Archive for the ‘Cause’ Category

Women Rock It!

Posted on: October 25th, 2011 by Geoff Livingston 4 Comments

Women Rock It

This Thursday night is the Women Rock It event in San Francisco highlighting inspiring women and conversations about how they became successful. Speakers include Deborah Lindholm, whose foundation has helped over 300,000 women work their way out of poverty.

“The event is both inspirational and practical, and will be the first of many Women Rock It’s we will be producing around the country and beyond to encourage women to start businesses and pursue what they love to do,” said online marketing wizard Evan Bailyn, one of the co-producers of the event. “Eventually we will be getting even more deeply practical to complement the inspirational nature of the event by partnering with high-level mentoring programs and granting scholarships to women.”

In a revealing post, Evan discussed who he and co-producer Hyla Molander both shared how their failures and fears inspired their successess: “When you get into a room with people and one person admits it, suddenly all the walls come down. Suddenly it’s OK to admit that you’re scared.”

This event is spot on. In working with many people and supporting several women’s causes over the years (such as the NextGen Tech Women Fundraiser), fear, self valuation and failure are huge detractors. Working through those real issues — issues that every human being faces in business and life — are critical to success. Talking about how common these problems are, and how others have worked through them can make a huge difference.

There are so many brilliant women out there, and many have walked along the same path, from my grandmother and mother and their entrepreneurial successes to recent business partners Beth Kanter and Kami Huyse and current co-author, Gini Dietrich. It only seems natural to give this San Francisco and soon to be national movement a big thumbs up. Because women really do rock it!

Please support this valuable event and cause if you can.

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Faces of MBC Provides a Different Take on Breast Cancer

Posted on: October 13th, 2011 by Geoff Livingston 1 Comment

For every view of the Faces of MBC video, Genentech will donate $1 to breast cancer research programs to help fight metastatic breast cancer.

by Justin Goldsborough

Close your eyes for a second and lean your head back. Now imagine. Imagine you’re a mom with a lovely daughter and a son on the way in the next year. Imagine you’ve landed a great corporate job and are enjoying the success you’ve worked so hard for. Imagine you’re 35 years old. In the prime of your life. And while you’ve accomplished a lot, you still have so much to do. So many places to go.

Now imagine you’re in the doctor’s office. Something’s wrong, but you aren’t quite sure what. And then, imagine the doctor says the one thing you could never have prepared yourself for…

You only have a few months to live.

Sounds like a scene from a movie, right? Try an all-too-real-life scene that took place in Diane Bowley’s life 15 years ago. You see, Diane has metastatic breast cancer (MBC). And there’s no cure. The disease is terminal. And her doctor didn’t think she had much time.

Imagine you’re Diane and you hear this news. What would you do? Take your time. It’s not a decision anyone could make right away. Is it?

Well, Diane did. She made it right away. She walked into her way-too-many-hours-a-week corporate job and resigned. Diane had always loved flowers. So she opened up her own floral business. Flowers are often used to signify occasions in our lives, both happy and sad. Weddings, funerals, holidays, graduations.

Diane’s passion for flowers was no different. Her daughter’s wedding the doctor said she’d never see. The funeral they thought was months away that she’s avoided for 15 years and counting. All the holidays she’s been able to spend with her family over the past 15 years. Attending her son’s recent junior high graduation.

Close your eyes again and think about it one more time. Can you imagine being a 35-year-old mom, or anyone for that matter, with metastatic breast cancer? Now ask yourself another question: Can you imagine someone like Diane doing anything other than living for today?

Diane’s story is remarkable. And she’s not alone. There are more than 155,000 Faces of MBC who focus on making the most of every day while living with a terminal type of breast cancer for which there is currently no cure.

How can I help?

When you read a story like Diane’s, you want to help. And the Faces of MBC need your support. How can you help? It’s really easy. For every view of the Faces of MBC video above, Genentech will donate $1 to breast cancer research programs. In addition, below is a Facebook post and/or tweet you can share. For more information on metastatic breast cancer and the Faces of MBC, visit http://www.facesofmbc.org.

Suggested Tweet and Facebook Post

• Facebook: Most people know October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. But most people don’t know about the 155,000 people living with Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC), a specific type of breast cancer that currently has no cure. The women who have this disease know the diagnosis is terminal, yet they fully embrace the idea of living for today. Please watch the Faces of MBC video to learn more about their stories. For every view, Genentech will donate $1 to breast cancer research programs. Oct. 13 is MBC Awareness Day. Please help us spread the word. http://bit.ly/oGBZM8

• Twitter: @FacesofMBC is giving $1 to BC rsrch 4 each view of new metastatic #breastcancer video. Pls watch it here http://bit.ly/qi0y9A

Disclosure: Genentech is a client of Fleishman-Hillard Kansas City, where Justin currently works as a digital strategist.

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Amped to Work on Give to the Max Day: Greater Washington

Posted on: September 15th, 2011 by Geoff Livingston 1 Comment

G2M

Earlier today Give to the Max Day: Greater Washington was announced. This is a giving day for the metropolitan DC region on November 9 that is expected to raise $3 million and encourage well over 10,000 civic actions. The event is organized by Zoetica client Razoo, Community Foundation of the National Capital Region and United Way of the National Capital Area.

As noted on the Inspiring Generosity blog, yours truly has been running point on the project, an effort that has been underway since June. So, given that most of you are working on the inside of a corporation or nonprofit, or are consultants, here’s some of the stuff that makes this particular event really, really exciting to work on:

1) Give to the Max Day bridges the traditional nonprofit community in DC with the booming 2.0 digital start-up world, all to help the city’s vital nonprofits who are under fire from Congressional cuts and economic hardship. This is certainly compelling work.

2) It’s multichannel with a diverse set of marketing approaches, including direct marketing, online marketing, media relations, social media, events and advertising. Really, it’s very nice to bring to bear a fuller suite of tools.

3) The effort seeks to empower nonprofits, not for just one day, but for the long haul with a significant training program so they can become better marketers, who cultivate stronger relationships with donors online.

4) Give to the Max Day: Greater Washington is a part of Digital Capital Week, the one week Internet festival created by Peter Corbett, Jen Consalvo and Frank Gruber.

5) The event represents a significant marketplace challenge. Can an idea that worked well for a state — Give to the Max: Minnesota raised $14 million and $10 million in two similar events for GiveMN — work well for a major metropolitan city? We believe so. Ironically, I worked on the Philanthropy 2.0 report with colleague Beth Kanter, which helped inspire GiveMN. Life comes full circle.

It’s hard not to be thrilled about this effort! Having lived in DC for 20 years, this is a great way to help out the community. If you are a metro DC-based nonprofit or citizen, please join us on November 9.

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