raised as United Way Toronto.
So take a moment to learn more about the 2010 campaign. Get involved through your employee campaign or make a online donation or participate at one of the many United Way events that are coming up.
We have Big News. The Vancouver Timeraiser is September 23rd, and the city is buzzing about the event. Today is a very exciting day, since we get to announce that thanks to WestJet, our friend Miss604.com is giving away a pair of tickets ANYWHERE WestJet flies! The tickets will be awarded to one lucky person who comments on the Miss604.com Timeraiser post about something that inspires you. Comments can include your favourite non-profit organization, your best volunteer experience, what it means to be involved in the community, why giving your time is important etc. Full contest rules and regulations can be viewed here.
The Miss604.com Timeraiser/WestJet contest runs until September 22nd 2010. Did we mention she’s giving away a pair of tickets ANYWHERE WestJet flies?! This is your chance to get thinking about volunteerism in Vancouver, participate with your local web community, and potentially win a fabulous prize. Thanks to Rebecca for hosting the awesome contest and helping us to get the word out on the Vancouver Timeraiser.
The fall Timeraiser season is now in full swing with the upcoming Vancouver Timeraiser on September 23rd 2010 (two weeks tomorrow!) Tickets are available here. Don’t miss out on a great opportunity to support local artists and learn more about volunteer opportunities with some stellar non-profit agencies in the city. See you at the Timeraiser.
Update: Check out GabFilms awesome Vancouver Promotional Video!
Wondering what happens to all that funky Toronto artwork while you are completing your volunteer pledge for the year? Well the secret is out! It goes on display in our corporate partners’ offices, such as the second floor marketing and sales department at Molson Coors’ office at 33 Carlingview Drive. As one of our national corporate partners Molson Coors’ helps us invest directly in the careers of emerging artists. Since 2004 we have invested $389,000 in the careers of Canadian artists. To showcase our appreciation for Molson Coors’ support we decorate their office walls with our unique Timeraiser artwork. This just shows another way how Timeraiser is a win, win, win situation for everyone involved. For every dollar it costs us to host a Timeraiser, two dollars of social good are delivered back to the community through volunteerism and investment in the careers of Canadian artists.
Click here for more information about the upcoming 2011 Toronto Timeraiser call to artists starting October 25th. Click here to find out more about the ways in which Molson Coors is involved in their community.
Not to suggest that it’s coming to an end, but the summer’s been a good one! So let’s not say goodbye to summer just yet (I personally have a few more beach BBQs planned and swims at 2nd Beach!), but perhaps let’s focus on the things that will ease the transition from summer to fall. I’m biased, but fall means one exciting thing in particular to me: the Vancouver Timeraiser is just around the corner!
For a third year in a row, the Timeraiser is back in this fantastic city and ready to raise over 5,000 hours for local groups while auctioning off 25 pieces of artwork from talented emerging artists. Take a peak at this year’s selection of artwork by perusing our online gallery, and check out the great organizations you’ll be able to chat with and learn about.
There are a few fun additions to this year’s Timeraiser that will make attending the event that much more exciting:
1) The WestJet Social Media Contest: When you attend this year’s Vancouver Timeraiser, you could have a chance to win a pair of tickets on any regularly scheduled WestJet flight! Yup, that’s 2 tickets anywhere WestJet flies. It’s as simple as attending the event and either tweeting from you smartphone or, if you don’t use twitter, submitting a post at our Civic Footprint kiosk. The idea is to inspire us with 140 characters, and your post must contain #TRWJ or #Timeraiser. Much thanks to @WestJet for their support. (See full rules and regulation on our Facebook page).
2) The WIND Mobile Giveaway: We’ve partnered with WIND Mobile this year to offer one lucky Vancouver Timeraiser attendee a WIND Mobile prize pack: we’ll be giving away a BlackBerry Bold 9700® and 1 month Always Shout voice plan on the WIND network. Thanks for your support @WINDMobile!
So let’s take stock. Here are all the things that you could do at the Timeraiser on September 23rd:
Chat with a bunch of great local organizations and hopefully find some fun and meaningful volunteers opportunities
Learn about some issues/organizations you didn’t know about before
Listen to great music and have a drink with friends
Maybe walk away with a free flight or a new phone
You’re going to want to get in on this – what better way to avoid the winter rainy blues than with an exciting new volunteer opportunity?
Get tickets and additional information at www.timeraiser.ca – last year we sold out, so get tickets for you and your friends today (and maybe ask your employer to pick up the cost of the ticket -it’s an easy way for them to support their employees’ volunteerism!).
We are always looking to better connect Canadians with the fantastic organizations and initiatives that are present in their community. This week we are highlighting Social Venture Partners Toronto.
Social Venture Partners is working to make Toronto a better place by pooling their partners’ time, talent and donations and directing these resources to helping non-profit organizations strengthen their capacity and be more effective at helping the community. SVP’s grants to capacity building and their pro bono expertise are often hard to find for many non-profits so this model can make a big difference in the community. SVP also offers education events to learn more about issues facing Toronto and as well as to learn from social innovation leaders. The more informed and engaged we are as philanthropists, the better Toronto will be!
Currently, there are 26 Social Venture Partner organizations and 2,000 Partners in the USA, Canada (including Vancouver, Calgary and Waterloo) and Japan, who have contributed $36 million in grants to more than 397 nonprofit organizations and countless hours of strategic volunteering contributed to nonprofits. Check out Social Venture Partners International for a full list of participating SVP organizations worldwide.
Meet partners in our network of passionate people helping Toronto & learn what SVP gives them;
Understand SVP’s mission to improve the organizational effectiveness of non-profit organizations and educate ourselves to be more effective donor-volunteers;
Find out about the SVP model of pooling time and charitable donations;
Hear SVP Toronto’s strategy and growth to date;
Learn about how you can volunteer with our community-based non-profit partners or support SVP Toronto on a committee.
