icouldbe.org Mentees Participate in Youth, I.N.C.’s Trading Day for Kids

This year, icouldbe.org partnered with Youth, I.N.C. (Improving Nonprofits for Children) for their annual Trading Day for Kids. Youth, I.N.C., a NYC-based organization, engages with the city’s brightest minds and leaders and connects them to grassroots organizations, like icouldbe.org, that deliver opportunities to our most vulnerable children. On October 25^th, Youth, I.N.C.’s business partner, Canaccord Genuity,  pledged to donate 100% of the day’s commission proceeds to Youth, I.N.C. and its non-profit network. Not only did the event raise $950,000, but top executives from Canaccord Genuity sat down to discuss financial careers with student participants.

In addition to Trading Day for Kids, which took place on October 25, Canaccord Genuity also hosted a “Mentor Day” on Tuesday, October 23. Thirty high school students, including five icouldbe.org mentees, spent the day at the firm learning about the financial services industry. Students had the opportunity to sit down with a panel of representatives from different divisions within the company as well as senior executives from the firm. This format enabled students to engage in thoughtful conversation with the firm’s professionals and also provided a snapshot of a career in finance and what the company’s day-to-day activities looked like.

The students were given some topics to think about in the days leading up to the event, which led to thought provoking conversation between the students and the company’s financial professionals. Topics discussed included:

• Stocks the students thought had value and why
• The US economy and where it is headed
• The 2012 Presidential election
• 2013 stock market predictions

Trading Day raised over $950,000 for grassroots non-profit organizations in NYC, but beyond that it provided a once in a lifetime experience for our mentees. We are proud to have partnered with such a great organization that does so much good in our city.

Oh, and did we mention that our mentees got to ring the closing bell at NASDAQ at the end of Trading Day? All in all, we all had an unforgettable experience.

TODAY is our NYC Groupon Campaign!

We announced last week that icouldbe.org would soon participate in an exciting campaign with Groupon, the daily deals and discounts site.

Beginning today, November 1^st through Thursday, November 3^rd, icouldbe.org is Groupon’s featured campaign!

Being featured on Groupon provides icouldbe.org with a great opportunity to reach our fundraising goal of  $650, which will complete our first NY State Campaign.  Our campaign will launch a new icouldbe.org mentoring program in a New York City public school for students who are at risk of dropping out of school. 

100% of the funds raised through Groupon will go to icouldbe.org – ONLY if the deal gets “tipped”! That means we need 65 people to donate $10 between November 1^st through November 3^rd, in order for a NYC classroom in need to  participate in our mentoring program.

Thank you to all who are able to give a donation and/or share this offer with your network of friends. A tweet or post on Facebook is helpful, too.

http://www.groupon.com/deals/gt-i-could-be-org

How do I donate through Groupon?

1. Go to http://www.groupon.com/deals/gt-i-could-be-org
2. Click “BUY” and select quantity, e.g. 1 = $10, 2  = $20, etc.
3. COMPLETE ORDER.

Share the message so more people can participate!

Copy and paste this tweet to spread the word:

Help bring an @icouldbeorg mentoring program to a #NYC classroom via Groupon Nov 1-3! http://gr.pn/rHR2hM

Go to Facebook and “Share” this link:

http://www.facebook.com/icouldbeorg/posts/232965296765807

icouldbe.org to be featured in a Groupon fundraising campaign!

We are excited to announce that Groupon, the popular daily deals and discounts site, has selected icouldbe.org for a fundraising campaign! The campaign will run from Tuesday, November 1^st to Thursday, November 3^rd.

Groupon’s philanthropic arm G-Team is a community outreach initiative within Groupon that brings communities together to do good, have fun, and make an impact. G-Team has been working in New York City to help mission-driven organizations like ours raise money and raise awareness, channeling the collective buying power of Groupon followers and our local supporters.

Our campaign will run in New York City beginning Tuesday, November 1^st through Thursday. November 3^rd. Our goal is to raise $650 to complete our fundraising goal in New York and bring our mentoring program to a New York City high school classroom in need. Any additional funds raised will go towards an additional classroom.

Stay tuned next week for another post on our blog (and look for posts on Facebook and Twitter, too) with more information and a link to the live fundraising campaign. We hope that you and others choose to CLICK and donate $10 or more to help bring an online mentoring program to a New York City high school classroom in need.

Thank you to all who are able to donate or share this offer with your network of friends and family!

New matching commitment will close our NY campaign!

We’re excited to announce that a commitment from Meredith Grauer, one of icouldbe.org’s newest board members, will match the remaining donations for the state of New York in our 50 State Campaign.

That means we only need to raise a little over $500 to reach NY’s goal of $8,000 – the cost of implementing a new mentoring program in a classroom.

We can’t thank Meredith enough for her generous matching commitment. Meredith, who is an attorney working at Deutsche Bank in New York, first discovered icouldbe.org through a friend from Youth,INC,  She immediately loved icouldbe.org’s online model for mentoring, and looked for ways to become involved, including becoming a mentor – which she will begin this September when more than 2,500 students begin the icouldbe.org mentoring program at their schools.

Meredith shared with us that she had participated in other mentoring programs in the past, but none with an online component; she sees it as a way to expand opportunities to reach students, many of whom are more comfortable meeting in an online environment (as are many mentors). Meredith believes that “education underlines everything,” but since opportunities are so different for everyone, a mentoring program like icouldbe can help fill in the gaps where students may need more support, advice, or help exploring career and education goals.

After Meredith found out about icouldbe.org’s mission and program, she realized that the 50 State Campaign would be a great way to get involved in fundraising for the cause. With a little less than $1300 to be raised, she committed to matching the remainder of donations needed until her home state, NY, completed its fundraising goal.

If you’re from New York, please join Meredith in bringing the state to its goal of $8,000 – NY could be the first state in the country to raise funds for a new mentoring program!

Make this Sunday a FUNDay with Dad!

Father’s day is upon us and it seems like every year we get our dads a card they may misplace or a gift they’ll never use. This year, why not make it a Father’s Day he’ll never forget (and neither will you)!

Why not put together a fun and simple fundraising event with Dad?

Raising money for charity or putting together an event can seem like daunting tasks but really, they can be easy – especially when a cause inspires you (or Dad!).

We’ve put together a list of fundraising activities you can do with your dad this Father’s Day to raise money for your favorite cause (or at any time during the year):

• Car Wash – Ask dad for help on this one. Post up signs around the neighborhood and raise money for Dad’s favorite charity.

• Bottle Drive – Get dad out of the house and get together for a bottle drive. Make sure to let your community know ahead of time that you and your dad will be going around to collect bottles to donate to a good cause.

• Bike Race – Get the entire family involved for this one! Have everyone sponsor himself or herself and the winner can choose the charity that will receive the winnings!

• Dog Wash – Anyone who owns a dog will love this one. Get together with your Dad and wash your neighbors dogs for a small donation to your non-profit.

• Garage Sale – Finish up some of that Spring Cleaning (you forgot to do). Use the items you think would be “sellers,” break out the lawn chairs and enjoy a nice day outside with dad all while raising money for a good cause

• Yard Work – Grab Dad and go around the neighborhood to see if anyone would like to make a small donation in exchange for your services in cleaning up their yard. Another option is to do yard work for your Dad, and see if he’ll make a small donation in exchange for your time and effort.

Now you need to find a cause that inspires you. If you can’t think of one, we’d love to suggest supporting a local mentoring program for your community. As you know, we launched the 50 State Campaign earlier this year to bring awareness to the significant impact mentoring has to hinder the nearly 30% of students that drop out of high school each year nationwide – and to find a way for every state to bring a mentoring program to its’ communities.

We could use your help to bring online mentoring to students in each state – what better way to do that than to raise money with Dad this Father’s Day?

If you’re looking for another way to give back (or if Dad is), check out what it’s like to be an online mentor at icouldbe.org. It’s flexible and it only takes about an hour of your time each week.