Buddhist Marketer

Offer Drinks; End Poverty

Do you or does someone you know have access to beverage distributors?  A nonprofit org in New York that seeks to end intergenerational poverty by empowering city youth with knowledge about their legal rights is hosting events this fall and winter that would be greatly enhanced by your brand’s presence.

i.e. Please donate a case of wine and/or a few bottles of liquor :)

A snip from the one-pager:

To support our work, RAP is hosting a series of events that celebrate the natural resilience of New York City, of New Yorkers, and of our youth. RAP is developing creative ideas that capitalize on the themes of personal and community resilience, inner-strength and endurance, and youth activism by drawing on its resources in the NYC artistic and activist communities for entertainment.

RAP is creating events that provide a fun space for intelligent, successful, passionate and committed young professionals to mingle, enjoy a night off from their taxing jobs, and support a good cause.

These high-end events will be held in galleries, lounges, and bars in communities throughout the city. They’ll feature performances and showcases from exciting up-and-coming artists, performers, and film-makers, all around the theme of resilience and youth.

You can download the one-pager by clicking here.  The document contains more details as well as contact information.

Thanks for helping spread the word!

Ask Me To Donate To Your Little Schmooze A Thon

While I have no interest in writing checks to support people getting sweaty in spandex for their pet charity, I am absolutely interested in writing checks in order to attend fundraiser-things with do-gooders and their yuppie friends!  So here’s a shout-out to some fabulous folks who help make that happen.

Pictured above are my friends Em, Nus, and Gene making it happen at a CARE fundraiser earlier this year. From Patrick Cole’s “Young Patrons Hit Web to Tap Yalies, Wall St. Pals for Charity” in Bloomberg:

When young Yale graduates need to hit up other alumni for charity, they tap the Old Boy and Girl Internetwork.

Eugene Bang, a credit trader, used Facebook to send invitations for his charity’s event to more than 300 friends in finance, law and media. Emily Bell and Yale Law grad Nusrat Choudhury, the organization’s co-directors, got the word out to 1,000 people by posting it on the group’s Facebook page and electronic mailing lists for Yale and Princeton.

The Yalies were looking to better the $16,000 they raised last year for Young Professionals for CARE, which supports the Atlanta-based humanitarian organization.

The May 1 event at Manhattan’s Pink Elephant Club drew 425 attendees and more than $45,000, almost double the group’s $25,000 target.

“I give to CARE because it serves desperate people who need help in their fight for survival, a need that is persistent regardless of where we are in the economic cycle,” said Bang, 31, of Xaraf Management LLC, a hedge fund in Greenwich, Connecticut, who donated more than the $55 ticket price to the organization.

Looking for the next fun donate-n-schmooze event to attend?  Here are some ideas:

• The Resilience Advocacy Project helps end intergenerational poverty by using legal education and advocacy to empower at-risk low-income youth.  Tomorrow they’re hosting a $25 cocktail hour.
• The Touch Foundation trains Tanzanian doctors, nurses, and other health professionals in the fight against AIDS.  On July 20th they’re hosting a $40 entry, cash bar rooftop fundraiser.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters’ October Ball will be held on October 3rd at the Museum of Modern Art.  Tickets start at $135.

Holla!

Stop Asking Me To Donate To Your Little Walk A Thon

I give money and time to NFPs and don’t mind when they hit me up for donations.  But fundraisers drive me apeshit.  The vast swath of ‘em are ineffectual, wasteful, inefficient, bloated exercises in feelgooder tokenism.

• If you want to give money to a charitable cause, then you give money to a charitable cause
• If you want to trot your ass around town, either by walking, running, biking, or swimming, then you trot your ass around town
• In particular, if you want to try and cure cancer, then may I suggest advocating on behalf of preventative health measures, especially radical shifts in nutritional intake?  Me paying you to waddle around in spandex is about as likely to cure cancer as the mean IQ of callers into C-SPAN suddenly skyrocketing above 100.

Of all the possible avenues for effecting meaningful change in your chosen pet area of giving-a-shit, may I suggest demoting that fundraiser to the bottom of the list?

Click here to donate $1 to my Please Stop It With The Pledge A Thons campaign.