the generosity of others!Something amazing happened to me today.
The story begins with an unbelievable feat in 2005. I organized 30 artists to paint 10 rooms of murals all pro bono for a non profit. It was a huge success. $80K value.
Now 3 yrs. down the road "Vision House",the non profit, contacted me again. After speaking with other artists, my response was,"we can not afford to give of our hearts at this time due to the down turn of our businesses given the current economic situation." I like problem solving and suggested that I host a silent auction through their 501c3 to raise money to pay for the murals (the murals at a discount of course) and the remaining monies to go toward where their needs are. In addition, I promised to donate $2,000 worth of my time. Vision House loved the idea and so just a couple days ago began my journey.
Now to the power of generosity of others. Due to showing the visual of the murals we painted in 2005, I procurred from 4 businesses a value of $1k. I then went to the owner of Vertigo in Bellevue, first to invite him to my event and to see if he could either help spread the word or donate a gift certificate. He then gave the biggest gift. His donation is providing the venue. Now for only $10 per person we will have a gorgeous restaurant, live music, light appetizers and a fully staffed bar. I was blown away and standing on cloud nine.
This is a testament to when you reach out in a genuine way, amazing things are sure to follow.
I am not in the business of non profit, I do not go around procurring items for auctions. Now I have found myself in a space as an artist raising awareness to provide monies for fellow artists to create special environments for an amazing non profit. My feet are firmly on the ground, while my heart is on a hot air balloon ride. Amazing.
If any of you have any feed back in procurring for auctions or brainstorming of any ideas, my ears and heart are open.
Hello Mozelle,
Great Story! Way to Go. Speaking of stories, maybe you could check with Matt Smith ( the Biznik storyteller/auctioneer) and see if he may want to be involved. There has got to be an easy way to put the call out to artists to be involved in donating their goods and services. It may be about how we can stay connected with each other regardless of the economy woes, and thrive.
Cheers, Scott
Wow, great feat Mozelle! Congratulations. I would challenge you to correct your statement early on that you 'weren't able to give of your hear at this time' your heart showed up strong and bold. The courageous side of you came forth to solve a problem that will be a gift to others. I acknowledge your courage and power.
What I believe to be true about what you have created is that it will come back to be a gift to you in the future. It is the age old adage, Give and you shall Receive. Or as Oprah coined it, Pay it Forward. Your spirit is alive from this cool thing you have just done and it will come back to you.
thank you for that gift to the world.
As for experience, I have procured for many non profit events in years past and it I believe when you come from that place of heart (as you did) things come together not matter the state of the economy.
Way to go!
One last thought. I would contact Nancy Juetten who is on Biznik to see what she may be able to offer in getting this thing publicized. She is a Publicity Guru and an amazing lady! Check her out.
Mozelle, you said, "My feet are firmly on the ground, while my heart is on a hot air balloon ride." What poetry!
Congratulations on your accomplishments for Vision House and best wishes as you move forward with this next phase of giving them your love.
Beautiful story! Will you be posting the details of the auction event? Is it open to the public? It sounds very cool!
Nancy
What a touching story... I'm *so* glad that you shared it. Leila is right about Nancy Juetten! She is a great person for you to know...for most of us to know for that matter! Warm regards, Dani
(http://www.DaniMcD.com/)
The event is coming along in a fabulous way, I even procured from the Members only golf club at Aldarra, golf for 3 with a pro! We have 35 silent auction items with a goal of 50. Everyone has been so generous. If any of you would like to be on the Evite, let me know your email, and I will add you. WE are anticipating about 200 attendees. The date is Sunday August 24th at 5pm in Bellevue.
So many generous individuals and businesses. We even found a matching sponsor for $25,000.00! Wow!
The event is this Sunday August 24th at 5pm
at the Vertigo Lounge & Grill in Bellevue 989 112th
You are all more than welcome to attend.
It is free at the door, with live jazz music, appetizer buffet provided and a cash bar.
if you have any questions or would like the evite just call me at 206-755-7721
Well, I've come to this post a bit too late to congratulate you on your upcoming auction. I do hope you'll let us know how it went. best, Karen
Today, winding down from a whirlwind of smiles and gratitude.
We raised $15,425.00 matched =total of $30,850.00!
We still have to the end of the month to bring in donations to be matched. The matching challenge set forth was $25k.
For only 5 weeks of planning & procuring I am so proud of our numbers! It truly does take a village and the community that I feel a part of has made me so proud.
thank you for your posts.
Also a special thank you to our fellow Biznik members: Patrick Welch, for not only attending the event but for his donation! Thank you to Cathy Breshears for donating and to Alan Hartgraves, both of whom I met at BizJam!
This truly is an amazing community. I did not ask my fellow bizniks for donations. I invited them to attend, they offered to donate. What a special gift.
Beautiful story...
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